The Rosetta spacecraft, launched by the European Space Agency (ESA) in 2004, is renowned for its ambitious mission to study the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. It made history in 2014 by becoming the first spacecraft to orbit a comet and the first to deploy a lander, Philae, onto a comet’s surface. Rosetta’s decade-long journey covered over 6 billion kilometers through the solar system, utilizing gravitational assists from Earth and Mars to reach its target. The spacecraft’s suite of scientific instruments analyzed the comet’s nucleus and environment in unprecedented detail, providing insights into the composition and structure of cometary material, which is believed to be primordial in nature. This data is crucial for understanding the solar system’s formation and the origin of water and life on Earth. The mission concluded in September 2016 with a controlled descent onto the comet’s surface, marking the end of an era in cometary exploration.
ESA’s Rosetta mission discovers unique aurora at Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Data from Southwest Research Institute-led instruments aboard ESA’s Rosetta spacecraft have helped reveal auroral emissions in…
An atmospheric light show previously relegated to planets and Jupiter moons is found on comet using data from ESA’s Rosetta spacecraft. Data from NASA instruments…
The dust that comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko emits into space consists of about one-half of organic molecules. The dust also belongs to the most pristine and carbon-rich…
These newly released images are the last taken by ESA’s Rosetta Spacecraft shortly before its controlled impact into the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. A new image of…
ESA’s Rosetta Spacecraft views Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko making its closest approach to the Sun, coming within 186 million km of the Sun. In the year that…
A new set of images from the European Space Agency’s Rosetta spacecraft shows a short-lived outburst from comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko. The European Space Agency’s Rosetta spacecraft…
A newly published study reveals that 18 quasi-circular pits in the northern hemisphere of comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko’s are responsible for its halo of dust and gas….
Rosetta’s continued study of Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko has revealed an unexpected process at work that causes the rapid breakup of water and carbon dioxide molecules spewing…
New data from Rosetta and Philae reveal that the nucleus of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko is not magnetized. Studying the properties of a comet can provide clues…
Data from ESA’s Rosetta spacecraft reveals that there has been a significant increase in the amount of water “pouring” out of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, the comet…
The Rosetta spacecraft has discovered that the composition of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko’s water vapor is significantly different from that found on Earth, reigniting the debate on…
After more than a decade in space, ESA’s Philae lander has made the first-ever soft landing of a spacecraft on a comet. Mission controllers at…
The European Space Agency has confirmed that the Philae lander has successfully reached the surface of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. This is the first time in history…
As ESA’s Rosetta spacecraft prepares to dispatch its Philae lander to the surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, a set of instruments on Rosetta has picked up…
A new four minute ScienceCast video previews the first-ever landing on a comet. Showing how difficult it will be for the Philae lander since comet…
As ESA’s Philae lander prepares for its November 12th landing on Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, the comet is showing signs of increased activity. Images of the comet…
This mosaic from the European Space Agency’s Rosetta spacecraft shows a close up view of landing “Site J” – the primary landing site on comet…
This new image from ESA’s Philae lander shows one of the 52-foot-long (16-meter-long) solar arrays from the Rosetta spacecraft with comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko hovering in the…