After 10 Years of Travel, Rosetta Probe Reaches Its Comet
August 6, 2014
A photo of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko taken by Rosetta on August 3, 2014, from a distance of around 180 miles (285 kilometers). (Copyright ESA/Rosetta/MPS for OSIRIS Team MPS/UPD/LAM/IAA/SSO/INTA/UPM/DASP/IDA.)
A space probe launched in March 2004 has successfully met up with the comet it was sent to study. Ten years ago, the European Space Agency (ESA) launched the Rosetta probe, which has traveled 3.7 billion miles (6 billion kilometers) through the solar system to meet up with comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (nicknamed Chury). The probe used a series of fly-bys past Earth and Mars to increase its speed during the chase—Chury travels at a speed of around 34,000 miles (55,000 kilometers) per hour. During the lengthy journey, the probe was put into “hibernation” for for some 2.5 years to save energy. Scientists at ESA’s flight center in Darmstadt, Germany, woke Rosetta in January for the last leg of its journey.
This morning, ESA scientists fired thrusters to stop Rosetta and maneuvered it into orbit around the comet; Rosetta will orbit Chury for the next 15 months. The probe will photograph and map the surface of the comet. Rosetta also carries a lander, Philae, which will be launched in November onto the comet’s surface. (Philae is an island in Egypt where an Egyptologist discovered an obelisk that was used in conjunction with the Rosetta Stone to decipher Egyptian hieroglyphics.) The lander carries a drill that will be used to take samples from below the surface.
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