Rosetta Spacecraft On Its Way To Meet Asteroid Steins
ScienceDaily (Aug. 29, 2008) — ESA’s Rosetta spacecraft will make a historic encounter with asteroid (2867) Steins on 5 September 2008. The doors of ESA’s European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) in Darmstadt, Germany, will be open to the media as of 18:00 on 5 September to follow the fly-by events. Read more
| Rosetta | |
 | |
| Organization | European Space Agency |
|---|---|
| Major contractors | European Space Agency |
| Mission type | Comet Orbiter/Lander |
| Flyby of | Earth, Mars, 2867 Šteins, 21 Lutetia |
| Satellite of | 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko |
| Launch date | March 2, 2004 at 07:17 UTC |
| Launch vehicle | Ariane 5 |
| Decay | N/A |
| Webpage | ESA-Rosetta |
Rosetta is a European Space Agency-led robotic spacecraft mission launched in 2004 intended to study the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Rosetta consists of two main elements: the Rosetta space probe and the Philae lander. The spacecraft will also flyby and examine two asteroids on its way to the comet.
The probe is named after the Rosetta Stone, as it is hoped the mission will help unlock the secrets of how our solar system looked before planets formed. The lander is named after the Nile island Philae where an obelisk was found that helped decipher the Rosetta Stone.
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ESA will blog the flyby starting on 1 Sep 2008. Access via: http://webservices.esa.int/blog/blog/5/
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