Unmanned space probe makes historic comet landing
Posted Nov 12, 2014 5:09 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The European Space Agency says its unmanned spacecraft Rosetta successfully landed on a speeding comet.
It’s the first time a man-made object has landed on a comet.
The comet is a four-kilometre-wide lump of dust and ice called 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.
Rosetta had been piggybacking on its lander, Philae, on the 6.4-billion-kilometre journey to the comet.
The lander and Rosetta separated around 4 a.m. Wednesday. Word of a successful landing on the surface reached Earth about seven hours later
The plan is for Philae and Rosetta to travel with the comet as it approaches the sun and becomes more active with the increased heat.
The probes are equipped with 21 different instruments for collecting data.
Scientists hope the information they collect will help build an understanding of how comets and celestial bodies are formed.
The 1.3-billion-euro mission began in 2004.
The mission is being carried out with help from Saskatoon’s SED Systems, which built three ground stations the space agency uses to communicate with the Rosetta spacecraft.
With files from The Canadian Press
