The arrangements for the navigated crash at the European Space Agency (ESA) have been going on for some time. In the last few weeks, Rosetta has been circling its comet 67p/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in a very uneven oval orbit. Its flight path brought the spacecraft close to the comet - in brief, once during every orbital turn. The nearest is about one kilometer near.
With its odd flight path, it was finally likely for Rosetta to discover the accurate location of its lost landing robot, Philae, sometime in September. Its cameras flicked the small device during a 2,7-kilometer-high fly by. The discovery validated what the scientists believed all along: That Philea had rolled out during its landing on November 12, 2014, and slipped into a cleft, where it could not get sufficient sunlight to recharge its batteries and keep hold proper radio contact to Rosetta. Evermore, the contact among both space vehicles was only rare and occasional.
Disclosing Numerous Secrets
With the 11 instruments on Rosetta and 10 on Philae, the mission managed to produce an important data and send it back to Earth. In the process it entirely transformed the picture, questors had of comets.
Previously, they were intended to be merely stale ice balls. Now the Astrophysicists know, that comets are highly compound bodies. Comet Chury, for example, consists of six times more rock and dust than water. 99% of the dust is made up of bits smaller than a millimeter. The comet's nucleus comprises mainly of minerals: silicate and sulfide.
Where To Watch It
With the exclusion of the collision maneuver on the morning of the 30th, all of Rosetta's grand finale events will be every live-streamed available. However, rosetta.esa.int will uplink coverage, at https://livestream.com/ESA/rosettagra... and on Facebook. You can also tune into all the breathtaking event right here, starting at 10:30PM AEST tonight.
