Aerospace

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ESA's Rosetta Mission: Philae's Journey to the Surface of a Comet

On November 12th, 2014, the European Space Agency's Rosetta mission soft-landed its Philae probe on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko - the first time in history that such a feat has been achieved. During the next phase of the mission, Rosetta will accompany the comet through perihelion (August 2015) until the nominal end of the mission. On its ten year journey towards comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, the spacecraft has passed by two asteroids: 2867 Steins (in 2008) and 21 Lutetia (in 2010). This animation begins with Philae still on Rosetta and then shows Philae being ejected by Rosetta and deploying its own three legs, and follows the lander's descent until it reaches the target site on the comet. The accompanying music, 'Philae's Journey' by Vangelis, was composed specially for ESA and inspired by the Rosetta mission.