# Wake up, Rosetta!



## Peter1986C (Jan 20, 2014)

*


			
				ESA said:
			
		


			Watch our live transmissions
		
Click to expand...

*


			
				ESA said:
			
		

> *Monday, 20 Jan 2014 - 10:15 CET: ROSETTA WAKE-UP *
> 
> 
> On Monday 20 January, ESA’s comet-chasing spacecraft Rosetta will wake up from 31 months of deep space slumber. ESA will streaming live from ESOC, Darmstadt, Germany, with full coverage of the day’s historic events as they unfold, starting at 09:15 GMT (10:15 CET)
> ...



http://www.esa.int/spaceinvideos/esalive


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## RCoon (Jan 20, 2014)

Chevalr1c said:


> *Monday, 20 Jan 2014 - 10:15 CET: ROSETTA WAKE-UP *
> 
> 
> On Monday 20 January, ESA’s comet-chasing spacecraft Rosetta will wake up from 31 months of deep space slumber. ESA will streaming live from ESOC, Darmstadt, Germany, with full coverage of the day’s historic events as they unfold, starting at 09:15 GMT (10:15 CET)
> ...


 
http://www.esa.int/spaceinvideos/esalive[/quote]

Read this this morning! Seems like a pretty cool idea. I hope it doesn't get obliterated by the sun this time around


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## Peter1986C (Jan 20, 2014)

The quoting in the OP seems f'ed up, sorry for that.


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## Drone (Jan 20, 2014)




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## micropage7 (Jan 20, 2014)

Drone said:


>


its like you have interest about space, dont you


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## Drone (Jan 20, 2014)

micropage7 said:


> its like you have interest about space, dont you


Of course I do. Here's Rosetta's infographic


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## RCoon (Jan 20, 2014)

Drone said:


> Of course I do. Here's Rosetta's infographic


 
Will they be bringing back pieces of comet then after this landing?


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## Drone (Jan 20, 2014)

RCoon said:


> Will they be bringing back pieces of comet then after this landing?


Nope, Rosetta's lander will stay there and together with Comet 67P in October 2015 they will start their journey to the Sun


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## the54thvoid (Jan 20, 2014)

I think it samples it in situ?  Too difficult to relaunch from comet for such a small lander.

Dang! Ninja'd


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## Nosada (Jan 20, 2014)

I was, as a european, honestly quite jealous of the last Mars Rover landing NASA concocted. Using a supersonic parachute and rocket-crane to lower a small car onto a distant planet is pretty much one of the coolest things I'd ever heard.

Slingshotting yourself through the solar system and landing on a freaking meteor has rekindled my love for the ESA though


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## RCoon (Jan 20, 2014)

Nosada said:


> Slingshotting yourself through the solar system and landing on a freaking meteor has rekindled my love for the ESA though



That's how we do it on Kerbal Space Program!


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## Drone (Jan 20, 2014)

Data monitors from Rosetta showing the signal received back on Earth from the spacecraft. It's awake!


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## Peter1986C (Jan 23, 2014)

This is cool: a "3D" map of our solar system and Rosetta's journey since 2004 - 2016: https://util1.estec.esa.int/rosetta/where_is_rosetta/


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## Peter1986C (Feb 10, 2014)

Max Planck Institute said:
			
		

> *How Philae warms up for the big game*
> 
> _10. February, 2014_
> 
> ...



Full article at: http://www.mps.mpg.de/3086295/Philae_Blog1


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## Drone (Mar 27, 2014)

The Rosetta spacecraft saw its destination


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## Peter1986C (Mar 29, 2014)

Five milion km to go, "almost there" in space terms.


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## Drone (Apr 16, 2014)

First selfie (crappy quality though)






Rosetta’s solar panels as seen by Philae’s CIVA imaging system on April 14, 2014


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## Drone (May 15, 2014)

Between March 27th and May 4th, Rosetta approached comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko from a distance of around 5 million to 2 million km. This sequence of images shows the comet’s movement against the background star field during this time. Rosetta (and the comet) are between 640 and 610 million km from the sun. The comet is seen to develop a dust coma as the sequence progresses, with clear activity already visible in late-April.







Source


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## Drone (Jun 5, 2014)




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## Drone (Jul 16, 2014)

http://earthsky.org/space/rosetta-spacecrafts-comet-has-a-double-nucleus


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## Peter1986C (Jul 31, 2014)

SIX DAYS TO ARRIVAL! https://twitter.com/ESA_Rosetta/status/494767783507681281


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## Drone (Jul 31, 2014)

New pic (it's actually recognizable)


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## Peter1986C (Aug 1, 2014)

That comet looks like ginger or a truffle.


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## Drone (Aug 1, 2014)

Lol yeah not enough mass to make a spherical shape


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## rtwjunkie (Aug 1, 2014)

This is awesome stuff!! 5 days to go.


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## Drone (Aug 1, 2014)

Rosetta measures comet's temperature

The first temperature measurements of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko were made when Rosetta closed in from 14000 km to the comet to just over 5000 km. The observations were made by the spacecraft's visible, infrared and thermal imaging spectrometer, VIRTIS, and revealed an average surface temperature of *-70ºC*. This implies the surface is predominantly covered in dust rather than ice, which would yield a lower temperature. The finding does not exclude localised patches of ice. The observations were made when the comet was ~553.5 million km from the Sun.


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## FreedomEclipse (Aug 1, 2014)

I once dated an italian chick called Rosetta....


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## Drone (Aug 2, 2014)

Closing in:






Rosetta closed in from 3000 km to the comet to just *1327 km*.


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## Drone (Aug 4, 2014)

BEHOLD!!!! *500 KM
*


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## Drone (Aug 4, 2014)

Update!!! *300 KM  *(different angle)


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## Drone (Aug 5, 2014)

234 KM


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## BiggieShady (Aug 5, 2014)

This is so awesome  can't wait for the landing!


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## Drone (Aug 6, 2014)

Ok, this is it. It's there!

http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Rosetta/Rosetta_arrives_at_comet_destination


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## rtwjunkie (Aug 6, 2014)

Damn that's cool!!!  what's going to be interesting over the next year is as the comet approaches sun and the tail starts activating, and Rosetta is in the plume.


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## Ahhzz (Aug 6, 2014)

Anyone think that looks like a Firefly class transport?   

Mal!!!!!!!


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## Drone (Aug 6, 2014)

rtwjunkie said:


> Damn that's cool!!!  what's going to be interesting over the next year is as the comet approaches sun and the tail starts activating, and Rosetta is in the plume.




And in 2016 they send another probe to *Bennu* asteroid (which is even more exciting). It'll get there before 2019. But this time it's not one way trip. The probe will return to Earth with samples!

Back on topic: new closeup pics of the surface











and diagram


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## Drone (Aug 7, 2014)

different angle


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## Drone (Aug 8, 2014)

New image:








Offtopic:

In the meanwhile New Horizons spacecraft took pictures of Pluto and Charon orbiting each other 








Pluto and Charon are seen circling a central gravitational point known as the barycenter, which accounts for the wobbling motion. Since Charon is 1/12th the mass of Pluto the center of mass between the two actually lies a bit outside Pluto’s radius, making their little gravitational “dance” readily apparent.


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## Drone (Aug 11, 2014)

Today's shots


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## Drone (Aug 12, 2014)




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## Drone (Aug 14, 2014)

New 2D and 3D images


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## Drone (Aug 15, 2014)

New shots and video


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## Drone (Aug 18, 2014)

New image made by nav cam


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## Drone (Aug 27, 2014)

new close-up


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## Drone (Sep 1, 2014)

New


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## Drone (Sep 9, 2014)




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## Drone (Sep 10, 2014)

Impressive probe selfie


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## Drone (Sep 23, 2014)




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## Drone (Sep 24, 2014)

New hires image


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## HossHuge (Sep 29, 2014)

> The date has been fixed for Europe's daring attempt to land on a comet: Wednesday 12 November



http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-29380448


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## Drone (Oct 3, 2014)

New!! Jets are actually visible!!!


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## Drone (Oct 3, 2014)

And 3D videos


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## Peter1986C (Oct 3, 2014)

Drone said:


> New!! Jets are actually visible!!!



They already were in post 49 in this thread.


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## Drone (Oct 3, 2014)

Chevalr1c said:


> They already were in post 49 in this thread.


You're right! Now I see.


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## Drone (Oct 14, 2014)

New mosaic


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## Drone (Oct 15, 2014)

Trailer and Rosetta's blog


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## Drone (Oct 20, 2014)

Here's what's gonna happen soon XD


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## Drone (Nov 4, 2014)




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## HossHuge (Nov 6, 2014)

HossHuge said:


> http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-29380448



Just doing a bump for this post since the time is getting near. *Wednesday* *November 12* is the date they will land on the comet.


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## Drone (Nov 7, 2014)

19 miles away


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## stinger608 (Nov 12, 2014)

Well,
*Philae passes first go-no-go tests for comet landing!!!*

*https://www.sciencenews.org/blog/sc...-go-tests-comet-landing?mode=pick&context=145*

You can also watch the countdown live here:

http://www.space.com/17933-nasa-television-webcasts-live-space-tv.html

Pretty uneventful right now, but this will heat up as the countdown begins.


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## RCoon (Nov 12, 2014)

Top cold thruster appears to not be working. Apparently they're now entirely relying upon the harpoons for entry and the landing gear to absorb the fall.


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## erixx (Nov 12, 2014)

thanks all, this is greatness in motion!


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## Drone (Nov 12, 2014)

Ok, first landing photo


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## RCoon (Nov 12, 2014)

THEY DID IT! I SAW THEM CHEER AND HUG ON LIVE STREAM!


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## erixx (Nov 12, 2014)

Sorry yanks, this shit is ours! haha!


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## natr0n (Nov 12, 2014)

http://new.livestream.com/accounts/362/events/3544091


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## Drone (Nov 12, 2014)

http://new.livestream.com/esa/cometlanding
384k watching


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## Beertintedgoggles (Nov 12, 2014)

erixx said:


> View attachment 60320
> Sorry yanks, this shit is ours! haha!


 
We heard it smells bad anyway...  All joking aside, awesome job ESA!


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## CrAsHnBuRnXp (Nov 12, 2014)

I came here thinking that this was going to be like a wake up command similar to "OK Google" but for rosetta stone.


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## Drone (Nov 12, 2014)

New photo






Lol and of course, Philae photographed during its descent by Rosetta


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## D007 (Nov 12, 2014)

erixx said:


> View attachment 60320
> Sorry yanks, this shit is ours! haha!



Always someone who has to turn a moment of joy into something hateful..
Thanks for reminding me about why I hate people.

I'm not even going to watch it anymore.. You totally killed it for me..
and ignored so I don't ever have to see another ignorant word come out of your mouth.


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## Peter1986C (Nov 12, 2014)

FFS it was but a (crude) joke, referring to the US flag on the moon (and the _America! Fuck yeah!_ we read in that).


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## BUCK NASTY (Nov 12, 2014)

You guy's should know how sensitive us "Yanks" are.


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## Peter1986C (Nov 12, 2014)

Okay indeed "that" word was unnecessary but still...


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## erixx (Nov 12, 2014)

Crude? Pardon?
LOL FFS

Btw, it is a multi-side effort with ivans, yanks, tiroler, pizzeros and lots more of weird tribes


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## twilyth (Nov 12, 2014)

So the latest I've read says that the harpoons didn't deploy - meaning that they're not sure if Philae is now anchored to the comet or not.  Not being anchored would be a bit of a problem.

Anyway, here are some photos I found.  Didn't see them posted.

The comet from Rosetta






Comet from Philae lander


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## Drone (Nov 13, 2014)

^ It's not new and it's been posted. Whatever ....


New pictures


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## Beertintedgoggles (Nov 13, 2014)

Am I the only one that thinks this looks eerily similar to the Space Invaders game from the old school Atari system?


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## Drone (Nov 13, 2014)

New diagram and combination photo











LOl Philae weighs 100 kg on Earth but only *1 g* on the comet


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## twilyth (Nov 13, 2014)

Things aren't looking good for Philae.  It seems that when it first hit the comet, neither the harpoons nor the foot screws engaged.  So the probe bounce off the surface - probably a few hundred meters off the surface.  While in this position, the comet rotated under it so that when it finally settled back down, it was no longer in the optimal position.

This is important since the original site was chosen to give it the most sunlight for charging it's batteries.  In it's current position, it looks like it will only get about 1.5hrs of sun during each 12 hour rotation, which won't be enough.

Beyond that, since the probe isn't anchored, it may not be possible to drill into the comet without sending the probe back into orbit around it.

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-30034060


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## Beertintedgoggles (Nov 13, 2014)

I think that slide is either wrong or I can't find the official gravity numbers of the comet but what I've been seeing is that on the comet a = 10-3 m/s^2.  Compared to Earth, a=~10 m/s^2, which means its weight is equivalent to 10g.  Still a small number but a power of 10 off.


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## Drone (Nov 13, 2014)

New mosaic and part of panorama











Other raw images here


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## 64K (Nov 17, 2014)

High-res Rosetta pics catch little Philae lander bouncing across comet.







http://arstechnica.com/science/2014...h-little-philae-lander-bouncing-across-comet/


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## Ahhzz (Nov 17, 2014)

Oh my god, what a miserable spot to have landed in....


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## Peter1986C (Nov 17, 2014)

AFAIK Philae is still asleep.


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## Drone (Nov 18, 2014)

Slightly better quality with more "true" colors


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## Drone (Nov 25, 2014)

new 3d image and absolutely beautiful mosaic


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## Peter1986C (Nov 25, 2014)

I believe the upper half of the mosaic is not right...


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## Drone (Nov 27, 2014)

Those sexy jets ....


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## rtwjunkie (Nov 28, 2014)

I'm thinking for the first time that thing looks like a barbell weight. At some point, it's going to break into two pieces. I wonder what will happen to it as a comet then?

Just one of those mysteries of the universe, and now we have a front row seat!


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## Ahhzz (Nov 29, 2014)

Drone said:


> Those sexy jets ....


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## Drone (Dec 2, 2014)

first color image


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## Drone (Dec 3, 2014)




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## Drone (Dec 9, 2014)

New mosaics


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## Drone (Dec 16, 2014)

two new close-ups


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## rtwjunkie (Dec 16, 2014)

Simply amazing.  I'm still amazed after all this time.  Until this mission, I never imagined a comet would look so much like an asteroid....and with it's own impact craters too.


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## Drone (Dec 17, 2014)

Cliff


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## Drone (Dec 19, 2014)

new close-up


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## Drone (Jan 31, 2015)

new gif showing Philae's descent to the surface of 67P















Bonus: totally unrelated

Awesome New Radar Images and Video of Asteroid 2004 BL86


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## CAPSLOCKSTUCK (Jan 31, 2015)

Drone said:


> Awesome New Radar Images and Video of Asteroid 2004 BL86




In this instance the over used  word *Awesome* is entirely appropriate.


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## Drone (Jan 31, 2015)

Nice video. But Asteroids are more sexy than planes and Stars are hotter than fireworks


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## Drone (Feb 2, 2015)

new hi-res sexy stuff by ESA


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## Drone (Feb 2, 2015)

The surface .... It's changing!!! New images







It only makes sense. Sunlight heats a comet and causes ice to vaporize. This leads to changes in the appearance of surface features. For instance, the Sun’s heat can gnaw away at the ice on sunward-facing cliffs, hollowing them out and eventually causing them to collapse in icy rubble. Solar heating can also warm the ice that’s _beneath_ the surface.


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## Drone (Feb 10, 2015)

Best images ever taken of comet 67P


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## Drone (Feb 11, 2015)

new stuff











erosion diagram


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## CAPSLOCKSTUCK (Feb 11, 2015)

@Drone  what does the erosion data show ?


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## Drone (Feb 11, 2015)

CAPSLOCKSTUCK said:


> @Drone  what does the erosion data show ?



Nice question. It's got to do with *dust thickness*

<<According to recent model calculations, the southern half of 67P could lose a dust layer of up to 20 m during one orbit>>

Comet's surface is changing due to ultraviolet rays from the Sun. Ice thaws (sublimates to be exact), water molecules get ionized .. well usual procedure for all comets lol.  Surface gets "goosebumps" and all that stuff. Like in these diagrams:

















They said they published results in a special edition of the journal Science. Duh ... unfortunately I don't have that journal. Gotta find it sooner or later XD


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## Drone (Feb 15, 2015)

New


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## Drone (Feb 16, 2015)

Sharpest and closest images ever taken















And here's the most awesome pic

About *8.9 km* from the comet's surface


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## CAPSLOCKSTUCK (Mar 4, 2015)

*Rosetta's Shadow*

Rosetta has captured a selfie of its shadow on comet 67P in what is the highest-resolution image to be taken by the probe.

The image was taken during a Valentine's Day flyby when Rosetta passed within just four miles (6 km) from the surface of the icy comet.

As well as the craft's shadow, an 'alien' glow is seen reflected onto the comet, which scientists believe is caused by a trick of the light from the sun.
The glow causes the shadow to be fuzzy and somewhat larger than Rosetta itself, measuring approximately 65ft by 165 ft (20 by 50 metres).

If the sun were farther away, the shadow would be sharp and almost exactly the same size as Rosetta, which is around 2 x 32 metres.











and how







A brief recap on the story so far   



Esa's Rosetta spacecraft launched on 2 March 2004 aboard an Ariane 5 rocket, on a mission to visit comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.
It took more than ten years to reach the comet, and on the way it flew past Mars and two asteroids.
On 6 August 2014 it entered orbit around the comet, beginning a series of complex manoeuvres to get the best views possible.
On 12 November 2014 Rosetta successfully released a smaller vehicle it had carried called Philae. This small probe bounced twice on the surface before coming to rest.
Although Philae's landing did not go as planned, it was still able to complete more than 90 per cent of the science it was intended to do before its main batteries died, sending the probe to sleep.
The location of the lander is currently unknown. It is thought to be in partial shadow near a cliff but, as the comet approaches the sun, the additional light may charge its solar panels enough for the lander to wake up.
Rosetta, meanwhile, is continuing its mission around the comet. 67P is approaching the sun and, by August this year, it is thought its activity will have dramatically increased.
This will release much more ice, vapour and other materials from the surface - and Rosetta will be there to watch it all happen.


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## CAPSLOCKSTUCK (Mar 17, 2015)

Scientists try to make contact with missing space probe as it nears the sun - and hope to get a response

European Space Agency has begun attempting to contact the lost probe
Philae has been missing since November when it landed on Comet 67p
Scientists believe the lander bounced into a ditch in the shade of a cliff
But they say it may already be awake but not yet able to send messages
The probe needs 19 Watts of power from its solar panels to communicate
As the comet gets closer to the sun the lander may receive more sunlight
Scientists have sent commands to Philae for it to begin warming itself up
They will attempt to contact the lander with Rosetta over the next 8 days
Philae requires its internal temperature to reach at least -45 degrees C before it can wake up.
It will also require at least 5.5 watts from its solar panels to wake up.








Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencet...be-nears-sun-hope-response.html#ixzz3UdSAZHfS


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## CAPSLOCKSTUCK (Mar 21, 2015)

Rosetta Spacecraft Makes Nitrogen Discovery on Comet











A peculiar mix of molecular nitrogen on the comet target of Europe's Rosetta spacecraft may offer clues to the conditions that gave birth to the entire solar system.

Molecular nitrogen was one of the key ingredients of the young solar system. Its detection in Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko, which Rosetta is currently orbiting, suggests that the comet formed under low-temperature conditions (a requirement to keeping nitrogen as ice), according to officials with the European Space Agency.
Since nitrogen is also found in planets and moons in the outer solar system, Rosetta's discovery implies that 67P's family of comets formed in the same area, ESA said.






full article
http://www.space.com/28884-rosetta-comet-nitrogen-discovery.html?cmpid=559181


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## CAPSLOCKSTUCK (Jun 5, 2015)

Rosetta's kamikaze mission








The Rosetta probe may be sent crashing into comet 67P at the end of its lifetime next year.

The dramatic end to the mission would see the spacecraft sent lower and lower until it slammed into the surface, returning important science in its dying moments.
But there is also a possibility the spacecraft could land on the surface, returning unprecedented images and data about the comet

During this time, the spacecraft will observe the comet at its most active but, eventually, the mission will have to come to an end when Rosetta runs out of fuel and power.
This is expected to occur in September 2016. 

Currently, the mission will officially end in December this year, but scientists are hopeful of getting an extension. 
At the moment, the current plan at the end of the mission is to shut the spacecraft down, and leave it drifting in space.

But a proposal to crash Rosetta into the surface was apparently put to Esa by Rosetta project scientist Dr Matt Taylor, from the UK, this week. Speaking to Sen, he said that such a finale was appealing because of the science it could glean.

‘The proposal to put the probe on the comet’s surface provides us with unique, close comet observations that we could not have if we don’t do this,’ Dr Taylor said.
‘Also, I feel from a "personal" perspective, there is something rather fitting in putting Rosetta down on the surface, re-uniting it with Philae.'

The Philae lander is currently dormant on the surface after going into hibernation in November 2014, although repeated attempts are now being made to wake it up. It’s unknown at what speed the Rosetta spacecraft would impact, and what sort of science would be returned. However, the proposal is likely to be an appealing one.

Nasa recently performed a similar maneouvre with its Messenger spacecraft, which was sent slamming into the surface of Mercury on 30 April 2015. And on 4 July 2005, Nasa's Deep Impact spacecraft launched an impactor into the surface of the comet Tempel 1 and observed the results. The impact released an unexpectedly large and bright cloud of dust, and also left behind a noticeable crater on the surface. 

Dr Taylor said that while the orbiter wasn’t designed to land, there was a possibility it could touch down gently on the surface. This would allow it to study the surface in unprecedented detail, and return incredible up-close images to Earth. Communication with Earth would be difficult, though, as the antenna must be pointed towards our planet to make contact.

‘It’s not expected [to be possible], it’s a bumpy terrain,’ Dr Taylor said. ‘But then Rosetta tends to surprise us, so let’s see.’


Such a landing would not be unprecedented; on 12 February 2001, Nasa’s Near Shoemaker spacecraft touched down on the asteroid Eros. It was the first time a spacecraft had ever soft-landed on an asteroid, and the scientists at the time were surprised the craft could handle the landing. Near Shoemaker returned invaluable data about the composition of Eros, and perhaps Rosetta could return similar information about comet 67P.


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## CAPSLOCKSTUCK (Jun 14, 2015)

*Philae comet lander wakes up   *

*



*

The European Space Agency (Esa) says its comet lander, Philae, has woken up and contacted Earth.

Philae, the first spacecraft to land on a comet, was dropped on to the surface of Comet 67P by its mothership, Rosetta, last November.

It worked for 60 hours before its solar-powered battery ran flat.

The comet has since moved nearer to the Sun and Philae has enough power to work again, says the BBC's science correspondent Jonathan Amos.

An account linked to the probe tweeted the message, "Hello Earth! Can you hear me?"

On its blog, Esa said Philae had contacted Earth, via Rosetta, for 85 seconds on Saturday in the first contact since going into hibernation in November.

The ESA said on Thursday that it may have found the exact location of the comet from images and other data from the mothership, which was previously unknown.


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## CAPSLOCKSTUCK (Jul 17, 2015)

Philae radioed Rosetta for 12 minutes last Thursday evening, and was able to transmit data from one of its instruments, CONSERT, which is probing the internal structure of the comet, the DLR German Aerospace Centre said on Friday.

The team, which had not received communication from Philae since June 24, had attempted to turn on the CONSERT instrument on July 5 but were not sure if the command had been picked up.

'This sign of life from Philae proves to us that at least one of the lander's communication units remains operational and receives our commands,' said Koen Geurts, a member of the lander control team at the DLR in Cologne.

However, the team is still unsure as to why Philae managed to communicate on Thursday but not before, the statement said.

'The new information will help us understand why we're having these difficulties communicating with Philae,' Geurts said.

Recently the comet hit the headlines when it was claimed comet lander Philae may be sitting on an object teeming with alien microbial life, according to two leading astronomers. 

Thursday's eighth contact was the longest yet, with an uninterrupted stretch of 12 minutes, said the CNES, which allowed the downloading of critical data obtained from Philae's prodding and probing of its alien world.

'The link was by far the best yet, with very few interruptions,' said the statement.

'It bodes well for the future because such a good connection would allow the teams to take control of Philae and give it commands'—possibly to shift position or start its drill for a sub-surface examination.


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## CAPSLOCKSTUCK (Jul 20, 2015)

Philae has fallen 'silent' on the surface of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, concerned scientists have revealed.
Scientists say the robotic lander may have shifted its position, making it harder to communicate with the Rosetta probe.
The European Space Agency revealed it hasn't received data from the lander since July 9.
Philae's project manager, Stephan Ulamec, said the pattern of sunlight on the lander's solar panels appears to have changed, possibly due to a slight shift in position triggered by gas coming out of the comet.

One of Philae's two transmission units also appears to be faulty





In total, more than 70 per cent of the comet's surface has now been imaged and beamed back to earth





Philae will now join the comet as it makes its closest approach to the sun on 13 August 2015. After that, the comet will begin to move away back out into the solar system. It is expected that Philae will no longer have enough sunlight to continue working by about mid-October


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## Drone (Sep 24, 2015)

New image and water-ice cycle diagram


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## Drone (Sep 29, 2015)

I knew it! I knew it!

http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Rosetta/How_Rosetta_s_comet_got_its_shape

Two comets collided at low speed in the early Solar System to give rise to the distinctive ‘rubber duck’ shape of Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko, say Rosetta scientists.

The origin of the comet’s double-lobed form has been a key question since Rosetta first revealed its surprising shape in July 2014.

By using high-resolution images taken between 6 August 2014 and 17 March 2015 to study the layers of material seen all over the nucleus, they have shown that *the shape arose from a low-speed collision between two fully fledged, separately formed comets*.








Gravity field vectors of the 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko comet.


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## Drone (Oct 2, 2015)

First Peek at the Comet's 'Dark Side'


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## Drone (Oct 7, 2015)

*Magnetic field lines *

The “undisturbed” interplanetary magnetic field is visible on the left, the bow shock at the centre and the magnetic field draped around the comet on the right. The small blue sphere, with a radius of about 100 km, shows the size of the innermost coma, which contains the diamagnetic cavity, the ion and magnetic field pile-up regions.







The image was taken a few hours after the spacecraft had reached the farthest point 1488 km from the nucleus of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.


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## PopcornMachine (Oct 7, 2015)

Very cool stuff.  Thanks for all the updates.


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## Drone (Oct 16, 2015)

Philae's 1st Comet Touchdown










New 3D Image


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## CAPSLOCKSTUCK (Oct 16, 2015)

This stuff just gets better and better, its a great time to be alive and fascinated by whats upstairs.


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## Drone (Oct 23, 2015)

new image of Cherry-Gerry






Btw Rosetta also managed to take a picture of asteroid Lutetia






Looking face on at the North Pole Crater Cluster (purple outline) on asteroid Lutetia, with Massilia to the lower left (red outline). Marked on the image are the concentric grooves or 'lineaments' associated with the large craters. The lineaments colored blue infer the presence of a large crater Suspicio on the unseen portion of Lutetia. Yellow denotes lineaments not associated with any of the craters discussed in this study.


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## Drone (Oct 25, 2015)

Perihelion passage






















Cherry-Gerry evolution


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## Drone (Oct 28, 2015)

Rosetta's comet from Earth











CN (toxic gas) in the coma of a comet is thought to be produced when the toxic gas hydrogen cyanide (HCN) is dissociated by sunlight.






More interesting info here






10 minute spectrum of Comet 67P/C-G using the William Herschel Telescope


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## Drone (Oct 29, 2015)

Rosetta has detected oxygen molecules outgassing from a comet, a surprising observation that suggests they were incorporated into the comet during its formation.

Radiolysis of icy dust grains could have taken place prior to the comet’s accretion into a larger body. In this case, the O2 would remain trapped in the voids of the water ice on the grains while the hydrogen diffused out, preventing the reformation of O2 to water, and resulting in an increased and stable level of O2 in the solid ice.

Regardless of how it was made, the O2 was also somehow protected during the accretion stage of the comet: this must have happened gently to avoid the O2 being destroyed by further chemical reactions.


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## CAPSLOCKSTUCK (Oct 29, 2015)

67P'S UNIQUE WATER CYCLE 

The amount of water ice on the surface of comet comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko regularly changes.

Ice appears to accumulate when parts of the comet are in shadow before being vapourised when the surface comes into the sunlight.

The comet spins once every 12 hours, meaning different parts of its surface come into shade and sunlight regularly.




The animation above shows comet 67P coming into focus as the Rosetta space probe closed in (credit: ESA)

This results in changes in temperature on the surface that drive the movement of water from deep inside the comet towards the surface.

During the comet's 'night' this vapour freezes into ice only be be vapourised again when the sun rises on the surface once more. 

The researchers behind the study stay the daily cycle of ice formation and melting may be an important process on all comets in our solar system.


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## Drone (Oct 30, 2015)

A 200-m complex fracture system in the Aker region, on the comet large lobe.






These two images show two fractured boulders found in the Imhotep (left) and Atum (right) regions, respectively. Fracturing in the Imhotep boulder is so pervasive it has led to fragmentation of the 60 m-wide boulder.


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## Drone (Nov 3, 2015)

new image from some weird angle of view


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## CAPSLOCKSTUCK (Nov 5, 2015)

Rosetta probe to 'crash land' on comet at end of its mission.





The Rosetta probe (illustrated) may be sent crashing into comet 67P at the end of its lifetime next September. But it will not smash into the duck-shaped comet 67P in an uncontrolled way, but instead approach it slowly to send as much information back to Earth as possible in its dying moments



The spacecraft will make a softer touch down on 67P than its ill-fated Philae lander it will approach the comet slowly, beaming back as much information as possible to scientists on Earth in its dying moments.

Experts say the orbiter's final moments may ultimately provide more data and clearer pictures than were possible with the Philae lander.

The fate of the European Space Agency's (ESA) Rosetta has been discussed for over a year and is yet to be completely decided, with a possibility remaining that the spacecraft could land on the comet's surface to hibernate.

Rosetta project scientist Matt Taylor said: 'The crash landing gives us the best scientific end-of-mission that we can hope for.'

But such a destructive end will be emotional for scientists, some of whom have worked on the mission since it began in 2003, Nature.com reported. 

'There will be a lot of tears,' Taylor said.

He has previously told Space Exploration Network: 'I feel from a "personal" perspective, there is something rather fitting in putting Rosetta down on the surface, re-uniting it with Philae.'


The favoured plan for ending the mission is to crash the craft very slowly into the comet.

Rosetta has more powerful sensors on board than Philae, so a slow descent would mean it could gather more data and better pictures of the comet's surface.

Once it gets within two-and-a-half miles (4km) for example, it could distinguish between gases emerging from two lobes of the comet to shed light on how the rocky body varies in its composition.

Mission manager Patrick Martin said current plans would see Rosetta spiral down to five miles (8km) of 67P's surface in August – the closest it's come so far – before gradually getting closer as it orbits the comet and finally crashing gently a month later. 


Flight director Andrea Accomazzo has previously said that it would be ideal if Rosetta could land and hibernate on the comet, waiting to approach the sun in four or five years' time.

However, he said the cold of deep space would probably damage the craft in that time, and it wouldn't have enough fuel to function.

A crash landing would be more complicated than it seems.

In order to send images and data back to Earth, engineers would have to design the craft's final descent in a way that it crash lands on the comet's Earth-facing side.

Because 67P is an irregular shape, navigating close to its surface will be difficult too.

Spacecraft-operations manager Sylvain Lodiot said that once Rosetta has crashed on the comet – no matter how soft the landing – there will be no way to point its antenna towards Earth and for scientists to communicate with it, or for it to angle its solar array to harvest power from the sun's rays.

'Once we touch, hit or crash, whatever you want to call it, it's game over,' he said.








Nasa recently performed a similar manoeuvre with its Messenger spacecraft, which was sent crashing into the surface of Mercury on 30 April 2015.

And on 4 July 2005, Nasa's Deep Impact spacecraft launched an impactor into the surface of the comet Tempel 1 and observed the results.








Impacting the surface would not be unprecedented. On 30 April 2015, Nasa sent the Messenger spacecraft (illustrated left) slamming into the surface of Mercury. Previously, on 12 February 2001, Nasa’s Near Shoemaker spacecraft (illustrated right) touched down on the comet Eros


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## Drone (Nov 5, 2015)

/offtopic



CAPSLOCKSTUCK said:


> Impacting the surface would not be unprecedented. On 30 April 2015, Nasa sent the Messenger spacecraft (illustrated left) slamming into the surface of Mercury. Previously, on 12 February 2001, Nasa’s Near Shoemaker spacecraft (illustrated right) touched down on the comet Eros



And of course LCROSS Lunar Impact


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## CAPSLOCKSTUCK (Nov 5, 2015)

Drone said:


> /offtopic
> 
> 
> 
> And of course LCROSS Lunar Impact




Epic, what a shot, just above The Abominable Snowmans' head.
Thats where hes been hiding.


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## Drone (Nov 10, 2015)

The study of comet 67P/C-G reveals a dramatic surface environment where considerable amounts of material – *up to 1000 kg per second* – are ejected from the comet. Not all of this makes it into space, instead some falls back to coat the nucleus.

Small, solid particles – typically with sizes ranging from micrometers to tens of centimeters – are ejected when icy material sublimes. The smallest of these expelled dust grains – mm-sized or smaller – obtain sufficient velocity to escape the influence of the comet and become part of the *comet's tail, which can stretch for millions of kilometers through space*.

But some of the larger particles (cm-sized or greater) fall back, meaning that *particles from one part of the comet can descend to the surface on another part* of the comet's double-lobed nucleus. _This ‘*airfall*’ creates smooth plains that can be as much as a few meters thick_.















Ripples in the Hapi (neck) region are attributed to a phenomenon known as *airfall*.


There are also *boulders* scattered across the dramatic landscape. Scientists have identified 3546 boulders larger than 7 m in size.






Large, fractured boulders in the Imhotep region, surrounded by material that appears to have split from the boulders.


_Boulders are not uniformly distributed across the comet_. On the smaller lobe, often dubbed the head, there are more smaller boulders than on the larger lobe, called the body. In particular, the _size distributions are related to how fractured the formation area is_. *Thermal stress causes fractures on the surface*, which can dislodge blocks - forming new boulders - and there is also a continuous fragmentation of boulders that have already been formed. By examining the frequency with which boulders > 7 m are found on the head, the neck and the body of the comet, the team shows that the *head is more fractured than the body*: the size-distribution for the head is steeper than that of the body.


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## Drone (Nov 12, 2015)

The area surrounding Philae's first touchdown point, *Agilkia* (circled). The large depression is the* Hatmehit region*. _The dashed line marks the comet's equator_.


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## CAPSLOCKSTUCK (Nov 13, 2015)

*Researchers reconstruct the lander's flight across a comet in stunning new video a year after touchdown*



During the journey, Philae made three touchdowns and a collision, and scientists have constructed a numerical simulation of the lander after taking test data from a mock-up version, along with free-flight and bounce dynamics, according to a blog from the European Space Agency.  <<<<  VID in that link.










One year ago, Rosetta's Philae lander touched down upon a comet on a site now known as Agilkia. In the subsequent hours, the lander separated from its site and began a seven-hour descent, followed by a two-hour journey across the surface of the comet, bringing it to its new location, Abydos.

Images from the landing show precisely the location and position at which Philae touched down on the comet. The images coincide with surface measurements that detect when the Philae's three feet touched down.

These, among other calculations, have given scientists an accurate visualization of the lander's fate this past year. 'This animation and the data it relies upon is providing the basis of the still on-going discussion about Philae's fate on the comet,' said Philip Heinisch from TU Braunschweig.

After its first touchdown, Philae's stabilizing flywheel was turned off causing the lander to spin and collide with a crater. 'The lander then tumbled, but it was eventually able to pick itself back up onto its legs at its final resting location at Abydos

'The subsequent contact of the tumbling Philae with the surface and the second touchdown was the most critical one. 

The lander made contact with the surface and Philae left the comet again, controlled by the two legs to the left and to the right of the balcony and performed a final rotation, a backward roll, about the lander Y-axis,' says Hans-Ulrich Auster of TU Braunschweig.

Researchers also say all three legs are touching the ground. 

One thing is certain – at the final landing site, Philae has not ended up with one leg sticking up in the air. 

'The SESAME instrument, which has sensors fitted in all three of the lander's feet, allowed us to listen in on MUPUS attempting to hammer its penetrator into the comet – and we detected signals in each of the legs,' explains DLR planetary researcher Martin Knapmeyer.


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## Drone (Nov 22, 2015)

Approaching again, took this cool pic from 141.4km on 17 November


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## Drone (Jan 29, 2016)

Image of 67P/C-G obtained with the 2.5m Isaac Newton Telescope on La Palma






narrow-angle camera image taken on 23 January 2016, when Rosetta was 75.1 km from Comet 67P


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## Drone (Jan 31, 2016)

In this new NAVCAM view, Comet 67P small lobe and its distinctive Hatmehit depression face directly towards Rosetta







The relatively flat Aker surface can be identified to the right in this image, with Khepry to the top and Anhur towards the foreground. Sobek (center) marks the transition towards the small lobe (left) where distinctive fracture patterns are clearly seen in Wosret (far left).







The OSIRIS team also released a striking new view focusing on the Khonsu region this week, at the boundary with Atum and Anubis. A variety of fracture-like features and layers are clearly visible. For example, zooming in close to the center of the image reveals parallel sets of fracture lines that cross perpendicular to each other. On Earth and Mars this is often an indicator of ice that has contracted below the surface.






See more here


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## Drone (Feb 6, 2016)

There are no large caverns inside Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. ESA’s Rosetta mission has made measurements that clearly demonstrate this, solving a long-standing mystery.






Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko is a low-density highly porous object. This result is consistent with earlier results from Rosetta's CONSERT radar experiment showing that the double-lobed comet's 'head' is fairly homogenous on spatial scales of a few tens of meters.







_Comet 67P's mass is slightly < 10 billion tonnes_. Images from the OSIRIS camera have been used to develop models of the comet's shape and these give the _volume as ~ 18.7 km^3_, meaning that the _density is 533 kg*m^-3_.


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## CAPSLOCKSTUCK (Feb 13, 2016)

*Mission scientists have decided to give up trying to contact the comet lander Philae.


*





The German Aerospace Center (DLR), which led the consortium behind Philae, said the lander is probably now covered in dust and too cold to function.
"Unfortunately, the probability of Philae re-establishing contact with our team at the DLR Lander Control Center is almost zero, and we will no longer be sending any commands," said Stephan Ulamec, the lander's project manager at DLR.
On several occasions, attempts to contact Philae - via the Rosetta spacecraft, still orbiting Comet 67P - *did receive a response*.
But the last such contact was on July 9 2015 and the comet is now hurtling into the much colder part of its orbit, plunging to temperatures below -180C at which the lander was never designed to operate.
Ultra-low temperatures in the shade on Comet 67P have likely buckled and snapped some of Philae's components. While many of the lander's parts were designed for this harsh environment, there were certain electronics kept in a "warm box" that have now unquestionably been pushed beyond their "qualified" limits - including the onboard computer and the communications unit.
 Rosetta has imaged the little robot's presumed position before from inside a distance of 20km and seen nothing convincing. 

To go even closer, for better resolution images, takes the probe into a region where the lumpy gravitational field of the irregular-shaped comet becomes hard to navigate. And that is a risk controllers really don't need to take.
Rosetta and its ongoing science observations at 67P really are the priority. The very best of this science may be acquired in September when the spacecraft spirals down to try to make its own "landing" on the comet.


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## Drone (Feb 13, 2016)

New image:






And yeah Philae is a lost cause:

Initially, Philae was seen to rotate slowly during the descent to Agilkia. It landed and then bounced, rotating significantly faster as the momentum of the internal flywheel was transferred to the lander. It collided with a cliff 45 minutes later, then tumbled, flying above the surface for more than an hour longer, before bouncing once again and coming to a stop a few meters away, a few minutes later.
















See all technical details here










http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Rosetta/Rosetta_s_lander_faces_eternal_hibernation


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## Drone (Feb 25, 2016)

Nostalgic image of Rosetta at launch






New regional map of the comet


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## Vayra86 (Feb 25, 2016)

CAPSLOCKSTUCK said:


> Ultra-low temperatures in the shade on Comet 67P



Inb4 the first universal OC attempt in space. Seems like ideal conditions for a really beefy overclock


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## Drone (Feb 27, 2016)

Single frame enhanced NavCam image taken on 22 February 2016, when Rosetta was 32.5 km from the nucleus of Comet 67P. The scale is 2.8 m/pixel and the image measures 2.8 km across.

























Doh, it's unbelievable. That thing looks different, any slightest change in the angle of view makes it unrecognizable.


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## Drone (Mar 4, 2016)

Rosetta's COSIMA [Cometary Secondary Ion Mass Analyser] has detected *tens of thousands of dust grains* since arriving at Comet 67P.
The grains collected from 11 August 2014 - 3 April 2015 across nine 1 cm^2 targets, when the comet was moving towards the Sun along its orbit from ~ 3.5 - 2 AU.

Diversity of particles (lol who on Earth names dust particles anyway?!) seen on a small area:


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## Drone (Mar 7, 2016)

WOW!! New high-quality close-ups!


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## CAPSLOCKSTUCK (Mar 9, 2016)

A study published by an international team reveals the comet is as old as the solar system itself, as is the ice buried inside it.
This ice has now settled a longstanding debate over the nature of ice in comets, and has helped uncover secrets of when comets were first formed.







The data used to identify the ice was gathered by Rosetta's Rosina instrument – a mass spectrometer that measured the amounts of nitrogen, carbon monoxide and argon in the comet's ice.




http://rosetta.jpl.nasa.gov/news/rosina-tastes-comet’s-gases


The results were compared with data from labs that looked for amorphous ice, and models describing the composition of ice that can trap molecules of gas.
The ratios of molecular nitrogen and argon found in Churi correspond to those in the gas hydrate model, while the amount of argon detected in Churi is a hundred times smaller than the quantity that can be trapped in amorphous ice.

The ice in the comet, therefore, definitely has a crystalline structure.
Until now, there were two opposing hypotheses. One was that the ice is crystalline and the water molecules are arranged in a regular pattern, and the other that the ice is amorphous, with disordered molecules.
This question is important because of its implications for the origin and formation of comets and the solar system.
Gas hydrates are made of crystalline ice that formed in the protosolar nebula, which gave rise to the early solar system, from the crystallisation of grains of water ice and the adsorption of gas molecules onto their surfaces as the nebula slowly cooled.
The finding means scientists can now determine the age of comets. 


In particular, the crystalline structure means it was formed in the potosolar nebula, a cloud of dust that gathered before the solar system formed. 
This makes the ice as old as our solar system, around 4.6 billion years old.
The gas hydrates agglomerated by Churi must have formed between -228 °C and -223 °C to produce the observed abundances.
The discovery was made by an international team led by researchers at the centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS) and Marseille University.


The work has been published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.
If comets are made of crystalline ice, this means that they must have formed at the same time as the solar system, rather than earlier in the interstellar medium. 
The crystalline structure of comets also shows that the protosolar nebula was hot and dense enough to turn ice from the interstellar medium into gas.
This work also supports currently believed scenarios for the formation of the gas giant planets, as well as their moons, which require the agglomeration of crystalline ice.


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## Drone (Mar 9, 2016)

Aqua told me once that water in my cells is older than the Solar system and I just nervously squeezed her hand.











New images btw


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## Drone (Mar 15, 2016)

Family portrait (Rosetta Philae Giotto) from Mark Bentley's (planetary scientist) twitter


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## Drone (Mar 19, 2016)

As close as it get (almost) ...

This week Rosetta was ~ *13 km* from the nucleus of Comet 67P






The image shows a portion of the small comet lobe, centered on the *large depression in the Hatmehit region*. The basin and the declining slopes adjacent to it appear to be covered in smooth material, as well as a multitude of boulders of various sizes.

Parts of the neighbouring regions are also visible in this view: the rough terrains of *Maftet* to the top left; the smoother *Ma'at*, blanketed in dust, just above and to the right of Hatmehit in this view; and a hint of the *Nut region*, heavily covered with boulders, on the top edge.






On the small lobe, it's possible to see parts of the smooth, dust-covered terrains of Ma'at, with a cluster of boulders close to the edge. The lower left part of the image displays the smooth dust and large boulders sprinkled over the *Hapi region*, and a small portion of *Babi* can be seen in the upper left corner.






New animated image

*Rosetta has revealed a surprisingly large region around its host comet devoid of any magnetic field











Read about a diamagnetic cavity at comet 67P*


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## Drone (Mar 29, 2016)

two new close-ups


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## Drone (Apr 3, 2016)

Beautiful image: (looks like an xone controller)






In this CometWatch image, the small comet lobe is on the left and the large one on the right. The image was taken at a very large phase angle of about 159 degrees, meaning that the comet lies between the spacecraft and the Sun, and that all three are very close to being on the same line.

In this configuration, the nucleus appears backlit, with only a few portions of the illuminated surface visible from this view – in the upper and upper right part of the nucleus.

*The image reveals the bright environment of the comet, displaying beautiful outflows of activity streaming away from the nucleus in various directions*.

_It's interesting to note hints of the shadow cast by the nucleus on the coma below it, as well as a number of background stars sprinkled across the image._


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## Drone (Apr 7, 2016)

New image






and a diagram explaining how Cherry-Gerry changed its color


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## Drone (May 5, 2016)

OSIRIS data release: close orbits and lander delivery






The release covers the period 16 September - 19 December 2014 and includes narrow- and wide-angle camera images from Rosetta's close observation phase when the spacecraft was just 8 km from the surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, as well as pre- and post-landing imagery.

Can you spot Philae in this image taken during the landing on 12 November 2014?






Here's the answer


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## Drone (May 11, 2016)

4 new images of Cherry-Gerry


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## Drone (May 13, 2016)

This image of the Moon was taken with by Rosetta's OSIRIS Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) at 07:36 CET on *13 November 2007*, ~ 9 hours after Rosetta's closest approach to Earth during one of its gravity assist maneuvers.






Today, almost 10 years later, Rosetta's OSIRIS camera took this picture of 67P/CG (Rosetta is less than 10 km away from the comet's surface atm )

*Distance Rosetta ↔ 67P/CG* 9.924 km
*Distance 67P/CG ↔ Sun* 446427616 km 2.984184 AU
*Distance Rosetta ↔ Earth* 364533920 km 2.436759 AU



PopcornMachine said:


> Love the picture of the moon, but not seeing new pic.
> 
> Anyway, thanks for all the updates.  Didn't know Rosetta was still active and tracking the comet.  Very cool stuff.



Not a problem. I changed the link


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## PopcornMachine (May 13, 2016)

Love the picture of the moon, but not seeing new pic.

Anyway, thanks for all the updates.  Didn't know Rosetta was still active and tracking the comet.  Very cool stuff.


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## Drone (May 13, 2016)

PopcornMachine said:


> Didn't know Rosetta was still active and tracking the comet.  Very cool stuff.



You can check its current (or even past or future) location/trajectory on Where is Rosetta


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## Drone (Jul 3, 2016)

new images:
















Stunning gif: (*Rosetta's shadow*)






This sequence of 12 images taken by Rosetta's OSIRIS narrow-angle camera captures the spacecraft's shadow against the surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.

The images were taken *~ 6 km above the comet's surface*, and the image resolution is just *11 cm/pixel*. The image frames are ~ 228 m across. *Rosetta's fuzzy shadow, measuring approximately 20 x 50 m, is seen at the bottom* of the images.


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## Drone (Jul 4, 2016)

once upon a time series about Rosetta


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## Drone (Aug 25, 2016)

In unprecedented observations made earlier this year, Rosetta unexpectedly captured a dramatic comet outburst that may have been triggered by a landslide.






Nine of Rosetta's instruments, including its cameras, dust collectors, and gas and plasma analysers, were monitoring the comet from ~ 35 km in a coordinated planned sequence when the outburst happened on 19 February.


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## rtwjunkie (Aug 25, 2016)

That is an awesome event to capture!  Despite being a partial failure, much has still been learned of comets.


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## Drone (Aug 31, 2016)

Rosetta has imaged the smallest grains of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko's dust yet, with its Micro-Imaging Dust Analysis System, MIDAS.

Atomic force microscope topographic images:
























Full story


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## Drone (Sep 5, 2016)

Rosetta found Philae lander!

Less than a month before the end of the mission, Rosetta's high-resolution camera has revealed the Philae lander wedged into a dark crack on Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. The images were taken on 2 September by the OSIRIS narrow-angle camera as the orbiter came within 2.7 km of the surface and clearly show the main body of the lander, along with two of its three legs.


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## BiggieShady (Sep 5, 2016)

Drone said:


> Rosetta found Philae lander!


Yay  here's video


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## Drone (Sep 11, 2016)

Collage: Comet activity 31 January – 25 March 2015 / Rosetta's Legacy






Rosetta's last week at the comet / Rosetta's descent towards region of active pits






Rosetta's planned impact site






View of the Ma'at pits, including a nice view of the debris seen inside Deir el-Medina.






Rosetta's dust-analysing COSIMA (_COmetary Secondary Ion Mass Analyser)_ instrument has made the *first unambiguous detection of solid organic matter in the dust particles ejected by Comet 67P*/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, in the form of *complex carbon-bearing molecules*.











read full story here


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## Drone (Sep 22, 2016)

ESA releases striking new photos from Comet 67P.


Loooooooooots of HQ pics and I'll repost all of them, haha

















































Infographic and timeline summarizing the milestones of Rosetta's journey through the Solar System, from launch in 2004 to mission end in 2016.


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## rtwjunkie (Sep 23, 2016)

So, 2 more days before it begins the process to crash.  For me at least, it will be a sad moment on September 30th.


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## Drone (Sep 23, 2016)

Brief but powerful outbursts seen from Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko during its most active period last year have been traced back to their origins on the surface.  In the three months centred around the comet's closest approach to the Sun, on 13 August 2015, Rosetta's cameras captured 34 outbursts.

Read here


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## Drone (Sep 23, 2016)

the end is near

(euronews video)


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## Drone (Sep 26, 2016)

One of the final images of the comet and final statistics of Rosetta spacecraft and all its instruments




























Impressive image of comet's grains of sands on Rosetta's COSIMA instrument


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## Drone (Sep 27, 2016)

Latest ESA videos


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## CAPSLOCKSTUCK (Sep 29, 2016)

At 9.50pm  (GMT) this evening, scientists at the European Space Agency will send a command to Rosetta to manoeuvre so it begins slowly descending to the comet.

As it does so it will beam back a final stream of invaluable scientific data before joining its tiny Philae lander on the surface at the speed of 1.1 miles per hour


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## Drone (Sep 29, 2016)

Last images and data:












This diagram shows the propagation of signals between Rosetta and Philae through the nucleus of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, between 12 and 13 November 2014. Green represents the best signal quality, decreasing in quality to red for no signal.






Comet Landscapes and maps of the southern hemisphere






















And finally a set of views of regions across the entire comet, both in the northern and southern hemisphere:








To follow Rosetta's grand finale go here -> http://livestream.com/ESA/rosettagrandfinale (10 h 18 min left)


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## Drone (Sep 30, 2016)

As Rosetta approaches the surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, the Comet Pressure Sensor (COPS) on the ROSINA instrument is measuring the *gas pressure around the nucleus increasing*!






Flight dynamics team







*Rosetta's descent*

17.4 km from the comet








16 km from the comet







15.5 km








11.7 km






8.9 km






5.8 km






5.7 km






So long. Farewell. Goodbye.


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## Drone (Sep 30, 2016)

Mission complete

ESA/BBC/euronews videos


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## Frick (Sep 30, 2016)

May her corpse travel far afield, as a warning to others.


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## CAPSLOCKSTUCK (Sep 30, 2016)

Let's hope it didn't smash the comet to bits and send it hurtling our way.....


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## Drone (Sep 30, 2016)

Landing site






video by AFP news










more images:

1.2 km from the comet






*20 m* above the surface






loss of signal ....






It's gone.


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## Drone (Sep 30, 2016)

*Jan 20, 2014 (receipt of signal)
*
Rosetta calls home after 31 months of deep-space hibernation











*Sep 30, 2016 (loss of signal)
*
Inside the main control room at ESA's operation center as the Rosetta spacecraft sends its last signal from Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko, confirming the end of the spacecraft’s 12.5 year journey in space.


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## Drone (Nov 14, 2016)

During the last few weeks of its mission, ESA’s Rosetta spacecraft ventured closer than it had ever been to Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko. Eventually, it came to rest on the surface in a daring descent on 30 September 2016.

This montage features the three closest images of the landscape taken by Rosetta’s navigation camera in the first half of September. No navigation images were taken during the final descent.






Today, the comet > 600 million km from the Sun and > 740 million km from Earth.


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## Drone (Nov 19, 2016)

*Icy surprises at Rosetta's comet *

As Rosetta’s comet approached its most active period last year, the spacecraft spotted *carbon dioxide ice* – never before seen on a comet – followed by the emergence of two unusually large patches of water ice.






The carbon dioxide ice layer covered an area comparable to the size of a football pitch, while the two water ice patches were each larger than an Olympic swimming pool and much larger than any signs of water ice previously spotted at the comet. The three icy layers were all found in the same region, on the comet's southern hemisphere.






A combination of the complex shape of the comet, its elongated path around the Sun and the substantial tilt of its spin, seasons are spread unequally between the two hemispheres of the double-lobed Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko.


----------

