Rosetta flight director says Philae ready for release

The European Space Agency’s ambitious BebiCololmbo probe has completed commissioning and is now clear for the long voyage to Mercury

Europe’s Rosetta spacecraft has recorded a brilliant beam of gas and dust shooting into space from Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, the most spectacular such emission since the probe arrived at the tiny frozen world one year ago.

Rosetta’s OSIRIS camera witnessed Philae’s descent to the surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.