Comet Landing A Success: European Craft Makes 'Fairly Gentle Touchdown'
Millions of miles from Earth, the Philae robotic lander has settled on the comet's surface, the European Space Agency says.
comet
Rosetta Space Probe Explores the Origins of the Solar System
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On August 6th of this year the European Space Agency completed a 10 year journey of the space probe Rosetta to the object designated Comet 67P. While several cometary flybys and missions have been completed in the past, Rosetta will accomplish a series of firsts, according to the European Space Agency. It is the first spacecraft to orbit a comet, and as such it will be the first to accompany a comet as it journeys to the inner solar system. It will be the first to see up close the transformation of a comet as it approaches the sun. Rosetta will place a robotic lander on the surface in the first-ever controlled landing on a comet. The images produced will be the first ever taken from the surface of a comet.