Rosetta and Philae, comet orbiter/lander robotic spacecraft, European Space Agency

European Space Agency

esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Rosetta

rosetta.esa.int

dlr.de/en/rosetta

Rosetta blog - blogs.esa.int/rosetta

facebook.com/RosettaMission

twitter.com/ESA_Rosetta

twitter.com/Philae2014

Rosetta on Wikipedia

Philae on Wikipedia

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Rosetta is a robotic spacecraft built and launched by the European Space Agency to perform a detailed study of comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko. It is part of the ESA Horizon 2000 cornerstone missions and is the first mission designed to both orbit and land on a comet.

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"Ambition", scy-fi short film, Tomek Baginski, 2014, Poland

https://youtu.be/P8xINIJe_rk

Rosetta's view of Lutetia, July 2010

Published on Jun 13, 2012

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This movie shows a sequence of images taken as ESA's Rosetta spacecraft flew past the main-belt asteroid (21) Lutetia, during the spacecraft's 10-year journey towards comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.

The flyby took place on 10 July 2010, when Rosetta flew past the asteroid at a distance of 3168.2 km and at a relative speed of 15 km/s. The first image shown in the sequence was taken nine and a half hours before closest approach, from a distance of 500 000 km to Lutetia; the last image was taken six minutes after closest approach, at 6300 km from the asteroid.

The OSIRIS camera on board Rosetta has surveyed the part of Lutetia that was visible during the flyby - about half of its entire surface, mostly coinciding with the asteroid's northern hemisphere. These unique, close-up images have allowed scientists to study the asteroid's surface morphology, composition and other properties in unprecedented detail.

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https://youtu.be/iEQuE5N3rwQ

Rosetta's twelve-year journey in space

Published on Oct 14, 2013

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This animation tracks Rosetta's journey through the Solar System, using gravity slingshots from Earth and Mars to reach its final destination: Comet 67P/Churyumov--Gerasimenko. Rosetta made three flybys of Earth, on 4 March 2005, 13 November 2007 and 13 November 2009, and one of Mars, on 25 February 2007. Rosetta has also visited two asteroids, taking extensive close-up images of 2867 Steins on 5 September 2008 and 21 Lutetia on 10 July 2010. Once the spacecraft is woken up from deep space hibernation on 20 January 2014, it will head for rendezvous with the comet in May. In November the Philae probe will be deployed to the comet surface. Rosetta will follow the comet to its closest distance to the Sun on 13 August 2015 and as it moves back towards the outer Solar System. The nominal mission end is December 2015.
Credits: ESA

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https://youtu.be/siu2sxQ4YWI

Rosetta with the comet lander 'Philae' / Mission Rosetta mit Kometenlander "Philae"

Published on Nov 26, 2013

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The comet lander 'Philae' has been flying through space since 2 March 2004, and is awaiting its arrival at comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in sleep mode. It will be landing on unknown territory: the exact landing site will only be decided upon by the scientists once the Rosetta spacecraft arrives at the comet, and with the help of the first camera images

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https://youtu.be/-KX5NxE4tUY

How ESA's ROSETTA Comet Probe Wakes Up in Deep Space

Published on Dec 11, 2013

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This computer animation shows how the European Space Agency's Rosetta spacecraft wakes up from deep space hibernation on 20 January 2014. The spacecraft is headed for a 2014 rendezvous with the Comet 67P/Churyumov--Gerasimenko.

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https://youtu.be/cHZg1y2g4Hs

Wake up!

Published on Jan 7, 2014

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At 10:00 UTC on 20 January 2014, ESA's comet-chasing Rosetta spacecraft will wake up from 31 months in deep space hibernation.

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https://youtu.be/fNBUep7mPdI

Rosetta's orbit around the comet

Published on Jan 10, 2014

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After a ten year journey through space, ESA's Rosetta spacecraft will reach comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in August 2014. After catching up with the comet Rosetta will slightly overtake and enter orbit from the 'front' of the comet as both the spacecraft and 67P/CG move along their orbits around the Sun. Rosetta will carry out a complex series of manoeuvres to reduce the separation between the spacecraft and comet from around 100 km to 25-30 km. From this close orbit, detailed mapping will allow scientists to determine the landing site for the mission's Philae lander. Immediately prior to the deployment of Philae in November, Rosetta will come to within just 2.5 km of the comet's nucleus.
This animation is not to scale; Rosetta's solar arrays span 32 m, and the comet is approximately 4 km wide.

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https://youtu.be/5b7u6stKgfs

CHASING A COMET - The Rosetta Mission

Published on Jan 15, 2014

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"It's the first time we do anything like that. The environment is totally unknown." (Andrea Accomazzo, Spacecraft Operations Manager)

Among the most fascinating projects in the exploration of the Universe is the European Space Agency's Rosetta mission, launched in 2004 to investigate the comet 67P/Churyumov--Gerasimenko. For the first time, a spacecraft will follow a comet as it approaches the Sun and land on its nucleus.

This highlight of the mission will take place in November 2014, when the small, autonomous daughter craft, Philae, lands on the comet itself. Philae was designed and built by an international consortium led by the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum f?r Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR). DLR also runs the lander control centre which is preparing for and overseeing the difficult task of landing on the comet, a feat never before accomplished.

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https://youtu.be/YJkuY4hDNns

Rosetta orbiting the comet

Published on Jan 20, 2014

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Animation showing Rosetta orbiting comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko and scanning its surface to make scientific measurements. The colours of the beams and their shape on the surface represent two different instruments imaging and analysing the comet.

The Rosetta orbiter has a total of 11 instruments to study the characteristics and environment of the comet. Rosetta will take images of the comet at a variety of different wavelengths, will make measurements of its gravity, mass, density, internal structure, shape, and rotation, and will assess the properties its gaseous, dust-laden atmosphere, or coma. It will also probe the surrounding plasma environment and analyse how it interacts with the solar wind.

Rosetta also carries a small lander, Philae, which will descend to the surface of the comet and make in situ measurements using its suite of 10 instruments.

The animation is not to scale; comet 67P/CG is approximately 4 km wide and Rosetta is 32 m across including its solar arrays. It will conduct its scientific investigations at a range of altitudes.

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https://youtu.be/ppk8dTMNazY

Rosetta 'phones in'

Published on Jan 21, 2014

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It is 19:18 CET on 20 January 2014. The palpable tension both in the control centre and the media briefing room at the European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) in Darmstadt turned into joy and excitement as the long-awaited spike made its appearance on the spectrum analyser on screen -- the Rosetta spacecraft had just 'phoned in'. It is awake and ready to continue its mission to comet 67P.

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