It's A First ...ESA Makes History... Getting to Know a Comet Up Close + Personal... Rosetta's Philae Lander Successfully Sets Down...Congrats + Buzz From Others

[SatNews] Touchdown on Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko by the European Space Agency's (ESA) Philae lander has been confirmed, as the Rosetta spacecraft continues this historic comet adventure.



Image is courtesy of the ESA's Rosetta blog.


However, one challenge after the soft landing is that ESA is reporting there is no confirmation that the lander's anchors have activated to secure Philae to the comet.

The lander is now sitting on the surface, the anchors have been rewound...

The ongoing live broadcast from ESOC at http://new.livestream.com/esa/cometlanding

Space Foundation congratulates...

Among the first to congratulate the European Space Agency is Space Foundation...

After a 10-year journey, Europe's Rosetta spacecraft made history today when its lander Philae successfully attached to its destination, Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. The European Space Agency (ESA) launched Rosetta aboard an Ariane 5 launch vehicle in March 2004 out of the space center in Kourou, French Guiana.

While not the first spacecraft to visit a comet, Rosetta is the first to orbit one and the first to send a lander to a comet's surface. Rosetta's instruments will study the comet from orbit, while Philae will collect samples from the surface and take close-up photos.

"Today's successful landing by Rosetta's Philae lander, a major contribution to this mission by the German Space Agency (DLR), at Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko is a tremendous accomplishment. We congratulate our partners at DLR and ESA for achieving yet another milestone during this ambitious mission," said Space Foundation Chief Executive Officer Elliot Pulham.



Artistic rendition of the Rosetta spacecraft and Philae lander.
Image courtesy of European Space Agency.



It is hoped that Rosetta's findings will help scientists uncover some of the mysteries about how our solar system was formed. It is expected that the study of elements that make up 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko will give scientists insight into the very earliest beginnings of our solar system. The spacecraft is named for the Rosetta Stone that allowed the deciphering of hieroglyphics and provided clues about ancient Egyptian civilization.

The European Space Agency's infosite is located at http://www.esa.int/ESA

The Space Foundation's infosite is reachable at http://www.spacefoundation.org/

Released by Airbus Defence and Space:



Today at 17:03 PM (CET), the European Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt reported a successful landing, announcing: “Philae has landed!”.

Some seven hours before, the Philae lander had detached from the Rosetta spacecraft—developed and built for the European Space Agency (ESA) by Airbus Defence and Space, the world’s second largest space company, as prime contractor—to initiate its slow descent towards the surface of the comet. Airbus Defence and Space supported Philae´s team with electrical design, integration, testing and construction of the landing gear.
 
Traveling at a speed of one metre per second, the three-legged lander landed successfully in the target area. On Earth, Philae weighs in at around 100kg; on the comet, less than 2g. To stop itself from rebounding off the comet’s surface, Philae has a complex landing system with a damper, and dug itself in using two harpoons and three ice screws. Equipped with 10 scientific instruments, Philae is now ready to start its scientific work, having already gathered initial data during its descent. It is relaying data 490 million kilometers back to Earth via Rosetta.
 
“Philae’s successful landing tops off an already spectacular Rosetta mission. We at Airbus Defence and Space are extremely proud to have contributed to the Rosetta success story with our innovative concepts and designs, robust and reliable systems, and the dedicated work of employees both at Airbus Defence and Space and at all the other partners in the industrial consortium and ESA. This is a world first – landing on a comet travelling at 135,000 km per hour after a 10 year journey through our solar system, it is a truly amazing achievement,” said François Auque, Head of Space Systems.
 
The Rosetta mission will help scientists to understand how our solar system formed from primordial matter some 4.6 billion years ago. While the matter that ended up in the solar system’s planets has been transformed by solar radiation and geological processes, comets are “cosmic freezers” that have preserved this matter in its original state.

The Airbus D&S infosite is located at http://www.space-airbusds.com/

Source: It's A First ...ESA Makes History... Getting to Know a Comet Up Close + Personal... Rosetta's Philae Lander Successfully Sets Down...Congrats + Buzz From Others