Scientists say sad goodbye to Rosetta as it destroys itself on comet surface
Scientists have said goodbye to one of the most ambitious space projects of recent years. The Rosetta probe – which has spent two years finding out everything it can about the comet it orbits around – died when it crashed into its surface yesterday.
Two years after Rosetta dropped the lander Philae onto a comet, the pair have been reunited. Neither will ever be able to communicate with Earth again – a decision made because the craft was about to become too
far away from the sun to communicate with Earth anyway.
All it took to destroy the craft, and with it bring an end to Europe’s most successful space project ever, was 249 lines of instructions. They told Rosetta to fire its thrusters for 208 seconds, which put it on a collision course with the comet it has spent years orbiting around.
When it hit the ground, it joined the tiny lander it dropped on to the comet’s surface last November. Before the lander was dropped, the two had spent 10 years flying through space on their way to the comet.
The £1bn quest ended yesterday around midday UK time, when the Rosetta craft hit the comet’s surface and Earth lost contact with it. Before then, scientists were hoping to get their last pieces of information – some of which might be the most important ever spotted, since Rosetta will be able to get so close to the surface. Scientists working on the mission have spent recent days preparing to say goodbye to the craft, which they have been designing and steering through the solar system for years. Tributes included a special box of tissues – ready for anyone weeping at the end of the mission – shaped like Rosetta itself. A note signed by the team and left on the main control room door at the European Space Operations Centre said: "Farewell Rosetta! We will miss you."
Professor Monica Grady, a British scientist involved in the design of the lander, said she had "very mixed feelings" as the end approached. "It's been a fantastic mission, but it's time now to move on to the next one," she said.
"It's been a fantastic mission, but it's time now to move on to the next one," she said. "It's been a tremendous achievement by the European Space Agency, it's been absolutely amazing."