REAL LIFE NEWS: ROSETTA CRASHES ONTO COMET AS MISSION ENDS WITH A BANG
by Hazed
The Rosetta probe which has been circling comet 67P for the last two years has finished its mission by crash-landing onto its surface.
On Friday the spacecraft spent two hours descending to the comet’s surface, all the while sending back high-resolution pictures and other measurements. Some of the pictures were taken just seconds before the collision. The first link below has some of the pictures taken during its final descent, and the second is a close up of the comet. No doubt we will see more in the coming days.
The signal from Rosetta was lost at 11:19 GMT on Friday, signaling the final landing of the probe.
The comet is currently heading away from the sun, which would have limited the solar energy available to Rosetta, so the mission team decided to finish it off with a bang.
Scientists expect to be kept busy for many years to come examining all the data gathered by Rosetta during its mission to the comet.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-37520420
Bonus link: Comet just pulled in front of us, Rosetta scientists tell insurers: http://newsthump.com/2016/09/30/comet-just-pulled-out-in-front-of-us-rosetta-scientists-tell-insurers/
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap161001.html
