10 Incredible Facts About The Philae Comet Landing

8. The Whole Mission Has An Egyptian Theme

As the Rosetta mission has gone on, the European Space Agency has made the decision to have an Egyptian naming theme. The Rosetta probe is named after the Rosetta Stone, the stele that was key to understanding Egyptian hieroglyphics. The lander is named after the Nile island Philae, which was the location of an obelisk that helped archaeologists decipher the Rosetta Stone's inscriptions. Scientists are also making use of an Egyptian theme when naming features on the comet itself. A cluster of boulders that were discovered on the surface have been named Cheops, after the largest of the pyramids at Giza which was built for the pharaoh Cheops.