Rosetta status

Rosetta has another three months of science to collect before its historic mission comes to an end. But the mission is not resting on its laurels. It has just broken a new record by flying an orbit 7 kms from the comet’s centre – just 5 kms from the surface – and there are more breathtaking manoeuvres to come.

This film describes the orbits that Rosetta will undertake around comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, the changes in the amount of gas coming off the comet, and examines the importance of finding phosphorus and glycine – an amino acid that is essential for life.

It also discusses the mission’s most recent discoveries of Xenon and Krypton, together with most of their isotopes. These noble gases were detected by the ROSINA instrument during the period when Rosetta was flying extremely close to the comet. More important science is expected to be released during the next few months.

More about Rosetta:
http://blogs.esa.int/rosetta

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