Rosetta Spacecraft . . .

[NickDG 23]

The European spacecraft called "Rosetta" is currently on a multi-asteroid encounter mission and just this morning sent back some great photos of a very large metal asteroid called Lutetia.

Julia is working this mission from Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL) as we have the only radio dish system capable of receiving the large data packets the spacecraft sends back to Earth. Rosetta is on a path to its main target, comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, in 2014.

Here's Lutetia!

1 is on approach.
2 is a closeup of a crater with evidence of a landslide.
3 is waving goodby.

NickD

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[jtval 0]

Metal?
it looks like rock. is the whole thing metal or is it just rich with it?

The landslide seems to me that its rock.

My photos

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[jtval 0]

Looks awesome though.

My photos

My Videos

[BillyVance 34]

I saw that in the newspaper. Lutetia is something like 90+ miles in diameter (long-wise). Fuck, that's not something you want slamming into Earth. As long as it stays between Mars and Jupiter, it's cool.

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[NickDG 23]

Yes, I think they classify them by predominant material or their cores. Some are just debris held together by gravity, some are mostly rock, some are icy, and some have metal cores.

NickD

[billvon 2,396]

>is the whole thing metal or is it just rich with it?

A typical nickel-iron asteroid is about 95% metal (mostly nickel, iron and cobalt.)

[JohnMitchell 14]

Maybe I'm showing my age. I grew up thrilling to John Glenn making a few orbits in the Mercury capsule. Now we have robotic explorers to the farthest reaches of our solar system, and beyond. Amazing the space knowledge we've gained in half a century of space flight. Thanks for sharing those pics.

[jraf 0]

ET?

jraf

Me Jungleman! Me have large Babalui.
Muff #3275

[KRBKV 0]

Now it's time for new set of pictures 10 km away from the core of the comet!

http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Rosetta/Highlights/Top_10_at_10_km

And tomorrow Philae, the lander will be dropped off the Rosetta to reach the surface of the comet!

http://rosetta.esa.int

[Zep 0]

Is it just my imagination or does that third picture
look like Count Dracula in profile.

Gone fishing

[muff528 3]

hmmmmm................

[Zep 0]

muff528

hmmmmm................

That's it Voldemort not Dracula, I got blindsided by Kate Beckinsale.

Gone fishing

[muff528 3]

Philae should be down by now! Hope all went well. I wonder if folks understand how big a deal this is? RW at its best!

[jakee 1,254]

muff528

Philae should be down by now! Hope all went well. I wonder if folks understand how big a deal this is? RW at its best!

@Philae2014 Touchdown! My new address: 67P!

Do you want to have an ideagasm?

[lawrocket 3]

muff528

Philae should be down by now! Hope all went well. I wonder if folks understand how big a deal this is? RW at its best!

I think this is the most amazing technical achievement in space flight's history. The US going to the moon as amazing, and in terms of human achievement it ranks number 1.

The technical achievements of this blow the moon landings away. (If anyone has a few months with nothing to do, take a look at what was needed from a mathematical/physics standpoint just to get to where they wanted to go on the moon. Just trying to travel over 200k miles and miss the moon by exactly 69 miles to orbit it is impressive enough, much less the work that went into determining the launch windows (just the word "antipode" is enough to get started).

This was planned and constructed for a decade. Problem: there isn't a rocket powerful enough to get the craft to the comet. So they had to use that science and math stuff. [Url]http://www.esa.int/esatv/Videos/2013/12/Rosetta_s_Journey_B-Roll/Solar_system_animation_showing_Rosetta_trajectory[/url] they planned out exactly when to launch, the trajectories and speeds in order to use planet gravity four times to stationkeep this thing.

Flying formation is a comet and then attaching to it? Much moer difficult than just hitting the thing. Just perfection of the science and engineering and guidance where it takes 28 minutes for a command from earth to get to it.

I'm just blown away. Massive props.

Not nearly so emotionally amazing as Apollo 8 or Apollo 11. But from a technological standpoint, I'm in awe.

My wife is hotter than your wife.

[SethInMI 145]

I like this tweet from Emily Lakdawalla:

"Robotic spaceflight IS human spaceflight. We ARE these machines. They are our eyes."

It's flare not flair, brakes not breaks, bridle not bridal, "could NOT care less" not "could care less".

[muff528 3]

lawrocket

.....

I think this is the most amazing technical achievement in space flight's history. ....

....especially considering the size of 67P (about 4000m or 2.5mi at its longest dimension ....~ "normal" exit altitude for skyjumping). Definitely a badass trick shot.

[BillyVance 34]

The craft sling-shotted around the earth 3 times and Mars once. Impressive indeed!

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[headoverheels 291]

Approximate escape velocity is ~ 1m/s -- which means that you should be able to jump off the surface and achieve escape velocity. That would be fun, to see who could stay up the longest without leaving.

[Calvin19 0]

law rocket

The technical achievements of this blow the moon landings away. (If anyone has a few months with nothing to do, take a look at what was needed from a mathematical/physics standpoint just to get to where they wanted to go on the moon. Just trying to travel over 200k miles and miss the moon by exactly 69 miles to orbit it is impressive enough, much less the work that went into determining the launch windows (just the word "antipode" is enough to get started).

I have a recurring daydream of being on Apollo 8, and adjusting the trajectory so the pericynthion is within double-digit meters of the surface. Around 1km/sec that would be a hell of a ride. It's off topic, I know, but that would be FUN.

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Not nearly so emotionally amazing as Apollo 8 or Apollo 11. But from a technological standpoint, I'm in awe.

True that. ebenfalls.

Edit:Thanks champu

[Calvin19 0]

The battery thing sucks...

No matter what, this is a HUGE freaking win in a time when space travel has been getting hit hard.

Elon better stick that bottom booster on the pad. It will save 2014.

[champu 1]

Calvin19

so the perigee(what is the lunar term?)

In the case you describe it would be "pericynthion"

More generically you can just use periapsis.

[billvon 2,396]

> Problem: there isn't a rocket powerful enough to get the craft to the comet. So
>they had to use that science and math stuff.

Well, NSTAR engines could do it - heck, they'd let you land and come back to Earth. But they're expensive, and if you have the time, gravity assists still get you there.

I am also very impressed by the Dawn mission. It has been cruising around, under power for much of the time, for seven years, and has another two years to go. It has already visited Vesta and is now enroute to Ceres. It brings us closer to the day when we can launch general-purpose exploration craft that just go exploring, deciding enroute what to research - then land, pick up samples and return.

[lawrocket 3]

Agreed. It's trajectories are also pretty cool. Just hopping orbits to the next asteroid.

My wife is hotter than your wife.

[lawrocket 3]

I myself imagine, of all things, Apollo 10. Being at 50k feet above the lunar surface and traveling at 3,700 mph. In orbit fewer than ten miles above the surface. I mean, these were guys who regularly flew at 50k. But at 3,700 mph? Just imagining how quickly terrain was rolling beneath them. That it something else.

My wife is hotter than your wife.