The idea of catching up to a comet, landing on it and drilling for samples sounds like it could be the plot for Armageddon 3. But the news comes directly from the European Space Agency and NASA: Earlier this week, the agencies woke the unmanned Rosetta spacecraft after a two-and-a-half-year nap and are preparing it for a rendezvous with a comet later this year.
So far, the mission, which launched a decade ago (after more than a decade of preparation), is going smoothly. According to NASA, the first communication from the spacecraft arrived at the European Space Operations Center in Darmstadt, Germany, at 7:18 p.m. local time (1:18 p.m. ET). The signal was received by a ground station at the Goldstone, Calif., complex of NASA's Deep Space Network.
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European Space Agency officials were clearly thrilled that Rosetta woke up on time. "This was one alarm clock not to hit snooze on, and after a tense day we are absolutely delighted to have our spacecraft awake and back online,” said Fred Jansen, ESA’s Rosetta mission manager.
That’s good news, but it’s still hard to imagine the details of how a comet chaser (and lander) can work. The fact of the matter is, no spacecraft has ever landed on a comet before, so it may help to take a good look at this infographic produced by Space.com. It offers illuminating detail on the Rosetta craft, its tinier lander passenger and the circuitous route Rosetta took to meet up with its comet target.