The Latest Biology News And Medical NewsBiology News 2Health News 2Biology News 3Health News 3
HOME >> BIOLOGY >> NEWS
The Rosetta space probe's long trek to Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

The long-planned get-together will not however take place until the middle of 2014. A few months after arriving at the comet, Rosetta will release a small lander onto its surface. Then, for almost two years it will investigate Churyumov-Gerasimenko from close up.

Dr. Gerhard Schwehm, lead scientist for the Rosetta project, explains that, "With this mission we will be breaking new ground - this will be the first protracted cometary encounter."

The trip to the meeting place in space will certainly be a long one, located as it is some 4.5 astronomical units from the Sun, which translates into something like 675 million kilometres. Rosetta will be on the road for ten years, during which time it will clock up in excess of five billion kilometres.

Launch in February 2004

Rosetta will be waved off on 26 February when it lifts off from the space centre in Kourou, French Guiana, aboard an Ariane 5 launcher. Shortly after the spacecraft's release, its solar panels will be deployed and turned towards the Sun to build up the necessary power reserves. Its various systems and experiments will be gradually brought into operation and tested. Just three months into the mission the first active phase will be over, followed by final testing of the experiments in October 2004. Rosetta will then spend the following years flying a lonely path to the comet, passing by the Earth, Mars, the Earth and the Earth again.

There is no alternative to this detour, for even Ariane 5, the most powerful launcher on the market today, lacks the power to hurl the probe on a direct route to the comet. To get the required momentum, it will rely on swing-by manuvres, using the gravitation pull of Mars (in 2007) and the Earth (three times, in 2005, 2007 and 2008) to pick up speed.

Asteroids for company

A change is as good as a rest, and a meeting with at least one asteroid should help break the monotony for Rosetta. The spacecraft will
'"/>

Contact: Franco Bonacina
franco.bonacina@esa.int
33-1-53-69-7155
European Space Agency
3-Feb-2004


Page: 1 2 3

Related biology news :

1. Rosetta Inpharmatics approach enables identification of gene functions
2. Bush nominates NJIT space explorer Louis Lanzerotti to NSF governing board
3. Human health risks in space flight focus of research internships
4. New space-borne instrument to track greenhouse gases, ozone destroyers, and other pollutants
5. Manipulating biotope space can enhance beneficial biodiversity effects
6. Crowding stem cells personal space directs their future
7. Life in the universe takes orders from space
8. Traditional Inuit ice treks guided from space
9. Global wetlands surveyed from space
10. Cyrospace, University of Houston sign commercialization agreement
11. Return to space for Spanish ESA astronaut
Post Your Comments:
*Name:
*Comment:
*Email:
TAG: The Rosetta space probe long trek Comet Churyumov Gerasimenko

(Date:12/3/2008)...ice this week. The most exciting new film features...entists using ground-breaking technology. , For...,s Centenary Institute have filmed an immune cell ...nfection as it begins to spread throughout the bod...mmune Imaging program at the Centenary Institute, ...
(Date:12/3/2008)...big and heavy, with seemingly little prayer of esc...like a grounded teenager who knows where the car k... chance of escape. , University of Florida resea... landscape devoted to wildlife corridors greenway...covered the pea and similar species share, given a...
(Date:12/3/2008)... suggests that evolution can behave as differently...rgy-efficient style of four-footed running over lo...e evolved a profoundly inefficient gait, tailor-ma..., "It is usually assumed that efficiency is what...e associate professor of evolutionary anthropology...
(Date:12/3/2008)...that individuals can respond just as well to place...ther hand, it is difficult to explain why only cer...esearchers from Uppsala University and Gothenburg ...mpact the placebo effect and a mechanism in the br...os. , The study, published in Journal of Neuros...
Breaking Biology News(10 mins):Scientists film inner workings of the immune system 2Rooted plants move mysteriously down greenways, scientists say 2Rooted plants move mysteriously down greenways, scientists say 3Dogs chase efficiently, but cats skulk counterintuitively 2Genes determine whether sugar pills work 2China Bionanometer Industries Corporation Announces Record Second Quarter 2007 Results 2793 1China Bionanometer Industries Corporation Announces Record Second Quarter 2007 Results 2793 2China Bionanometer Industries Corporation Announces Record Second Quarter 2007 Results 2793 3China Bionanometer Industries Corporation Announces Record Second Quarter 2007 Results 2793 4China Bionanometer Industries Corporation Announces Record Second Quarter 2007 Results 2793 5China Bionanometer Industries Corporation Announces Record Second Quarter 2007 Results 2793 6China Bionanometer Industries Corporation Announces Record Second Quarter 2007 Results 2793 7China Bionanometer Industries Corporation Announces Record Second Quarter 2007 Results 2793 8China Bionanometer Industries Corporation Announces Record Second Quarter 2007 Results 2793 9China Bionanometer Industries Corporation Announces Record Second Quarter 2007 Results 2793 10China Bionanometer Industries Corporation Announces Record Second Quarter 2007 Results 2793 11China Bionanometer Industries Corporation Announces Record Second Quarter 2007 Results 2793 12China Bionanometer Industries Corporation Announces Record Second Quarter 2007 Results 2793 13China Bionanometer Industries Corporation Announces Record Second Quarter 2007 Results 2793 14China Bionanometer Industries Corporation Announces Record Second Quarter 2007 Results 2793 15China Medical Technologies to Announce Financial Results for the Third Quarter Ended December 31 2007 on February 28 2008 10305 1China Medical Technologies to Announce Financial Results for the Third Quarter Ended December 31 2007 on February 28 2008 10305 2Digital mammography superior to film mammography in some cases 10303 1Digital mammography superior to film mammography in some cases 10303 2New Gene Based Therapy an Alternative to Vytorin and Statins in Heart Disease Prevention and Treatment 10301 1New Gene Based Therapy an Alternative to Vytorin and Statins in Heart Disease Prevention and Treatment 10301 2
Other News:
PORTLAND, Ore. March 7, 2007. Ever since the Norwegians expanded commercial farming of salmon in the 1960s, the industry has continued to rapidly grow worldwide. It has expanded to such a degree that
AUSTIN, Texas -- Scientists return this week to the worlds deepest known sinkhole, Cenote Zacatn in Mexico, to resume tests of a NASA-funded robot called DEPTHX, designed to survey and explore for lif
Investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have discovered previously unsuspected mutations that contribute to the formation of pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), the most commo
...e the tiny, red wormlike insects that nibble on th...but the Hessian fly larvae that survive eventually...due University and USDA-Agriculture Research Servi...ntified Hessian fly genes that nullify toxins that...
Farmed salmon could become an invasive species in forest streams 2Prototype space probe prepares to explore Earth's deepest sinkhole 2Major gene study uncovers secrets of leukemia 2Major gene study uncovers secrets of leukemia 3Scientists find genes involved in the battle between Hessian flies and wheat 2Scientists find genes involved in the battle between Hessian flies and wheat 3
... It's no secret that radiation is a great danger ...rns the effects of galactic cosmic rays, but what ...pacecraft?......A device currently being tested wi...ronauts are exposed to from neutrons inside a spac...
...ual event is held for mayors, local government off...rance. Each year 5000 - 6000 mayors attend. ...The...European Space Agency (ESA) Telecommunications pro...many guests this will be their first opportunity t...
..., Fla. -- Angioplasty patients in Michigan are get...plications - than they used to, thanks to a cooper...hospitals and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan.....t how dramatic the project's effect has been. And,...
...esearch has demonstrated that lipids from the para...s. This property makes the lipids interesting for ...a and diabetes where the immune system responds in... Desiree van der Kleij discovered that lipids from...
health news:Neutron detector under development to monitor spacecraft radiation 2health news:Neutron detector under development to monitor spacecraft radiation 3health news:Multi-hospital angioplasty improvement effort reduces deaths and complications 2health news:Multi-hospital angioplasty improvement effort reduces deaths and complications 3health news:Multi-hospital angioplasty improvement effort reduces deaths and complications 4health news:Multi-hospital angioplasty improvement effort reduces deaths and complications 5health news:Multi-hospital angioplasty improvement effort reduces deaths and complications 6health news:Parasite lipids against asthma or diabetes 2
Washington -- The American College of Physicians (ACP) this week endorsed a test project of a Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH). The project, to be conducted in Florida, will combine the resources
DALLAS Aug. 10, 2007 New research from scientists at UT Southwestern Medical Center and the Dallas Veterans Affairs Medical Center underscores the importance of preventing recurring acid reflux whil
...plumbers approach to rid the brain of the amyloid ...rain the toxic protein away.... Thats the method o...ature Medicine. Scientists from the University of ...l way of ridding the body of the substance is flaw...
DALLAS Aug. 13, 2007 UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have discovered a treatment that counteracts the effects of cocaine on the human cardiovascular system, including lowering the elevate
health news:Test project of patient-centered medical home model endorsed by American College of Physicians 2health news:Test project of patient-centered medical home model endorsed by American College of Physicians 3health news:Investigators uncover intriguing clues to why persistent acid reflux sometimes turns into cancer 2health news:Investigators uncover intriguing clues to why persistent acid reflux sometimes turns into cancer 3health news:Draining away brain's toxic protein to stop Alzheimer's 2health news:Draining away brain's toxic protein to stop Alzheimer's 3health news:New treatment effective in counteracting cocaine-induced symptoms 2