Rosetta Mission Plans An Early November Landing—It’s A Date

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Now that primary analyses are completed, and the landscape of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko is well mapped out, the European Space Agency has planned its next move for the Rosetta mission and set a date.

The Rosetta mission, which arrived to its primary destination on August 6 after a 10 year long journey through our region of space, was always fated to make contact with Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Its mission since its inception has always been to reach the comet and discover what information it can about the 4.6 billion-year history of our small solar system. And now that the comet has been eyed by the Rosetta, the two will finally make contact after years of anticipation.

 After three months of orbiting the speeding comet, ESA's Rosetta mission will deploy its lander named "Philae" to a location on the smaller of the comet's two lobes and will arrive on November 12. The chosen location, indicated as Site J on the comet's surface, was chosen unanimously by the ESA over four other sites because of its relatively flat surface and far less rocky terrain. As a near ideal location for Philae to land, given the rough surface of the comet, Site J will provide Philae with enough daily sunlight to recharge itself, and extend the surface science exploration far beyond the initial 64-hour battery-powered phase.

As the ESA and its researchers continue to investigate the multiple possibilities for flight trajectories and landing scenarios, two scenarios have predominantly been confirmed as likely cases for action: one targeting Site J, and a backup option targeting Site C. While final confirmation is awaited after the October 14 formal Lander Operations Readiness Review, wherein high-resolution analyses of the potential landing sites and flight plans will be under cautious review, the ESA is firmly certain that Site J will be the most likely of candidates for the ground-breaking landing of Philae this November.

While Philae and ESA researchers prepare for the 22.5 km trip to the surface of the comet, the primary objectives at hand are still underway for the Rosetta mission. Following the comet on its elliptical path beyond the moons of Jupiter, the Rosetta orbiter will continue its year-long mission analyzing the comet and its projections throughout space with its 11 on-board scientific instruments, even while the Philae departs for its own branch of the tasks.

And though anticipation builds for the November 12 launch and landing here on Earth, in Rosetta's parts of space everyday is business as usual.