#rosetta’s

Impressions of #Rosetta’s legacy
▻http://blogs.esa.int/rosetta/2016/12/23/impressions-of-rosettas-legacy

In September–October 2016, over 200 people contributed to the #rosetta Legacy campaign, sharing stories, images, videos, creations and experiences to convey what the mission had meant to them. We decided to collect all contributions in an e-book, to keep a long-lasting record of the mission’s impact on a variety of public audiences. This publication presents a collection of these outstanding contributions and provides a taste of Rosetta’s legacy for fellow science communicators, scientists and engineers, educators, space enthusiasts – anyone who was fascinated by the mission. The e-book (pdf, 33MB) is available here. Thanks again to everyone who shared with us their impressions of the mission, and to all followers of Rosetta and #Philae (...)

#Comet_67P #Fun_stuff #Outreach ##rosettalegacy #comet #engagement #inspiration #outreach #philae

#Rosetta’s complete journey – #animation
▻http://blogs.esa.int/rosetta/2016/12/23/rosettas-complete-journey-animation

Now in one complete animation: #rosetta’s #trajectory around #Comet_67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko, from arrival to mission end. The animation begins on 31 July 2014, during Rosetta’s final approach to the comet after its ten-year journey through space. The spacecraft arrived at a distance of 100 km on 6 August, from where it gradually approached the comet and entered initial mapping orbits that were needed to select a #Landing site for Philae. These observations also enabled the first comet science of the mission. The manoeuvres in the lead up to, during and after Philae’s release on 12 November are seen, before Rosetta settled into longer-term science orbits. In February and March 2015 the spacecraft made several flybys. One of the closest triggered a ‘safe mode’ that forced it to retreat (...)

#Fun_stuff #Operations #video ##CometLanding #flyby #manoeuvre

#Rosetta’s last words: #Science descending to a #comet
▻http://blogs.esa.int/rosetta/2016/12/15/rosettas-last-words-science-descending-to-a-comet

On 30 September 2016, at 11:19:37 UT in ESA’s mission control, #rosetta’s signal flat-lined, confirming that the spacecraft had completed its incredible mission on the surface of #Comet_67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko some 40 minutes earlier and 720 million km from Earth. Rosetta was working up to the very end, collecting reams of #science data as it descended towards a region of pits in the Ma’at region on the comet’s ‘head’. Before we ‘retire’ the blog, we wanted to catch up with the instrument teams following this grand finale to find out how their #Instruments performed and if there were any surprises in Rosetta’s last ‘words’ from the comet. First a reminder of the impact site: Rosetta was targeting a point within a 700 x 500 m ellipse, between two pits in the Ma’at region. Reconstruction of the (...)

#Images #Landing #Operations ##CometLanding #instruments #landing_day

Icy surprises at #Rosetta’s #comet
▻http://blogs.esa.int/rosetta/2016/11/17/icy-surprises-at-rosettas-comet

This article is mirrored from the main ESA Web Portal. #rosetta’s comet approached its most active period last year, the spacecraft spotted carbon dioxide ice – never before seen on a comet – followed by the emergence of two unusually large patches of #water_ice. The carbon dioxide ice layer covered an area comparable to the size of a football pitch, while the two water ice patches were each larger than an Olympic swimming pool and much larger than any signs of water ice previously spotted at the comet. The three icy layers were all found in the same region, on the comet’s southern hemisphere. A combination of the complex shape of the comet, its elongated path around the Sun and the substantial tilt of its spin, seasons are spread unequally between the two hemispheres of the double-lobed (...)

#Comet_67P #Images #Instruments #Science #activity #co2_ice #colour #osiris #VIRTIS

#Rosetta’s Earth ‘twin’ switched off
▻http://blogs.esa.int/rosetta/2016/10/07/rosettas-earth-twin-switched-off

Just as the real #rosetta spacecraft ended its mission on the comet a week ago today, so this week Rosetta’s ’twin’, an engineering qualification model here on Earth, was also switched off. The replica Rosetta had been used in the past decade to test and validate software and procedures before being uploaded to space. Switch-off was done by Rosetta Spacecraft #Operations Manager Sylvain Lodiot on 6 Oct 2016, at ESOC. This Flickr set records the occasion: ▻https://www.flickr.com/photos/esa_events/sets/72157674885552235

#Testing/EQM ##CometLanding

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

#Rosetta’s #Landing site
▻http://blogs.esa.int/rosetta/2016/09/30/rosettas-landing-site

Here’s a sequence of #Images captured by #rosetta during its descent to the surface of #Comet_67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko on 30 September.

#Instruments ##CometLanding #comet #images #osiris

#Rosetta’s last #navcam image
▻http://blogs.esa.int/rosetta/2016/09/30/rosettas-last-navcam-image

Rosetta’s Navigation Camera captured five images shortly after the collision manoeuvre last night, which are being analysed by flight dynamics to confirm the spacecraft is on track to impact its target in the Ma’at region of Comet 67P/C-G later today. The last image returned from the spacecraft was taken at 00:59 UT onboard the spacecraft, and downlinked to Earth a couple of hours later. It was taken at a distance of 17.4 km from the centre of the comet. The image scale is 1.5m/pixel and the image measures about 1.5 km across. The five images were used by the flight team to update the estimate of the landing time and final pointing of the spacecraft. The revised impact time is now predicted as 10:38:32 UT+/- 2 minutes at the comet.Because of the 40 minute signal travel time between Rosetta and (...)

#CometWatch ##CometLanding ##CometWatch #science

A comet’s life – a new #sonification from #Rosetta’s #rpc data
▻http://blogs.esa.int/rosetta/2016/09/29/a-comets-life-a-new-sonification-from-rosettas-rpc-data

In 2014, shortly after Rosetta’s arrival at #Comet_67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, the magnetometer on the Rosetta #plasma Consortium (RPC) suite of #Instruments, #RPC-Mag, detected some surprising oscillations in the plasma surrounding the nucleus, revealing the comet’s mysterious “song”. Now, after two years of monitoring the plasma around the comet, the RPC team present a new song based on data collected during the entire mission, describing the comet’s evolution from the point of view of Rosetta’s magnetometer. While the nucleus of Comet 67P/C-G is itself not magnetised, as measured by plasma instruments on both Rosetta and the lander Philae, it is embedded in the interplanetary #magnetic_field carried throughout the Solar System by the solar wind – a continuous flow of electrically charged (...)

#Audio #Fun_stuff #Science #diamagnetic_cavity #music #singing_comet #waves

Living with a comet: an #osiris team perspective
▻http://blogs.esa.int/rosetta/2016/09/29/living-with-a-comet-an-osiris-team-perspective

 OSIRIS, #Rosetta’s Optical, Spectroscopic and Infrared Remote Imaging System, has been our all-seeing eye on #Comet_67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, capturing nearly 68,000 high-resolution #Images of its nucleus and coma from all angles for 924 days. Here the OSIRIS team share some insights beyond the beauty of the images their camera returns. With inputs from Holger Sierks, OSIRIS principal investigator. OSIRIS has always had a big team: there are 97 team members today, and more than 300 people were involved – including industry partners – at the time the camera system was built. The instrument itself comprises two cameras – a wide- and narrow-angle camera, three electronics boxes, eight harnesses, and 22 subsystems, which were provided by nine European research institutes, plus industry, and (...)

#Instruments #Science ##LivingWithAComet #instruments #rosetta #science

#ambition – Epilogue: The Journey Continues
▻http://blogs.esa.int/rosetta/2016/09/28/ambition-epilogue-the-journey-continues

After her long, arduous training, our young Apprentice is now a fully fledged Master of cosmic origins, exploring an alien planet rich with water and life. But something familiar crosses her mind. Memories from her training, and #Rosetta’s historic journey to catch a #comet. She returns to the archives. Once again, ESA and Fish Ladder/Platige Image blur the lines between science fiction and science fact in this epilogue to their award-winning 2014 short #film, Ambition, which portrayed the scientific questions and technical challenges, and above all, the human determination that make exploration of the Universe such a compelling theme. The epilogue is directed by Maciej Jackiewicz and stars Aisling Franciosi (The Fall, Game of Thrones). Credits: A Fish Ladder/Platige Image & European (...)

#Comet_67P #Comets_and_culture #Fun_stuff #Landing #video ##CometLanding #rosetta #sci-fi

How to follow #Rosetta’s grand finale
▻http://blogs.esa.int/rosetta/2016/09/27/how-to-follow-rosettas-grand-finale

Rosetta is set to complete its historic mission in a controlled descent to the surface of its comet on 30 September, with the end of mission confirmation predicted to be within 20 minutes of 11:20 GMT (13:20 CEST). Details of how, when and where to follow the key moments online, starting with a review of the mission’s impressive haul of #Science highlights on 29 September, can be found below: 29 September 12:30–15:30 GMT / 14:30–17:30 CEST, science highlights Tune in to the livestream viewer at rosetta.esa.int, ►https://new.livestream.com/ESA/rosettagrandfinale or ESA’s Facebook page on 29 September for dedicated talks celebrating the scientific highlights of the mission. Programme overview Matt Taylor (ESA’s #rosetta Project Scientist): Introduction Mohamed El-Maarry (OSIRIS team, University of (...)

#Landing #media #Operations ##CometLanding #landing #landing_day #timeline

Visualising #Rosetta’s descent
▻http://blogs.esa.int/rosetta/2016/09/26/visualising-rosettas-descent

Imagine how #rosetta's descent might look if you were an observer at Comet 67P/C-G! This new animation visualises the final stages of Rosetta’s descent to Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko on 30 September 2016. The sequence is speeded up to show the relative motion of Rosetta and the rotating comet below. Earlier today, Rosetta completed a small manoeuvre as planned that puts it on the start of a 16 x 23 km #orbit needed in preparation for the collision manoeuvre on 29 September. Recap the final trajectories in the below animation: 

#Landing #Operations ##CometLanding #ocm #thruster #trajectory

#CometWatch 18 September – a new view of #Rosetta’s impact site
▻http://blogs.esa.int/rosetta/2016/09/23/cometwatch-18-september-a-new-view-of-rosettas-impact-site

As the #rosetta mission draws to a close next Friday, 30 September 2016, the CometWatch team here at ESA realised that this will be the last ’regular’ entry of this popular feature on the blog (*) through which we have shared a great deal of views of #Comet_67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko taken with Rosetta’s navigation camera (NAVCAM) since July 2014, shortly before Rosetta’s arrival at the #comet. As it happens, Rosetta recently took a new image of its final “landing” site on 67P/C-G, which we thought would make the perfect entry for this week’s CometWatch. The image was taken on 18 September 2016, when the spacecraft was 12.1 km from the centre of the comet. The image depicts the dust-covered terrains of #Ma'at, on the small comet lobe, where Rosetta is destined to make a controlled impact next (...)

#Images #Landing #Philae ##CometLanding #end_of_mission #landing_sites #navcam #osiris #philae

Summer fireworks on #Rosetta’s #comet
▻http://blogs.esa.int/rosetta/2016/09/23/summer-fireworks-on-rosettas-comet

Brief but powerful outbursts seen from #Comet_67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko during its most active period last year have been traced back to their origins on the surface. In the three months centred around the comet’s closest approach to the Sun, on 13 August 2015, #rosetta’s cameras captured 34 outbursts. These violent events were over and above regular jets and flows of material seen streaming from the comet’s nucleus. The latter switch on and off with clockwork repeatability from one comet rotation to the next, synchronised with the rise and fall of the Sun’s illumination. By contrast, outbursts are much brighter than the usual jets – sudden, brief, high-speed releases of dust. They are typically seen only in a single image, indicating that they have a lifetime shorter than interval between (...)

#Comets #CometWatch #Images #Science ##CometWatch #instruments

#Rosetta’s final orbits – animation
▻http://blogs.esa.int/rosetta/2016/09/22/rosettas-final-orbits-animation

This new animation visualises Rosetta’s last two months of trajectories around Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. The animation begins in early August, when the spacecraft started flying elliptical orbits that brought it progressively closer to the comet at its closest approach. On 24 September, #rosetta will leave its current close, flyover orbits and transfer into the start of a 16 x 23 km orbit that will be used to prepare and line up for the final descent. On the evening of 29 September (20:50 GMT) Rosetta will #manoeuvre onto a collision course with the comet, beginning the descent from an altitude of 19 km. The spacecraft will fall freely, without further manoeuvres, collecting scientific data during the descent. The animation below highlights this final set of manoeuvres and the (...)

#Landing #Operations ##CometLanding #flyby #trajectory

ESA Hangout : Preparing for #Rosetta’s grand finale
▻http://blogs.esa.int/rosetta/2016/09/15/esa-hangout-preparing-for-rosettas-grand-finale

ESA’s #rosetta spacecraft is set to complete its incredible mission in a controlled descent to the surface of Comet 67P/C-G on 30 September. Join mission experts on 19 September, 1200 GMT / 1400 CEST to discuss Rosetta’s final days and hours of operation, including expectations for the images and other scientific data that will be collected as the spacecraft gets closer and closer to the surface. We’ll also discuss the exciting discovery of Philae that was made earlier this month. Watch it live here: ▻https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9lIPUjFe40

Guests: Andrea Accomazzo, Flight #Operations director Sylvain Lodiot, Rosetta spacecraft operations manager Claire Vallet or Richard Moissl (TBC), Rosetta #Science ground segment liaison scientist Laurence O’Rourke, Rosetta downlink #science operations (...)

#media ##CometLanding #trajectory

#Rosetta’s descent towards region of active pits
▻http://blogs.esa.int/rosetta/2016/09/09/rosettas-descent-towards-region-of-active-pits

Squeezing out unique scientific observations until the very end, #rosetta’s thrilling mission will culminate with a descent on 30 September towards a region of active pits on the #comet’s ‘head’. The region, known as Ma’at, lies on the smaller of the two lobes of #Comet_67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko. It is home to several active pits more than 100 m in diameter and 50–60 m in depth – where a number of the comet’s dust jets originate. The walls of the pits also exhibit intriguing metre-sized lumpy structures called ‘goosebumps’, which scientists believe could be the signatures of early ‘cometesimals’ that assembled to create the comet in the early phases of Solar System formation. Rosetta will get its closest look yet at these fascinating structures on 30 September: the spacecraft will target a point (...)

#Comets #Instruments #Landing #Operations #Science ##CometLanding #instruments #science #trajectory

#Rosetta catches dusty organics
▻http://blogs.esa.int/rosetta/2016/09/07/rosetta-catches-dusty-organics

Rosetta’s #dust-analysing COSIMA (COmetary Secondary Ion Mass Analyser) instrument has made the first unambiguous detection of solid organic matter in the dust particles ejected by #Comet_67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, in the form of complex carbon-bearing molecules. While organics had already been detected in situ on the comet’s surface by instruments on-board Philae and from orbit by #rosetta’s ROSINA , those were both in the form of gases resulting from the sublimation of ices. By contrast, COSIMA has made its detections in solid dust. Their presence was only ever hinted at in previous comet missions, which flew by their targets at high speed and, as a result, disrupted the particles, making characterisation challenging. But Rosetta is orbiting Comet 67P/C-G and can catch dust particles (...)

#Comets #Science #science

#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

#CometWatch 22 August
▻http://blogs.esa.int/rosetta/2016/09/02/cometwatch-22-august-3

This week’s CometWatch entry was taken with #Rosetta’s #navcam on 22 August 2016, when the spacecraft was 6.8 km from the centre of #Comet_67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. The average distance to the surface is about 5.6 km, and with an image scale of 0.5 m/pixel, the image measures about 500 m across. The image shows part of the Ma’at region, close to where it transitions into Anuket and Hathor regions on the #comet’s small lobe. It shows a beautiful contrast between smooth, dust covered surfaces, and rather angular outcropping terrain and scattered debris. For more close-up images taken in the last week, be sure to check the OSIRIS image of the day website. The original 1024 x 1024 pixel image is provided (...)

#Comets #rosetta

#CometWatch – early August round-up
▻http://blogs.esa.int/rosetta/2016/08/12/cometwatch-early-august-round-up

Today’s CometWatch entry features a new image from #Rosetta’s #navcam (below) along with a round-up of #Images released from the OSIRIS narrow- and wide-angle cameras in the last week. The NAVCAM image, taken from a distance of about 10.6 km from #Comet_67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko on 8 August, shows a spectacular close-up of details close to the boundary of Atum (foreground and left) and Anubis (the smoother region towards the top). To the left, the scene shows exposed layers with smoother material lying in between, which transitions into a heavily eroded zone before taking on a smoother appearance again in the centre, albeit scarred with fracture-like features cross-cutting at a range of scales. Layers can also be picked out towards the top right, some of which have the appearance of being (...)

#comet #rosetta

Celebrating two years at the comet
▻http://blogs.esa.int/rosetta/2016/08/05/celebrating-two-years-at-the-comet

We’re celebrating #Rosetta’s two year anniversary at #Comet_67P/C-G (tomorrow!) with a new animation visualising the spacecraft’s incredible adventure flying alongside the comet. The animation begins on 31 July 2014, during #rosetta’s final approach to the comet after its ten-year journey through space. The spacecraft arrived at a distance of 100 km on 6 August whereupon it gradually approached the comet and entered initial mapping orbits that were needed to select a #Landing site for #philae. These observations also enabled the first comet #Science of the mission. The manoeuvres in the lead up to, during and after Philae’s deployment on 12 November are seen, before Rosetta settled into longer-term science orbits. In February and March 2015 the spacecraft made several flybys. One of the closest (...)

#Arrival #Operations ##CometLanding ##LivingWithAComet ##perihelion2015 ##WakeUpRosetta #orbit #timeline #trajectory

#CometWatch 24 July
▻http://blogs.esa.int/rosetta/2016/07/29/cometwatch-24-july-2

This stunning view along the boundary between Hatmehit and Wosret was captured by #Rosetta’s #navcam on 24 July from a distance of 9.7 km to the centre of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. The field of view includes the CONSERT search ellipse that has guided the search for #rosetta’s lander Philae since it landed unexpectedly in the yet-to-be identified location known as Abydos (check this animation for a reminder of the search area). The image also captures beautiful details of the cross-cutting fracture patterns that prevail in many locations all over the comet; they are particularly prominent towards the left of this scene. Numerous boulders cling to the surface, and in some places – notably in the lower left quadrant of the image – cast impressively long shadows across the comet’s (...)

##CometLanding

Final destination: Ma’at region
▻http://blogs.esa.int/rosetta/2016/07/21/final-destination-maat-region

The decision has been made for the location of #Rosetta’s controlled impact on #Comet_67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko on 30 September 2016, ending the mission. The spacecraft will target Ma’at, a region hosting some active pits on the small #comet lobe. This region has been chosen for its scientific potential and taking into account key operational constraints involved in executing the descent. The expected time for #rosetta's contact with the surface of the comet is approximately 12:30 CEST / 10:30 UTC. More details on the timeline and likely data to be taken during the descent will follow shortly.

#Landing ##CometLanding #end_of_mission #Ma'at