organization:rosetta mission

Reflections
▻http://blogs.esa.int/rosetta/2016/12/12/reflections

Some ten weeks have passed since #Rosetta ended its mission on the surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko, and it is time for a little reflection here on the #rosetta #blog... Over the past three years, we have written over 670 posts covering mission operations, science highlights, special events, images of the comet, and so much more. The blog has become a reference for a wide audience, ranging from science journalists to space enthusiasts, from casual readers to educators and even Rosetta mission scientists and operators. Beyond that, it has become a place for people to share their ideas and concerns. When we re-launched the blog in 2013, we did not expect the huge number of #comments that came in – almost 18,600 to date – and certainly we didn’t envision the considerable amount of time (...)

#Fun_stuff

Klim Churyumov (1937-2016)
▻http://blogs.esa.int/rosetta/2016/10/16/klim-churyumov-1937-2016

We were saddened to learn the news yesterday that Klim Churyumov, who discovered Rosetta’s comet together with Svetlana Gerasimenko in 1969, has passed away. Many of us had the pleasure to meet him at various Rosetta Mission events held at ESOC, and we are certainly very glad that he could see ’his’ comet up close, and follow the mission right through until its conclusion just a couple of weeks ago. Our condolences to his family and friends in this time.

Mission Complete
▻http://blogs.esa.int/rosetta/2016/10/01/mission-complete

Mission complete: #Rosetta’s journey ends in daring descent to comet ESA’s historic Rosetta mission has concluded as planned, with the controlled impact onto the comet it had been investigating for more than two years. Read the press release on the ESA website.

#Comet_67P #Landing

Live from Rosetta mission control
▻http://blogs.esa.int/rosetta/2016/09/30/live-from-rosetta-mission-control

Live #twitter #periscope visit to the Rosetta mission control team on console in the Main Control Room at #esoc, Darmstadt, Germany, for today’s #CometLanding. Hosted by Daniel Scuka, from the ESA web team. LIVE on #Periscope: Live from Rosetta mission control ▻https://t.co/BXLOwJAAb9 — ESA (@esa) September 30, 2016

#Fun_stuff #media #Operations #video #MCR

The surprising #comet
▻http://blogs.esa.int/rosetta/2016/09/26/the-surprising-comet

As #Rosetta began homing in on #Comet_67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko in the weeks leading up to its arrival in August 2014, it became very clear that this was no ordinary comet. But its striking shape was only just the beginning of the comet’s surprises. After more than two years spent living with the comet, #rosetta scientists reflect on some of the mission’s unexpected discoveries, the mysteries solved and the new questions raised. “Rosetta has completely changed our picture of #Comets,” says Eberhard Grün, an interdisciplinary scientist working on the Rosetta mission at the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics in Heidelberg, Germany. “Previously, they were pictured as dirty ice balls – or, as some prefer, icy #dust balls – but now we know them, or at least this one, to be geologically complex (...)

#Science #instruments #magnetic_field #perihelion #science #water

#Philae found !
▻http://blogs.esa.int/rosetta/2016/09/05/philae-found

Less than a month before the end of the mission, #Rosetta’s high-resolution camera has revealed the Philae #lander wedged into a dark crack on Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko. The #Images were taken on 2 September by the #osiris narrow-angle camera as the orbiter came within 2.7 km of the surface and clearly show the main body of the lander, along with two of its three legs. The images also provide proof of Philae’s orientation, making it clear why establishing communications was so difficult following its #Landing on 12 November 2014. “With only a month left of the Rosetta mission, 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, the first person to see the images when they were downlinked from Rosetta (...)

##CometLanding #landing_day

#Rosetta safe mode 5 km from #comet
▻http://blogs.esa.int/rosetta/2016/05/30/rosetta-safe-mode-5-km-from-comet

Over the weekend, #rosetta experienced a ‘safe mode’ event 5 km from the surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Contact with the spacecraft has since been recovered and the mission teams are working to resume normal #Operations. “We lost contact with the spacecraft on Saturday evening for nearly 24 hours,” says Patrick Martin, ESA’s Rosetta mission manager. “Preliminary analysis by our flight dynamics team suggests that the star trackers locked on to a false star – that is, they were confused by comet #dust close to the comet, as has been experienced before in the mission.” This led to spacecraft pointing errors, which triggered the safe mode. Unfortunately the star trackers then got hung in a particular sub mode requiring specific action from Earth to recover the spacecraft. “It was an (...)

#Comets #Estrack/DSN #esoc #estrack #trajectory

Communicating Astronomy with the Public: Rosetta special
▻http://blogs.esa.int/rosetta/2016/03/31/communicating-astronomy-with-the-public-rosetta-special

We’re delighted to announce a special issue of the "Communicating Astronomy with the Public" journal, which provides exclusive behind-the-scenes insights into the outreach surrounding the Rosetta Mission. Including articles written by ESA’s communication team behind the competitions, cartoons, and social media campaigns, and reviews from external journalists and documentary film-makers following this iconic mission. The table of contents is listed below. Read the full journal, free online here. Explained in 60 Seconds: Why Visit a Comet? (Emily Baldwin) The Strategy and Implementation of the Rosetta Communication Campaign (Markus Bauer, Mark McCaughrean, Jocelyne Landeau-Constantin) How a Cartoon Series Helped the Public Care about Rosetta and Philae (Claudia Mignone, Emily Baldwin, Karen S. (...)

Year-end break notice
▻http://blogs.esa.int/rosetta/2015/12/14/year-end-break-notice

We can hardly believe we are approaching the end of yet another incredible year for the Rosetta mission, which has now spent nearly 500 days “living” with Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. From dramatic close flybys to the peak of comet activity during the months around perihelion, 2015 has seen the Rosetta mission shine with scientific discovery. A slew of fascinating results have been published from both the Rosetta orbiter and the Philae lander teams in the last year, which have certainly triggered some intense discussion in the comments section on this blog! As we did last year, we are planning to take a short break, between close of business on 18 December 2015 and 4 January 2016. During this time we don’t foresee any routine updates (aside from images that might be released via the (...)

The story behind the #Rosetta ‘claymation’
▻http://blogs.esa.int/rosetta/2015/10/27/the-story-behind-the-rosetta-claymation

Earlier this month, the Royal Observatory Greenwich, UK, released a wonderful educational #video about the #rosetta Mission using ‘claymation’ – animated clay figures. It was a big hit with the Rosetta team and so we caught up with Elizabeth Avery, senior manager of Astronomy Education at the ROG and one of the minds behind the video, to learn more about how it was put together. The same team at the ROG has also since released a complementary video called Space Rocks, about asteroids, #Comets, meteors, and meteorites. You can watch both videos as part of this post. What made you choose to focus on the Rosetta mission for this video? We have a very long list of things we would love to make videos about, so it is always a huge challenge to choose just one topic. When we were first thinking of (...)

#Fun_stuff #Landing #Philae #Science ##CometLanding #comet #philae #science

Rosetta at EPSC: Watch press briefing online
▻http://blogs.esa.int/rosetta/2015/09/28/rosetta-at-epsc-watch-press-briefing-online

Scientists are meeting this week in Nantes, France, at the European Planetary #Science Congress (EPSC) to discuss the latest results in the field of planetary #science. A press briefing is being held today at 13:00 GMT / 15:00 CEST to present new results from the Rosetta Mission. The presenters are: Matt Taylor (Rosetta Project Scientist, ESA); Matteo Massironi (OSIRIS Team, Univ Padova); Fabrizio Capaccioni (VIRTIS Principal Investigator, INAF-IAPS) The briefing will be streamed live here.

#media

Join our Perihelion Hangout !
▻http://blogs.esa.int/rosetta/2015/08/10/join-our-perihelion-hangout

Join us for a Google hangout with Rosetta mission experts to celebrate perihelion – the closest point to the Sun along the comet’s orbit. The hangout will be streamed live on 13 August at 13:00 GMT / 15:00 CEST – watch it here. The Hangout will be hosted by Emily Baldwin (ESA Space Science Editor) who will be joined by: Nico Altobelli - Acting Rosetta Project Scientist, ESAC Michael Küppers - Rosetta Science Operations Coordinator, ESAC Sylvain Lodiot - Rosetta Spacecraft Operations Manager, ESOC Armelle Hubault - Rosetta Spacecraft Operations Engineer, ESOC Barbara Cozzoni - Philae Lander Engineer, DLR Holger Sierks - OSIRIS Principal Investigator, MPS Joel Parker - Alice instrument Deputy-PI, SwRI Colin Snodgrass - Professional ground-based observing campaign coordinator, Open University (...)

Chasing a comet from Earth – update on the professional observing campaign
▻http://blogs.esa.int/rosetta/2015/07/24/chasing-a-comet-from-earth-update-on-the-professional-observing-campaign

An interview with Colin Snodgrass of the Open University, UK, who coordinates a consortium of professional astronomers observing #Comet_67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko from Earth in support of the Rosetta mission. Q: Rosetta has been ’living’ with Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko for almost a year now. How was this year from the perspective of the professional astronomers observing the comet with telescopes on Earth? A: It has been a very exciting year for everyone in comet science, following the results from Rosetta, but thankfully the ground-based view of 67P didn’t get too exciting yet – the comet largely followed our predictions in terms of its total brightness, which is reassuring as it allows us to have confidence in our plans for observing (and for Rosetta). We watched the comet grow (...)

#CometWatch #Ground-based_observations #Images ##CometWatch #activity #ground-based_observations

Claudia Alexander (1959–2015)
▻http://blogs.esa.int/rosetta/2015/07/15/claudia-alexander-1959-2015

It is with great sadness that we share the news of Dr Claudia Alexander’s passing on 11 July 2015. Claudia worked for NASA at JPL. She was an eminent planetary scientist and was deeply involved with the Rosetta Mission as US Rosetta project scientist. She was passionate about outreach, including engaging amateur astronomers through the ground-based observing campaign of Rosetta’s target comet, 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko. Claudia was also very well known for her role in NASA’s Galileo and Cassini projects. Here, some of her ESA colleagues pay tribute: “We have lost a great colleague and friend who will live on within us and the missions to the stars she made possible.” Matt Taylor, ESA’s Rosetta project scientist “Although I did not know Claudia very well, I quickly noticed her strong (...)

#Rosetta mission extended
▻http://blogs.esa.int/rosetta/2015/06/23/rosetta-mission-extended

This announcement is mirrored from the main ESA web portal. The adventure continues: ESA today confirmed that its #rosetta mission will be extended until the end of September 2016, at which point the spacecraft will most likely be landed on the surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Rosetta was launched in 2004 and arrived at the comet in August 2014, where it has been studying the nucleus and its environment as the comet moves along its 6.5-year orbit closer to the Sun. After a detailed survey, Rosetta deployed the lander, Philae, to the surface on 12 November. Philae fell into hibernation after 57 hours of initial scientific #Operations, but recently awoke and made contact with Rosetta again. Rosetta’s nominal mission was originally funded until the end of December 2015, but at a (...)

#Science #instruments #media #science

#rosetta Mission at the Paris Air and Space Show
▻http://blogs.esa.int/rosetta/2015/06/16/rosetta-mission-at-the-paris-air-and-space-show

ESA is at the International Paris Air and Space Show, Le Bourget, this week. Tomorrow, Wednesday 17 June, a press briefing will be dedicated to the Rosetta Mission. Members of the Rosetta and #philae teams will provide an update on the mission, present some of the latest results, and outline what still lies ahead. Speakers include: Mark McCaughrean, Senior Science Adviser, ESA; Elsa Montagnon, Deputy Rosetta Flight Director, ESA; Philippe Gaudon, CNES Philae project manager, CNES; Jean-Pierre Bibring, Lead Lander Scientist, IAS Orsay. (Line up may be subject to change.) Watch live on Wednesday at 09:30-10:45 CEST, here. More information about ESA at Le Bourget can be found here. 

#media

Mission manager hand-over
▻http://blogs.esa.int/rosetta/2015/05/06/mission-manager-hand-over

After nearly two years as #Rosetta mission manager, Fred Jansen has handed the ropes over to colleague Patrick Martin. Here Fred recounts the highlights of his term, and introduces the new mission manager. Fred, we know from the last year that #rosetta is a complex mission and one that has achieved many firsts, but what were the greatest challenges for you in taking over the role of mission manager prior to Rosetta waking up from deep space hibernation? When taking over Rosetta one of the more urgent issues was the readiness of the science planning systems and the overall flow of information from the principal investigators to science planning to mission planning to spacecraft and back. This, along with a number of pending mission-wide decisions, posed some real challenges. What was the (...)

Rosetta - How to land on a comet

A good storytelling review/recapitulation of the whole Rosetta mission and history by mission manager Fred Jansen.
▻https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h27g5iT0tck

▻https://www.ted.com/talks/fred_jansen_how_to_land_on_a_comet?language=en

67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

#Rosetta at EGU – press briefing 14 April
▻http://blogs.esa.int/rosetta/2015/04/13/rosetta-at-egu-press-briefing-14-april

Rosetta mission scientists are meeting this week in Vienna, Austria, for the annual European Geosciences Union General Assembly, EGU. A press briefing will be held on Tuesday 14 April at 12:00 CEST, to report on the latest #Science results from the mission. Watch live, here. More information about the Rosetta science sessions can be found here. 

Mais où va la science !?! #science #marchandise
Get a Rosetta T-Shirt - Rosetta Mission Shop
▻http://www.rosettashop.eu

Welcome to the Rosetta Shop!

The Rosetta mission has travelled across the asteroid belt, into deep space, to Comet 67/P Churyumov-Gerasimenko and now, will make its way into wardrobes across the globe.

The Rosetta Shop features clothes inspired by Europe’s comet chaser, available in a wide range of sizes.

#music of the Irregular Spheres
▻http://blogs.esa.int/rosetta/2014/12/19/music-of-the-irregular-spheres

This blog post is contributed by Mark McCaughrean, senior science advisor in the Directorate of Science and Robotic Exploration at ESA. The rather tortured title of this post is intended as a humorous reference to the decidedly non-spherical shape of #Comet_67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, the target of our #Rosetta mission. It also refers to the philosophical concept of ‘musica universalis’ or ‘music of the spheres’, usually attributed to Pythagoras, Ptolemy, and other ancient philosophers and scientists. They suggested that the proportions of the distances of the celestial bodies in the Solar System thought to be orbiting the Earth could be assigned tones, much as the pitch of a note coming from a plucked string is related to the length of that string. This theory was later developed further by (...)

#Comets #Comets_and_culture #Fun_stuff #culture_and_history #rosetta #soundcloud