Space scientist apologizes for shirt called sexist

British physicist Matt Taylor brimmed with excitement as the European Space Agency's Philae lander successfully separated from the Rosetta spacecraft, showing off a colorful tattoo on his thigh of both, while proclaiming "we're making history."

But it was his garish bowling shirt that attracted more attention than the unconventional Rosetta project scientist's words or ink—a collage of pinup girls in various states of undress.

Summarizing the firestorm, the Guardian 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 non-descript 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."