The Rosetta probe launched last night its slow descent towards the comet Churi, where it should come crashing down voluntarily today a half-day, announced the European Space Agency (ESA).
A tweet from ESA confirmed that the probe was placed at the time specified on a trajectory that will lead to a collision with Churi.
This end spectacular may end to a space odyssey more than twelve years, crowned by 26 months of observation, accompanying comet 67P/Churiumov-Guerasimenko in its journey around the Sun.
adopted in 1993 by the European Space Agency (ESA), the Rosetta mission aims to better understand the Solar System.
The landing approach began yesterday at 17.50 argentina, when the control centre in Darmstadt (south-west of Germany) sent from Earth, more than 700 million kilometers of distance, the instruction to Rosetta begins its descent.
After travelling 19 miles of distance which separate it from the comet of about 4 km in diameter, the probe will collide with the comet on Friday to 12H20 GMT, at a speed of 90 cm/s, that is to say of a person walking.
A unique opportunity
During the journey, take photos high-definition with your camera Osiris and make observations -unprecedented in a comet at such a short distance – before "land".
"The opportunity to study a comet at such a young distrancia makes the phase of descent in one of the most exciting of the entire mission," said ESA in a statement.
The images and data collected on the dust and gases being emitted from the 67P are important for further progress in the understanding of the process of formation of comets and of our Solar System.
the comet is Philae, the robot that was placed in November 2014 and then send valuable observations to the Earth. Philae is inert since the July 2015 sold out completely your batteries, that you can’t recharge by being their panels misoriented in the middle of a crack with little sun exposure.
The comet 67P is currently directed towards the orbit of Jupiter. Will continue away from the Sun in its elliptical path, until about 850 million kilometers of distance from our star king.
Rosetta will also lose completely the ability to store solar energy enough to continue to operate their instruments of observation and transmission of data to Earth by radio waves.
For that reason, ESA decided to terminate its mission. Will cease to issue in full, according to the international treaties governing outer space, in order to avoid contaminating it with signs useless that could interfere with other quests.
The "landing" on the comet in 2014, Philae had bounced twice on its surface before being immobilized in a dark place.
If all goes as planned, Rosetta will reach a place that is relatively distant from Philae, on a small plain surrounded by holes, through which the comet projected jets of gas and dust, the probe will also attempt to observe them in their last minutes of life.
Antenna in Malargüe is used for link
The station DSA3 of the European Space Agency installed on the side of route 186, and front of the volcano Malacara in Malargue an antenna that served to monitor the movements of Rosetta already started its descent on the comet 67P.
discoveries
The Rosetta mission allowed us to advance significantly in the knowledge of comets, especially the role that these small celestial bodies of the Solar System were able to play in the emergence of life on Earth.
A strange
The engineers of the mission had been prepared to do to land the robot Philae on the nucleus of a comet with the shape of a "duck bath" with a small head, large body and neck cracked. The question that arose was whether the kite was separating into two parts or if they were two pieces of a comet stuck.
"The analysis suggests, rather, on the second hypothesis", explains the astrophysicist Francis Rocard, in charge of the Rosetta space Center CNES of France.
Water different
Another great surprise: the scientists discovered that the signature atomic molecules of water caught in the fumes of comet 67P were very different to those of the Earth.
therefore, the water of our oceans is not from the family of comets of Jupiter, to which belongs the comet 67P Churiumov-Guerasimenko.
Before Rosetta, the astronomers felt that such water could be a result of the bombardment of Earth by comets rich in water, or asteroids, numerous but less rich in water.
molecular Oxygen unexpected
Rosetta found molecular oxygen (O2) in abundant quantity in the atmosphere of the comet, a "surprise" to scientists. Scientists think that they will have to modify their current models on the formation of the solar system, since we currently do not anticipate the presence of low oxygen that forms in a comet.
there is No magnetic field
Another source of amazement: the nucleus of the comet lacks a magnetic field. If 67P is representative of the nuclei of comets, it is unlikely that the magnetic forces have played a role in the accumulation of rocky bodies more than a meter, which participated in the formation of the planets, emphasize the scientists.
Work ahead
The data collected by Rosetta will work scientists for several years. "At first, I had said, using a metaphor, that Rosetta would be the key that would open the treasure chest that holds the secrets of the Solar System," stresses Mark McCaughrean, head scientist of the ESA.
"We have found the key, but is there torn to pieces. We’re going to have to fix it before you can open the chest", apostille.
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