Rosetta
ESA's landmark comet mission — the first to orbit a comet nucleus and, via its Philae lander, the first to soft-land on one. It escorted comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko through perihelion for two years before its own controlled descent to the surface in 2016.
Imagery
Farewell Shot of Rosetta by Philae Lander
The Philae lander of the European Space Agency Rosetta mission took this parting shot of its mother ship, Rosetta, shortly after separation on Nov.
2014
Copyright: ESA/Rosetta/Philae/CIVA · NASA media (public domain)
This is the small-body-missions view of Rosetta. See its main mission page for the full profile.
Targets & sample
Mission & science
- Goals
- Rendezvous with and orbit a comet, deploy a lander, and follow the nucleus through its active perihelion passage.
- Engineering milestones
- First comet orbiter; deployed the Philae lander (2014); ended with a controlled descent to 67P (2016).
- Science discoveries
- Mapped 67P's bilobed nucleus; measured a D/H ratio unlike Earth's oceans; detected molecular oxygen, glycine, and phosphorus.
- Outcome
- Complete success; a defining comet mission.
Knowledge connections
- Target of67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko
- Operated byESA
- Launched byAriane 5
- Launched fromGuiana Space Centre
- Mission target67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko
- Mission includesPhilae
- Visited67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko
- Member of groupOrbiter Mission
- Member of groupRendezvous Mission
- Member of groupLander Mission
- Orbited67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko
- Associated withApproach & Characterization
- Tracked byESTRACK
- Associated withRosetta and Philae Reach a Comet
- Associated withFirst Comet Landing
Sources
The primary and reference sources this topic draws on.
- ESAEuropean Space Agency
European missions, observatories, and space science imagery.
- NASANational Aeronautics and Space Administration
Mission data, planetary science, space telescopes, and public-domain imagery.
Most NASA-produced imagery is in the public domain; individual items are checked for usage terms before publication.