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Paris, Aug 26 (EFE) .- After ten years traveling the Solar System, Rosetta came early This month his destination, the comet 67 / P Churyumov-Gerasimenko, and now must select the right point to land next November between five possible locations.
“The landing area must meet technical needs of the satellite and lander during the phases of separation, descent and landing, “the European Space Agency (ESA) said in a statement.
The probe will release the Philae module, unit 100 kilos that will land on the surface, when the comet is still at a distance of 450 million kilometers from the Sun , before their activity “to a level that could jeopardize the operation or alter the composition of the surface. “
The Place” has to be relevant to the operations area of the 10 scientific instruments carrying Philae “added the expert ESA.
For each possible landing site must be analyzed such factors as whether the lander will be able to maintain proper liaison with Rosetta, the presence of hazards such as large rocks, deep or pending cracks pronounced.
Scientists controlling the device from Toulouse , in southern France have chosen five potential candidates who have at least six hours of light Solar during each rotation of the comet, proper lighting conditions “for scientific observations and to recharge the batteries of the lander, without actually overheat.”
To make the final decision data collected will be analyzed by the probe 100 to 20 kilometers of the comet as “HD pictures of the surface, the temperature measurements of the comet and the pressure and density of the gas surrounding its core.”
” In parallel, we also determined the orientation of the comet from the Sun, its rotational speed, mass and surface gravity. All these factors play an important role to study the technical feasibility of each possible landing role, “said ESA.
The 14th September will be over the assessment of the five candidates and a destination and an alternate, to be announced on 12 October, a month before the provisional date of landing, November 11 will be chosen.
“This comet is unlike anything we have seen before, and presents spectacular formations not yet finished to understand, “said one of the scientists of the lander, Jean-Pierre Bibring.
The Rosetta mission, technological pride of European space exploration, you can be key to decipher the history and evolution of our solar system and to find “answers to the origin of water on Earth.
” And perhaps even life, “since comets are” capsules while still containing materials of the time in which the sun and planets formed, “summarized the ESA.
(Reuters)
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