COBS News archive

Philae’s first touchdown seen by Rosetta
November 15, 2014
The animated image below provides strong evidence that Philae touched down for the first time almost precisely where intended, a strong testament to the precision of the flight dynamics teams who planned Philae's journey down to comet 67P/C-G. It subsequently rebounded and, after touching down a second time, came to rest where it is now – a still unconfirmed location likely outside of these images.

Our lander’s asleep
November 15, 2014
With its batteries depleted and not enough sunlight available to recharge, Philae has fallen into 'idle mode' for a potentially long silence. In this mode, all instruments and most systems on board are shut down.

How (and where) is Philae?
November 14, 2014
The current status of Rosetta's lander Philae was discussed live during a Google Hangout this afternoon, together with scientists and engineers from the mission teams at ESA and partner agencies. The teams are very happy about the lander and the successful functioning of all instruments that were operated so far.

Comet with a view
November 13, 2014
Here is the first panoramic ‘postcard’ from the surface of a comet, returned by Rosetta’s lander Philae, which is currently on the surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.

40 metres above a comet
November 13, 2014
Here is an image that was taken by the ROLIS imager on Rosetta's lander Philae when it was about 40 m above the surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.

Welcome to a comet!
November 13, 2014
Rosetta’s lander Philae is safely on the surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, as these first two CIVA images confirm.

Philae Lands on Its Comet — Three Times!
November 13, 2014
After free-falling toward Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko for seven hours, ESA's Philae lander bounced on the surface twice before finally coming to rest.

Touchdown! Rosetta's Philae probe lands on Comet
November 13, 2014
ESA’s Rosetta mission has soft-landed its Philae probe on a comet, the first time in history that such an extraordinary feat has been achieved.

Here comes the lander!
November 12, 2014
Shortly before Philae’s touchdown on Comet 67P/C-G, the lander’s down-looking descent camera, ROLIS, imaged the surface of the comet.

Farewell, Philae!
November 12, 2014
Just like Philae took a parting shot of the mothership shortly after separation, also Rosetta captured some amazing shots of the lander as it began its seven-hour descent to the surface of the comet.

Farewell, Rosetta!
November 12, 2014
Shortly after parting from Rosetta, the lander Philae took a shot of its mothership.

Rosetta and Philae separation confirmed
November 12, 2014
The Philae lander has separated from the Rosetta orbiter, and is now on its way to becoming the first spacecraft to touch down on a comet.

Rosetta and Philae Go for separation
November 12, 2014
Following a night of critical Go/NoGo decisions, Rosetta and Philae are cleared for separation, despite a problem onboard the lander.

Go/NoGo 3 – Philae ready
November 12, 2014
The Philae Control Team at the Lander Control Centre (DLR/Cologne) have completed a final check and verification of the lander’s health.

Go/NoGo 2 – Commands ready; Rosetta ready
November 12, 2014
The second Go/NoGo, comprising two steps, confirms that

Go/NoGo 1 – Rosetta is on track
November 12, 2014
Following the final full orbit determination before separation, the Flight Dynamics Team at ESOC confirm that Rosetta and Philae are on the correct orbit and that Rosetta can achieve the delivery trajectory, i.e., it can be at the correct point in space at the correct time so as to deliver the lander onto the surface as planned.

VIRTIS detects water and carbon dioxide in comet’s coma
November 11, 2014
In previous blog posts we’ve heard how VIRTIS is able to map the temperature of the comet’s surface. Now, as Dominique Bockelee-Morvan (CNRS) and Stephane Erard (Observatoire de Paris) report, the VIRTIS science team has started to map gas in the coma.

Astronomers preparing for first-ever comet landing attempt
November 11, 2014
Astronomers are preparing for the first ever landing by a spacecraft on an icy comet tomorrow. The Rosetta spacecraft was launched in 2004, and has spent a decade manoeuvring to rendezvous with the comet.

Rosetta's Singing Comet
November 11, 2014
A set of instruments on the European Space Agency's Rosetta spacecraft has picked up a mysterious "song" from Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. On Wednesday, Nov. 12, Rosetta will attempt the first-ever soft landing on a comet when it dispatches its Philae lander to the surface of comet 67P.

Mars Spacecraft Reveal Comet Flyby Effects on Martian Atmosphere
November 08, 2014
Two NASA and one European spacecraft that obtained the first up-close observations of a comet flyby of Mars on Oct. 19, have gathered new information about the basic properties of the comet's nucleus and directly detected the effects on the Martian atmosphere.