Rosetta Spacecraft: To Catch a Comet Rosetta Spacecraft: To Catch a Comet By Tim Sharp, Reference Editor | November 17, 2014 11:20am ET MORE An artist's impression of the Rosetta orbiter deploying the Philae lander to comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko in 2014. Credit: ESA–C. Carreau/ATG medialab Rosetta is a spacecraft on a 10-year mission to catch a comet and land a probe on it. Launched in 2004, the spacecraft arrived at its target, Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, on Aug. 6, 2014. The lander, named Philae, made contact on Nov. 12, 2014. Scientists at the European Space Agency said Philae unexpectedly bounced twice before landing on the comet when the probe's anchor-like harpoon system failed to fire. Philae ended up in shadow near a cliff face on the head of the 2.5-mile-wide (4 kilometers) comet, which scientists say is shaped like giant rubber duck.

The probe fell silent on Nov. 14, possibly forever, as its solar batteries ran out of power. For complete coverage on the mission, read more here: Rosetta Mission's Historic Comet Landing: Full Coverage . Rosetta is the first spacecraft to accompany a comet as it enters the inner solar system. After meeting up with the comet, it began a two-year study of the comet's nucleus and environment, observing how a frozen comet changes as it approaches the heat of the sun. [ Photos: Europe's Rosetta Comet Mission in Pictures ] Rosetta is named for the Rosetta Stone, a block of black basalt that was inscribed with a royal decree in three languages — Egyptian hieroglyphics, Egyptian Demotic and Greek. The spacecraft's robotic lander, Philae, is named after a similarly inscribed obelisk found on an island in the Nile River. Both the stone and the obelisk were key to deciphering ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs. Scientists hope the mission will provide a key to many questions about the origins of the solar system and, perhaps, life on Earth. Rosetta is an aluminum box with two solar panels that extend out like wings. The box, which weighs about 6,600 lbs.

(3,000 kilograms), measures about 9 by 6.8 by 6.5 feet (2.8 by 2.1 by 2 meters). The solar panels have a total span of about 105 feet (32 m). Rosetta is the first spacecraft to rely solely on solar cells to generate power. Rosetta's payload includes 11 instruments that will provide information about how the comet develops its coma and tails, and how its chemicals interact with one another and with radiation and the solar wind. Other instruments will analyze the comet's composition and atmosphere. Philae lander Philae, the 220-lb. (100 kg) lander, about the size of a washing machine, touched down at 1600 GMT (11 a.m. EST, Nov. 11). Philae carries 10 instruments, including a drill to take samples of subsurface material. The planned landing site, called Agilkia after an island in the Nile River in Egypt, is located on the "head" of the comet, the smaller of the two lobes that make up Comet 67P/C-G.

Mission controllers at the European Space Agency also chose a secondary landing site for Philae. Site J is a sunny area, but it is also rocky, potentially making it a dangerous place to land. Side missions Rosetta was set to launch in 2003 to rendezvous with Comet 46P/Wirtanen. However, due to rocket failure, the mission was postponed, and the target was changed to Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. [ Best Close Encounters of the Comet Kind ] Rosetta launched on March 2, 2004, aboard an Ariane 5 rocket. It made four slingshot flybys to boost its speed — one around Mars and three around Earth. On its journey, it passed and photographed asteroids , studied other comets and provided information about the atmospheres of Venus and Mars. Scientists at the European Space Agency put Rosetta into hibernation mode in June 2011 for its 373-million-mile (600 million kilometers) journey. After awakening in January 2014, the spacecraft still had four more months to travel until it reaches its target just inside Jupiter's orbit.

An artist's illustration of the European Space Agency's comet-chasing Rosetta spacecraft. Rosetta will explore Comet 67-P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko when it arrives at the object in August 2014. Credit: ESA - C. Carreau Jupiter Family comet Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko was first observed in 1969 by Klim Churyumov and Svetlana Gerasimenko, astronomers from Kiev, Ukraine, who were working at the Alma-Ata Astrophysical Institute in the area that is now Kazakhstan. Churyumov was studying photographs of Comet 32P/Comas Solá, taken by Gerasimenko, when he thought he saw another cometlike object. After returning to Kiev, he examined the photograph more closely and determined that it was a new comet. The comet — whose name is sometimes shortened to Comet 67P and sometimes to Comet C-G — makes regular visits to the inner solar system, as it orbits the sun every 6.5 years between the orbits of Earth and Jupiter. It is among several short-period comets that have orbital periods of less than 20 years and a low orbital inclination.

Because Jupiter's gravity controls their orbits, they are called Jupiter Family comets. Comets are debris left over after the solar system formed 4.6 billion years ago. Let's see what you know about these ancient and elusive celestial wanderers. Start Over | More Quizzes These comets are thought to originate in the Kuiper Belt , a region of space beyond Neptune's orbit filled with icy bodies. As these bodies collide, some are knocked out of the Kuiper Belt and fall toward the sun. Jupiter, with its massive gravitational pull, grabs some of them and changes their orbit. Scientists say Comet 67P's perihelion — its closest approach to the sun — used to be 4 AU (Earth-sun distances), or 373 million miles (600 million km). Close encounters with Jupiter over time have decreased the comet's perihelion to 1.24 AU, or 116 million miles (186 million km). Most of the time, Comet C-G is very faint and hard to find with Earth-based telescopes.

The comet has been observed by ground-based telescopes seven times: in 1969, 1976, 1982, 1989, 1996, 2002 and 2009. The Hubble Space Telescope also photographed the comet in 2003, which enabled scientists to estimate that the comet is about 2 miles wide and 3 miles long (3 km by 5 km). Solar escort Rosetta and Philae will accompany Comet 67P to its perihelion in August 2015 and travel with the comet around the sun and back into deep space until the mission ends in December 2015. Additional resources Touchdown! Rosetta’s Philae probe lands on comet / Rosetta / Space Science / Our Activities / ESA Access the video Over the next 2.5 days, the lander will conduct its primary science mission, assuming that its main battery remains in good health. An extended science phase using the rechargeable secondary battery may be possible, assuming Sun illumination conditions allow and dust settling on the solar panels does not prevent it.

This extended phase could last until March 2015, after which conditions inside the lander are expected to be too hot for it to continue operating. Science highlights from the primary phase will include a full panoramic view of the landing site, including a section in 3D, high-resolution images of the surface immediately underneath the lander, on-the-spot analysis of the composition of the comet’s surface materials, and a drill that will take samples from a depth of 23 cm and feed them to an onboard laboratory for analysis. The lander will also measure the electrical and mechanical characteristics of the surface. In addition, low-frequency radio signals will be beamed between Philae and the orbiter through the nucleus to probe the internal structure. The detailed surface measurements that Philae makes at its landing site will complement and calibrate the extensive remote observations made by the orbiter covering the whole comet. “Rosetta is trying to answer the very big questions about the history of our Solar System. What were the conditions like at its infancy and how did it evolve? What role did comets play in this evolution? How do comets work?” said Matt Taylor, ESA Rosetta project scientist.

“Today’s successful landing is undoubtedly the cherry on the icing of a 4 km-wide cake, but we’re also looking further ahead and onto the next stage of this ground-breaking mission, as we continue to follow the comet around the Sun for 13 months, watching as its activity changes and its surface evolves.” While Philae begins its close-up study of the comet, Rosetta must manoeuvre from its post-separation path back into an orbit around the comet, eventually returning to a 20 km orbit on 6 December. Next year, as the comet grows more active, Rosetta will need to step further back and fly unbound ‘orbits’, but dipping in briefly with daring flybys, some of which will bring it within just 8 km of the comet centre. The comet will reach its closest distance to the Sun on 13 August 2015 at about 185 million km, roughly between the orbits of Earth and Mars. Rosetta will follow it throughout the remainder of 2015, as they head away from the Sun and activity begins to subside. “It’s been an extremely long and hard journey to reach today’s once-in-a-lifetime event, but it was absolutely worthwhile.

We look forward to the continued success of the great scientific endeavour that is the Rosetta mission as it promises to revolutionise our understanding of comets,” said Fred Jansen, ESA Rosetta mission manager. More about Rosetta Rosetta is an ESA mission with contributions from its Member States and NASA. Rosetta’s Philae lander is provided by a consortium led by DLR, MPS, CNES and ASI. Rosetta is the first mission in history to rendezvous with a comet. It is escorting the comet as they orbit the Sun together, and has deployed a lander to its surface.Comets are time capsules containing primitive material left over from the epoch when the Sun and its planets formed. By studying the gas, dust and structure of the nucleus and organic materials associated with the comet, via both remote and in situ observations, the Rosetta mission should become the key to unlocking the history and evolution of our Solar System. About the European Space Agency The European Space Agency (ESA) provides Europe’s gateway to space. ESA is an intergovernmental organisation, created in 1975, with the mission to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space delivers benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.

ESA has 20 Member States: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxem-bourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, of whom 18 are Member States of the EU. Two other Member States of the EU, Hungary and Estonia, are likely soon to become new ESA Member States. ESA has Cooperation Agreements with six other Member States of the EU. Canada takes part in some ESA programmes under a Cooperation Agreement. ESA is also working with the EU on implementing the Galileo and Copernicus programmes. By coordinating the financial and intellectual resources of its members, ESA can undertake programmes and activities far beyond the scope of any single European country. ESA develops the launchers, spacecraft and ground facilities needed to keep Europe at the forefront of global space activities. Today, it develops and launches satellites for Earth observation, naviga-tion, telecommunications and astronomy, sends probes to the far reaches of the Solar System and cooperates in the human exploration of space.

Learn more about ESA at For further information, please contact: ESA Media Relations Office Rosetta's Spacecraft Successfully Lands On Comet | The Huffington Post Rosetta's Spacecraft Successfully Lands On Comet 11/12/2014 11:29 am ET | Updated Nov 12, 2014 2.5k Alana Horowitz AP/HuffPost European Space Agency's Rosetta space probe on Wednesday successfully deployed its robotic lander Philae on the Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. This is the first time a spacecraft has ever landed on the surface of a comet. The mission was ten years in the making. — ESA Rosetta Mission (@ESA_Rosetta) November 12, 2014 EU science chief Anne Glover tweeted that, "I think Europe just boldly went where no one else has gone before." Philae touched down on an area of the comet named Agilkia, using harpoons and screws to latch on to the surface. To see a minute-by-minute recount of the historic landing, check out HuffPost Science's liveblog.

Here's a timeline of the spacecraft's historic mission, courtesy of the AP: DARMSTADT, Germany (AP) — The European Space Agency said it landed a spacecraft on a comet Wednesday for the first time ever. The Philae craft pulled off the audacious landing hours after it was released toward the giant ball of dust and ice by the unmanned Rosetta space probe. The landing is the highlight of a decade-long mission to link up with comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Here's a look at key moments during Rosetta's incredible trip: ___ March 2, 2004: Europe's unmanned probe Rosetta takes off from Kourou, French Guiana, after a series of delays, including an abandoned January 2003 launch window because of a rocket problem. Feb. 25, 2007: Rosetta carries out a close flyby of Mars. European Space Agency's mission control breaks out in applause after the end of 15 tense minutes of radio silence as the craft passes behind the Red Planet. Sept. 5, 2008: Probe successfully passes close to an asteroid 250 million miles from Earth.

The spacecraft loses its radio signal for 90 minutes as planned during the flyby of the Steins asteroid, also known as Asteroid 2867. July 10, 2010: Between Mars and Jupiter, Rosetta transmits its first pictures from the largest asteroid ever visited by a satellite after it flies by Lutetia as close as 1,900 miles (3,200 kilometers). It is the closest look to date at the Lutetia asteroid. Jan. 20, 2014: Waking after almost three years of hibernation, Rosetta sends its first signal back to Earth. Systems had been powered down in 2011 to conserve energy, leaving scientists in the dark for 31 months. Aug. 6, 2014: Rosetta swings alongside comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko somewhere between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. Nov. 12, 2014: The probe releases the Philae lander and it drops to the comet's surface. Seven hours later, Philae touches down on the comet.

Why Rosetta spacecraft chased after a comet (Opinion) - CNN.com Why Rosetta spacecraft chased after a comet By Jim Bell updated 11:43 AM EDT, Fri August 8, 2014 Rosetta's lander Philae is on the surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko on Thursday, November 13, and sending back images. One of the lander's three feet can be seen in the foreground. While Philae is the first probe to land on a comet , Rosetta is the first to rendezvous with a comet and follow it around the sun. The information collected by Philae at one location on the surface will complement that collected by the Rosetta orbiter for the entire comet. Rosetta's lander Philae captured this image during its descent to the comet from a distance of 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) from the surface on Wednesday, November 12. Philae took this parting shot of its mother ship shortly after separation on November 12, as Philae headed for a landing on Comet 67P. The lander touched down on the comet seven hours after separating from the orbiter.

Rosetta's OSIRIS camera captured this parting shot of the Philae lander after separation. This mosaic is made of four individual images taken 31.8 kilometers (about 20 miles) from the center of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko on November 4. Rosetta took this image of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko on September 15. The box on the right shows where the lander will touch down. The spacecraft sent this image as it approached the comet on August 6. From a distance of 130 kilometers (nearly 81 miles), it reveals detail of the smooth region on the comet's "body" section. This image, captured August 7, shows the diversity of surface structures on the comet's nucleus. The comet's "head" can be seen in the left of the frame as it casts a shadow over the "body" in this image released August 6. This image of the comet was taken on August 1. Rosetta's mission started on March 2, 2004, when it was launched on a European Ariane 5 rocket from Kourou, French Guiana.

Rosetta is named after the Rosetta Stone, the black basalt that provided the key to deciphering Egyptian hieroglyphs. Scientists think the mission will give them new clues about the origins of the solar system and life on Earth. The mission is spearheaded by the European Space Agency with key support from NASA. This photo shows Rosetta being tested before it was wrapped in insulating blankets and loaded on a rocket for launch. Rosetta has massive solar wings to power the spacecraft. They were unfurled and checked out at the European Space Agency's test facilities before being packed up for liftoff. After its closest approach to Earth in November 2007, Rosetta captured this image of the planet. Rosetta snapped this image of Earth in November 2009. The spacecraft was 393,328 miles from Earth. Rosetta passed asteroid Steins in September 2008, giving scientists amazing close-ups of the asteroid's huge crater. The asteroid is about 3 miles in diameter. Rosetta took this image of Mars as it looped through the solar system. This image was taken by an instrument on Rosetta's Philae lander just minutes before the spacecraft made its closest approach to Mars.

Part of Rosetta and its solar arrays are visible. On July 10, 2010, Rosetta flew about 1,864 miles from asteroid Lutetia, which is 10 times larger than asteroid Steins. Look closely at the top of this picture. See that dot? That's Saturn. Rosetta snapped the picture of asteroid Lutetia and captured Saturn in the background. After taking pictures of Earth, Mars and asteroids, Rosetta was put into hibernation in May 2011 after it reached the outer part of the solar system. Mission managers woke it January 20, 2014. In November, Rosetta will become the first spacecraft to deploy a robot for a soft landing on a comet. It also will be the first probe to escort a comet into our inner solar system. This drawing shows how Rosetta will drop its robot lander, Philae, onto the comet. The robot lander will fire harpoons to anchor itself to the comet. Scientists expect the lander to send back data to Earth for at least a week and possibly for many months as the comet heads toward the sun.

HIDE CAPTION STORY HIGHLIGHTS Rosetta mission becomes the first spacecraft to go into orbit around a comet Jim Bell: Will it find organic molecules that could help seed a planet like ours for life? He says mission will look for connection between small, icy bodies and large planets Bell: The comet's details are waiting to be deciphered, and that's exciting for science Editor's note: Jim Bell is an astronomer and planetary scientist in the School of Earth and Space Exploration at Arizona State University. He is president of The Planetary Society and author of "Postcards from Mars," "The Space Book" and most recently, "The Interstellar Age," due out in early 2015. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author. (CNN) -- More than 200 years ago, part of a stone tablet was discovered in Egypt that provided the first reliable way to translate ancient hieroglyphics into a modern language. The Rosetta Stone, as the tablet is called, proved to be the key to unlocking details of the rise and fall of civilizations that flourished on our planet many thousands of years ago.

More recently, a space mission bearing the name Rosetta has begun its quest of unlocking details of the rise and fall of entire planets, including the only one we know that is a safe haven for life. The European Space Agency's Rosetta mission is a robotic spacecraft designed to get up close and personal with the nucleus of a comet. The comet is called 67P/C-G (short for Churyumov--Gerasimenko, the astrophysicists who discovered it in 1969), and it orbits the sun on a 6½ year elliptical path that takes it from just beyond the orbit of Jupiter to just outside the orbit of Earth. Rosetta: CNN special coverage But that orbit is relatively new. 67P/C-G is thought to have originated from much farther away, but one or more close passes by Jupiter altered its orbit, pushing it closer in to the Sun. Thus, 67P/C-G may very well be a piece of primordial, icy debris left over from the original formation of our solar system more than 4½ billion years ago.

It's the Rosetta mission team's job to find out if that is indeed the case, and if there is a specific connection between small, icy bodies like this one and the larger terrestrial planets that they have helped build over the course of solar system history. Launched a decade ago, the spacecraft -- like the comet it was designed to encounter -- was sent on a long, slow, looping trajectory, passing back by Earth and even Mars for gravity assists, and flying past main belt asteroids Steins and Lutetia along the way. Rosetta spacecraft first to orbit a comet Rosetta closing in on comet Could Rosetta unlock Earth's secrets? In fact, the cruise to 67P/C-G was so long, and so slow, that the spacecraft was actually put into a state of robotic hibernation for nearly three years to help save money. In a great demonstration of both outstanding engineering and phenomenal patience, scientists and engineers returning to the project this past January were ecstatic when the spacecraft woke successfully from its long interplanetary slumber. Rosetta team members, including a number of NASA-funded U.S.

engineers and planetary scientists, were ecstatic again this week as their plucky little robot successfully nuzzled up to the 2½ mile wide nucleus of 67P/C-G to become the first spacecraft to go into orbit around a comet. "Nuzzled" is an appropriate word, because with a gravity field more than 10,000 times weaker than Earth's, the pull of this tiny comet is only barely felt by the spacecraft. And not only is it tiny, but it seems to also be just plain weird! Early Rosetta images show the comet looks like a strange, lumpy, double-lobed peanut covered by cliffs, circular ridges and smooth plains. The "neck" between the two main lobes looks almost fragile from certain angles, suggesting the comet might be about to break into two large chunks. That might perhaps not be a surprising fate, as this small icy world is steadily evaporating, jetting huge amounts of dust, water vapor and other gases into space as it basks in the warmth of the sun. But the best is still yet to come for Rosetta.

The mission's dozen science instruments have only just started to characterize the comet in detail, providing chemical, mineral and geologic clues about its origin and evolution. In November, the team will attempt to set the oven-sized Philae lander (named after another important Egyptian hieroglyph artifact) down onto the comet to make even more precise direct measurements of the surface. It will be a daring, slow-motion adventure, shared with the world, as Philae descends and then struggles to hang on to the surface under the ultra-weak gravity. View my Flipboard Magazine. Is this small icy body the kind of world responsible for delivering oceans' worth of water to our planet and others? Are the kinds of organic molecules that Rosetta and Philae might find there the kinds of materials that could help seed a planet like ours for life? What kinds of spectacular sights await as the spacecraft follows the comet even closer to the sun, where the surface is predicted to become even more active? 67P/C-G's planetary hieroglyphics are waiting to be deciphered, and I can't wait to find out what they say!

Space Today Online - Solar System - Comets - Rosetta probe The Philae lander carries nine more science tools plus a drill to take subsurface samples: alpha-p x-ray spectrometer – APXS panoramic and microscopic imaging system – CIVA radio sounding and nucleus tomography – CONSERT evolved gas analyzer for elemental and molecular composition – COSAC evolved gas analyzer for isotopic composition – MODULUS Ptolemy measurements of surface and subsurface properties – MUPUS imaging – ROLIS magnetometer and plasma monitor – ROMAP drilling and sample retrieval – SD2 surface electrical, acoustic and dust impact monitoring – SESAME The lander's Sampling Drilling Distribution Subsystem (SD2) will drill about eight inches into the surface of the comet to collect samples and then place them under microscopes or in ovens for analysis. The Rosetta orbiter relays signals from the lander to Earth. The comet lander. The spacecraft is carrying the German-built Rosetta lander – the so-called Surface Science Package – to the nucleus of the comet where the orbiter will drop the lander on the surface. The Rosetta lander is named Philae, after an island in the Nile River.

Philae lander on the surface of Comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko click to enlarge esa artist concept On that island is an obelisk with a bilingual inscription including the names of Cleopatra and Ptolemy in Egyptian hieroglyphs. The inscription gave the French historian Jean-François Champollion the final clues for deciphering the hieroglyphs on the celebrated Rosetta Stone, which unlocked the written language of the ancient Egyptian civilization. The 198-lb. lander will touch down on the comet softly on three shock-absorbing legs. Then, Philae will fire a harpoon into the tiny body to anchor the lander to the ground. The comet is so small it has almost no gravity. The rocket. The ambitious Rosetta flight plan was made possible by the powerful boost of ESA's Ariane 5 rocket firing the probe on its interplanetary trajectory. The European Space Agency fires space rockets from its Kourou space launch complex known as Centre Spatial Guyanais (CSG), in French Guiana on the northeastern coast of South America. Rosetta was to have been launched in January 2003 on an Ariane 5 rocket from Kourou.

Unfortunately, previous Ariane 5 launches had failed and Rosetta was postponed to February 2004, and the new comet target had to selected. Rosetta was a special launch for ESA because it is the first spacecraft placed by Ariane 5 on an Earth-escape trajectory. The Itinerary 2015 December To get to Churymov-Gerasimenko, Rosetta will fly away from Earth and into the Asteroid Belt between Jupiter and Mars. Along the way out to the comet, Rosetta will fly around the Sun four times, around Mars once (2007), around Earth three times (2005, 2007, 2009), and into the asteroid belt twice. It will use the gravity of Earth and Mars to provide extra energy needed for the probe's long voyage. During those fly-bys, Rosetta will pick up speed as it heads on into deep space. Visiting asteroids. During its multiple year voyage, Rosetta also will perform close flybys of one or two asteroids. The duration of the lengthy mission will require the onboard instruments to be placed into hibernation for long periods.

Rosetta will arrive at Churymov-Gerasimenko and go into orbit around the comet in May 2014. For six months, Rosetta will study the comet's nucleus and environment. They will be traveling together through the Solar System at 83,600 mph. Then, in November 2014, the orbiter will send down the lander Philae to the surface of the comet. What are comets? Those dirty snowballs and icy mudballs we call comets are water ice and frozen gases mixed with dust samples from the earliest history of our Solar System. Comets have been seen and reported since antiquity. As a comet flies near the Sun, it starts to melt. The solar wind drives ice away from the comet creating a tail. more about comets ESA scientists suggest that comets may contain matter left over from the birth of the Sun, planets and the Solar System because most comets seem to have formed at the same as the Solar System – an estimated 4.6 billion year ago. During those eons, comets have preserved their interior materials as if they were in a deep freeze.

As other comets pelted Earth over the billion years since the Solar System formed, could they have brought to Earth such building blocks for life as water and organic materials? Rosetta's Previous Target Rosetta was to have been launched in 2003 on a flight to the comet 46 P/Wirtanen, arriving there about 2012. Unfortunately, that comet target had to be abandoned when the Rosetta launch was postponed after failures of Europe's Ariane 5 rockets. Selecting the new target. ESA scientists had 12-30 months to find a suitable comet to replace Wirtanen. Faced with the necessity of changing targets, ESA scientists used the Hubble Space Telescope in orbit above Earth and the European Southern Observatory on the ground in Chile to find areplacement comet. They selected Churyunov-Gerasimenko for Rosetta. Along the way during the probe's multi-year journey to the comet, Rosetta will pass close to one or more asteroids. The long mission duration will require extended hibernation periods for the spacecraft.

Now, if the ten-year flight goes well, Rosetta will drop a lander onto the surface of Comet Churymov-Gerasimenko in November 2014 That will be the first time for a probe to orbit a comet. It also will be the first time Earth will see such high-resolution close-up images of a comet. The replacement target had to be chosen carefully as the box-shaped lander had to be customized for the chosen comet. The abandoned flight path. Traveling from Earth to Comet Wirtanen, Rosetta would have made a flyby of Mars in August 2005 for a gravity assist, followed by two Earth gravity assists in November 2005 and November 2007. Along the way, the probe would have passed near two asteroids – Otawara and Siwa. Rosetta would have arrived in the vicinity of Comet Wirtanen in 2011 for its first observations in April 2012. The spacecraft would have gone into an orbit near the comet. For 17 months, it would have flown around the comet at distances of 6-31 miles.

As the spacecraft circled the comet's nucleus, it would have dropped a lander for a soft touchdown on Wirtanen's surface. The lander would have provided a close-up look at the comet's physical condition and chemical composition. Rosetta's science mission would have ended in 2013 as Comet Wirtanen made its closest approach to the Sun. The flight to Comet Churymov-Gerasimenko will be very similar, but with later dates. Rosetta will be the first European spacecraft to make close-up observations of a comet since Giotto. That deep-space probe, sent on its way by an Ariane 1 rocket back in 1985, encountered Halley's Comet and Comet Grigg-Skjellerup in deep space. The European Space Agency The European Space Agency was established in 1973 and is based in Paris. ESA includes 15 countries – Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. In addition Canada and Hungary participate in some projects under cooperation agreements. Work on the Rosetta spacecraft started in 1993.

The European Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt, Germany, will control Rosetta. Transmissions to the spacecraft will be sent via ESA's 115-ft. ground station antenna at New Narcia, near Perth, Australia, and the 50-ft. antenna at ESA's ground station at Kourou. Also in 2004, the European Space Agency's orbiter Mars Express has sent back evidence of water in ice at the Red Planet's south pole. Learn more: Rosetta mission: Philae makes historic first landing on comet | Science | The Guardian Rosetta space probe Rosetta mission: Philae makes historic first landing on comet Rosetta mission’s safe landing gives scientists their first chance to ride a comet and study close up what happens as it gets closer to the sun Thursday 13 November 2014 10.11 EST First published on Wednesday 12 November 2014 11.07 EST Close This article is 2 years old The signal broke a seven-hour wait of agonising intensity and sparked scenes of jubilation at the European Space Agency’s mission control in Darmstadt.

The team in charge of the Rosetta mission achieved what at times seemed an impossible task by landing a robotic spacecraft on a comet for the first time in history. The moment the tension broke came shortly after 1600 GMT when the Philae called home. “We are there. We are sitting on the surface. Philae is talking to us,” said a jubilant Stephan Ulamec, Philae lander manager at the DLR German space centre. “We are on the comet.” Andrea Accomazzo, the Rosetta flight operations director, added: “We cannot be happier than we are now.” But celebrations were tempered by the later discovery that the probe’s two harpoons had not fired to fasten the craft down in the ultra-low gravity. Scientists now think the probe may have bounced after first coming into contact with the surface. Ulamec said: “Maybe today we didn’t just land once, we landed twice.” The safe, if precarious, touchdown of the lander gives scientists a unique chance to ride onboard a comet and study from the surface what happens as its activity ramps up as it gets closer to the sun.

The first images beamed back from the lander’s descent revealed a dramatic landscape of pits and precipices, craters and boulders. However, there have been gaps in its radio link with the orbiting Rosetta mothership. The Philae lander on its way to the comet, photographed by the Rosetta spacecraft. Photograph: AP The £1bn ($1.58bn) Rosetta mission aims to unlock the mysteries of comets, made from ancient material that predates the birth of the solar system. In the data Rosetta and Philae collect, researchers hope to learn more of how the solar system formed and how comets carried water and complex organics to the planets, preparing the stage for life on Earth. Space agencies have sent probes to comets before, but not like this. In 1986, Nasa’s Ice mission flew through the tail of Halley’s comet. In 2005, the agency’s Deep Impact spacecraft fired a massive copper block at comet Temple 1. But none before now has landed.

The feat marks a profound success for the European Space Agency (ESA), which launched the Rosetta spacecraft more than 10 years ago from its Kourou spaceport in French Guiana. Since blasting off in March 2004, Rosetta and its lander Philae have travelled more than 6bn kilometres to catch up with the comet, which orbits the sun at speeds up to 135,000km/h. “We are the first to do this, and that will stay forever,” said Jean Jacques Dordain, director general of the ESA. Matt Taylor, a Rosetta project scientist, who had selected an extremely colourful shirt for the event, revealed an impressive – and brave – tattoo of the lander on the comet’s surface. BBC Breakfast (@BBCBreakfast) #Rosetta scientist @mggtTaylor is so confident @philae2014 's going to make it that he's had it inked! #CometLanding pic.twitter.com/WWE9MkzfNY November 12, 2014 “Comets are the original source of Earth’s water.

That wee lander is now in position, poised to re-write what we know about ourselves,” tweeted Chris Hadfield , the former Canadian astronaut and commander of the International Space Station. Early data from the lander revealed that it had had a softer landing on comet 67P than expected. But an hour after the landing signal came through, Paolo Ferri, the ESA’s head of mission operations, said that Philae’s twin harpoons, which are intended to secure it in place, had not fired, raising fears about the lander’s stability and chances of clinging on to the comet for long. Touchdown for the lander played out 510m kilometres from Earth, between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, on a comet hurtling through space at more than 18km/s. At so vast a distance, even radio signals travelling at the speed of light take nearly half an hour to travel from Earth to the spacecraft, making real-time control of the landing impossible. Instead, the entire descent was precalculated, uploaded and run automatically. Landing Philae on the comet’s surface was never going to be easy.

When ESA managers got their first closeup of the comet in July, its unusual rubber duck shape left some fearing that a safe touchdown was impossible. The shape was not the only problem. The comet’s surface was hostile: hills and spectacular jutting cliffs gave way to cratered plains strewn with boulders. If Philae landed on anything other than even ground it could topple over, leaving it stranded and defunct. Rosetta spent weeks flying around the comet to create a surface map from which mission controllers could choose a landing site. They faced a trade-off: the site had to be fairly flat and clear of boulders, but with a good view of the whole comet and plenty of sunlight to charge the lander’s batteries. From a shortlist of five potential landing spots, scientists and engineers unanimously voted for a 1 sq km region on the comet’s “head” later named Agilkia. Pinterest Scientists celebrate at the space centre in Toulouse as they learn that Philae has landed. Photograph: Remy Gabalda/AFP/Getty Images At the start of the mission, ESA officials had assumed the comet would be potato shaped and rated their chances of a successful landing at 75%.

After seeing the shape and terrain of their target close up, those odds fell to around 50%, but climbed again as technical staff learned more about the landing site. The confidence did not last long though. On Tuesday night, hours before Philae had left its mothership, the chances of a safe landing took another dip. Overnight, a thruster on the lander failed to respond to commands sent from Earth. Engineers tried for hours to correct the fault but to no avail. The malfunction threatened to abort the mission, but at 0235 GMT on Wednesday mission controllers decided to go ahead with the landing regardless. The nitrogen thruster, facing upwards from the top of the lander, was designed to fire for 60 seconds as Philae touched down to prevent it from bouncing off the comet’s surface where the gravitational pull is several hundred thousand times weaker than on Earth. Philae’s shot of its mothership shortly after separation. Photograph: ESA/Handout/ESA/Handout/Corbis For the mission team, the seven-hour descent, during which Philae fell at walking speed towards the comet’s surface, was a nail-biting experience.

The lander separated from its mothership at 0835 GMT with confirmation received on Earth at 0903. For the early part of the 20km descent, Philae was expected to be out of contact with Rosetta. Around 1100 GMT the mothership reacquired a signal from the lander, which duly unfurled its legs and began to take pictures . The first image taken just 50 seconds after separation revealed a look back at the mothership, one of its 14-metre-long solar arrays clearly visible, as Philae fell silently to its destination. One hour from touchdown, Philae was on the right course. Ulamec of the DLR German space centre said everything looked “fantastic”. Telemetry from the lander showed that it was rotating, but not enough to cause problems. Pinterest Scientists in Toulouse look at the first picture transmitted by Philae. Photograph: Remy Gabalda/AFP/Getty Images From its orbit around the comet, the Rosetta probe will take more high-resolution images and gather information on the body’s density, temperature and chemical makeup.

It will also capture dust and gas released in ever more violent jets from the comet’s nucleus as it nears the sun. From its vantage point on the surface, the lander can drill down 20cm and collect samples of subsurface material for on-the-spot testing. On board Philae are 10 instruments, including one from the Open University named Ptolemy which will bake pieces of comet material and analyse the gases given off to build up a picture of the comet’s composition. Another instrument, the Comet Nucleus Sounding Experiment by Radiowave Transmission (Consert), will reveal the comet’s internal structure by passing radio waves through the icy body to Rosetta on the other side. Philae Lander (@Philae2014) . @ESA_Rosetta See for yourself! ROLIS imaged #67P when we were just 3km away! Glad I can share.

#CometLanding pic.twitter.com/b6mcid2fsn November 12, 2014 The Rosetta mission is planned to run until December 2015, but if enough fuel remains in the spacecraft’s tanks, mission controllers may extend its life by six months and give the mothership more high-risk tasks, such as flying through one of the gas and dust jets streaming from the comet. Philae has initial battery power to last 40 hours but will then switch to rechargeable ones replenished by sunlight. The lander could continue working until March next year, when the electronics will become too warm to work properly. Even when Philae packs up, it may still cling on to the comet, perhaps for several 6.45-year-long laps around the sun, before enough material erodes from the comet’s surface for the lander to lose its grip. Rosetta Mission's Comet Landing: Full Coverage Main Landing Story: European Spacecraft Lands on Comet in Historic Space Feat Last Update (1:30 p.m. ET, Nov. 19): The Philae lander beamed back a significant amount of science during its short time initially functioning on the comet.

Philae found hints of organic molecules in the comet's atmosphere. Full Story: Philae Lander Sniffed Out Organics in Comet's Atmosphere PBS will also air a documentary called "To Catch a Comet" about the Rosetta mission tonight (Nov. 19) at 10 p.m. EST. Check local listings. Full Story: Rosetta Documentary Airing Tonight on PBS Scroll down to see the latest news, photos and videos about the Rosetta mission's comet landing below: Photos, Videos and Multimedia Mission managers working with Philae are hopeful that the lander will wake up again at some point as Comet 67P/C-G orbits the sun. Monday, Nov. 17 The Rosetta orbiter captured Philae bouncing around on Comet 67P/C-G's surface just after its first touchdown last week. See the amazing images here. Saturday, Nov. 15 The Philae lander has fallen silent after its historic comet landing on Nov. 12. Scientists are still hoping that the probe will wake up again once the sunlight conditions near the lander change as the comet goes around the sun. Friday, Nov.

14 Philae Spacecraft to Drill into Comet As Battery Life Dwindles Scientists are hoping that Philae's battery is still functioning on the comet as the probe drills into the surface of the icy body for the first time. Officials are also considering moving the probe to get it into a position with more sunlight. European Probe Survived Comet Landing with Luck and Great Design The European Space Agency's epic comet landing by the Philae probe and its Rosetta orbiter is an epic feat of human achievement. But it came perilously close to failure when a vital anchor harpoon system failed. See how it beat the odds with luck and design. An in-depth look at how ESA's Philae probe landed on its comet, despite the failure of anchor harpoons designed to make it happen. Thursday, Nov. 13 Comet-chasing probe wakes up, calls home - CNN.com Comet-chasing probe wakes up, calls home By Michael Pearson and Matt Smith, CNN Updated 11:20 AM ET, Wed January 22, 2014 Chat with us in Facebook Messenger. Find out what's happening in the world as it unfolds. Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser Philae has been found!

– The Rosetta spacecraft's high-resolution camera took this image of the Philae lander on September 2, 2016. The lander is wedged into a dark crack on a comet, named 67P/Churyumov--Gerasimenko, hurtling through space. The discovery comes less than a month before the Rosetta mission's end. Hide Caption 1 of 39 Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser Philae is wedged in a dark corner of Rosetta – "We are so happy to have finally imaged Philae, and to see it in such amazing detail," says Cecilia Tubiana of the OSIRIS camera team. She was the first person to see the images when they were downlinked from the Rosetta probe, according to the European Space Agency. Hide Caption 2 of 39 Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser Philae found using images from Rosetta – The image is detailed enough that viewers can pick out features of Philae's 3-foot-wide (1 meter) body. Even two of its three legs can be seen.

Hide Caption 3 of 39 Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser One of the primary objectives of the Rosetta mission was to drop the Philae lander onto the comet. The probe was successfully deployed in November 2014, becoming the first probe to land on a comet. But Philae failed to grab onto the comet and bounced around. It fell silent a few days later. Then on June 13, 2015, Philae came out of hibernation and "spoke" to mission managers at the European Space Agency for 85 seconds. This photo above was taken by the lander's mothership, the Rosetta orbiter, after the lander started its descent to the comet. Hide Caption 4 of 39 Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser The Rosetta spacecraft captured this image of a jet of white debris spraying from Comet 67P/Churyumov--Gerasimenko on July 29, 2015. Mission scientists said this was the brightest jet seen to date in the mission. The debris is mostly of ice coated with dark organic material.

Hide Caption 5 of 39 Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser This image of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko was taken by Rosetta on July 8, 2015 as the spacecraft and comet headed toward their closest approach to the sun. Rosetta was about 125 miles (201 kilometers) from the comet when it took this image. Hide Caption 6 of 39 Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser Philae wakes up! Mission managers posted this cartoon of the lander yawning after it came out of hibernation on June 13, 2015. They also sent a series of tweets between the lander and its mothership, Rosetta. Hide Caption 7 of 39 Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko is a Jupiter-family comet. Its 6.5 year journey around the Sun takes it from just beyond the orbit of Jupiter at its most distant, to between the orbits of Earth and Mars at its closest.

The comet hails from the Kuiper Belt, but gravitational perturbations knocked it towards the Sun where interactions with Jupiter's gravity set it on its present-day orbit. Hide Caption 8 of 39 Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser This image of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko was taken by Rosetta on June 5, 2015, while the spacecraft was about 129 miles (208 kilometers) from the comet's center. Hide Caption Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser Rosetta's navigation camera took this image of the comet on June 1, 2015. Hide Caption 10 of 39 Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser The Rosetta Mission is tracking Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko on its orbit around the sun. This image was taken on May 3, 2015 at a distance of about 84 miles (135 km) from the comet's center.

Hide Caption Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser This image of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko was taken on April 15, 2015. Hide Caption 12 of 39 Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser Rosetta snapped this wide-angle view of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in September 2014. Rosetta was about 107 million miles (172 million kilometers) from Earth and about 92 million miles (148 million kilometers) from the sun when the photo was released. Hide Caption 13 of 39 Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser A camera on Rosetta took this picture of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko on November 22, 2014, from a distance of about 19 miles (31 kilometers). The nucleus is deliberately overexposed to reveal jets of material spewing from the comet. The 2.5-mile-wide (4-kilometer) comet has shown a big increase in the amount of water its releasing, according to NASA.

The space agency says about 40 ounces (1.2 liters) of water was being sprayed into space every second at the end of August 2014. Hide Caption 14 of 39 Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser Rosetta took this picture of a section of the comet's two lobes from a distance of about 5 miles (8 kilometers) on October 14, 2014. Hide Caption 15 of 39 Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser The Rosetta spacecraft's Philae lander is shown sitting on Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko after becoming the first space probe to land on a comet on November 12, 2014. The probe's harpoons failed to fire, and Philae bounced a few times. The lander was able to send back images and data for 57 hours before losing power. Hide Caption 16 of 39 Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser Rosetta's lander, Philae, wasn't able to get a good grip on the comet after it touched down. This mosaic shows Philae's movements as it bounced across the comet.

Hide Caption 17 of 39 Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser Philae snapped these images after landing, and mission scientists used them to create a panoramic view of the landing site. A graphic shows where the probe would be sitting in the photograph. Hide Caption 18 of 39 Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser The image of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko was taken by a camera on the Philae lander during its descent to the comet on November 12, 2014. The lander was about 1.9 miles (3 kilometers) from the surface at the time. Philae touched down on the comet about seven hours later. Hide Caption Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser Rosetta's OSIRIS camera captured this parting shot of the Philae lander after separation. Hide Caption 20 of 39 Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser Rosetta's lander Philae took this parting shot of its mother ship shortly after separation on November 12, 2014, as Philae headed for a landing on Comet 67P.

While Philae is the first probe to land on a comet , Rosetta is the first to rendezvous with a comet and follow it around the sun. Hide Caption 21 of 39 Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser This mosaic is made of four individual images taken about 20 miles (31.8 kilometers ) from the center of the comet on November 4, 2014. Hide Caption 22 of 39 Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser Rosetta took this image of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko on September 15, 2014. The box on the right shows where the lander was expected to touch down. Hide Caption 23 of 39 Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser The spacecraft sent this image as it approached the comet on August 6, 2014. From a distance of nearly 81 miles (130 kilometers), it reveals detail of the smooth region on the comet's "body" section.

Hide Caption 24 of 39 Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser This image, captured August 7, 2014, shows the diversity of surface structures on the comet's nucleus. Hide Caption 25 of 39 Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser The comet's "head" can be seen in the left of the frame as it casts a shadow over the "body" in this image released August 6, 2014. Hide Caption 26 of 39 Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser This image of the comet was taken on August 1, 2014, as Rosetta closed in its target. Hide Caption 27 of 39 Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser Rosetta's mission started on March 2, 2004, when it was launched on a European Ariane 5 rocket from Kourou, French Guiana. Hide Caption 28 of 39 Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser Rosetta is named after the Rosetta Stone, the black basalt that provided the key to deciphering Egyptian hieroglyphs.

Scientists think the mission will give them new clues about the origins of the solar system and life on Earth. The mission is spearheaded by the European Space Agency with key support from NASA. Hide Caption 29 of 39 Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser This photo shows Rosetta being tested before it was wrapped in insulating blankets and loaded on a rocket for launch. Hide Caption 30 of 39 Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser Rosetta has massive solar wings to power the spacecraft. They were unfurled and checked out at the European Space Agency's test facilities before being packed up for liftoff. Hide Caption 31 of 39 Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser After its closest approach to Earth in November 2007, Rosetta captured this image of the planet. Hide Caption 32 of 39 Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser Rosetta snapped this image of Earth in November 2009. The spacecraft was 393,328 miles from Earth.

Hide Caption 33 of 39 Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser Rosetta passed asteroid Steins in September 2008, giving scientists amazing close-ups of the asteroid's huge crater. The asteroid is about 3 miles in diameter. Hide Caption Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser Rosetta took this image of Mars as it looped through the solar system. Hide Caption 35 of 39 Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser This image was taken by an instrument on Rosetta's Philae lander just minutes before the spacecraft made its closest approach to Mars. Part of Rosetta and its solar arrays are visible. Hide Caption 36 of 39 Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser On July 10, 2010, Rosetta flew about 1,864 miles from asteroid Lutetia, which is 10 times larger than asteroid Steins. Hide Caption 37 of 39 Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser Look closely at the top of this picture. See that dot? That's Saturn. Rosetta snapped the picture of asteroid Lutetia and captured Saturn in the background.

Hide Caption 38 of 39 Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser After taking pictures of Earth, Mars and asteroids, Rosetta was put into hibernation in May 2011 after it reached the outer part of the solar system. Mission managers woke it January 20, 2014. Hide Caption Historic Comet Landing Site Has a New Name: Agilkia Historic Comet Landing Site Has a New Name: Agilkia Miriam Kramer Pin it Share This image shows the Philae lander's possible future landing site, called "Agilkia," on Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Image taken on Oct. 30, 2014. More A probe chasing a comet is about to make a daring attempt to land on its deep-space target, and now, the robot's landing site officially has a name. The Rosetta mission 's Philae lander is expected to make its home on Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko at a site now called "Agilkia," European Space Agency officials announced today (Nov. 4).

The new name was chosen from 8,000 entries after space agency officials issued a request to the public for suggestions. The name Agilkia was suggested by more than 150 people as part of the competition. (Until today, the landing site was unofficially called " Site J .") The new name comes from an island on the Nile River in Egypt. The name fits with the other monikers given to different parts of the comet-chasing mission. The Philae lander is named for an obelisk discovered on Philae Island in the Nile, while Rosetta — the spacecraft that has carried Philae into deep space — is named after the Rosetta Stone , an ancient Egyptian tablet that helped modern archaeologists translate hieroglyphics. Some of the artifacts found on Philae Island were actually relocated to Agilkia Island to protect them. [ See photos from the Rosetta mission ] "The decision was very tough," the DLR German Aerospace Center's Felix Huber, chairman of the Philae Lander Steering Committee, said in a statement. "We received so many good suggestions on how to name Site J, and we were delighted with such an enthusiastic response from all over the world.

We wish to thank all participants for sharing their great ideas with us." The goal of the $1.6 billion (1.3 billion euros) Rosetta mission is to learn more about the science of comets. Scientists are also interested in researching what comets might reveal about the way life evolved in the solar system. Officials chose the landing site because it has some smooth terrain, and could be the safest area to set down the probe. While many people suggested Agilkia as the landing site name, ESA officials chose Alexandre Brouste of France as the winner of the competition. Brouste will get to watch the live landing event, expected to take place on Nov. 12, from ESA's Space Operations Control Centre in Darmstadt, Germany. "In eight days' time, Philae will be deployed from the orbiter onto Agilkia," Fred Jansen, ESA Rosetta mission manager, said in the same statement . "On 12 November, we'll be attempting a unique comet landing, an even more ambitious endeavor to unlock secrets of our most remote origins." If the landing succeeds, it will be the first time humans have ever successfully soft-landed a probe on a comet.

Philae will use its instruments to study the comet from the surface while Rosetta studies it from the comet's orbit. Rosetta is set to release Philae down to the surface of Comet 67P/C-G on Nov. 12, when both spacecraft are orbiting the comet at about 14 miles (22.5 kilometers) from its core. The two probes were launched on a 4-billion-mile (6.4 billion kilometers) journey through space in March 2004.

Question: Name the probe launched from Rosetta which landed on the comet 67P/C-G in November 2014.
Answer: Philae