Stephen Clark – Page 29

European space probe makes first landing on a comet

12 November 2014 Stephen Clark

After making history as the first spacecraft to touch down on a comet, Europe’s Philae lander collected data on the rugged alien world’s environment and may have rebounded into space before settling back on the surface, scientists said Wednesday.

Comet lander leaves mothership, exchanges farewell images

12 November 2014 Stephen Clark

Europe’s comet-bound Philae probe released from its Rosetta orbiter mothership Wednesday, snapping photos of the spacecraft that ferried the lander on a ten-year journey from Earth to comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.

Comet landing timeline

12 November 2014 Stephen Clark

Europe’s Philae spacecraft is set to go for landing on a comet, a never-before-tried maneuver that includes a perilous seven-hour descent and an uncontrolled touchdown.

Comet landing is a “go” despite thruster problem

12 November 2014 Stephen Clark

A potential problem with a rocket thruster designed to keep the Philae lander from bouncing off comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko after touchdown Wednesday will make the probe’s daring descent even more challenging, officials said.

Unprecedented cosmic choreography essential to landing on comet

12 November 2014 Stephen Clark

When a European landing probe goes for a daring touchdown on a comet Wednesday, officials say it would help to have a little luck on their side.

Comet lander powered up after electronics glitch

11 November 2014 Stephen Clark

Europe’s Philae lander — still latched inside its mothership — has been activated and should be ready for release Wednesday to begin a daring first-ever descent to a comet, the mission’s flight director said Tuesday.

All is ready for historic comet landing

11 November 2014 Stephen Clark

This week marks the pinnacle of the professional careers of many scientists, when the European Space Agency plans to put down a three-legged robotic lander on a comet, a risky first-of-a-kind endeavor that could rewrite textbooks on the history of the solar system.

Crescent Saturn and Titan seen by Cassini

7 November 2014 Stephen Clark

NASA’s Cassini spacecraft — in its 11th year orbiting Saturn — has spotted the gas giant and its haze-covered moon Titan suspended in the blackness of space like diamonds in the rough.

Chinese probe launched on round-trip flight to the Moon

24 October 2014 Stephen Clark

China launched a demonstrator probe Thursday on a round-trip flight around the Moon to test out a heat shield and landing capsule planned for use on a lunar sample return mission in 2017.

Mars spacecraft safe after fortuitous comet encounter

20 October 2014 Stephen Clark

A fleet of robotic spacecraft orbiting Mars got a front row seat to space history Sunday and lived to tell about it, giving scientists their first close-up look at a comet fresh from a cloud of primordial mini-worlds at the outer reaches of the solar system.