Rosetta Blog

Rosetta Blog http://webservices.esa.int/blog/blog/5 Coverage of the Rosetta mission as she makes a series of complex gravity assist manoeuvres around Earth (Mar 2005, Nov 2007, Nov 2009) and Mars (Feb 2007), plus the exciting encounters with Asteroids Steins (Sep 2008) and Lutetia (Jul 2010). News and updates from the Rosetta Dedicated Control Room at ESOC, ESA's European Space Operations Centre, Darmstadt, Germany. administrator 2013-02-11T14:33:53Z Herschel Image of the Day: Lutetia in colour http://webservices.esa.int/blog/post/5/1388   <div style="text-align: center"> <img src="http://blogs.esa.int/atv/files/2012/05/AsR5ShLCEAA7.jpg" border="1" hspace="1" vspace="1" width="326" height="366" /> </div>       Herschel Image of the Day: Lutetia in colour. SPIRE's image of Lutetia taken during the Rosetta encounter. <a href="http://t.co/aAd0X1e1" title="http://twitter.com/ESAHerschel/status/199417642552004609/photo/1">twitter.com/ESAHerschel/st…</a> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet tw-align-center"> — ESA Herschel (@ESAHerschel) <a href="https://twitter.com/ESAHerschel/status/199417642552004609">May 7, 2012</a> </blockquote> Science Operations 2012-05-07T16:45:02Z danielscuka Pretty pictures: Amazing asteroid Lutetia http://webservices.esa.int/blog/post/5/1385 Excellent news from Emily Lakdawalla via her Planetary Society blog:   <blockquote> A long-awaited data set is finally public (well, long-awaited by me, at least). The Rosetta team has now published their data from the July 10, 2010, flyby of asteroid (21) Lutetia. At the time, it was the largest asteroid yet visited by a spacecraft, so it <a href="http://www.planetary.org/blog/article/00002780/" target="_blank" title="Asteroids and comets montage poster">dominated the asteroids and comets montage poster</a> I put together. This data set is absolutely stunning, and my friends in the amateur image processing community wasted no time in creating art out of it. First, I give you a movie of Rosetta's flyby, processed by Ian Regan. The flickering occurs because Rosetta was cycling through different-color filters as it flew past. I had to play this one a few times. Wow. </blockquote>     <hr /> <iframe frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/NQgXWK5Jxhs" width="560"></iframe>   <hr /> Access full post via <a href="http://www.planetary.org/blog/article/00003448" target="_blank">The Planetary Society Blog</a>.       General Science Operations 2012-04-11T11:32:36Z danielscuka ScienceCasts: Mission to Land on a Comet http://webservices.esa.int/blog/post/5/1381 Is this cool, or what! Europe's Rosetta spacecraft is en route to intercept a comet-- and to make history. In 2014, Rosetta will enter orbit around 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko and land a probe on it for a front row seat as the comet heads toward the sun. Many thanks to our NASA colleauges for a cool video!  <iframe frameborder="0" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/FoePrO4-fGQ?rel=0" width="640"></iframe> General Science Operations Hibernation 2012-02-03T20:32:06Z danielscuka Cool comet submissions: Honourable mentions & Made Us Chuckle http://webservices.esa.int/blog/post/5/1345 <a id="res_20355" href="http://webservices.esa.int/blog/gallery/5/4778.jpg"> </a> <div style="text-align: center"> <a id="res_20355" href="http://webservices.esa.int/blog/gallery/5/4778.jpg"> <img src="http://webservices.esa.int/blog/gallery/5/previews-med/4778.gif" border="0" alt="This view of Comet Halley's nucleus was obtained by the Halley Multicolour Camera (HMC) on board the Giotto spacecraft, as it passed within 600 km of the comet nucleus on 13 March 1986. Credit: ESA/MPI" /> </a> </div> <a id="res_20355" href="http://webservices.esa.int/blog/gallery/5/4778.jpg"> This view of Comet Halley's nucleus was obtained by the Halley Multicolour Camera (HMC) on board the Giotto spacecraft, as it passed within 600 km of the comet nucleus on 13 March 1986. Credit: ESA/MPI   </a>{{Final winners and Top 5 to be posted shortly}}    A listing of all #coolcomet Twitter campaign entries ranked by the judges in the 'Honourable mention' and 'Made us chuckle' categories (note 'very rough' EN translation for any entries not in English). Access details on the campaign via: <a href="http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Operations/SEM2ACNSNNG_0.html" target="_blank">Take Part in ESA's Cool Comet Campaign</a>  Bravo and well done to all those listed below!!! <ul> <li>@kristin_365</li> <li>@Jrmluque</li> <li>@M__Lopez</li> <li>@BuddyWolly</li> <li>@magisstra</li> <li>@Johnny_Proxy</li> <li>@ELDNAstronomy</li> <li>@AngusMcLulz</li> <li>@diolor</li> <li>@EPenguin</li> <li>@cifvts</li> <li>@LiiveToWiin</li> </ul> Click on Full story to read Tweets...  (Click on Twitter name to access respective Twitter accounts...)   <hr /> Honourable mention <hr /> <a href="http://www.twitter.com/kristin_365" target="_blank">@kristin_365</a> <blockquote> porque son los viajeros del Sistema Solar, han estado en sitios que nosotros jamás seremos capaces de ver, ni imaginar because they are the travelers of the Solar System, they have been in places we will never be able to see, or imagine </blockquote>   <hr /> <a href="http://www.twitter.com/Jrmluque" target="_blank">@Jrmluque</a> <blockquote> We have more questions than answers about comets. #coolcomet </blockquote>   <hr /> <a href="http://www.twitter.com/M__Lopez" target="_blank">@M__Lopez</a> <blockquote> me gusta pensar que es material que sublima al llegar cerca del sol, para dejarse ver… SUBLIME! I like to think they are made of material that sublimes when approaches the Sun, to make itself visible… SUBLIME! </blockquote>   <hr /> <a href="http://www.twitter.com/BuddyWolly" target="_blank">@BuddyWolly</a> <blockquote> From doomsday messengers to possible bringers of life: Comets - Brought to you by scientific advancement. #coolcomet </blockquote>   <hr /> <a href="http://www.twitter.com/magisstra" target="_blank">@magisstra</a> <blockquote> Comets #coolcomet are one of the most spectacular sky objects and their stories are special. Don’t believe it? <a href="http://t.co/3czmstG" target="_blank">http://t.co/3czmstG </a> </blockquote>   <hr /> <a href="http://www.twitter.com/Johnny_Proxy" target="_blank">@Johnny_Proxy</a> <blockquote> An asteroid with a tail has a magnificient tale to tell. Long or short... period. Listen to the COMET! #coolcomet #ESA  </blockquote>       <hr /> Made us chuckle <hr />   <a href="http://www.twitter.com/Johnny_Proxy" target="_blank"></a><a href="http://www.twitter.com/ELDNAstronomy" target="_blank"></a><a href="http://www.twitter.com/ELDNAstronomy" target="_blank">@ELDNAstronomy</a> <blockquote> I beg ur pardon, i never promised u a ROSETTA garden, along with the sunshine, theres got to be a little space sleep sometimes #coolcomet </blockquote> <hr /> <a href="http://www.twitter.com/AngusMcLulz" target="_blank">@AngusMcLulz</a> <blockquote> hey <a href="http://www.twitter.com/esa_de" target="_blank">@ESA_de</a> kommt ihr den #coolcomet gewinner mit dem <a href="http://blogs.esa.int/atv">ATV</a> abholen?!? =D hey <a href="http://www.twitter.com/esa_de" target="_blank">@ESA_de</a> will you fetch the #coolcomet winner with the <a href="http://blogs.esa.int/atv">ATV</a>?!? =D </blockquote> <hr /> <a href="http://www.twitter.com/diolor" target="_blank">@diolor</a> <blockquote> #coolcomet Ένα&sigmaf; κομήτη&sigmaf; που πέφτει είναι όμορφο&sigmaf; όπω&sigmaf; ένα γρήγορο αμάξι.Όμω&sigmaf; το δεύτερο μόνο θα θελα να δω παρκαρισμένο έξω από το σπίτι μου #coolcomet A comet passing by is as beautiful as a fast car. But I would like to see only the latter parked outside my house. </blockquote> <hr /> <a href="http://www.twitter.com/EPenguin" target="_blank">@EPenguin</a> <blockquote> #coolcomet Why are comets cool? Because they Oort to be! Tom & Dan from Mars Express </blockquote> <hr /> <a href="http://www.twitter.com/cifvts" target="_blank">@cifvts</a> <blockquote> #coolcomet "I'm a comet and nobody can stop me! Gotta go, see you in a bit". I really hope to see you again :) </blockquote> <hr /> <a href="http://www.twitter.com/LiiveToWiin" target="_blank">@LiiveToWiin</a> <blockquote> #coolcomet Kometen sind die größten Kunstwerke, die je entstanden sind! Da Vinci bekäme bei ihrem Anblick sicherlich Minderwer.komplexe!! #coolcomet Comets are the biggest works of art ever! Da Vinci would certainly get inferiority complexes when looking at them!! </blockquote>   <hr width="100%" size="2" /> The complete listing of submitted tweets is available here: <a href="http://twapperkeeper.com/hashtag/coolcomet" target="_blank">http://twapperkeeper.com/hashtag/coolcomet</a>   Thank you to all who took part! General Operations Fun stuff Hibernation coolcomet 2011-06-11T21:40:58Z danielscuka Command to be sent shortly http://webservices.esa.int/blog/post/5/1343 The Rosetta flight control team here at ESOC now plan to issue the hibernation command at 14:47 CEST; confirmation of successful entry would then come approximately 75 minutes later.Follow <a href="http://twitter.com/esaoperations" target="_blank">@esaoperations</a> on Twitter for all updates.  <div style="text-align: center"><iframe align="middle" frameborder="0" height="500px" marginheight="2px" marginwidth="2px" scrolling="NO" src="http://download.esa.int/esoc/esaops.html" width="100%"></iframe></div> General Operations Hibernation 2011-06-08T14:23:59Z danielscuka Confirmed: Rosetta now slowly spinning http://webservices.esa.int/blog/post/5/1342 The automated start of Rosetta's spin-up manoeuvre took place as scheduled this morning at 10:00 CEST. In this image, ESA's Paolo Ferri and Gerhard Schwehm stand at right while Roberto Porta and Sylvain Lodiot watch the plot coming in from NASA's DSN station at Canberra, Australia. Team are all rather pleased with progress so far! -- Daniel <div style="text-align: center"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/esa_events/5811357196/" title="Confirming start of Rosetta spin-up by ESA_events, on Flickr"></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/esa_events/5811357196/" title="Confirming start of Rosetta spin-up by ESA_events, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2028/5811357196_ebf85bbfbf.jpg" alt="Confirming start of Rosetta spin-up" width="500" height="332" /></a></div> General Operations Hibernation 2011-06-08T10:33:03Z danielscuka Rosetta's lullaby song heard on Earth http://webservices.esa.int/blog/post/5/1340 A nice little update this morning! Our friend and past <a href="http://webservices.esa.int/blog/post/7/1058" target="_blank">ESA blog contributor Bertrand Pinel</a>, from France, sent in this screenshot showing the track of the Rosetta radio signal carrier shortly after the GO/NO-GO decision last night and start of the spacecraft's automated hibernation entry sequence (23:47CEST). Bertrand points out that the start of Rosetta's spin up and the switch off today won't be 'visible' to hsi radio equipment because the probe won't be over Europe when it happens (starting in about 30 minutes). Bertrand is a keen amateur radio astronomer and always amazes us with what he can achieve with home-made equipment! He's contributed to the Mars Express blog in the past (<a href="http://webservices.esa.int/blog/post/7/1058" target="_blank">see pictures of Bertrand and some of his equipment here</a>). Merci, Bertrand...and thanks to ESA's Thomas Ormston on the Mars Express team for passing on the details. -- Daniel  <a id="res_20353" href="http://webservices.esa.int/blog/gallery/5/capt1106072151.jpg"> <div style="text-align: center"> <img src="http://webservices.esa.int/blog/gallery/5/previews-med/capt1106072151.gif" border="0" /> </div> </a> General Operations Fun stuff Hibernation 2011-06-08T09:40:09Z danielscuka Monitoring progress: Rosetta team in control room http://webservices.esa.int/blog/post/5/1339 Quick update from the Rosetta dedicated Control Room this AM: Contact via NASA's 70m deep space station at Canberra has been established - you can see signals arriving from Rosetta on screen in the third photo below. Later today, NASA Goldstone and ESA New Norcia will also come on line, so there is plenty of back up available. Spacecraft Operations Manager Andrea Accomazzo says that the execution of the on-board sequence to prepare the craft for hibernation is on track! Next big milestone comes just after 10:00 CEST today - start of the spin-up manoeuvre. -- Daniel   <div align="center">   <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/esa_events/5811194988/" title="Rosetta hibernation by ESA_events, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3522/5811194988_974620dc0b.jpg" alt="Rosetta hibernation" width="500" height="300" /></a> Spacecraft Operations Manager Andrea Accomazzo (standing) with Rosetta engineers Roberto Porta (L) and Sylvain Lodiot (at console) at ESOC, Darmstadt, monitor signals from Rosetta via NASA's Canberra deep space station. </div> <hr /> <div align="center"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/esa_events/5810630235/" title="Rosetta hibernation by ESA_events, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3290/5810630235_5d191871ac.jpg" alt="Rosetta hibernation" width="500" height="300" /></a> Clock counts down time to next major on-board event: start of spin-up manoeuvre, due at about 10:00 CEST. </div> <hr /> <div align="center"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/esa_events/5810689929/" title="Rosetta hibernation by ESA_events, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3500/5810689929_1532797f7d.jpg" alt="Rosetta hibernation" width="500" height="300" /></a> Watching signals from Rosetta as the spacecraft conducts an automated switch-over into final pre-hibernation mode. </div> General Operations Hibernation 2011-06-08T09:07:49Z danielscuka Rosetta is GO for hibernation entry http://webservices.esa.int/blog/post/5/1338 An update just in tonight from Spacecraft Operations Manager Andrea Accomazzo in the Rosetta Dedicated Control Room at ESOC. The 'GO' telecommand, which starts the ball rolling on board Rosetta for final automated sequence for hibernation entry, was sent yesterday evening at 21:47 UTC (23:47 CEST). The team at ESOC saw it execute on board the spacecraft about one hour later, at 00:47 CEST, which confirms satellite is on track for hibernation later today. Basically, the entire sequence to command entering into hibernation is loaded on board and will start automatically, stopping only to wait for the final (manual) command to complete shut-down, due after 13:00 CEST. Next big event? The spin up manoeuvre at 10:00 CEST today. -- Daniel General Operations Hibernation 2011-06-08T00:58:59Z danielscuka DSS 43 - Canberra: Signalling Rosetta http://webservices.esa.int/blog/post/5/1337 View of Canberra 70m (230 ft.) antenna with flags from the three Deep Space Network sites. The Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex, located outside Canberra, Australia, is one of the three complexes which comprise NASA's Deep Space Network. The other complexes are located in Goldstone, California, and Madrid, Spain. Credit: NASA DSS 43 is scheduled to contact Rosetta starting at 07:20 CEST on Wednesday, 8 June.   <div style="text-align: center"> <img src="http://webservices.esa.int/blog/gallery/5/633px-Canberra_Deep_Dish_Communications_Complex_-_GPN-2000-000502.jpg" alt="DSS 43 Canberra" /> </div>   General Operations Hibernation 2011-06-07T23:58:13Z danielscuka