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ESOC in Darmstadt, Germany, 12 November 2014

The European Space Agency's Rosetta mission will deploy its lander, Philae, to the surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko on 12 November.

Following the successful rendezvous with the comet in August, after a 10 year journey through space, the Rosetta mission of the ESA will deploy its Philae landing craft on the ‘head’ of the duck shaped comet, a remnant from the creation of our solar system some 4.5 billion years ago. Scientists hope to gain valuable insight from the mission about the processes which formed the
solar system and the make up of the many comets which orbit the sun.

The 100 kg landing craft is planned to reach the surface on 12 November, where it will perform in-depth measurements to of the nucleus of the comet.

Launched by an Ariane 5 rocket in 2004, Rosetta is the first space probe to accompany a comet, monitoring how it changes as it approaches the Sun and, if successful, this will also be the first mission to dispatch a landing craft onto the surface of a comet.

The mission may also be able to provide new insights into the origins of life on Earth. Comets are thought by many to have been the original source of the organic molecules on earth, which were the initial building blocks of life.

The Landing operations are coordinated from ESA’s Space Operations Centre (ESOC) at Darmstadt, Germany.

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