Paris, Sep 15 (EFE) .- The Rosetta mission, a probe that has completed a ten-year journey through the solar system until the comet which is scheduled to land in November, has set the point of the star 67 / P Churyumov-Gerasimenko where he hopes to land, reported the European Space Agency (ESA).
The venue, which scientists call “point J” and occupies an area of one square kilometer, is in the “head” of the comet, only 4 kilometers from its outer end, and has emerged as the most suitable of the five who had preselected experts, although not absolutely perfect.
” None of the candidate sites will meet one hundred percent of the operational criteria, but the ‘point J’ is clearly the best solution, “he told a press conference in Paris responsible for the delicate landing maneuver, Stephan Ulamec.
The selection took into account criteria such as sun lighting, the terrain, the temperature of the comet, the pressure and density of the gas surrounding the nucleus or rotational speed.
The landing, scheduled for November 11, will require about seven hours to develop a delicate unprecedented operation to date in the history of space exploration because it is the first time that a device built by man will land a kite flying at about 440 million kilometers from the blue planet.
Rosetta, since last August 6 orbits the comet to study its host, sent to 67 / P Churyumov- Gerasimenko Philae module, a device 100 kilos will be responsible for analyzing the star and send data to the array probe so that it can bounce it to the control centers on Earth.
“As we have seen in recent close images, the comet is a beautiful but dramatic world. It is scientifically exciting, but its shape makes operations are a challenge, “said Ulamec.
Therefore, scientists need to” both the Rosetta Philae work as much sync “and” communicate properly “because the probe orbits” around an active and very irregular object, “the flight director for the mission of the ESA, Andrea Accomazzo.
In fact, the first impression of scientists to receive images of the comet was that the landing would be possible. But subsequent studies, supported by high-definition images proved that the move could be attempted with other expectations of success.
“In the ‘point J’ we know that all instruments shall be capable of operating in full capacity (…). It’s where we can achieve our scientific objectives, “added the responsibility of the toughest missions of the European aerospace history.
Once Philae has left the Rosetta probe, the module will land autonomously, following instructions that have been sent from the control center on Earth before separation and taking pictures during his descent.
When in contact with the ground, which will launch harpoons fixed to the ground and photograph the Comet 360 degrees to determine what guidance has landed.
The other instruments will analyze the plasma device and the magnetic field and the surface and bottom layers at once, and the structure of the comet through the analysis of radio waves.
is expected to Philae may provide valuable information to scientists for about four months, while the matrix module continue to observe the evolution of cometary activity until the end of 2015
In the remaining two months until the appointed day, the ESA has yet to confirm the landing on September 26, first, on 14 October after.
A Second reserve, called point C, and the target date, which could be delayed up to 28 days, they said.
“It’s not a perfectly flat surface, as we wished for a perfectly safe landing” and “no we can predict the activity of the comet between now and landing. A sudden increase in activity could affect the position of Rosetta and its orbit at the time of deployment and turn the location where land Philae, that’s what makes this such a risky operation, “said Accomazzo.
Rosetta spent ten years traveling through space since it was launched in 2004 and in that time he has traveled nearly 6,400 million miles in his odyssey to seek answers about the origin of the solar system.
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