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Story highlights
Scientists aiming to land Rosetta orbiter on comet surface
They want to investigate comet's strange 'goosebumps'
Rosetta will then be turned off
CNN
—
Here’s the challenge: Land a spacecraft that was designed to be an orbiter on the surface of a speeding comet that is millions of miles away and carry out pioneering science on the way down.
It’s difficult – but the Rosetta mission has continued to surprise and delight those who have followed its epic 12-year, comet-chasing journey.
Mission controllers from the European Space Agency (ESA), which is leading the Rosetta mission consortium, are aiming to find out more about the lumpy structures they are calling “goosebumps.”
Collected in the wall of pits on the comet’s surface, scientists believe they may be the original pieces of material that bonded together to form the body and date to when the solar system was young.
Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser
ESA/Rosetta/MPS for OSIRIS Team
The Rosetta probe sent an unexpected final image back to Earth shortly before it made a controlled impact onto the surface of Comet 67P last September.
Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser
ESA/Rosetta/MPS for OSIRIS Team
Philae has been found! —
The Rosetta spacecraft's high-resolution camera took this image of the Philae lander on September 2, 2016. The lander is wedged into a dark crack on a comet, named 67P/Churyumov--Gerasimenko, hurtling through space. The discovery comes less than a month before the Rosetta mission's end.
Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser
ESA/Rosetta/MPS for OSIRIS Team
Philae is wedged in a dark corner of Rosetta —
"We are so happy to have finally imaged Philae, and to see it in such amazing detail," says Cecilia Tubiana of the OSIRIS camera team. She was the first person to see the images when they were downlinked from the Rosetta probe, according to the European Space Agency.
Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser
ESA/Rosetta/MPS for OSIRIS Team
Philae found using images from Rosetta —
The image is detailed enough that viewers can pick out features of Philae's 3-foot-wide (1 meter) body. Even two of its three legs can be seen.
Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser
ESA/Rosetta/MPS for OSIRIS Team
One of the primary objectives of the Rosetta mission was to drop the Philae lander onto the comet. The probe was successfully deployed in November 2014, becoming the first probe to land on a comet. But Philae failed to grab onto the comet and bounced around. It fell silent a few days later. Then on June 13, 2015, Philae came out of hibernation and "spoke" to mission managers at the European Space Agency for 85 seconds. This photo above was taken by the lander's mothership, the Rosetta orbiter, after the lander started its descent to the comet.
Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser
ESA/Rosetta/MPS for OSIRIS Team MPS/UPD/LAM/IAA/SSO/INTA/UPM/DASP/IDA
The Rosetta spacecraft captured this image of a jet of white debris spraying from Comet 67P/Churyumov--Gerasimenko on July 29, 2015. Mission scientists said this was the brightest jet seen to date in the mission. The debris is mostly of ice coated with dark organic material.
Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser
Rosetta/Navcam/ESA
This image of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko was taken by Rosetta on July 8, 2015 as the spacecraft and comet headed toward their closest approach to the sun. Rosetta was about 125 miles (201 kilometers) from the comet when it took this image.
Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser
ESA
Philae wakes up! Mission managers posted this cartoon of the lander yawning after it came out of hibernation on June 13, 2015. They also sent a series of tweets between the lander and its mothership, Rosetta.
Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser
Courtesy ESA
Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko is a Jupiter-family comet. Its 6.5 year journey around the Sun takes it from just beyond the orbit of Jupiter at its most distant, to between the orbits of Earth and Mars at its closest. The comet hails from the Kuiper Belt, but gravitational perturbations knocked it towards the Sun where interactions with Jupiter's gravity set it on its present-day orbit.
Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser
ESA/Rosetta/NavCam
This image of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko was taken by Rosetta on June 5, 2015, while the spacecraft was about 129 miles (208 kilometers) from the comet's center.
Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser
ESA/Rosetta/NavCam
Rosetta's navigation camera took this image of the comet on June 1, 2015.
Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser
Courtesy ESA/Rosetta/NavCam -- CC BY-SA IGO 3.0
The Rosetta Mission is tracking Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko on its orbit around the sun. This image was taken on May 3, 2015 at a distance of about 84 miles (135 km) from the comet's center.
Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser
ESA/Rosetta/NavCam -- CC BY-SA IGO 3.0
This image of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko was taken on April 15, 2015.
Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser
ESA/Rosetta
Rosetta snapped this wide-angle view of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in September 2014. Rosetta was about 107 million miles (172 million kilometers) from Earth and about 92 million miles (148 million kilometers) from the sun when the photo was released.
Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser
ESA/Rosetta
A camera on Rosetta took this picture of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko on November 22, 2014, from a distance of about 19 miles (31 kilometers). The nucleus is deliberately overexposed to reveal jets of material spewing from the comet. The 2.5-mile-wide (4-kilometer) comet has shown a big increase in the amount of water its releasing, according to NASA. The space agency says about 40 ounces (1.2 liters) of water was being sprayed into space every second at the end of August 2014.
Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser
ESA/Rosetta
Rosetta took this picture of a section of the comet's two lobes from a distance of about 5 miles (8 kilometers) on October 14, 2014.
Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser
ESA/Rosetta
The Rosetta spacecraft's Philae lander is shown sitting on Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko after becoming the first space probe to land on a comet on November 12, 2014. The probe's harpoons failed to fire, and Philae bounced a few times. The lander was able to send back images and data for 57 hours before losing power.
Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser
ESA/Rosetta
Rosetta's lander, Philae, wasn't able to get a good grip on the comet after it touched down. This mosaic shows Philae's movements as it bounced across the comet.
Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser
ESA/Rosetta
Philae snapped these images after landing, and mission scientists used them to create a panoramic view of the landing site. A graphic shows where the probe would be sitting in the photograph.
Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser
ESA/Rosetta/Philae/
The image of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko was taken by a camera on the Philae lander during its descent to the comet on November 12, 2014. The lander was about 1.9 miles (3 kilometers) from the surface at the time. Philae touched down on the comet about seven hours later.
Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser
ESA/Rosetta/MPS for OSIRIS Team
Rosetta's OSIRIS camera captured this parting shot of the Philae lander after separation.
Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser
ESA/Rosetta/Philae/CIVA
Rosetta's lander Philae took this parting shot of its mother ship shortly after separation on November 12, 2014, as Philae headed for a landing on Comet 67P. While Philae is the first probe to land on a comet, Rosetta is the first to rendezvous with a comet and follow it around the sun.
Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser
ESA/Rosetta/NAVCAM
This mosaic is made of four individual images taken about 20 miles (31.8 kilometers ) from the center of the comet on November 4, 2014.
Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser
ESA/Rosetta
Rosetta took this image of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko on September 15, 2014. The box on the right shows where the lander was expected to touch down.
Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser
ESA/Rosetta/MPS for OSIRIS Team MPS/UPD/LAM/IAA/SSO/INTA/UPM/DASP/IDA
The spacecraft sent this image as it approached the comet on August 6, 2014. From a distance of nearly 81 miles (130 kilometers), it reveals detail of the smooth region on the comet's "body" section.
Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser
ESA/Rosetta/NAVCAM
This image, captured August 7, 2014, shows the diversity of surface structures on the comet's nucleus.
Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser
ESA/Rosetta/MPS for OSIRIS Team MPS/UPD/LAM/IAA/SSO/INTA/UPM/DASP/IDA
The comet's "head" can be seen in the left of the frame as it casts a shadow over the "body" in this image released August 6, 2014.
Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser
ESA/Rosetta/MPS for OSIRIS Team MPS/UPD/LAM/IAA/SSO/INTA/UPM/DASP/IDA
This image of the comet was taken on August 1, 2014, as Rosetta closed in its target.
Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser
ESA/CNES/ARIANESPACE
Rosetta's mission started on March 2, 2004, when it was launched on a European Ariane 5 rocket from Kourou, French Guiana.
Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser
Rosetta is named after the Rosetta Stone, the black basalt that provided the key to deciphering Egyptian hieroglyphs. Scientists think the mission will give them new clues about the origins of the solar system and life on Earth. The mission is spearheaded by the European Space Agency with key support from NASA.
Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser
ESA/A.Van Der Geest
This photo shows Rosetta being tested before it was wrapped in insulating blankets and loaded on a rocket for launch.
Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser
ESA
Rosetta has massive solar wings to power the spacecraft. They were unfurled and checked out at the European Space Agency's test facilities before being packed up for liftoff.
Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser
ESA
After its closest approach to Earth in November 2007, Rosetta captured this image of the planet.
Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser
ESA
Rosetta snapped this image of Earth in November 2009. The spacecraft was 393,328 miles from Earth.
Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser
ESA
Rosetta passed asteroid Steins in September 2008, giving scientists amazing close-ups of the asteroid's huge crater. The asteroid is about 3 miles in diameter.
Rosetta took this image of Mars as it looped through the solar system.
Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser
ESA
This image was taken by an instrument on Rosetta's Philae lander just minutes before the spacecraft made its closest approach to Mars. Part of Rosetta and its solar arrays are visible.
Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser
ESA
On July 10, 2010, Rosetta flew about 1,864 miles from asteroid Lutetia, which is 10 times larger than asteroid Steins.
Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser
ESA
Look closely at the top of this picture. See that dot? That's Saturn. Rosetta snapped the picture of asteroid Lutetia and captured Saturn in the background.
Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser
ESA
After taking pictures of Earth, Mars and asteroids, Rosetta was put into hibernation in May 2011 after it reached the outer part of the solar system. Mission managers woke it January 20, 2014.
ESA describes the latest phase as the “biggest challenge yet” as it tries to maneuver the orbiter into position for the descent and impact on the comet on September 30.
The agency says Rosetta will try to gather images and other data on the gas, dust and plasma very close to the comet.
Rosetta has already returned spectacular images and science discoveries from Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko as it followed its orbit around the sun.
And millions followed the drama when the landing craft Philae separated from Rosetta and bounced across the comet after its thruster and grappling harpoons designed to anchor it to the surface failed in November 2014. The accident proved to be something of a blessing though as Philae was able to carry out some of its objectives in two locations.
The instruments discovered 16 organic compounds, including four that had been never detected on comets, before Philae’s batteries drained. Scientists were excited by the results because some of those chemicals form the building blocks of the ingredients for life.
Mission controllers believed Philae was trapped under a cliff but were unable to find exactly where it ended up after going silent in its resting place.
Philae found
Then just weeks ago Philae returned from the cosmic dead when scientists had a stroke of luck. After months of searching they discovered the probe with their last opportunity to photograph from Rosetta a possible location for the craft.
It’s important too because as lander system engineer Laurence O’Rourke explained, they now have “perfect contextual data” for the measurements Philae made.
“It couldn’t have been in a more difficult location – quite literally between a rock and a hard place,” he told CNN.
But the engineer said he was thrilled to find out the fate of Philae after working on the campaign for so long.
“It was like drinking a gallon of adrenaline,” O’Rourke said. “I was astounded by the quality of the picture. It was magnificent.”
Now mission controllers are preparing for the last act at 67P.
“We are not trying to gain science from hitting the comet,” said O’Rourke. “We are trying to gain science before we hit it.
Now that the comet and the orbiter have traveled so far away from the sun there will come a point where there isn’t enough solar power to run the heaters and computers.
O’Rourke told CNN that as the probe would die anyway the decision was made to try to capture more data including very high resolution images of the pit structures.
“We don’t have enough power to keep it alive. We wanted to take control of the end,” he said.
The engineer said he would miss the mission, especially the public enthusiasm for Rosetta but added: “The legacy will be there for many generations.”
’Astonishing’ mission
Astronomer Dan Brown, who lectures at Nottingham Trent University in the UK, said the Rosetta mission had been an “astonishing” engineering feat but also inspirational.
“The Rosetta mission has helped us gain an insight into the activity of comets, how comets were created and to some extent if they could have been the source for water on our early Earth,” he told CNN.
“The presence of complex molecules, some of which previously unknown to exist on comets, still allows comets to be a possible source of introducing complex molecules and enable the formation of life on Earth.
“The image that does it for me is seeing the surface of the comet and the lander together. Such imagery inspires as much as the Moon landings and drives us to go and discover, achieve and face challenges on our never-ending quest for knowledge.”
The end of the mission also brings to a close the Twitter chat that has endeared followers to Rosetta and Philae, and their surreal and strangely touching conversations, especially when the landing craft bounced and disappeared.
Asked if he would change anything, O’Rourke said: “Philae couldn’t have been designed better than it was … but I think I would have added LEDs that flash so it could have been detected wherever it landed.”
