When Philae attempts to land on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko on November 12, 2014, Rosetta will have been in space for over 10 years.
Rosetta has passed Earth three times, Mars once, and flown past two asteroids.
Rosetta was the first spacecraft to fly close to Jupiter’s orbits by using only its solar panels as the main power source.
The Rosetta spacecraft has looped around the sun five times.
Rosetta was placed in hibernation, meaning no contact with the European Space Agency (ESA), for 31 months.
“The spacecraft’s dimensions are 3.1 x 2.3 x 2.2 yards. There are two 15-yard-long solar panels with a total area of 77 square yards. From tip-to-tip, the spacecraft spans 35 yards.”
“In mid-2012, Rosetta recorded its maximum distance from the Sun and Earth – about 500 million miles and 620 million miles, respectively.”
Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, where Philae will attempt to land, has a shape that’s similar to a rubber ducky.
The specific site where Philae will attempt to land is known as “site J,” which is roughly located on the rubber ducky’s forehead.
Philae will attempt to land on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko that’s traveling at 34,000 miles per hour.
As a result of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko having just 1/100,000th the gravity of Earth, harpoons and ice screws must be used to keep the 220-pound-lander Philae in contact with the comet.
On November 12, 2014, the first-ever soft landing on a comet will be attempted by Philae after detaching from the Rosetta spacecraft.