AP — British physicist Matt Taylor brimmed with excitement Wednesday as the European Space Agency's Philae lander separated from the Rosetta spacecraft, showing off a colorful tattoo on his thigh of the two craft while proclaiming, "We're making history."
But the unconventional Rosetta project scientist's garish bowling shirt — a collage of pinup girls in various states of undress — drew more attention than his words or the tattoo.
Summarizing the firestorm, the Guardian newspaper proclaimed in a blog post: "ESA can land their robot on a comet. But they still can't see misogyny under their noses."
On Friday, Taylor — wearing a nondescript navy-blue ESA hoodie — offered an unsolicited apology. "I made a big mistake, and I offended many people," he said, breaking down in tears. "And I'm very sorry about this."