NASA instrument aboard Rosetta returns its first science results

(Artist’s concept of Rosetta orbiting 67P – Photo Credit: NASA/ESA)

A NASA instrument aboard the European Space Agency’s Rosetta spacecraft has successfully obtained its first set of science data from comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.

Rosetta performs scientific observations and begins selecting possible landing sites

(Close up detail of comet 67P’s surface – Photo Credit: ESA/Rosetta/NAVCAM)

Just a week after arriving at Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, the European Space Agency’s Rosetta spacecraft is beginning to acquire the data it needs to select a landing site.

After a 10 year journey, Rosetta arrives at Comet 67P

(Photo Credit: ESA/Rosetta)

After a decade-long journey, the European Space Agency’s Rosetta spacecraft has today become the first vehicle to ever rendezvous with a comet. Rosetta has now established a stable orbit around Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko after completing the last of a series of 10 rendezvous manoeuvres that adjusted Rosetta’s speed and trajectory to gradually match those of comet.

Rosetta’s temperature measurments reveal comet 67P is not covered in ice

(The latest image of the comet – Photo Credit: ESA/Rosetta/MPS for OSIRIS Team et al)

After travelling nearly 6.4 billion kilometres through the Solar System, the European Space Agency’s Rosetta spacecraft is just 4 days away from ‘arriving’ at comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko. With less than 700km separating the objects, Rosetta has been able to measure, for the first time, the temperature of the 67P, revealing that the cosmic body is too hot to be covered in ice.

Rosetta discovers its target is actually a ‘double’ comet

(Rotating view of comet 67P – Photo Credit: ESA/Rosetta/MPS for OSIRIS Team et al)

New pictures aquired by European Space Agency’s Rosetta spacecraft have revealed that the probe’s target, comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, is not one but two objects joined together.

Rosetta captures footage of Comet 67P tumbling through space

(Photo Credit: Rosetta/ESA/MPS for OSIRIS Team et al.)

In 30 days, the European Space Agency’s Rosetta spacecraft will rendezvous with Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Just 28623km separates them and the craft’s on board narrow-angle camera is providing much clearer images than before.

The animation above was assembled from 36 images acquired last week as the craft was about 86000km from 67P, showing the comet distinctively rotating and tumbling over a period of 12.4 hours 

ESA’s Rosetta spacecraft prepares to orbit and land on comet

(Artist’s conception of Rosetta and its lander, Philae – Photo Credit: ESA/J. Huart)

In less than 40 days, the European Space Agency’s Rosetta spacecraft will rendezvous with comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. The pair are now around 500 million km from Earth, and after completing a number of big thruster burns to slow the comet chaser’s speed relative to 67P, they are separated by only 1,15,792 km.