A new image of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko shows the diversity of surface
structures on the comet's nucleus. It was taken by the Rosetta spacecraft's
OSIRIS narrow-angle camera on August 7, 2014. At the time, the spacecraft was 65
miles (104 kilometers) away from the 2.5-mile-wide (4-kilometer) nucleus.
In the image, the comet’s head (in the top half of the image) exhibits
parallel linear features that resemble cliffs, and its neck displays scattered
boulders on a relatively smooth, slumping surface. In comparison, the comet's
body (lower half of the image) seems to exhibit a multi-variable terrain with
peaks and valleys, and both smooth and rough topographic features.
Launched in March 2004, Rosetta was reactivated in January 2014 after a
record 957 days in hibernation. Composed of an orbiter and lander, Rosetta's
objectives are to study comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko up close in
unprecedented detail, prepare for landing a probe on the comet's nucleus in
November, and track its changes as it sweeps past the sun.
Comets are time capsules containing primitive material left over from the
epoch when the sun and its planets formed. Rosetta's lander will obtain the
first images taken from a comet's surface and will provide the first analysis of
a comet's composition by drilling into the surface. Rosetta also will be the
first spacecraft to witness at close proximity how a comet changes as it is
subjected to the increasing intensity of the sun's radiation. Observations will
help scientists learn more about the origin and evolution of our solar system,
and the role comets may have played in seeding Earth with water.
The scientific imaging system, OSIRIS, was built by a consortium led by the
Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (Germany) in collaboration with
Center of Studies and Activities for Space, University of Padua (Italy), the
Astrophysical Laboratory of Marseille (France), the Institute of Astrophysics of
Andalusia, CSIC (Spain), the Scientific Support Office of the European Space
Agency (Netherlands), the National Institute for Aerospace Technology (Spain),
the Technical University of Madrid (Spain), the Department of Physics and
Astronomy of Uppsala University (Sweden) and the Institute of Computer and
Network Engineering of the TU Braunschweig (Germany). OSIRIS was financially
supported by the national funding agencies of Germany (DLR), France (CNES),
Italy (ASI), Spain, and Sweden and the ESA Technical Directorate.
Rosetta is an ESA mission with contributions from its member states and NASA.
Rosetta's Philae lander is provided by a consortium led by the German Aerospace
Center, Cologne; Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, Gottingen;
French National Space Agency, Paris; and the Italian Space Agency, Rome. JPL, a
division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, manages the U.S.
participation in the Rosetta mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in
Washington.
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