Tag: Philae
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‘Farewell, Rosetta’: Europe’s mission to a comet ends with a bittersweet bang
The Rosetta probe inspired a series of kid-friendly cartoons. (Credit: ESA) The European Space Agency’s Rosetta probe today descended to a mission-ending impact on the comet that it followed for more than two years. The car-sized probe continued to transmit data as it dove toward the surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, 446 million miles from Earth. When the…
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Philae found at last! Rosetta probe spots lost lander stuck in a comet’s crack
An extreme close-up of the Philae lander shows components of the 3-foot-wide spacecraft from a distance of 1.7 miles. (Credit: ESA / Rosetta / MPS for OSIRIS Team / UPD / LAM / IAA / SSO / INTA / UPM / DASP / IDA) After almost two years’ of searching, the European Space Agency’s Rosetta…
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Lost Philae lander found on comet
Rosetta’s lander Philae has been identified in OSIRIS narrow-angle camera images taken on Sept. 2, 2016 from a distance of 1.7 miles (2.7 kilometers). The image scale is about 2 inches (5 centimeters) per pixel. Philae’s 3-foot-wide (1-meter) body and two of its three legs can be seen extended from the body. The images also…
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Pow! Rosetta probe spots comet eruption
The OSIRIS wide-angle camera on the European Space Agency’s Rosetta probe captured this view of an outburst from the Atum region on Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko on Feb. 19. (Credit: ESA / Rosetta / MPS for OSIRIS Team, MPS / UPD / LAM / IAA / SSO / INTA / UPM / DASP / IDA) The scientists…
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Rosetta and Philae officially say goodbye as mission draws to conclusion
The communication link between the Rosetta spacecraft and the Philae lander was turned off on Wednesday, marking a bittersweet milestone in the final days of the mission to Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Although there hasn’t been any communication from Philae for a year, Wednesday’s event officially closed the chapter on a mission that will conclude with Rosetta…
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Dizzying final few months planned for Rosetta comet probe
Rosetta’s OSIRIS camera took this image of comet 67P on Jan. 23 at a distance of 75 kilometers (46 miles). Credit: ESA/Rosetta/MPS for OSIRIS Team MPS/UPD/LAM/IAA/SSO/INTA/UPM/DASP/IDA Entering the final months of a 12-year mission, Europe’s Rosetta spacecraft is again moving closer to the oddball comet that has engaged scientists since it arrived in 2014, heading…
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ESA plans for Rosetta’s grand finale on comet 67P
Artist’s concept of the Rosetta spacecraft with a real image of comet 67P in the background. Credit: ESA/ATG medialab/Rosetta/NAVCAM European Space Agency flight controllers are plotting to send the Rosetta spacecraft on a controlled descent to the surface of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko next year to join the Philae landing probe, which made a bouncy touchdown on…
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Rosetta gets ringside seat to smelly comet outburst
A short-lived outburst from Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko was captured by Rosetta’s OSIRIS narrow-angle camera on July 29. Each image was taken 18 minutes apart, showing no activity, a sudden eruption, and then a faint trace of the jet. Rosetta was flying 186 kilometers (115 miles) from the comet at the time of the outburst. Credit: ESA/Rosetta/MPS…
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New contact with intractable comet lander
Artist’s concept of the Philae lander. Credit: DLR Europe’s Rosetta comet probe re-established momentary contact with the Philae lander late Thursday, renewing hopes of starting up the craft’s research instruments after two weeks of radio silence dampened the moods of scientists. Thursday’s contact, which lasted 12 minutes before failing, was the first time ground controllers…
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For comet scientists, elation and redemption at Philae’s wakeup
Artist’s concept of Philae. Credit: ESA Research teams across Europe spent the last half-year meticulously going through a wish list of experiments for the Philae comet lander without knowing whether they would ever get a chance to execute the tasks. With Philae now awake after a seven-month slumber, scientists are eager to turn on the…