The European Space Agency (ESA) is Europe’s gateway to space. Its mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.
Find out more about space activities in our 23 Member States, and understand how ESA works together with their national agencies, institutions and organisations.
Exploring our Solar System and unlocking the secrets of the Universe
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Go to topicMaking space accessible and developing the technologies for the future
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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 I, which is located on the smaller lobe of the comet. It is a relatively flat area that may contain some fresh material, but higher-resolution imaging is needed to assess the extent of the rough terrain. The illumination conditions would also allow for longer-term science planning.
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 back up site will be selected. Philae’s landing is provisionally planned for 11 November; the date will be confirmed in mid-October.
Credits: ESA/Rosetta/MPS for OSIRIS Team MPS/UPD/LAM/IAA/SSO/INTA/UPM/DASP/IDA