Candidate landing site A

Five candidate sites were identified on Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko during the Landing Site Selection Group meeting held 23–24 August 2014.

This image shows a zoom into candidate site A, which is located on the larger lobe, but in good view of the smaller lobe. The region is interesting because the terrain between the two lobes is likely the source of some outgassing. However, higher-resolution imaging is needed to study potential surface hazards such as small depressions and slopes, while the illumination conditions also need to be considered further.

The image was taken with Rosetta’s OSIRIS narrow angle camera on 16 August, from a distance of about 100 km. The frame is about 1 km across and is centred on the mid-point of the landing ellipse. The image resolution is 1.85 m per pixel.

The letter designation does not indicate a ranking; this will be completed on 14 September when a primary and backup site will be selected. Philae’s landing is provisionally planned for 11 November; the date will be confirmed in mid-October.

Credit: ESA/Rosetta/MPS for OSIRIS Team MPS/UPD/LAM/IAA/SSO/INTA/UPM/DASP/IDA