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Rosetta space mission - Philae probe due to land on comet on 12th Nov 2014

This sounds like a highly geeky, highly cool experiment, but can someone tell me what the actual scientific benefit of it is?
 
gabi said:
This sounds like a highly geeky, highly cool experiment, but can someone tell me what the actual scientific benefit of it is?
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This:
What are the mission’s objectives?
Rosetta's prime objective is to help understand the origin and evolution of the Solar System. The comet’s composition reflects the composition of the pre-solar nebula out of which the Sun and the planets of the Solar System formed, more than 4.6 billion years ago. Therefore, an in-depth analysis of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko by Rosetta and its lander will provide essential information to understand how the Solar System formed.

There is convincing evidence that comets played a key role in the evolution of the planets, because cometary impacts are known to have been much more common in the early Solar System than today. Comets, for example, probably brought much of the water in today's oceans. They could even have provided the complex organic molecules that may have played a crucial role in the evolution of life on Earth.

http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Rosetta/Frequently_asked_questions
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Second GO - the orbiter is ready to deliver Philae. Spacecraft healthy.

Next GO due for the lander at 0235 UTC.

e2a: that next GO/NOGO has been delayed an hour or so as they are still mulling over the implications of the earlier power up glitch on Philae (required a power cycle to force it to switch between two boards which maybe have been a temperature issue).
 
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weltweit said:
I have always wondered about comets being the possible source of water on earth. Is there not quite a lot of water here? might it have needed a lot of comets, or fewer but massive ones?
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A lot of comets, over a very long time. It's totally plausible. But isotopic measurements of Earths water, compared to that found on other bodies throughout the solar system, are throwing doubt on the comet hypothesis. Wiki has a good overview: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origin_of_water_on_Earth
 
weltweit said:
I have always wondered about comets being the possible source of water on earth. Is there not quite a lot of water here? might it have needed a lot of comets, or fewer but massive ones?
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Some estimates suggest that there might be around 10000 times as much water in the current Oort cloud (ie distributed across the comets that make it up) as there is on planet Earth. So no, the amount of water on Earth is incredibly small by comparison to the proposed source.
 
gabi said:
This sounds like a highly geeky, highly cool experiment, but can someone tell me what the actual scientific benefit of it is?
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Further to Editor's answer in post 93, every ambitious mission like this furthers our knowledge and skills on space exploration, which can only be a good thing and will be extremely useful in the future, when space travel might become a necessity or even a lifeline for mankind. Just as many other ventures have been in the past. Only by pushing ourselves and our quest for knowledge have we advanced as a species.

I'm just sorry we won't be around to see the unimaginable discoveries and advances we will make in the next few centuries. But far better than doing nothing and stagnating as a species.
 
T & P said:
Further to Editor's answer in post 93, every ambitious mission like this furthers our knowledge and skills on space exploration, which can only be a good thing and will be extremely useful in the future, when space travel might become a necessity or even a lifeline for mankind. Just as many other ventures have been in the past. Only by pushing ourselves and our quest for knowledge have we advanced as a species.

I'm just sorry we won't be around to see the unimaginable discoveries and advances we will make in the next few centuries. But far better than doing nothing and stagnating as a species.
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Do you reckon humanity will be around in a few centuries? I don't.
 
gabi said:
Do you reckon humanity will be around in a few centuries? I don't.
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frazer.jpg


Neither of us will ever know, but given how long we've lasted thus far, I reckon there's a good chance (short of a catastrophic meteor/disease etc).

Whatever happens, we need to get off this planet at some point.
 
So it looks like the cold gas thruster on Philae isn't working. It'll have to rely on the harpoons and ice screws to make a secure landing.
 
Third GO was given for the lander a few hours ago. However there is a potential issue with the cold gas thruster - at touchdown Philae may have to rely on the harpoons alone for initial landing. Bearing in mind that the cold gas thruster was intended originally to speed up the approach to the nucleus (when the original mission design was to land on a even smaller comet, ie lower gravity) and wasn't planned to be used for this comet (merely as backup at landing), it shouldn't be a show stopper.

The final trajectory burn, pre-separation thruster maneuver, is confirmed as having been completed several minutes ago. The final GO/NOGO for release is now due in about 30 minutes (0735UTC).
 
More detail on the cold nitrogen thruster issue: to prepare the thruster for use, a pin must puncture a seal over the thruster gas reservoir. There are two redundant pins, and each was activated twice, but no pressure change was indicated after the four attempts. There's a small possibility that the problem is not with the pins but instead with the pressure transducer that signals the procedure to prep the thruster was completed, ie the thruster is actually ok. Mission managers can't be entirely sure.
 
The lander separation sequence has begun. The lander surface science packages (MUPUS, SESAME) are on and returning data.
 
Philae now on internal power. The lander cameras have been switched back on. Magnetometer (ROMAP) working, which will also be used to detect spacecraft events (as well as investigate the comet/solar interaction).
 
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Lander separation appears to have occurred. Accelerations measured on the orbiter. Images of the separation expected between 1300 and 1430UTC.

e2a: Confirmed.
 
There now follows a short intermission as Rosetta repositions for and executes a trajectory correction to avoid the comet and set itself up for an optimal alignment to relay data from Philae during the latter stage of the descent and landing. Data should start flowing again at 1058UTC.
 
The CONSERT radio science package is on and functioning so should be assisting in providing lander altitude and descent rate.
 
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