Rosetta and Philae: first orbit of and landing on a comet
Rosetta y Philae: primera órbita y aterrizaje en un cometa
- Date
- 12 de noviembre de 2014 · confidence high
- Place
- European Space Operations Centre (ESOC), Darmstadt, Germany
- Credited to
- European Space Agency (with DLR, CNES and ASI)
- Field
- Movement
What was discovered
The Rosetta probe orbited comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko for more than two years and released the Philae lander, which touched down on its surface in 2014. It measured its water, with a deuterium ratio different from Earth's, and complex organic molecules.
Philae bounced twice and ended in a shadow that prevented recharging its batteries; its data were obtained during about 64 hours. The name alludes to the Rosetta Stone and the Philae obelisk.
What it led to
- analysis of the origin of Earth's water
- data on a comet's evolution through perihelion
- Philae and the technique of landing in minuscule gravity