APOD: Descent to a Comet (2014 Nov 13)

[APOD Robot]

Descent to a Comet

Explanation: Yesterday, the first soft landing on a comet took place some 500 million kilometers from planet Earth as the Rosetta mission lander Philae settled on the nucleus of C67/P Churyumov-Gerasimenko. The landing site, dubbed Agilkia, is located near the center of this remarkable image snapped by Philae's ROLIS (ROsetta Lander Imaging System) camera. Taken from a distance of about 3 kilometers the image has a resolution of about 3 meters per pixel at the surface. After Philae's release from the orbiter, its seven-hour long descent was made without propulsion or guidance. Following its descent the lander is in place, though its anchoring harpoon system did not fire. For 2.5 days the lander is intended to conduct its main science mission returning extensive images and data. An extended surface mission may be possible if sunlight and dust conditions allow solar panels to recharge Philae's battery.

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[ta152h0]

I knew that was going to be today's APOD. It is going to be painful to wait until July next year. Congratulation s to this ESA team and continued good fortune. Time for an ice cold one !

[Rusty Brown in Cda]

"These are the days of miracle and wonder..."
Paul Simon

[Nitpicker]

"From the ship’s bows, nearly all the seamen now hung inactive; hammers, bits of plank, lances, and harpoons, mechanically retained in their hands, just as they had darted from their various employments; all their enchanted eyes intent upon the whale, which from side to side strangely vibrating his predestinating head, sent a broad band of overspreading semicircular foam before him as he rushed. Retribution, swift vengeance, eternal malice were in his whole aspect, and spite of all that mortal man could do, the solid white buttress of his forehead smote the ship’s starboard bow, till men and timbers reeled."
Herman Melville, Moby Duck Dick.

[Czerno o]

Already a terrific success ! Let's hope the robot's position and attitude are favorable - some hints suggest it's sitting "upward", but in a hole ; others say it might on its side - and hope thrusters and/or harpoons can be made to work so the thing can be fastened in place and conduct experiments as projected !

Here I'm linking to the Daily Mail's dossier - in my opinion the /very/ best and complete page :
<http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/ ... -side.html>

[Indigo_Sunrise]

Plus, they think it may have bounced.

No matter what, this is an awesome acheivement!
Go Philae!

[Beyond]

Plus, they think it may have bounced.

No matter what, this is an awesome acheivement!
Go Philae!

Awesome is right! Did you see the date of the article? Plus this -->Original article, published 12 November 2015 18:13<--.

[failed-phd-candidate]

There is nothing of science or space exploration to be gleaned from landing a robotic craft on a lonely comet core. The Deep Impact excursion with comet 9P Tempel was an exercise in celestial navigation and robotics - nothing of scientific worth was extracted from impacting a comet with a bulkhead. What was most distressing was the manner in mission control operators cheered and carried on like kids on supposedly a job well done. Ofcourse you land robots on celestial icebergs; ofcourse you can play bulls-eye with asteroids.. but this is not space exploration.
And. it is obvious by now that rocketry is not a viable means for space exploration.
Expending the Earth's precious resources on merry-go-round missions is neither prudent nor profitable in terms of current environmental trends. If a space probe cannot be retrieved the mission should not be carried out.
When a viable space exploration mechanism is achieved the first thing which must be done is collect the space junk orbiting the Earth and retrieve the space probes which have been abandoned to space.

[Astronymus]

Plus, they think it may have bounced.

It bounced and has landed 3 times but seems to be stable now. It already has send a panorama of the landing sight.

http://www.esa.int/spaceinimages/Images ... to_a_comet

[starsurfer]

There is nothing of science or space exploration to be gleaned from landing a robotic craft on a lonely comet core. The Deep Impact excursion with comet 9P Tempel was an exercise in celestial navigation and robotics - nothing of scientific worth was extracted from impacting a comet with a bulkhead. What was most distressing was the manner in mission control operators cheered and carried on like kids on supposedly a job well done. Ofcourse you land robots on celestial icebergs; ofcourse you can play bulls-eye with asteroids.. but this is not space exploration.
And. it is obvious by now that rocketry is not a viable means for space exploration.
Expending the Earth's precious resources on merry-go-round missions is neither prudent nor profitable in terms of current environmental trends. If a space probe cannot be retrieved the mission should not be carried out.
When a viable space exploration mechanism is achieved the first thing which must be done is collect the space junk orbiting the Earth and retrieve the space probes which have been abandoned to space.

Says the failed phd candidate.
Why not be happy instead? I think it's fantastic that the landing has been successful and scientific information can be gleaned from analysis of the comet such as the presence of organic molecules. Analysis of the data will provide a clearer view of the role comets might have played in the early days of the Solar System.

Try being optimistic! Most people that are miserable are because they choose to be, I choose happiness!

P.S. Maybe you could do with a hug?

[bls0326]

I now realize I thought of comets as a "kind of smooth" structure with long tail. Obviously rough, craggy, boulders, etc. Great pictures.
Way to go Philae, Rosetta, and ESA.

[Douglas]

There is nothing of science or space exploration to be gleaned from landing a robotic craft on a lonely comet core. The Deep Impact excursion with comet 9P Tempel was an exercise in celestial navigation and robotics - nothing of scientific worth was extracted from impacting a comet with a bulkhead. What was most distressing was the manner in mission control operators cheered and carried on like kids on supposedly a job well done. Ofcourse you land robots on celestial icebergs; ofcourse you can play bulls-eye with asteroids.. but this is not space exploration.
And. it is obvious by now that rocketry is not a viable means for space exploration.
Expending the Earth's precious resources on merry-go-round missions is neither prudent nor profitable in terms of current environmental trends. If a space probe cannot be retrieved the mission should not be carried out.
When a viable space exploration mechanism is achieved the first thing which must be done is collect the space junk orbiting the Earth and retrieve the space probes which have been abandoned to space.

[sarc]

As that must have been a fine piece of universal negativism, I'll conjoin the "candidate's" offering with the guy above him with the whale ..

Nitpicker's whale, rather than named Moby Dick, had a truer, inner identity and that was Transparency.

ESA's Rosetta mission scientists, engineers, have solved the vexing problem of orbiting an irregular object under way in space of low mass that the engineers developing the Sprint AERCam claim to not have done. We can call Rosetta's success Reflections On Distance/Space Within That Most Nettlesome of Tendencies: 20/20 Hindsight (Time).

The comet could float in a large enough body of water, and Sprint AERCam probably shared a similar mass relation to the Shuttle.

Congratulations Rosetta engineers for a fine performance to-date. Impressive.

Now, where did that orbiting AERCam go to?

[/sarc]

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap971210.html

[Tszabeau]

There is nothing of science or space exploration to be gleaned from landing a robotic craft on a lonely comet core. The Deep Impact excursion with comet 9P Tempel was an exercise in celestial navigation and robotics - nothing of scientific ....

As opposed to what disenfranchised carping and droning?

[Nitpicker]

As that must have been a fine piece of universal negativism, I'll conjoin the "candidate's" offering with the guy above him with the whale ..

Nitpicker's whale, rather than named Moby Dick, had a truer, inner identity and that was Transparency.

I want you to know that I had to look up the actual meaning of "universal negativism" and you're way off (and so is the "candidate", for other obvious reasons). The Rosetta/Philae mission is incredible and exciting in many ways, including scientifically. Melville's words are wondrously evocative, so I'm sorry you didn't like my metaphor, which was meant to be felt rather than analysed (so I won't explain further).

[tomatoherd]

I'm not sure the candidate believes all he said, and therefore may have been indulging in trollism. If so, he succeeded.
I too wish the likes of say, China, would focus first on cleaning up the mercury spilling into their rivers and thither the worlds oceans before embarking around the moon. But in re: Rosetta, I'd much rather have the European powers spending money this way than the way they were exactly 100 years ago. Although I believe their current experiment in humanism will end in barbarism, there exists now a nice little reprieve in which it is good to live, and to enjoy things like photos from the surface of comets.

[MargaritaMc]

...The Rosetta/Philae mission is incredible and exciting in many ways, including scientifically. Melville's words are wondrously evocative, so I'm sorry you didn't like my metaphor, which was meant to be felt rather than analysed (so I won't explain further).

Nit, I LOVED your Melville quote! Felt the shivers of wonder and true awe. The mouth opened, heart stopping sense of wonder. The feeling of sheer joy when Accomazzo and Co were seen to grin and then hug had husband and me hugging and hi-fiving here.

It was/is a STUPENDOUS achievement of an impossible and audacious mission. I'm giving myself full permission to be OTT!

WOW!!!

M

[LocalColor]

I hope this is not off topic, this Smithsonian article has a "song" from the comet.

Comet 67P Has a Welcome Song for Rosetta And Philae

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-new ... 03/?no-ist

[Ron-Astro Pharmacist]

I hope this is not off topic, this Smithsonian article has a "song" from the comet.

Comet 67P Has a Welcome Song for Rosetta And Philae

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-new ... 03/?no-ist

Good thought. It makes me wonder what the comet would sound like once it starts outgassing (and if it develops an atmosphere.) I don't suppose it has enough gravity or would produce enough gasses to make a peep (how convenient)

Peep.jpg (8.62 KiB) Viewed 93577 times

but it would be interesting to hear.

Of course then I would wonder what it would smell like too. I can't imagine it would be good. But maybe??

Philly.jpg (25.84 KiB) Viewed 93577 times

That might be appropriate but the" seeing" alone is going to be fine. As for other senses – I hope Philae sends us the chemistry to clue us in.

[BMAONE23]

There is nothing of science or space exploration to be gleaned from landing a robotic craft on a lonely comet core. The Deep Impact excursion with comet 9P Tempel was an exercise in celestial navigation and robotics - nothing of scientific worth was extracted from impacting a comet with a bulkhead. What was most distressing was the manner in mission control operators cheered and carried on like kids on supposedly a job well done. Ofcourse you land robots on celestial icebergs; ofcourse you can play bulls-eye with asteroids.. but this is not space exploration.
And. it is obvious by now that rocketry is not a viable means for space exploration.
Expending the Earth's precious resources on merry-go-round missions is neither prudent nor profitable in terms of current environmental trends. If a space probe cannot be retrieved the mission should not be carried out.
When a viable space exploration mechanism is achieved the first thing which must be done is collect the space junk orbiting the Earth and retrieve the space probes which have been abandoned to space.

Says the failed phd candidate.
Why not be happy instead? I think it's fantastic that the landing has been successful and scientific information can be gleaned from analysis of the comet such as the presence of organic molecules. Analysis of the data will provide a clearer view of the role comets might have played in the early days of the Solar System.

Try being optimistic! Most people that are miserable are because they choose to be, I choose happiness!

P.S. Maybe you could do with a hug?

Not to mention the waste of resources (and money) trying to recapture or retrieve "space junk". Now other than the futile exercise of being able to deorbit inoperative satellites the question begs...Why would you want to expend resources? I can understand perhaps some Iconic Satellites like Hubble being brought back for the Smithsonian or something but most of the In-ops are junk.
How many engineers does it take to change a light bulb?

Fewer than it would take to deorbit a satellite

It would be much better to plan for deorbiting at the end of the assets useful lifespan and send what is needed in the initial orbiting launch

[geckzilla]

Alright, most of us here know that Rosetta, its lander, and other missions are all providing valuable scientific data to the world despite all the horrible things going on back here at home. Just for the record, failed-phd-candidate replied in agreement with himself using another guest name sheriffofnothingham and is now banned. Don't bother responding to him anymore. As they say, don't feed the trolls.

[Chris Peterson]

Alright, most of us here know that Rosetta, its lander, and other missions are all providing valuable scientific data to the world despite all the horrible things going on back here at home.

And of course, most of us know that if the funding were removed from Rosetta and all the other space missions, absolutely nothing would change back here at home. Except we'd know a little less about the Universe, of course.

[Douglas]

As that must have been a fine piece of universal negativism, I'll conjoin the "candidate's" offering with the guy above him with the whale ..

Nitpicker's whale, rather than named Moby Dick, had a truer, inner identity and that was Transparency.

I want you to know that I had to look up the actual meaning of "universal negativism" and you're way off (and so is the "candidate", for other obvious reasons). The Rosetta/Philae mission is incredible and exciting in many ways, including scientifically. Melville's words are wondrously evocative, so I'm sorry you didn't like my metaphor, which was meant to be felt rather than analysed (so I won't explain further).

No need to feel offended, I figured I'd emphasize "candidate's" impossible negativity by taking him into the realm of fiction.
Could he have been more anti-science? Ok.

[Beyond]

Alright, most of us here know that Rosetta, its lander, and other missions are all providing valuable scientific data to the world despite all the horrible things going on back here at home. Just for the record, failed-phd-candidate replied in agreement with himself using another guest name sheriffofnothingham and is now banned. Don't bother responding to him anymore. As they say, don't feed the trolls.

Geck, you shot the sheriff and his deputy (failed-phd-candidate). Good show!

[Nitpicker]

As that must have been a fine piece of universal negativism, I'll conjoin the "candidate's" offering with the guy above him with the whale ..

Nitpicker's whale, rather than named Moby Dick, had a truer, inner identity and that was Transparency.

I want you to know that I had to look up the actual meaning of "universal negativism" and you're way off (and so is the "candidate", for other obvious reasons). The Rosetta/Philae mission is incredible and exciting in many ways, including scientifically. Melville's words are wondrously evocative, so I'm sorry you didn't like my metaphor, which was meant to be felt rather than analysed (so I won't explain further).

No need to feel offended, I figured I'd emphasize "candidate's" impossible negativity by taking him into the realm of fiction.
Could he have been more anti-science? Ok.

No worries. I just didn't want anyone to think I was being a downer about this exciting event. (I don't often quote from the classics.)

[Astronymus]

Philae's adventure doesn't seem to be over. New information reveals its stuck sideways between rocks. Aside from the doability of some experiments the shadows there are threatening the power supply.

Alright, most of us here know that Rosetta, its lander, and other missions are all providing valuable scientific data to the world despite all the horrible things going on back here at home.

And of course, most of us know that if the funding were removed from Rosetta and all the other space missions, absolutely nothing would change back here at home. Except we'd know a little less about the Universe, of course.

Look up the funding for space exploration in different countries in comparison to other budgets like the military. Space is peanuts.