Rosetta prepares to map then land on comet.

[BridgeTroll]

Only a few days away from landing!

http://www.youtube.com/v/4-Wbb9cDeGY

[Jason]

On the edge of my seat!

[BridgeTroll]

Me too   

[BridgeTroll]

Here we go...

http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Operations/Live_updates_Rosetta_mission_comet_landing

http://new.livestream.com/esa/cometlanding

[IrvAdams]

This is supercool. I haven't been this excited about a solar system event since the Moon landing (a long time ago)...

[BridgeTroll]

It is supercool Irv!  They are having some issues to overcome... had some problems powering up and detaching and the thruster that is supposed to push the lander firmly down on the comet seems to be not working... they will have to rely on a soft landing and the harpoon system to stick the landing... 

[BridgeTroll]

Philae has detached and on her own...

The image was taken with the lander's CIVA-P imaging system and captures one of Rosetta's 14 metre-long solar arrays. It was stored onboard the lander until the radio link was established with Rosetta around two hours after separation, and then relayed to Earth.

The lander separated from the orbiter at 09:03 GMT/10:03 CET and is expected to touch down on Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko seven hours later. Confirmation of a successful touchdown is expected in a one-hour window centred on 16:02 GMT / 17:02 CET.

[BridgeTroll]

Timeline...

12/11 09:03:20 10:03:20 PHILAE SEPARATION (Forecast; 94-sec window)
Separation confirmation received on ground via ESA's NNO New Norcia station
12/11 09:04:12 10:04:12 Lander (ÇIVA) obtains first images of Orbiter (FAREWELL1)
12/11 09:06:17 10:06:17 Lander (ÇIVA) obtains seconds images of Orbiter (FAREWELL2)
12/11 09:12:17 10:12:17 Lander / Orbiter separation distance now ~100m
Earliest autodeployment of landing gear and ROMAP boom antenna
12/11 09:25:50 10:25:50 Lander starts rotation of 14 degrees to stable landing orientation
12/11 09:43:20 10:43:20 Rosetta performs post-delivery manoeuvre
Burn will be followed by loss of signal due to subsequent slew back to nominal pointing
Manoeuvre magnitude to be determined on 12/11
12/11 09:47:17 10:47:17 Lander completes all post-separation activities
12/11 10:53:20 11:53:20 Acquisition of signal (AOS) from Rosetta
Expected AOS; link with Rosetta now re-established
12/11 11:59:20 12:59:20 Start of stored data downlink from Rosetta & Philae
12/11 12:20:00 13:20:00 EOT DSN Canberra
12/11 13:15:00 14:15:00 BOT DSN Madrid
12/11 13:55:00 14:55:00 BOT ESA MLG
12/11 14:27:00 15:27:00 EOT NNO
12/11 14:58:57 15:58:57 Lander - switch-on Anchor & CivaRolis

12/11 15:01:57 16:01:57 Lander - start imaging landing site and switch on ADS (Active Descent System)
12/11 15:07:02 16:07:02 ROLIS begins imaging
12/11 15:17:15 16:17:15 On board Lander, systems conduct final pre-touch-down operations
12/11 15:22:20 16:22:20 Start of Lander touch-down window
12/11 16:02:20 17:02:20 EXPECTED LANDING and receipt of signal (Forecast; 40 min variability) 
12/11 - - Upon landing - start post-touch-down operations including:
* ADS thruster fires for ~15 sec to avoid rebound
* Harpoons (X2) fire to secure Lander to surface
* Flywheel off
12/11 16:07:12 17:07:12 ÇIVA-P panoramic imaging on
Lander obtains first images of surface and transmits same (forecast; depends on landing time)
12/11 16:07:14 17:07:14 Separation, Descent & Landing (SDL) science observations continue: Ptolemy & COSAC begin science gathering; data collected during descent and initial surface observations will be uploaded
12/11 16:39:39 17:39:39 Lander completes SDL operations; upload of science data
12/11 17:49:07 18:49:07 Lander begins First Science Sequence (FSS) Block 1; runs about 7 hours
12/11 19:00:00 20:00:00 EOT DSN Madrid
12/11 19:03:00 20:03:00 End of Lander/Orbiter first communication window
13/11 01:43:00 02:43:00 BOT ESA NNO
13/11 02:59:00 03:59:00 EOT ESA MLG

Keen for more details? Download the extended version of this timeline here.

Notes:

BOT Begin of track
EOT End of track
NNO ESA - ESTRACK 35m New Norcia tracking station, Australia
MLG ESA - ESTRACK 35m Malargüe tracking station, Argentina
LDR Philae Lander
ROS Rosetta Orbiter
LCC Lander Control Centre, DLR/Cologne
ESOC Rosetta Control Centre, ESA/Darmstadt
ROLIS Rosetta Lander Imaging System (ROLIS): CCD imager designed to return images of the landing site before and after Philae has landed
ADS Active Descent System (ADS) - this system emits cold gas thrust at touchdown to avoid rebound.
BOT Indicates when station is pointing & ready. Actual acquisition of signal may come only afterwards 
DSS 25 NASA - DSN 34m Goldstone tracking station, California, USA
DSS 45 NASA - DSN 34m Canberra tracking station, Australia
DSS 55 NASA - DSN 34m Madrid tracking station, Spain
DSS 54 NASA - DSN 34m Madrid tracking station, Spain
MVR Manoeuvre - a thruster burn to change direction and/or speed
MSS (Mechanical Support System) is the lander side of Philae which executes the mechanical separation from the orbiter.
ESS ESS (Electrical Support System) is the orbiter part of the lander. The ESS controls the orbiter communication interface with the lander. ESS itself operates as usual as power and data interface to the Orbiter.

Link to Lander science instruments via http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Rosetta/Lander_Instruments

[BridgeTroll]

Picture of lander Philae from Rosetta descending towards comet...

[BridgeTroll]

I think it should be landing in the next few minutes...

http://www.youtube.com/v/szKZ77MbF9Q

[BridgeTroll]

SUCCESS!!!!

They have landed and it is communicating... images in a few hours... 

[BridgeTroll]

The image shows was acquired during descent on 12 November 2014 at 14:38:41 UT, from a distance of approximately 3 km from the surface. The landing site is imaged with a resolution of about 3m per pixel.

The ROLIS instrument is a down-looking imager that acquires images during the descent and doubles as a multispectral close-up camera after the landing. The aim of the ROLIS experiment is to study the texture and microstructure of the comet's surface.

In the upper right corner a segment of the Philae landing gear is visible.

[BridgeTroll]

http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Rosetta/Touchdown!_Rosetta_s_Philae_probe_lands_on_comet

Touchdown! Rosetta's Philae probe lands on comet

12 November 2014
ESA's Rosetta mission has soft-landed its Philae probe on a comet, the first time in history that such an extraordinary feat has been achieved.

After a tense wait during the seven-hour descent to the surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko, the signal confirming the successful touchdown arrived on Earth at 16:03 GMT (17:03 CET).

The confirmation was relayed via the Rosetta orbiter to Earth and picked up simultaneously by ESA's ground station in Malargüe, Argentina and NASA's station in Madrid, Spain. The signal was immediately confirmed at ESA's Space Operations Centre, ESOC, in Darmstadt, and DLR's Lander Control Centre in Cologne, both in Germany.

The first data from the lander's instruments were transmitted to the Philae Science, Operations and Navigation Centre at France's CNES space agency in Toulouse.

"Our ambitious Rosetta mission has secured a place in the history books: not only is it the first to rendezvous with and orbit a comet, but it is now also the first to deliver a lander to a comet's surface," noted Jean-Jacques Dordain, ESA's Director General.

"With Rosetta we are opening a door to the origin of planet Earth and fostering a better understanding of our future. ESA and its Rosetta mission partners have achieved something extraordinary today."

"After more than 10 years travelling through space, we're now making the best ever scientific analysis of one of the oldest remnants of our Solar System," said Alvaro Giménez, ESA's Director of Science and Robotic Exploration.

"Decades of preparation have paved the way for today's success, ensuring that Rosetta continues to be a game-changer in cometary science and space exploration."

"We are extremely relieved to be safely on the surface of the comet, especially given the extra challenges that we faced with the health of the lander," said Stephan Ulamec, Philae Lander Manager at the DLR German Aerospace Center.

"In the next hours we'll learn exactly where and how we've landed, and we'll start getting as much science as we can from the surface of this fascinating world."

Rosetta was launched on 2 March 2004 and travelled 6.4 billion kilometres through the Solar System before arriving at the comet on 6 August 2014.

"Rosetta's journey has been a continuous operational challenge, requiring an innovative approach, precision and long experience," said Thomas Reiter, ESA Director of Human Spaceflight and Operations.

"This success is testimony to the outstanding teamwork and the unique knowhow in operating spacecraft acquired at the European Space Agency over the decades." 

The landing site, named Agilkia and located on the head of the bizarre double-lobed object, was chosen just six weeks after arrival based on images and data collected at distances of 30–100 km from the comet. Those first images soon revealed the comet as a world littered with boulders, towering cliffs and daunting precipices and pits, with jets of gas and dust streaming from the surface.

Following a period spent at 10 km to allow further close-up study of the chosen landing site, Rosetta moved onto a more distant trajectory to prepare for Philae's deployment.

Five critical go/no-go decisions were made last night and early this morning, confirming different stages of readiness ahead of separation, along with a final preseparation manoeuvre by the orbiter.

Deployment was confirmed at 09:03 GMT (10:03 CET) at a distance of 22.5km from the centre of the comet. During the seven-hour descent, which was made without propulsion or guidance, Philae took images and recorded information about the comet's environment.

"One of the greatest uncertainties associated with the delivery of the lander was the position of Rosetta at the time of deployment, which was influenced by the activity of the comet at that specific moment, and which in turn could also have affected the lander's descent trajectory," said Sylvain Lodiot, ESA Rosetta Spacecraft Operations Manager.

"Furthermore, we're performing these operations in an environment that we've only just started learning about, 510 million kilometres from Earth."

Touchdown was planned to take place at a speed of around 1 m/s, with the three-legged landing gear absorbing the impact to prevent rebound, and an ice screw in each foot driving into the surface.

But during the final health checks of the lander before separation, a problem was detected with the small thruster on top that was designed to counteract the recoil of the harpoons to push the lander down onto the surface. The conditions of landing – including whether or not the thruster performed – along with the exact location of Philae on the comet are being analysed.

The first images from the surface are being downlinked to Earth and should be available within a few hours of touchdown. 

Over the next 2.5 days, the lander will conduct its primary science mission, assuming that its main battery remains in good health. An extended science phase using the rechargeable secondary battery may be possible, assuming Sun illumination conditions allow and dust settling on the solar panels does not prevent it. This extended phase could last until March 2015, after which conditions inside the lander are expected to be too hot for it to continue operating.

Science highlights from the primary phase will include a full panoramic view of the landing site, including a section in 3D, high-resolution images of the surface immediately underneath the lander, on-the-spot analysis of the composition of the comet's surface materials, and a drill that will take samples from a depth of 23 cm and feed them to an onboard laboratory for analysis.

The lander will also measure the electrical and mechanical characteristics of the surface. In addition, low-frequency radio signals will be beamed between Philae and the orbiter through the nucleus to probe the internal structure.

The detailed surface measurements that Philae makes at its landing site will complement and calibrate the extensive remote observations made by the orbiter covering the whole comet.

"Rosetta is trying to answer the very big questions about the history of our Solar System. What were the conditions like at its infancy and how did it evolve? What role did comets play in this evolution? How do comets work?" said Matt Taylor, ESA Rosetta project scientist.

"Today's successful landing is undoubtedly the cherry on the icing of a 4 km-wide cake, but we're also looking further ahead and onto the next stage of this ground-breaking mission, as we continue to follow the comet around the Sun for 13 months, watching as its activity changes and its surface evolves."

While Philae begins its close-up study of the comet, Rosetta must manoeuvre from its post-separation path back into an orbit around the comet, eventually returning to a 20 km orbit on 6 December.

Next year, as the comet grows more active, Rosetta will need to step further back and fly unbound 'orbits', but dipping in briefly with daring flybys, some of which will bring it within just 8 km of the comet centre.

The comet will reach its closest distance to the Sun on 13 August 2015 at about 185 million km, roughly between the orbits of Earth and Mars. Rosetta will follow it throughout the remainder of 2015, as they head away from the Sun and activity begins to subside.

"It's been an extremely long and hard journey to reach today's once-in-a-lifetime event, but it was absolutely worthwhile. We look forward to the continued success of the great scientific endeavour that is the Rosetta mission as it promises to revolutionise our understanding of comets," said Fred Jansen, ESA Rosetta mission manager.

[BridgeTroll]

This photo from Philae shows the surface during the lander's approach


http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-30026398

European robot probe has made the first, historic landing on a comet, but its status remains uncertain after harpoons failed to anchor it to the surface.

Officials said the craft may have lifted off the comet after touchdown before returning to the surface.

Mission scientist Stephan Ulamec said: "Maybe we didn't just land once, we landed twice."

He said it would take further analysis to understand what has happened to it.

A landing on Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko was confirmed at about 1605 GMT.

There were cheers and hugs at the control room in Darmstadt, Germany, after the signal was confirmed.

It was designed to shine a light on some of the mysteries of these icy relics from the formation of the Solar System.

The landing caps a 6.4 billion-kilometre journey that was begun a decade ago.

The lander sank about 4cm into the surface, suggesting a relatively soft surface.

But shortly after, scientists confirmed that the harpoons, designed to fasten the spacecraft to the ball of ice, did not fire as intended.

In a media briefing, Dr Ulamec, the mission's landing chief, said: "What we know is we touched down, we landed at the comet at the time when you all saw us cheering and when it was announced.

"We had a very clear signal there, we received data from the landing - housekeeping and science data - that's the good news."

But then Dr Ulamec delivered the bad news. He said telemetry from the craft suggested it may have drifted off the surface after landing and started to turn. This subsequently came to an end, which Dr Ulamec interpreted as a possible "second landing" on Comet 67P.

This "bounce" was always a possibility, but had been made more likely by the failure of the harpoons to deploy.

The first pictures from the surface have already reached Earth and are being processed in preparation for release.

Scientists were initially elated following the confirmation of a landing.

Astronaut Chris Hadfield, famous for performing David Bowie's Space Oddity on the space station, said of the comet: "Now we're close enough to lick it, and see what it's really made of."

Prof Monica Grady of the Open University, who has worked on the project from its earliest days, was at mission control in Darmstadt and was jumping for joy when the news came through.

She told BBC News: "I can't believe it, it's fantastic, we've landed - we've waited so long for this."

But the news about the harpoons has cast a pall over the celebrations. Scientists will now take a decision on whether to re-fire them.

Scientists believe Philae was in a stable configuration when they last had contact with the probe. But they have now lost radio "visibility" and will only re-establish contact on Thursday.

Earlier, a thruster system designed to push the robot down into the surface of the comet failed.

Part of the difficulty is the very low gravity on the 4km-wide ice mountain.
The nature and strength of the materials on the surface are unknown.

Philae could have alighted upon terrain whose constitution is anything between rock hard and puff-powder soft.

Controllers in Darmstadt have already received pictures from the surface of the comet, but are getting intermittent drop-out in the lander's signal.

Analysis by Science editor David Shukman

Landing on the small strange world of a comet ranks as one of the greatest achievements in space exploration. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin would obviously take pride of place.

People might debate the relative prowess of robotic rovers driving on Mars or the Voyager spacecraft edging out of the solar system.

But touching down on a primordial lump of rock and ice that dates from the earliest days of the Solar System - and which is hurtling through space at 34,000 mph - is a genuine triumph by any standards.

Dreaming up the plan 25 years ago, enduring 10 years of journeying through space, handling the tension of edging close to the comet more than 300 million miles away - all these are remarkable in their own right.

Rosetta's orbits around the comet are generating unexpected insights. But landing will help achieve a dream of establishing invaluable ground truth about a body that previous generations could only gawp at in wonder or terror.

line
Paolo Ferri, head of operations at Esa, told BBC News: "We need to stabilise this situation over the next three hours."

Philae was deployed to take pictures of the comet's landscape and to analyse its chemical composition.

They are hoping its surface materials will hold fresh insights into the origins of our Solar System more than 4.5 billion years ago.

One theory holds that comets were responsible for delivering water to the planets. Another idea is that they could have "seeded" the Earth with the chemistry needed to help kick-start life.

[BridgeTroll]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2831125/Rosetta-mission-broken-thruster-computer-glitch-scupper-today-s-historic-landing-comet-67P.html

Five simple words marked the fulfilment of an extraordinary feat of space exploration yesterday when scientists announced: 'We are on the comet.'

To cheers and hugs, ecstatic experts delivered the news that a machine the size of a dishwasher had dropped onto an icy rock more than 300 million miles away.

However, they later revealed that the mission is already in jeopardy as it emerged the lander, which was supposed to use harpoons to tether itself to the comet's surface, had been unable to fire them and appeared to be moving around. 



It was a worrying end to an extraordinary day.

At the European Space Agency's mission control, a faint radio signal came back from the Philae lander at 4pm – proof that it had finally reached the surface of the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko after a decade-long chase through space.

Dr Stephan Ulamec, who ran the audacious landing programme, said early tests suggested the craft had bounced softly before turning and settling again.

He said: 'It touched down and was re-bouncing. So maybe today, we didn't just land, we landed twice.'

Last night the team were still not sure how securely Philae was fastened after landing thrusters and anchoring harpoons failed to fire.

It was not clear if its three ice screws had deployed either.

Dr Ulamec said: 'Did we just land in a soft-sand box and everything is fine? Or is there something else happening? We still do not fully understand what has happened.'

Scientists will not know the status of the project until further tests are completed this afternoon.

However, last night they were treating the landing itself as a success.

British scientist Dr Matt Taylor, who played a key role in the mission, said: 'To see this mountaineering effort, that we've descended a lander to the surface of a comet, I can't put words to it. It's beautiful.'

And the expert was so confident of success that he had even had an image of the space probe tattooed on his right leg.

Before the attempt yesterday, there was also a good luck message from a man who had once boasted of boldly going into space himself.

Star Trek actor William Shatner sent the team a video in which the 83-year-old said: 'Good luck Rosetta, Philae's gonna land.'

One scientist then described the seven hours of 'terror' they went through to drop the Philae lander 13.6 miles above the comet from its mothership, Rosetta.

Dr Matthew Genge, of Imperial College London, said during the wait: 'This is the most difficult landing in space history – like landing a balloon in a city centre on a windy day with your eyes closed.'

Much of the equipment aboard the lander was switched on for the first time after lying dormant during the ten-year journey.

Klim Churyumov, one of the Ukrainians who discovered the comet 45 years ago and named it, said from mission control in Darmstadt, Germany: 'We saw the first light from this comet in 1969, now we are landing on it. It is a fantastic, outstanding event, the first like it in human civilization.'

The probe is equipped with cameras, a suite of ten instruments, and a drill that can bore out samples to a depth of nine inches.

Ptolemy, a British-built laboratory the size of a shoebox, will be used to analyse the composition of samples from the 4.5billion-year-old comet.

Scientists hope the £1billion project will solve some of the greatest puzzles in science – including the origins of life on Earth.

Open University Professor Ian Wright, who helped create Ptolemy, said: 'The idea that comets may have brought the building blocks of life to Earth is one of the reasons why we want to study them.'

Professor Stanley Cowley, planetary scientist at the University of Leicester, added: 'It is an interesting relic from that otherwise inaccessible epoch.'

However, controllers have revealed that because harpoons supposed to tether it to the surface had not fired, the lander may have actually bounced, effectively landing twice - and leaving it attached only by screws on its legs.

'It's complicated to land on a comet, and complicated to understand what has happened during this landing,' said Dr Stefan Ulamec, Philae Lander Manager.