Author Topic: ESA - Rosetta updates (Read 375648 times)

jacqmans · « **Reply #20 on:** 11/08/2007 03:45 pm »

Rosetta closes in on Earth – a second time

http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMC20VOM8F_index_0.html

8 November 2007

ESA’s comet chaser, Rosetta, is on its way to its second close encounter with Earth on 13 November. The spacecraft’s operators are leaving no stones unturned to make sure Earth’s gravity gives it the exact boost it needs en route to its destination.

jacqmans · « **Reply #21 on:** 11/16/2007 01:17 pm »

An important milestone has just been accomplished as Rosetta successfully swung by Earth at 21:57 CET. The spacecraft will now be catapulted towards the outer Solar System with its newly-gained energy before coming back to Earth for another boost.

More at:
http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Rosetta/SEMEFN53R8F_0.html

jacqmans · « **Reply #22 on:** 11/16/2007 01:17 pm »

Images taken right after Rosetta's second Earth swing-by last night are now available. The comet chaser's navigation camera (NAVCAM) took pictures of regions in the Antarctic and snapshots of Earth and the Moon.

Full story:
http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Rosetta/index.html

Follow our Rosetta Blog at:
http://www.esa.int/blog

jacqmans · « **Reply #23 on:** 11/16/2007 01:17 pm »

ESA's Rosetta has returned extraordinary images captured 13 November 2007 as the comet-chasing spacecraft completed a critical Earth swing-by at 45 000 kilometres per hour.

http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEM9MQ53R8F_index_0.html

jacqmans · « **Reply #24 on:** 11/16/2007 04:34 pm »

As Rosetta closed in on Earth, swung by and then left on its course again, several instruments on the spacecraft were busy taking snaps. As it swung away, the OSIRIS camera also caught glimpses of the Moon.

Full story:
http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Rosetta/SEMIQ363R8F_0.html

Read the Rosetta Blog at:
http://www.esa.int

jacqmans · « **Reply #25 on:** 11/21/2007 01:29 pm »

True colour images of Earth as seen by Rosetta's OSIRIS camera are now available. The pictures were taken on 13 November during the swing-by, and on 15 November, as Rosetta left on its way to the outer Solar System, after the swing-by.

More at:

http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Rosetta/SEMRYE63R8F_0.html

jacqmans · « **Reply #26 on:** 07/03/2008 03:21 pm »

Rosetta awakes from hibernation for asteroid encounter

3 July 2008

Spacecraft controllers have just awoken Rosetta from hibernation to prepare for its encounter with asteroid (2867) Steins on 5 September. ESA’s comet chaser will study the relatively rare asteroid as it flies by on its way to comet 67/P Churyumov-Gerasimenko.

http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Rosetta/SEMQPDSHKHF_0.html

jacqmans · « **Reply #27 on:** 08/04/2008 04:38 pm »

Rosetta starts tracking asteroid Steins

4 August 2008

Heading toward its first target-asteroid, (2867) Steins, ESA's Rosetta spacecraft has started using its cameras to visually track the asteroid and eventually determine its orbit with more accuracy.

http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMF0B8N9JF_index_0.html

jacqmans · « **Reply #28 on:** 08/18/2008 05:04 pm »

Perfect sight: Rosetta cameras track asteroid target
18 August 2008

On 14 August, Rosetta conducted a successful trajectory correction manoeuvre using data obtained from the Agency's first-ever optical tracking of an asteroid target, (2867) Steins. Images from the spacecraft's cameras were used to calculate the asteroid's location and optimise its trajectory for fly-by next month.

http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMC9R6UWJF_index_0.html

jacqmans · « **Reply #29 on:** 08/25/2008 09:22 am »

N° 35-2008 - Paris, 25 August 2008

ESA's Rosetta spacecraft will make a historic encounter with asteroid (2867) Steins on 5 September 2008. The doors of ESA's European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) in Darmstadt, Germany, will be open to the media as of 18:00 on 5 September to follow the fly-by events. First images and results will be available for presentation to the media during a press conference which will be held at ESOC the following day, Saturday 6 September at 12:00 CEST.

Steins is Rosetta's first nominal scientific target. The spacecraft will rendezvous with the asteroid in the course of its first incursion into the asteroid belt located between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, while on its way to comet 67/P Churyumov-Gerasimenko.

The study of asteroids is extremely important as they represent a sample of Solar System material at different stages of evolution - key to understanding the origin of our own planet and of our planetary neighbourhood.

The closest approach to Steins is due to take place on 5 September at 20:58 CEST (Central European Summer Time), from a distance of 800 km, during which the spacecraft will not be communicating with Earth. First ground contact with the spacecraft and announcement of successful fly-by will take place at 22:23 CEST. The first data and images collected by Rosetta will be sent to Earth throughout the night of 5 to 6 September and will undergo
preliminary processing in the morning of 6 September. The first images will be made available for broadcasters via a special satellite feed on Saturday 6 September (details will be given on http://television.esa.int).

jacqmans · « **Reply #30 on:** 09/05/2008 03:20 pm »

Follow Rosetta's progress online
5 September 2008

Follow the progress of Rosetta's encounter with asteroid Steins online via the Rosetta Blog and the Rosetta website. Closest approach is due at 20:58 CEST today.

Rosetta Blog: http://www.esa.int/blog
Rosetta website: http://www.esa.int/rosetta

jacqmans · « **Reply #31 on:** 09/05/2008 09:08 pm »

Rosetta Steins fly-by confirmed
5 September 2008

Rosetta's control room at ESA's European Space Operations Centre, ESOC, received the first radio signal after closest approach to asteroid (2867) Steins at 22:14 CEST, confirming a smooth fly-by.

Closest approach took place at 20:58 CEST ground time, 20:38 CEST spacecraft time, at a distance of 800 km. Rosetta's relative speed with respect to Steins was 8.6 km/sec, or about 31 000 km/h. The exact time of closest approach will be confirmed over the next few days after a detailed analysis of telemetry data.

http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMUOWO4KKF_index_0.html

jacqmans · « **Reply #32 on:** 09/06/2008 11:00 am »

Press Release
N° 37-2008

Paris, 6 September 2008

Encounter of a different kind: Rosetta observes asteroid at close quarters

ESA's comet chaser, Rosetta, last night flew by a small body in the main asteroid belt, asteroid Steins, collecting a wealth of information about this rare type of minor Solar System body.

At 20:58 CEST (18:58 UT) last night, ESA's Rosetta probe approached asteroid 2867 Steins, coming to within a distance of only 800 km from it. Steins is Rosetta's first nominal scientific target in its 11 and half year mission to ultimately explore the nucleus of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.

The success of this 'close' encounter was confirmed at 22:14 CEST, when ESA's ground control team at the European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) in Darmstadt, Germany, received initial telemetry from the spacecraft. During the flyby operations, Rosetta was out of reach as regards communication links because its antenna had to be turned away from Earth. At a distance of about 2.41 AU (360 million kilometres) from our planet, the radio signal from the probe took 20 minutes to reach the ground.

Steins is a small asteroid of irregular shape with a diameter of only 4.6 km. It belongs to the rare class of E-type asteroids, which had not been directly observed by an interplanetary spacecraft before. Such asteroids are quite small in size and orbit and are mostly found in the inner part of the main asteroid belt located between Mars and Jupiter. They probably originate from the mantle of larger asteroids destroyed in the early history of the Solar System, and are thought to be composed mainly of silicate minerals with little or no iron content.

The data collected by Rosetta last night and which will be analysed over the coming days and weeks will finally unveil the true nature of Steins.

Through the study of minor bodies such as asteroids, Rosetta is opening up a new window onto the early history of our Solar System. It will give us a better understanding of the origins and evolution of the planets, and also a key to better interpreting asteroid data collected from the ground.

Under Rosetta's scope

This is not Rosetta's first look at Steins. Over two years ago, in March 2006, the Osiris camera onboard Rosetta observed the brightness variations of this rotating asteroid from a distance of 159 million kilometres (a little over the distance between Earth and the Sun), and was able to determine that the tiny asteroid spins around its axis in about six hours.

Together with the two navigation cameras onboard, Osiris was again pointed towards Steins on 4 August and continued to observe the asteroid until 4 September, in order to assist Rosetta's navigation by optical means -a first in the history of ESA spacecraft operations. A few days before the flyby, most of the Rosetta orbiter instruments, as well as the Philae lander magnetometer, were switched on to collect science data on the asteroid, with ever-increasing accuracy as the spacecraft closed in on it.

Rosetta's powerful instruments have initially been focusing on the asteroid's orbital motion, rotation, shape and density. As the distance has diminished, the investigation has broadened to take in the observation of surface properties and features, and the analysis of the chemical and mineralogical composition of the terrains, as well as their relative ages and the effects of the solar wind on the surface.

At its closest approach, Rosetta flew by Steins at a relative speed of 8.6 km/s. To keep the small asteroid in the field of view of its instruments, the spacecraft had to perform a rapid and highly demanding rotation manoeuvre, which had been successfully rehearsed in March this year.

A preliminary analysis of the first data from the flyby was presented to the press at ESOC at 12:00 CEST today.

To Steins and beyond

"Steins might be small, but we're making big science here", said Dr David Southwood, ESA's Director of Science and Robotic Exploration. "The better we learn to know the different kinds of asteroids, the better we will understand our origins in the past. Moreover, when such Solar System wanderers escape from the belt they could become a threat to Earth. The better we know them, the better we will be able to mitigate the risks some of them might present in the future."

"Rosetta performed very well all along," Southwood continued. " This was a complex manoeuvre to keep such a small target in sight, but the spacecraft came through with flying colours. Now we are even more confident in its capacity to conduct the complex tasks that await it at comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko."

Science observations of Steins will continue until 10 September.

Since its launch by an Ariane 5 rocket on 2 March 2004, Rosetta has already travelled about 3.7 thousand million kilometres and swung by the Earth twice and Mars once for gravity-assist manoeuvres. On 17 December this year Rosetta will reach the maximum distance from the Sun in its current orbit, and will then head back towards Earth for the next and last gravitational kick from our planet on 13 November 2009. This will give the probe its final push toward its cometary target.

On its way, Rosetta is scheduled to conduct another flyby, this time with the much larger (21) Lutetia asteroid, on 10 July 2010. Arrival at 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko is due by mid-2014. By that time the probe will have covered a distance of about 6.5 thousand million kilometres.

For more information:

ESA - Media Relations Office
Communication and Knowledge Department
Tel: +33 1 5369 7299
Fax: +33 1 5369 7690
Email: [email protected]

jacqmans · « **Reply #33 on:** 09/06/2008 11:43 am »

Steins: A diamond in the sky
6 September 2008

The first images from Rosetta's OSIRIS imaging system and VIRTIS infrared spectrometer were derived from raw data this morning and have delivered spectacular results.

"Steins looks like a diamond in the sky," said Uwe Keller, Principal Investigator for the OSIRIS imaging system from the Max Planck Institut Fuer Sonnensystemforschung, Lindau.

Visible in the image are several small craters on the asteroid, and two huge ones, one of which is 2 km in diameter, indicating that the asteroid must be very old.

http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMNMYO4KKF_index_0.html

otisbow · « **Reply #34 on:** 09/07/2008 02:00 pm »

I was unable to record the Rosetta post fly-by news conference. Did anybody make an audio or video of the press conference?

jacqmans · « **Reply #35 on:** 10/20/2009 07:39 pm »

Last visit home for ESA's comet chaser
20 October 2009

ESA's Rosetta comet chaser will swing by Earth on 13 November to pick up orbital energy and begin the final leg of its 10-year journey to the outer Solar System. Several observations of the Earth's Moon system are planned before the spacecraft heads out to study comet 67/P Churyumov-Gerasimenko.

http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMJNZYRA0G_index_0.html

jacqmans · « **Reply #36 on:** 11/04/2009 03:06 pm »

ESA's comet chaser Rosetta will swing by Earth for the last time on 13 November to pick up energy and begin the final leg of its 10-year journey to comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. ESA's European Space Operations Centre will host a media briefing on that day.

More at:
http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Rosetta/SEMDYMCUE1G_0.html

eeergo · « **Reply #37 on:** 11/12/2009 08:32 pm »

Glorious Rosetta image featuring a crescent Earth a few hours before closest approach:

(forgot to post the link: http://www.esa.int/esaMI/Rosetta/SEMXJY3VU1G_1.html )

jacqmans · « **Reply #38 on:** 11/13/2009 01:36 pm »

Mission controllers have just confirmed that ESA;s comet chaser Rosetta has swung by Earth at 8:45 CET as planned, skimming past our planet to pick up a gravitational boost for an epic journey to rendezvous with comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in 2014.

More at:
http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Rosetta/SEMZC04VU1G_0.html

jacqmans · « **Reply #39 on:** 11/13/2009 02:07 pm »

Rosetta sees a living planet
13 November 2009

Images and data taken just before closest approach were downloaded this morning, and they show the lights of North America in the night and a glowing Southern Hemisphere.

http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Rosetta/SEM8KIHVY1G_0.html