Rosetta Space Probe Scheduled to Land on the Surface of a Comet


The Rosetta probe is a spacecraft that was launched into space March 2, 2004 by the European Space Agency. The unmanned probe was sent to pursue comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.

After a 10-year and 4-billion mile chase, Rosetta intercepted 67P in an area between Mars and Jupiter. This is a momentous event. The $1.74 billion mission was implemented to learn more about comets. But the project will also help scientists learn more about stars, planets and life in outer-space. In the coming months, Rosetta will observe 67P from a distance of 60 miles. It is also set to drop a lander on 67P’s surface in November. The probe’s recent pictures reveal that the comets surface is porous, and has steep cliffs and massive boulders.

Rosetta is scheduled to follows 67P for about another year. It is very likely to uncover more about the things that man has long considered unreachable.

[Sources: Associated Press , http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Rosetta/Rosetta_factsheet ]

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