Rosetta mission comet landing: Images, times & ESA news

THE Rosetta space probe will be attempting to land on a comet for the first time in human history tonight. What it finds could answer some of humanity’s biggest questions.

This comet could hold the answers to humanity

IN WHAT will be an historical feat for man kind, after six billion kilometres and a 10 year mission, a spaceship will attempt to land on a speeding comet for the first time ever.

Rosetta, the $1.8 billion European Space Agency probe finally caught up to the colourfully named comet 67P in August. It took swinging around Earth three times, and Mars once to even be able to gain enough speed to chase down the comet. Since catching up, it has been scanning for a landing spot.

Several landing spots had thought to be found but were eventually ruled out after being deemed too dangerous, with the final site being a one-square-kilometre landing spot named Agilkia.

The comet itself is shaped like a rubber duck and is 3.5km wide by 4.0km in length. While that might be more than 10 times the length than a US aircraft carrier, the surface itself is full of holes which is makes it no guarantee that Rosetta will make a successful landing.

Not a rubber duck.

There are still a number of reasons that could delay the landing, but if all goes to plan, Rosetta will begin nudging its lander towards the comet around 7:30pm AEDT tonight. The whole landing process will take around seven hours, where the tiny lander Philae will slowly descend 22km to its target on the comet.

There is no guarantee the landing will succeed. Engineers will not be able to control Philae’s descent, meaning Rosetta has to be in perfect position prior to the 22km drop. If their calculations are wrong, scientists will be powerless to do anything but watch as the machine floats off into space.

The lander itself is a small cube with a pair of electronic legs, which holds instruments and tools to analyse the comet and a camera to take images of the comets nucleus.

Earlier today, the ESA released a clip of the comet ‘singing’, stumping them as to what is actually causing it.

So why is this so important? Those measurements will help scientists finally answer the question of whether it was comets billions of years ago that brought water and life to Earth. And therefore, whether water might be found elsewhere in the universe.