Last week, ESA’s Rosetta mission accomplished the first-ever comet rendezvous. That is, it’s the first spacecraft ever to fly alongside a comet, which it will continue to do for the coming year. Now the mission is in a race against time to prepare maps and collect data before the mission’s Philae lander is sent down to the surface of the comet this November. In this edition of the television program Euronews Space – released today (August 11, 2014) – learn how Rosetta’s scientists are learning in real time to orbit in order to catch Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko at various angles, plus how Rosetta sees its target, and what the mission means to the world.
Thank you Daniel Fischer (@cosmos4u) for pointing our this video on Twitter!
Deborah Byrd
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About the Author:
Deborah Byrd created the EarthSky radio series in 1991 and founded EarthSky.org in 1994. Prior to that, she had worked for the University of Texas McDonald Observatory since 1976, and created and produced their Star Date radio series. Today, she serves as Editor-in-Chief of this website. She has won a galaxy of awards from the broadcasting and science communities, including having an asteroid named 3505 Byrd in her honor. In 2020, she won the Education Prize from the American Astronomical Society, the largest organization of professional astronomers in North America. A science communicator and educator since 1976, Byrd believes in science as a force for good in the world and a vital tool for the 21st century. "Being an EarthSky editor is like hosting a big global party for cool nature-lovers," she says.