Tomorrow, one way or another, the ESA’s Rosetta mission is coming to an end. In a final maneuver, the craft will attempt to land on the surface of the comet, following in the footsteps of the Philae lander, though hopefully with more success. The video shows the final orbit plan, and really highlights how amazing mission scientists are to be able to plan a landing site when the comet is rotating so quickly, relative to the craft’s motion. You can follow the link to watch the live broadcast of the event here. The mission will end around 7:20am EST tomorrow,...
I remember being so happy back in mid-2015 when I heard that ESA made contact with the Philae lander. The little lander that could was thought to be lost to the cold of space, not receiving enough sunlight to power itself. But when the comet approached the Sun, the sunlight became intense enough to wake it back up and allow it to move some of the data it captured. But now, as the comet 67P has moved further from the Sun in its orbit, the likelihood that Philae will ever communicate again is slim. When the landing originally happened, the little...
Rosetta captured comet 67P in all its glory this past week, as it reached perihelion, its closest approach to the Sun. This marks the point where the comet feels the most solar energy, resulting in streams of gas and dust shooting from the nucleus. Rosetta captured a series of images to show the brilliance of the comet. It’s been just over a year since Rosetta first injected itself into orbit around 67P on August 6th, 2014, and it has been hitching a ride around the Sun with the comet ever since, collecting amazing science data and observing the comet through its...
A few weeks back, the Philae lander woke up and began transmitting the coveted science data it had been holding on to for the better part of 2015, waiting for the Sun to shine bright enough to wake it from its deep slumber. As soon as it was able, it transmitted data back to the Rosetta orbiter, which then sent it on its long journey back home to Earth. Now that a few weeks have passed, we can finally see what the first science from the surface of 67P looks like, and determine its true fate. We can clearly see a...
I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase ‘extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.’ Such is the case with the search for life. Any scientist who finds direct evidence for the existence of extraterrestrial life had better be sure. And then once they are sure they had better find too much evidence because people will still not believe them. It’s because alien life would be such a monumental, paradigm-shifting discovery, and our entire way of life and system of beliefs would be compromised. For this reason, I simply shake my head every time I see some sensationalized news article about the ‘potential for...
When the Rosetta spacecraft entered orbit around comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, first images captured deep circular depressions among the other surface features. Now that the orbiter has taken significant observations of the comet’s surface, the science team has concluded that these depressions are actually sinkholes that form by the same processes that form sinkholes 500 Million kilometers away here on Earth. Sinkholes on Earth form when subsurface material is eroded away. Though not initially visible on the surface, the material falls deep underground leaving a circular cavern. Once enough material has eroded away, the top of the cavern collapses, leaving a large...
The Rosetta orbiter lies in a vast empty space, inhabited only by its orbital companion – a 4 Km wide ball of ice and dust, spitting out gases and other material as it is warmed by the Sun’s rays. It’s next mission milestone comes on August 13th, 2015, when the duo reaches perihelion, the closest point to the Sun in their orbit. It will be the first time a spacecraft has the opportunity to study the outgassing and behaviour of a comet as it orbits close to the Sun. So far the comet 67P/ Churyumov-Gerasimenko has been slowly increasing in...
Since it’s landing made international headlines back in November as it landed on Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, the Philae lander has been in hibernation mode, not able to generate enough power to operate due to a lack of direct sunlight on its solar panels. But after 7 months, as the comet has come closer to the Sun, the increasing solar intensity has given it the boost it needed to wake up! “Philae is doing very well: It has an operating temperature of -35ºC and has 24 Watts available,” explains DLR Philae Project Manager Dr. Stephan Ulamec. “The lander is ready for operations.” The...
The Rosetta orbiter, currently studying comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko as it orbits the Sun, has been watching how the comet has changed as it moves toward its perihelion (point of closest approach to the Sun) in August of 2015. As the comet heats up from the increasing intensity of the Sun’s rays, it releases surface gases and dust into what eventually becomes the atmosphere-like coma surrounding the comet. As the comet moves the material produces the visible tail that we usually associate with a comet. With 67P specifically, Rosetta has recently made a surprising discovery: That the water and carbon dioxide streaming...
As the Rosetta spacecraft remains in orbit around the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, the comet is slowly drifting toward its closest approach to the Sun, known as perihelion. As the comet moves closer to the Sun, intense sunlight liberates gases and dust in streams of material that form clearly visible streaks. The orbiter is able to sample some of the material liberated from the comet, and for the first time it has seen the tell-tale signature of Molecular Nitrogen. Nitrogen is abundant on Earth as a gas, constituting the majority of our atmosphere. It is also present in the atmospheres of Pluto and Neptune’s...
