News Archive / Tagged: Comet 67P

• Philae lander found wedged in ‘dark crack’ on comet 67P

  Derek RichardsonSeptember 5th, 2016

  After months of poring over images to search for the precise landing location of the lost Philae lander, European Space Agency (ESA) scientists finally located it with the Rosetta orbiter's high-resolution camera. The tiny spacecraft was seen to be wedged in a "dark crack" on the smaller lobe of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.

• Alice in cometland: NASA spectrograph on Rosetta spacecraft makes atmospheric discovery

  Tomasz NowakowskiJune 6th, 2015

  Just like the girl adventurer in Lewis Carroll’s famous novel, Nasa’s Alice instrument aboard Esa’s Rosetta spacecraft takes measurements to unveil the wonderful world of comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko, full of peculiar features and yet uncovered atmospheric mysteries. 

• Rosetta detects molecular nitrogen on comet 67P

  SpaceFlight InsiderMarch 26th, 2015

  The European Space Agency’s (ESA) Rosetta spacecraft is a mission of firsts – first to rendezvous with a comet, first to land on a comet, and now first to detect molecular nitrogen on a comet. The latest data collected at Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko is providing clues about the temperature environment in which it formed.

• Rosetta conducts closest flyby yet of the surface of comet 67P

  SpaceFlight InsiderFebruary 17th, 2015

  As people on Earth were celebrating Valentine’s Day over the weekend, a lonely space probe was orbiting a large hunk of ice and rock floating in outer space. The European Space Agency’s (ESA) Rosetta spacecraft has spent the last six months orbiting Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (comet 67P for short), busily taking pictures of the rocky terrain […]

• Our SpaceFlight Heritage: Celebrating the anniversary of another comet first – the Stardust spacecraft

  Joe LatrellJanuary 3rd, 2015

  A worldwide comet frenzy has been going on for the past few months. After reaching comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko, Rosetta successfully deployed the Philae lander on November 12, 2014. This month, the comet Lovejoy makes its grand appearance close to the constellation Orion. Discovered by amateur astronomer Terry Lovejoy, the comet should spectacular sight for astronomers and […]

• ESA scientist Matt Taylor: Rosetta instrument will make invaluable discoveries

  Tomasz NowakowskiDecember 23rd, 2014

  On Dec. 10, the European Space Agency (ESA ) announced the latest discovery regarding comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko. The Rosetta spacecraft that is currently orbiting the comet has found the water vapor from its target to be significantly different to water found on Earth. The discovery made by Rosetta’s Orbiter Spectrometer for Ion and Neutral Analysis (ROSINA ) fuels the […]

• Rosetta reignites debate on the origin of Earth’s water

  SpaceFlight InsiderDecember 12th, 2014

  The European Space Agency’s (ESA) comet-chasing spacecraft, Rosetta, is on a mission of discovery, aiming to unlock the secrets of the early solar system. After deploying its Philae lander on Nov. 12, Rosetta has continued to orbit and analyze Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Scientists have long hypothesized that comets were responsible for supplying the infant Earth with […]

• Despite safe landing, Philae’s future is uncertain

  SpaceFlight InsiderNovember 14th, 2014

  Almost twenty years of hard work and dedication paid off this week for the European Space Agency (ESA ). On Wednesday, Oct. 12, ESA’s comet-chasing spacecraft, Rosetta, deployed a washing machine-sized lander and achieved the first-ever soft touchdown on the surface of a comet. The team in mission control waited on the edge of their seats for […]

• Rosetta’s Philae lander given “green light” for upcoming landing

  SpaceFlight InsiderOctober 18th, 2014

  The European Space Agency (ESA) has officially given the go ahead for Rosetta’s lander, Philae, to touchdown on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. The historic landing is now scheduled to occur on Nov. 12, and will mark the first time a spacecraft has landed on the surface of a comet. The chosen landing site, designated “Site J”, is […]

• Rosetta’s ALICE instrument delivers first data and preliminary map of Comet 67P is revealed

  SpaceFlight InsiderSeptember 11th, 2014

  One of NASA’s four instruments aboard the European Space Agency’s (ESA’s) Rosetta spacecraft has returned its first scientific findings. The ALICE instrument, first began scanning comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko ‘s surface roughly a month ago in an effort to determine the origin, composition, and internal processes to gather data we cannot collect via ground-based or even Earth-orbiting […]

• Search for Rosetta’s Philae landing site narrows

  SpaceFlight InsiderAugust 27th, 2014

  Two weeks after the European Space Agency’s (ESA ) Rosetta spacecraft arrived at Comet 67 P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, scientists have been busy gathering data in preparation for an upcoming landing on the comet’s surface. If all goes according to plan, in November, Philae will be the first spacecraft to ever land on the surface of a comet. […]