Rosetta ends 12-year space odyssey

After chasing a comet across nearly seven billion km of space, the historic Rosetta mission will end when the spacecraft gently crashlands on its surface and shuts down forever

Feb 2016: Temperature falls to -180oC, Philae no longer able to function. Rosetta continues tracking 67P

Sep 30, 2016: Mission ends

Mar 2004: Rosetta launched

June 2011: After four flybys of Earth and Mars, Rosetta is put into hibernation to save energy

Jan 2014: Rosetta wakes

Earth orbit

Rosetta orbit

67P orbit

Aug: Comet comes within 186 million km of Sun

Jul: Last contact with Philae

Jun 2015: Philae sends unexpected message: “Hello Earth! Can you hear me?”

Nov 12: Philae  becomes first ever spacecraft to land on comet. Probe bounces three times before ending up in deep shade where it not be recharged

Aug 6: Rosetta enters orbit of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko and maps it to determine viable landing site for Philae lander

Philae lander

Rosetta orbiter

Philae first touches down

Philae’s final resting place: On Sep 2, 2016, Rosetta’s high- resolution camera spots Philae wedged into dark crack

Comet landing sites

Organic compounds detected in 67P bolster notion that comets delivered chemical building blocks for life to Earth and throughout solar system

Rosetta’s planned impact site: In final hours of controlled 14-hour descent, Rosetta will take close-up pictures of comet and collect data on gases closer to surface

Source: ESA

Picture: ESA/Rosetta/NAVCAM, CC BY-SA IGO 3.0