Subject: Spacecraft to attempt comet landing next month Thu Oct 16, 2014 7:25 am
Spacecraft to attempt comet landing next month
20 hours ago
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Artist's impression of the Rosetta orbiter deploying the Philae lander to comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. The image is not to scale; the Rosetta spacecraft measures 32 m across including the solar arrays, while the comet nucleus is thought to be about 4 km wide. (Spacecraft: ESA-J. Huart, 2014; Comet image:
ESA/Rosetta/MPS for OSIRIS Team MPS/UPD/LAM/IAA/SSO/INTA/UPM/DASP/IDA)
BERLIN (AP) — The European Space Agency has confirmed the time and place it will attempt to land the first spacecraft on a comet.
The agency said Wednesday its unmanned probe Rosetta will release the 100-kilogram (220-pound) lander at 0835 GMT (3:35 EST) on Nov. 12.
The aim is to drop its lander Philae at a location dubbed 'Site J' on the 4-kilometer (2.5-mile) wide comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.
The maneuver will take about seven hours. But because the radio signals take 28 minutes to travel hundreds of millions of miles (kilometers) back to Earth, confirmation of a successful landing won't arrive until about 1603 GMT (11:03 a.m. EST).
Scientists hope the mission will help them learn more about the origins and evolution of objects in the universe. ___ Online:
http://www.esa.int/rosetta
Published on Oct 15, 2014 http://www.undergroundworldnews.com The European Space Agency has confirmed the time and place it will attempt to land the first spacecraft on a comet.
The agency said Wednesday its unmanned probe Rosetta will release the 100-kilogram (220-pound) lander at 0835 GMT (3:35 EST) on Nov. 12.
The aim is to drop its lander Philae at a location dubbed 'Site J' on the 4-kilometer (2.5-mile) wide comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.
Subject: Spacecraft to attempt comet landing next month 
Thu Oct 16, 2014 7:25 am
