Rosetta, the Comet Hunter 132
Roland Piquepaille writes: "After being delayed for about a year because of a failure of the Ariane-5 rocket, the Rosetta spacecraft is scheduled to be launched on February 26. Rosetta is a special spacecraft, including an orbiter and a lander. And it will take up to 2014 before landing on Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko -- with the help of a harpoon. Then, as says the European Space Agency (ESA), Rosetta will help to solve planetary mysteries. This news release looks at the goals of Rosetta's mission and explains why it will take more than ten years to reach the comet. But here the 'funny' part of the story: the landing. 'In November 2014, the lander will be ejected from the spacecraft from a height which could be as low as one kilometre. Touchdown will be at walking speed, about one metre per second. Immediately after touchdown, the lander will fire a harpoon into the ground to avoid bouncing off the surface back into space, since the comet's extremely weak gravity alone would not hold onto the lander.' This overview contains more details and includes illustrations of the Rosetta's spacecraft and its landing on the comet."
Gravity? (Score:5, Interesting)
Immediately after touchdown, the lander will fire a harpoon into the ground to avoid bouncing off the surface back into space, since the comet's extremely weak gravity alone would not hold onto the lander..
My question is, if the comet's gravity is so weak, how is the Rosetta supposed to orbit this thing for six months?
I hope the harpoon works... (Score:5, Interesting)
Given that it could be porous (or even lots of shatterable ice), I hope that the harpoon has the force to bury itself deeply enough to actually anchor itself in something solid.
Anyone good with gravity? (Score:5, Interesting)
I'm thinking say, if I were standing on a rock the size of NYC out in space, would I just drift away from its surface without any noticeable gravity, or could it hold me there? How about something the size of a state like Oregon? or something only 2miles in diameter?
Hope the ESA does matter this time (Score:5, Interesting)
ESA did pretty well on their 1st trip to Mars, as the Mars Express is an unqualified success, but the Beagle II didn't work for whatever reason. All this is just to reiterate that space is hard, and there will be successes and failures. No one's at 100% (Russians have a worse track record on Mars than anyone, and NASA lost Contour--not a JPL mission-- last year due to an obvious design flaw).
Whenever a new technique is tried in space for the 1st time, the odds increase. That Pathfinder worked on its first attempt at a bouncy landing, and Sojourner roved Mars without a hitch speaks to the talent & luck of the JPL crew. Hopefully the Europeans will do as well with their harpoon, and hopefully they haven't made obvious mistakes like those made by NASA and the APL did in the Contour comet mission.
Comment removed (Score:3, Interesting)
Prospecting vs exploring (Score:5, Interesting)
The so-called great voyages of discovery of the past were never undertaken for the sake of idle science all. Always there was that search for the elusive El Dorado or that secret shortcut to the spice capital of the world. While most voyages failed to recoup the wood and slave labor invested on them, enough returned with if not the silver and gold then things that would prove more valuable, like coffee, cannabis or the claims to a "New" World.
The pure science mission ("Is there life on Mars?") is a modern invention. While the altruism is admirable, the only way to justify to taxpayers the continued exploration of space is to turn these missions into hunts for precious metals and minerals. Follow not just the water (a valuable space resource in its own right) but also the platinum.