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back to article Rosetta probe's final death dive planned for just after last call next Friday night

The European Space Agency (ESA) has held an hour-long hangout to explain what's likely to happen when its Rosetta spacecraft touches down on Comet 67p. On Sunday, after a final manoeuvre, the spacecraft will start a 14-hour descent. Operations manager Sylvain Lodiot says the agency expects Rosetta to land somewhere inside a …

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  1. Michael H.F. Wilkinson Silver badge
    Pint

    Looking forward to the final results

    and will raise a glass to the engineers and scientists involved. We do live in interesting times (and not always in a bad way)

    15 0 Reply
    1. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Looking forward to the final results

      But, err, we may not live to see the true final results of an alien civilization arriving in honking big spaceships looking for the creators of The R'etta.

      2 0 Reply
  2. Andy The Hat Silver badge

    Exciting times

    Praise be to the gods of Physics that can work out how to do this stuff.

    I've managed to organise a whistle-stop lecture by Dr Matt Taylor later in October ... don't tell anyone but <silly child-like excitement mode /on>! :-)

    4 0 Reply
    1. A K Stiles
      Reply Icon
      Joke

      Re: Exciting times

      Good stuff - have you informed him of any dress code?

      4 0 Reply
      1. Andy The Hat Silver badge
        Reply Icon

        Re: Exciting times

        He can wear what he likes!

        0 0 Reply
  3. Tom 7

    That pesky speed of light problem

    What's wrong with the ESA - almost everywhere I've worked the managers would have insisted we did something about that and got some faster light.

    15 0 Reply
    1. allthecoolshortnamesweretaken
      Reply Icon

      Re: That pesky speed of light problem

      We tried, but the beancounters exercised their veto "because faster-than-light light is too expensive".

      2 0 Reply
    2. phuzz Silver badge
      Reply Icon
      Boffin

      Re: That pesky speed of light problem

      That's why some hedge funds use microwave relays rather than fibre. The speed of light through air is faster than in glass.

      0 0 Reply
  4. AbelSoul
    Pint

    Spectacular end...

    ... to a fantastic mission.

    I saw Matt Taylor give a talk on Rosetta at the Blue Dot festival.

    Truly inspiring work by a truly inspiring human being (and, of course, the rest of the team).

    Cyber pints all round.

    2 0 Reply
  5. Ugotta B. Kiddingme
    Pint

    "So long and thanks for all the science"

    Somehow, I think Douglas would understand and approve such a misquote.

    1 0 Reply
  6. Chris Evans

    I don't understand!

    AIUI Rosetta has been orbiting the comet and isn't in a Geostationary[1] orbit so given that the surface is extremely rugged won't it end in up crashing into a mountain side?

    [1]I'm not sure geostationary is really the correct term as the 'Geo' bit is of course referring to the earth.

    0 0 Reply
  7. sitta_europea Silver badge

    What did I miss?

    ... the agency expects Rosetta to land somewhere inside a 600 x 400 metre footprint target zone, to be refined on September 30 (European time) ...

    0 0 Reply

    1. This post has been deleted by its author

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Farewell brave scout ...

    you served us well

    0 0 Reply

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