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Rosetta is a space probe financed by the European Space Agency. It was originally to have been launched on January 12, 2003 to rendezvous with the comet 46 P/Wirtanen in 2011. However this plan was abandoned after the Ariane 5 failure on December 11, 2002.
A new plan was formed to target the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko with a launch February 26, 2004 and rendezvous in 2014. Besides the changes made to launch time and target, the mission profile remains almost identical. As before, the Rosetta craft will enter a very slow orbit around the comet and gradually slow down in preparation for releasing a lander that will make contact with the comet itself. The lander, named "Philae", will approach 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko at speeds around 1 m/s and on contact with the surface, two harpoons will be fired into the comet to prevent the lander from bouncing off. Additional drills are used to further secure the lander on the comet.
Once attached to the comet, the lander will begin its science mission:
- Characterisation of the nucleus
- Determination of the chemical compounds present
- Study comet activities and developments over time
The exact surface layout of the comet is currently unknown and the orbiter has been built to map this before detaching the lander. It is anticipated that a suitable landing site can be found, although few specific details exist regarding the surface.
The probe is named after the Rosetta Stone, as it is hoped the mission too will unlock the secrets of how our universe looked before planets formed. The lander is named after the Nile island Philae, where an obelisk was found that helped decipher the Rosetta Stone.
Planned Mission Timeline
Timeline
2004
Reference
External link
