Wake up, Rosetta!

[Drone]

Last images and data:

This diagram shows the propagation of signals between Rosetta and Philae through the nucleus of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, between 12 and 13 November 2014. Green represents the best signal quality, decreasing in quality to red for no signal.

Comet Landscapes and maps of the southern hemisphere

And finally a set of views of regions across the entire comet, both in the northern and southern hemisphere:

To follow Rosetta's grand finale go here -> http://livestream.com/ESA/rosettagrandfinale (10 h 18 min left)

 

[Drone]

As Rosetta approaches the surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, the Comet Pressure Sensor (COPS) on the ROSINA instrument is measuring the gas pressure around the nucleus increasing!

Flight dynamics team

Rosetta's descent

17.4 km from the comet

16 km from the comet

15.5 km

11.7 km

8.9 km

5.8 km

5.7 km

So long. Farewell. Goodbye.

 

[Drone]

Mission complete

ESA/BBC/euronews videos

 

[Frick]

May her corpse travel far afield, as a warning to others.

 

[CAPSLOCKSTUCK]

Let's hope it didn't smash the comet to bits and send it hurtling our way.....

 

[Drone]

Landing site

video by AFP news

more images:

1.2 km from the comet

20 m above the surface

loss of signal ....

It's gone.

 

[Drone]

Jan 20, 2014 (receipt of signal)

Rosetta calls home after 31 months of deep-space hibernation

Sep 30, 2016 (loss of signal)

Inside the main control room at ESA's operation center as the Rosetta spacecraft sends its last signal from Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko, confirming the end of the spacecraft’s 12.5 year journey in space.

 

[Drone]

During the last few weeks of its mission, ESA’s Rosetta spacecraft ventured closer than it had ever been to Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko. Eventually, it came to rest on the surface in a daring descent on 30 September 2016.

This montage features the three closest images of the landscape taken by Rosetta’s navigation camera in the first half of September. No navigation images were taken during the final descent.

Today, the comet > 600 million km from the Sun and > 740 million km from Earth.

 

[Drone]

Icy surprises at Rosetta's comet

As Rosetta’s comet approached its most active period last year, the spacecraft spotted carbon dioxide ice – never before seen on a comet – followed by the emergence of two unusually large patches of water ice.

The carbon dioxide ice layer covered an area comparable to the size of a football pitch, while the two water ice patches were each larger than an Olympic swimming pool and much larger than any signs of water ice previously spotted at the comet. The three icy layers were all found in the same region, on the comet's southern hemisphere.

A combination of the complex shape of the comet, its elongated path around the Sun and the substantial tilt of its spin, seasons are spread unequally between the two hemispheres of the double-lobed Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko.