Artwork of the Rosetta spacecraft's Philae lander approaching the nucleus of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Rosetta was launched in March 2004 on a

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Artwork of the Rosetta spacecraft's Philae lander approaching the nucleus of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Rosetta was launched in March 2004 on a 10-year mission to study the comet. It entered the comet's orbit on the 6th August 2014. It is the first mission designed to land on a comet. Rosetta is carrying instruments to map the comet's surface and probe its core, as well as the Philae lander. Philae is scheduled to land on the comet on the 12th November 2014. It will perform detailed analysis of the comet's surface, giving an insight into conditions during the formation of the solar system some billion years ago.

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Size: 5574px × 3135px
Photo credit: © MARK GARLICK/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

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