Philae was dropped on to the surface of Comet 67P by mothership, Rosetta, last November.
It worked for 60 hours before going to sleep when its solar-powered battery ran flat but the president of France's CNES space agency said the comet had sparked into life.
Jean-Yves Le Gall said: "We received new signals from (Philae) for a period of two minutes, as well as 40 seconds worth of data."
In November the Rosetta Mission had successfully landed the probe on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko amidst much jubilation and fist-pumping in the European Space Agency's headquarters.
Philae wakes up - via its official Twitter feed
But just a few days later, the agency said all systems on board the craft had shut down and the comet probe, roughly the size of a dishwasher, had entered as "possibly long silence".
Play video "Nov 2014: Mission End?"
Video: Nov 2014: Mission End?"Prior to falling silent, the lander was able to transmit all science data gathered during the first science sequence," said Stephan Ulamec from the European Space Operations Centre.
"This machine performed magnificently under tough conditions, and we can be fully proud of the incredible scientific success Philae has delivered."
More follows...
1/3
Gallery: Philae Lander's Touchdown Seen From Rosetta Craft
Gallery: Philae Lander's Touchdown Seen From Rosetta Craft
source http://news.sky.com
