On August 6, 2014, The Rosetta Spacecraft from the European Space Agency (ESA) reached the orbit of comet 67/Churyumov- Gerasimenko. It became the first spacecraft to orbit a comet, and to deploy a lander, Philae, on its surface (on November 12, 2014). But the touchdown did not go entirely as planned as Philae bounced off 67P’s surface twice and finally settled in a shady spot on the comet. It managed to gather a great deal of data about 67P for about 57 hours before its battery ran out due to reduced sunlight at the crash site. On November 15, 2014, Philae entered safe mode, or hibernation. The mission evoked so much interest among common people that farewell message poured in for Philae on social media when the ESA decided to end its mission in July 2015. However, the mothership Rosetta continued to remain in orbit around the comet 67/P until September 30, 2016.
Comet 67P orbits the sun once every 6.5 years, making its closest approach to the sun in August 2015. Since then, the comet (and Rosetta) has been traveling farther and farther away from the sun. The mission has to come to an end soon, as Rosetta’s solar panels will no longer be able to power the spacecraft. The probe is not designed to survive the landing, or even to withstand gravity; at the moment of impact, Rosetta will be crushed and its signal will go dark, ESA managers said.
Picture Credit : Google