Paolo Ferri, ESA’s Head of Mission Operations, expresses relief at the apparently successful release of Philae from the Rosetta mothership but the potential loss of a crucial touchdown system has caused increased anxiety about the landing.
Picture This
Philae’s first landing: it’s all a blur
Top Stories 2015
No. 9 Rosetta rides with its comet
While 2014 was the year the Rosetta spacecraft celebrated making it into orbit around a comet, 2015 was the year it got down to some serious hard work. Its comet, with the tongue-twisting name 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko, made its closest approach (186 million kilometres) to the Sun, a period known as perihelion when the comet would be expected to be at its most active. Rosetta was there to witness this.
