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Watch: real footage of cosmic particle 'snow' on comet 67P

Literally out of this world.

Defunct Philae found on the surface of the comet

As Rosetta's mission draws close to an end, its high-resolution camera snapped a few photos of the Philae lander.

What comet dust looks like, courtesy of ESA's Rosetta mission

Researchers have documented a more familiar curiosity: what dust particles on a comet look like.

We have new data from the Philae lander - it identifies several new organic molecules on Comet 67P, charts internal structure

Two different Philae instruments, known as Ptolemy and COSAC (Cometary Sampling and Composition), hunted for organic compounds— the building blocks of life as we know it — on and around Comet 67P. While the initial data burst received from the lander did hint at the existence of organics on its surface, the data was limited and its meaning not very clear. The new data is much more interesting.

Rosetta spacecraft finds huge sinkholes on comet's surface

Rosetta is a robotic space probe built and launched by the European Space Agency. Along with Philae, its lander module, the craft is performing a detailed study of comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko. The probe usually orbits 67P at a distance of a few hundred kilometers. Footage received from Rosetta over the last year showed a number of dust […]

Water didn't come from comets, Rosetta analysis shows

As you might remember, a few days ago we were telling you about the fantastic success of the Rosetta mission – a spacecraft launched by the European Space Agency which orbited a comet and sent landed a probe on it. Now, we already have the first result: Earth’s water probably didn’t come from comets. Did […]

First full colour image of Comet 67P captured by Rosetta probe; meanwhile, Philae lost a leg

Only a couple of weeks ago, a historic rendezvous between the Rosetta spacecraft and Comet 67P was made after a 10-year round-trip journey of four billion miles. Most importantly, the Rosetta deployed its lander, Philae, safely on the comet’s surface which is set to soon beam back important information pertaining to the comet’s inner composition and other details. For […]

Rosetta Illustrates the Miracles of Space Science

This is an article by Dave Syndergaard, professor in the Space Studies program at the American Public University. Miraculous. That’s the first word that comes to my mind when I think about the European Space Agency (ESA) mission to Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gersimenko. The Rosetta spacecraft and its lander, Philae, recently reached 67P after a 10-year round-trip journey of […]

Rosetta's Philae probe landed on a comet - why this is HUGE news

OK, so we’ve been keeping you up to date with what’s been happening with the Rosetta mission, but we had to sleep eventually, and wonderful things have happened in the mean time. In case you’re not aware, here’s a short summary: Rosetta is a probe launched by the European Space Agency (the European equivalent of […]

Rosetta comet landing - watch it as it happens! [live blog]

In case you’re not aware, the European Space Agency is just now trying to send Rosetta’s lander, Philae, towards the comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko. The probe is already orbiting the comet and has revealed the most accurate topography of a comet. Watch the live stream here: Further updates: The separation went great, and the lander is on its way […]