Space probe Rosetta set to make historic comet landing

For the first time in history, the Rosetta spacecraft will attempt to place a lander on the surface of the Churyumov-Gerasimenko 67P comet.

Space probe Rosetta set to make historic comet landing
The European Space Agency's Rosetta probe is set to make history Wednesday when it lands on a fast-moving comet in a first-of-its-kind mission.

The probe has covered a distance of approximately 3.7 billion miles (six billion kilometers) and is now 10 years into its mission. It will attempt to place a lander on the surface of the Churyumov-Gerasimenko 67P comet, which is moving at the speed of more than 80,000 miles (128,747 kilometers) per hour.

The ground controllers in Darmstadt, Germany, have given the Rosetta spacecraft the green light to eject from its mothership the Philae lander and start a nail-biting seven-hour descent. According to official tweets from the space agency, there is now approximately 90 minutes left to Philae’s separation from Rosetta.

“The Philae control team at the Lander Control Centre has completed a final check and verification of the lander's health. The go was given at 0235 GMT,” the space agency's Rosetta blog said late Tuesday.

 “Following a short maneuver set for 0730 GMT, the final go for separation will be made around 0735 GMT,” it added.

Stephan Ulamec, a senior manager at space agency, said online Wednesday that the probe's touchdown was the most critical part of the mission.

According to the Rosetta blog, Philae has no thrusters, which means Rosetta can only eject it when the velocity and trajectory are exactly right. In case of an error, the probe could miss its landing site and smash into rocks or cliffs nearby.

"Everyone's nervous, everyone's on tenterhooks, but we know the risk is worth taking. The rewards are enormous," the agency’s senior science advisor Mark McCaughrean said Tuesday.

"You won't get anything without taking risks. Exploration is all about going to the limits," McCaughrean added.

Rosetta was launched on March 2, 2004 from Kourou in the French Guiana. It has been chasing around the solar system for the giant lump of ice and dust, and reached it on August 6, 2014.

In January, the spacecraft famously "woke up" after a 31-month-long hibernation period, tweeting, "Hello World."

The probe is named after the Rosetta stone, a stele of Egyptian origin and the lander is named after the Nile island, Philae.

The European Space Agency and U.S.’s National Aeronautics and Space Administration are broadcasting the event live.

Anadolu Agency - Photo: ESA
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