Japan’s Proximate Object Close Flyby with Optical Navigation (PROCYON) has been lost in space ever since its ion thrusters blew out in 2014. Since then, the tiny spacecraft has done its best to be useful, orbiting the Sun by itself. A new study reveals the PROCYON made some impressive observations on Comet…
With the historic Rosetta mission now over, the ESA has compiled a four-minute simulation showing the spacecraft’s complete journey as it weaved around Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko.
After two years of science, the European Space Agency’s Rosetta mission ended today in a gentle crash-landing. But if you haven’t been tracking this spacecraft’s movements as obsessively as we have, you might be wracking your brain this morning trying to remember what the Rosetta mission was.
The historic Rosetta mission has finally come to an end. Over the past two years, the probe’s many instruments have scanned virtually every nook and cranny of this weirdly shaped rock, unleashing a treasure trove of new information about comets in general, and 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko in particular.
At 6:39 am EDT today, a spacecraft weighing over 2,000 kilograms (4,400 pounds) with a wingspan half that of a Boeing 747 crashed gently into a comet’s surface, following 13 hours of free-fall. These, my friends, are the last, fleeting glimpses of Comet 67P that Rosetta managed to capture before its instruments went…
After a twelve year journey in space, the Rosetta spacecraft has less than 24 hours of life left before it crashes straight into the comet it has been orbiting. Today at 3 p.m., Rosetta team scientist Paul Weissman will be here taking your questions live.
The Rosetta spacecraft has spent three years peering at Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko from orbit—but this week, its watch will end. Tomorrow, Rosetta begins a controlled descent to its final resting place on the edge of an enormous pit, where it’ll remain frozen until the space rock itself is destroyed, or until the…
Last summer, something strange happened on Rosetta’s comet. After a period of calm, the comet began erupting, throwing huge jets of comet dust into space before abruptly stopping. Now, we finally know what happened.
In just seven days, the Rosetta spacecraft will smash into Comet 67P. A new visualization shows how it’ll go down.
In two weeks, the European Space Agency will crash-land its prized Rosetta spacecraft, marking a dramatic end to the whirlwind two-year science mission that saw humanity’s first-ever comet landing. It’ll be 48 action-packed hours as Rosetta descends to its ultimate resting place on Comet 67P—and to get you properly…
With only a few days left before it’s scheduled to crash-land on the surface of Comet 67P, the Rosetta spacecraft is still yielding amazing discoveries. And I’m not just talking about lost comet landers.
In the shadow of a cliff on an icy rock 700 million kilometers from Earth, a washing machine-sized robot by the name of Philae has spent the last two years in hibernation. We’d already given up hope of speaking with humanity’s first and only comet lander ever again, and time was running out to catch a final, fleeting…
February 19th, 2016 was going to be just another day on Comet 67P—until suddenly, the icy space rock lit up in a blaze of glory, as if suddenly slapped by an angry angel.
Seventy-one days from now, the Rosetta spacecraft will end its historic mission by crashing onto the surface of its target, Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Mission planners have now selected the spacecraft’s final, mission-ending destination—and it’s a good one.
Set yourself a reminder for September 30—that’s when the Rosetta spacecraft will make a controlled descent and crash on the surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. After 12 years in space and nearly two years circling around this dusty, weirdly-shaped comet, this historic mission is finally coming to an end.
Rotten eggs, cat urine, bitter almonds—that’s the delightful elixir of aromas comprising the BO of one comet 67P, also known as Rosetta’s comet. In a heartwarmingly nerdy yet mildly alarming development, members of the Rosetta mission team have commissioned scent firm The Aroma Company to turn it into a perfume.
Scientists have long debated the possibility that some of the key ingredients for life on Earth were brought to our newly-formed planet by comets and asteroids. A new discovery in the “fuzzy atmosphere” of Rosetta’s comet may lend some credence to this theory.
Syfy’s space opera The Expanse is getting geared up for its second season, and later this week, the series comes out on Blu-ray and DVD, which means that we can binge on the show all over again. When you watch it again, keep your eyes peeled for a whole bunch of easter eggs.
Millions of people around the globe were enthralled when the European Space Agency’s Rosetta spacecraft successfully landed on Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in November 2014. Artist Ekaterina Smirnova was one of them—so much so that she has created an entire series of giant watercolor paintings inspired by the comet.
So long, Philae: You were a plucky little lander, but it’s time to say goodbye. The ground control team working with the craft has announced that it’s finally giving up hope of hearing anything back from Comet 67P.
