ROSETTA : landing on a comet

Date: Fri, Nov 07, 2014 | 07:30 - 07:45 GMT | 08:30 - 08:45 CET

Replay: Fri, Nov 07, 2014 | 16:00 - 16:15 GMT | 17:00 - 17:15 CET

Type: ESA TV Exchange

Format: 16:9

On 12 November,  Philae, a 100kg lander,  will be separated from Rosetta, the European Space Agency’s comet chaser, and sent to the surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko where it will perform in depth measurements to characterise its nucleus in situ. It is  the first time a probe will land  onto the surface of a comet.

The chosen landing site  is on the ‘head’ of the duck shaped comet body, a strange but fascinating world that this mission is unveiling days after days.

Sending a lander will allow further interesting studies. Launched by an Ariane 5 in 2004, Rosetta is the first spacecraft to accompany a comet, witnessing how it changes while approaching the Sun.

The 18 months of observations from a close orbit combined with the investigations on the surface will result in a detailed knowledge of the nucleus and the coma of the comet, providing crucial information about the formation of the solar system and maybe about the origins of life on Earth since comets are thought by many to be the potential source of life.

Philae is provided by a European consortium under the leadership of the German Aerospace Research Institute (DLR). Other members of the consortium are ESA and institutes from Austria, Finland, France, Hungary, Ireland, Italy and the UK.

This A and B-Roll explains how Philae will make its touch down on the Comet. It includes an interview (in English and German) with Harald KRUEGER, one of Rosetta's Principal Investigator who explains how one instrument will use acoustic waves to determine properties of the comet’s soil , It also contains animations of Rosetta’s orbits, the lander separation and the Philae lander’s descent and landing.

 PLEASE NOTE :

- There are 2 Rosetta stories transmitted on the same day.

- An index of background footage/stockshots covering the overall Mission operations from launch until now is available on server:

ftp:// tvdownload.esa.int, login : esa, password : ftp4esa, directory : ROSETTA stockshots Index Nov 2014

More information at: http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Rosetta

Preview and download:
https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Videos/2014/11/Rosetta_landing_on_a_comet

Script:
EbS97569.doc

Satellite Parameters: Eutelsat 9A at 9 degrees E, transponder 59, downlink frequency 11900.1 horizontally polarised, symbol rate 27,500 FEC 2/3.