Is everyone aware that the European Space Agency has a spacecraft orbiting a comet at the moment? And that the day after tomorrow the Agency is going to try to land a robot on one of the larger chunks of said comet?
That’s one hell of a plan.
Much of the surface of the comet is covered in boulders – some larger than houses – as well as steep slopes, deep pits and towering cliffs. In the lower part of this image, the narrowness of the neck region connecting the two lobes is emphasised, with the rugged terrain of the larger lobe in the background.
On 12 November, Rosetta will release Philae from an altitude of 22.5 km from the comet centre at 08:35 GMT/09:35 CET, with signals confirming deployment arriving at Earth 28 minutes later.
Philae will take about seven hours to descend to the surface, with the signal confirming a successful touchdown expected to arrive on Earth in a one-hour window centred on 16:02 GMT/17:02 CET.
You can follow Philae at this website, starting at 9:00 AM HST on Tuesday, Nov. 11. That will be 11:00 AM PST and 2:00 PM EST.
Yes, I did know about this. Yes, it’s fascinating. Thanks for the link, I’ve bookmarked it.