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Last Visit Home For ESA's Comet Chaser
Paris, France (ESA) Oct 21, 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-Moon system are planned before the spacecraft heads out to study comet 67/P Churyumov-Gerasimenko. This will be the third Earth swingby, the last of Rosetta's four planetary gravity assists. Closest approach to Earth is expected at 08:45 CET. The swingby will provide exactly the boost Rosetta needs to continue into the outer Solar System. The craft is scheduled for a close encounter with asteroid 21 Lutetia in July next year. Rosetta is expected to arrive at its final destination in May 2014. There, it will release the Philae lander for in-situ studies on the surface. The spacecraft will then escort the comet on its journey toward the Sun, studying it closely for up to two years. As it closes in on Earth next month, Rosetta will have travelled almost 4500 million km since launch. It will speed past Earth at 13.3 km/s, passing above the Indian Ocean at 109 degrees E, 8 degrees S, just south of the Indonesian island of Java. The gravity-assist will increase the spacecraft's speed by 3.6 km/s with respect to the Sun.
Instruments in action Several instruments that usually hibernate during the long trek will be turned on in the week before the swingby.
Follow the swingby live Share This Article With Planet Earth
Related Links Rosetta Blog Rosetta Asteroid and Comet Mission News, Science and Technology
Mini-Comets Within A Comet Lit Up 17P/Holmes During Mega-OutburstLos Angeles CA (SPX) Sep 17, 2009 Astronomers from the University of California, Los Angeles and the University of Hawaii have discovered multiple fragments ejected during the largest cometary outburst ever witnessed. Images and animations showing fragments rapidly flying away from the nucleus of comet 17P/Holmes will be presented by Rachel Stevenson at the European Planetary Science Congress in Potsdam, Germany, on Wednesday 16 ... read more |
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