Discussion
Here's a quick video essentially explaining what they're doing each time there's a 'jink' in that animation and when they plan on doing it
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mf1zsACcXc4
Looks like the probe will be in 'proper' orbit on 10th October.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mf1zsACcXc4
Looks like the probe will be in 'proper' orbit on 10th October.
durbster said:
I've been following this for about six months and it's fascinating. The maths involved in getting the thing in line with it over ten years blow my tiny mind.
It's a good Twitter feed if you're interested, now posting close-ups of the comet - https://twitter.com/ESA_Rosetta
ET coming out of hiding top right of image...It's a good Twitter feed if you're interested, now posting close-ups of the comet - https://twitter.com/ESA_Rosetta
The 5 possible landing sites have been announced
http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Ro...
From that site, they're picking the landings sites based on -
Will the lander be able to maintain regular communications with Rosetta? How common are surface hazards such as large boulders, deep crevasses or steep slopes? Is there sufficient illumination for scientific operations and enough sunlight to recharge the lander’s batteries beyond its initial 64-hour lifetime, while not so much as to cause overheating?
It seems they've learnt from the criticism of not releasing enough information earlier and are now letting the public in on the decision making process.
http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Ro...
From that site, they're picking the landings sites based on -
Will the lander be able to maintain regular communications with Rosetta? How common are surface hazards such as large boulders, deep crevasses or steep slopes? Is there sufficient illumination for scientific operations and enough sunlight to recharge the lander’s batteries beyond its initial 64-hour lifetime, while not so much as to cause overheating?
It seems they've learnt from the criticism of not releasing enough information earlier and are now letting the public in on the decision making process.
Found this today: http://www.solarsystemscope.com/
Click on the 'Land on a comet' in the bottom right, it shows how they used planetary fly-bys to attain enough velocity to get Rosetta to the comet. Fascinating, and the mathematics and calculations that went into it must have been insane.
Click on the 'Land on a comet' in the bottom right, it shows how they used planetary fly-bys to attain enough velocity to get Rosetta to the comet. Fascinating, and the mathematics and calculations that went into it must have been insane.
Edited by Funk on Monday 15th September 22:16
jmorgan said:
Phenomenal!Hoping for great things as it gets nearer the sun. I do hope the lander works, but even if not, what they've achieved is amazing.
Eric Mc said:
I wonder how long that's laid there?
It looks like it rolled slightly as there seems to be a faint track leading up to the boulder.
A trick of the light?It looks like it rolled slightly as there seems to be a faint track leading up to the boulder.
There's almost no gravity on the comet so surely all those 'boulders' are the result of erosion of the main object rather than being separate objects.
Unless it rolled there a very, very long time ago when the comet was planet sized...
I can't help but wish they find a lander already on it. That'd cause a bit of a stir
Edited by durbster on Wednesday 15th October 12:02
jmorgan said:
That's mind-boggling!ETA - depressingly, I see the "fake" comments have started even in that thread.
Edited by hornet on Wednesday 15th October 14:21
Looks like they're good to go on 12th November, we should get confirmation that it's landed about 4pm on the same day.
http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Ro...
http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Ro...
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