Robotic Spacecraft Rosetta Catches First Glimpse of Destination Comet

The European Space Agency's comet-chasing Rosetta spacecraft caught the first glimpse of its destination comet after waking up from years of hibernation, announced NASA.

After over two years of deep-space hibernation, the comet-chasing probe captured the first glimpse of its destination-comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasiomenko- on March 20 and 21. These pictures will help confirm that the spacecraft is heading in the right direction toward its targeted location.

Using the Optical, Spectroscopic and Infrared Remote Imaging System (OSIRIS) wide-angle camera and narrow-angle camera, Rossetta captured to two different images that were taken at a distance of three million miles (5 million kilometers). The imaging of the comet is a part of the six-week activities dedicated to gear up the probe's science instruments for a close-up study of the comet.

"Finally seeing our target after a 10 year journey through space is an incredible feeling," says OSIRIS Principal Investigator Holger Sierks from the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research in Germany. "These first images taken from such a huge distance show us that OSIRIS is ready for the upcoming adventure."

After hurtling through the deep space for 10 years, the probe is expected to arrive at its destination comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in August later this year and is currently 5 million kilometers away from the comet.

The first image of the comet was taken in a long exposure of 13 hours from a distance of 163 million kilometers, before entering into a long sleep period.

"This is a great start to our instrument commissioning period and we are looking forward to having all 11 instruments plus lander Philae back online and ready for arriving at the comet in just a few month's time," says Matt Taylor, ESA's Rosetta project scientist.

At the moment, the probe is on a trajectory that if it remains unchanged, would pass the comet at a distance 50,000 km at a speed of 800 m/s. But a series of manoeuvres that would start in May will lower the probe's velocity relative to the comet in just 1 m/s and place it within 100 km by the first week of August.

"Between May and August the 4 km-wide comet will gradually 'grow' in Rosetta's field of view from appearing to have a diameter of less than one camera pixel to well over 2000 pixels - equivalent to a resolution of around 2 m per pixel - allowing the first surface features to be resolved," ESA explained.

These observations will help the team to better understand the shape of the nucleus and also its rotation rate.