Rosetta Probe Makes History in Space
By: Shannon Denham,
Staff Writer
Ten years ago in March, a robotic space probe named Rosetta launched into space to start its long journey to do what no probe had ever done before—meet a comet, orbit it, and land on it. While it explored space to catch the comet, Rosetta passed two asteroids, 2867 Steins in 2008 and 21 Lutetia in 2010 ("ESA Science & Technology: Rosetta"). After that, Rosetta went into hibernation in July of 2011 as it began the lonelier part of its journey. It only just woke up from its 957-day nap in January 2014 and got to business ("Rosetta Mission Interactive Timeline").
Rosetta’s target was comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, which has been on its own 6.5-year orbit around the sun ("Rosetta Arrives at Comet Destination"). On August 6, 2014, Rosetta officially made history. Its ten-year journey, in which the space probe traveled about 6.4 billion kilometers, was rewarded once Rosetta fell into orbit around the comet ("Rosetta Arrives at Comet Destination"). However, orbiting the comet is only just the beginning of Rosetta’s history-altering adventure.
Since it rendezvoused with 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, Rosetta and its team, back in the European Space Agency, have been busy imaging the comet. In fact, Rosetta has even snapped a few ‘selfies’ with the comet ("Mission Selfie from 16 Km"). But these images are more than just for fun—they’re also for mapping the surface of the comet because knowing every crater and crevice is crucial to having a safe landing. Should there be any problems or complications, the 10-year mission will have gone to waste. Therefore, the European Space Agency was very careful in its calculations. The ESA officially designated a safe landing spot on October 15, 2014 ("ESA Confirms the Primary Landing Site for Rosetta").
The landing spot, currently referred to as “Site J”, had to meet many criteria in order for landing. Site J was chosen due to its terrain having slopes less than 30 degrees. Also, the site is “lit” enough to help recharge the European Space Agency’s equipment. ("Rosetta to Deploy Lander on 12 November"). The Rosetta itself will not be landing on 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, but instead it will send its 220-pound launcher, Philae, down to the surface of the comet (Arnott).
Philae is scheduled to land on November 12, 2014 and, during the wait, the European Space Agency and its partners have encouraged public interaction, running a competition from October 16th – October 22nd to choose a proper name for Site J. The new name for Site J will be released on Rosetta’s main web page on November 3rd, 2014 ("Name Rosetta Mission's Landing Site"). Philae’s journey from Rosetta to Site J covers 22.5 kilometers and will take 7 hours to fully complete. It takes 28 minutes and 20 seconds for signals to travel from Rosetta to Earth, so should the mission all go according to plan, the European Space Agency will be able to confirm the landing around 11:00 AM EST ("Rosetta to Deploy Lander on 12 November").
What happens after Philae lands? Philae will take many pictures of its surroundings and gather data about the comet. Rosetta will also still be at work orbiting around 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko and gathering its own data about the comet’s behavior. Philae is expected to keep working until March 2015, when the comet will be fairly close to the Sun, and Philae will become too hot to operate. Rosetta, however, will accompany the comet well into 2015 and head back with it towards Jupiter ("ESA Confirms the Primary Landing Site for Rosetta").
What will this mission do for science? Well, this mission will unlock as many secrets as possible about comets. No man or robot has ever gotten this close to a comet before and therefore Rosetta and Philae have a massive advantage. Such close observation will let us all know about the comet’s composition, its history, and keys to the history of our solar system itself. Comets have been theorized to have once given the Earth water and possibly crucial elements to life itself, and this mission could either back up these theories or disprove them entirely. Nevertheless, keep your eyes on the headlines on November 12, 2014 for when Rosetta and its launcher Philae make history once again.
Works Cited
Arnott, David. "Rosetta Probe Snaps Selfie With Comet Before Historic Landing." NBC News. NBC News, 16 Oct. 2014. Web. 18 Oct. 2014.
"ESA Confirms the Primary Landing Site for Rosetta." European Space Agency. ESA, 15 Oct. 2014. Web. 18 Oct. 2014.
"ESA Science & Technology: Rosetta." ESA Science & Technology: Rosetta. ESA, n.d. Web. 18 Oct. 2014.
"Mission Selfie from 16 Km." Rosetta - ESA's Comet Chaser. ESA, 14 Oct. 2014. Web. 18 Oct. 2014.
"Name Rosetta Mission's Landing Site." European Space Agency. ESA, 16 Oct. 2014. Web. 18 Oct. 2014.
Philae's Primary Landing Site in Context. Digital image. European Space Agency. ESA, 15 Sept. 2014. Web. 18 Oct. 2014.
"Rosetta Arrives at Comet Destination." European Space Agency. ESA, 06 Aug. 2014. Web. 18 Oct. 2014.
"Rosetta to Deploy Lander on 12 November." European Space Agency. ESA, 26 Sept. 2014. Web. 18 Oct. 2014.
"Rosetta Mission Interactive Timeline." NASA, n.d. Web. 18 Oct. 2014.
Rosetta Mission Selfie at 16 km. Digital image. European Space Agency. ESA, 14 Oct. 2014. Web. 18 Oct. 2014.
Rosetta and Philae at Comet. Digital image. European Space Agency. ESA, 15 Sept. 2014. Web. 18 Oct. 2014.