Philae may not have energy to send results to Earth, says ESA

Europe's robot lab Philae may not have enough power to send to Earth the results of today's drill into the surface of its host comet, mission scientists have said.

"We are not sure there is enough energy so that we can transmit" the data, lander manager Stephan Ulamec said at a press conference webcast from European Space Agency (ESA) ground control in Germany.
Scientists are to decide whether to try a risky drilling procedure to enable an exploration probe to examine samples from the surface of a comet before its batteries run out.

The probe on Wednesday floated away from its planned landing site after harpoons designed to hold it down on the comet failed to deploy.
It is now resting precariously on two out of three legs in the shadow of a cliff on the comet.

• The lack of light means the probe, dubbed Philae, would not draw sufficient energy to operate on its solar panels as hoped once its batteries run out.

• The ESA team are also uncertain of its exact position, making it difficult to "hop" the probe into a better position using its landing gear.

The probe was supposed to drill into the surface of the celestial body after landing, but its unstable position and the comet's weak gravitational pull means there is a risk it could bounce off if the drill is deployed.
Despite the landing setbacks, the mission has achieved many breakthroughs, including the first time a spacecraft has followed a comet rather than just whizzing past and the first time a probe has landed on a comet.
Comets are of interest to scientists because they are remnants from the formation of our solar system, over 4.6 billion years ago.
These masses of ice and rock have preserved ancient organic molecules like a time capsule and may provide insight into how planets and life evolved.
Even if Philae is unable to drill into the surface to analyse samples, the Rosetta spacecraft will follow the comet until at least the end of 2015, even as it passes closest to the sun on its orbit.
[http://www.rte.ie]
14/11/1
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Related:

• Scientists working on Philae comet lander say it is time to take more risks with the probe, amid fears its battery might die in hours....

• Rosetta-Mission: "Philae" hat schon fast keinen Strom mehr ...

Related:

• The Rosetta comet landing has made history (Space probe, Philae, reaches comet’s surface first time in history)

• Σήμερα η ιστορική απόπειρα προσεδάφισης ρομπότ σε κομήτη ...

• Europe's mission to land the first-ever probe on a comet was on track Wednesday with one final "go" pending for the robot lab to eject from its mothership and start a nail-biting seven-hour descent...

• Διαστημική αποστολή «Ροζέτα»... εξετελέσθη

• Rosetta space probe makes historic rendezvous with comet

• Rosetta spacecraft to be woken after nearly three years, ESA awaits signs of life(20/1/13)

• Rosetta: Raumsonde erfolgreich aus dem Tiefschlaf erwacht ....

• Après 31 mois de sommeil, la sonde spatiale Rosetta se réveille...

The Rosetta comet landing has made history (Space probe, Philae, reaches comet’s surface first time in history)

After 10 years of hard work and one nerve-wracking night, the Rosetta mission has made history by landing on the surface of a comet.

The lander Philae was confirmed to touch down on the surface of the comet more than 300 million miles away at 11:05 a.m. Eastern. Now, scientists expect it to send a panoramic image home and begin analyzing the comet for scientists back on Earth.

Philae is already transmitting scientific data back home, but we're still waiting to see whether the probe is in a stable position. Until we know it's anchored tight, it could roll onto its back and never get back up.

Tensions were high in the European Space Agency's German mission control center, especially as the landing window approached. Because the comet that Philae landed on is so far from Earth, there's a communications delay of 28 minutes. So as the minutes ticked by, the Rosetta team knew that Philae had already either landed or failed — and there was nothing they could do but wait for the data to reach them. Those following the video online were nearly as desperate for news, and Twitter became a sounding chamber of anticipation and excitement.

But a few minutes after 11 a.m., the stern, cautious expressions of the mission control team melted into smiles. And just like that, the world swiveled from anxiety to elation: Philae was on the surface of the comet and ready to do some science.
 [washingtonpost.com]
12/11/14
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• Σήμερα η ιστορική απόπειρα προσεδάφισης ρομπότ σε κομήτη ...

• Europe's mission to land the first-ever probe on a comet was on track Wednesday with one final "go" pending for the robot lab to eject from its mothership and start a nail-biting seven-hour descent...

• Διαστημική αποστολή «Ροζέτα»... εξετελέσθη

• Rosetta space probe makes historic rendezvous with comet

• Rosetta spacecraft to be woken after nearly three years, ESA awaits signs of life(20/1/13)

• Rosetta: Raumsonde erfolgreich aus dem Tiefschlaf erwacht ....

• Après 31 mois de sommeil, la sonde spatiale Rosetta se réveille...

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For the first time in the history of space exploration a research probe has reached the surface of a comet.
The robotic lander Philae of the European Space Agency separated from the spacecraft Rosetta and landed on the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko 500 million kilometers away from the Earth.
Philae separated from the Rosetta spacecraft at 11:35 Moscow time.

 The journey from Rosetta to the comet’s surface lasted about seven hours.

Rosetta and Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, which was discovered in 1969 by Soviet astronomers Klim Churyumov and Svetlana Gerasimenko, now lie about half way between the orbits of Jupiter and Mars, rushing towards the inner Solar System at nearly 55,000 kilometers per hour, the ESA said.
Rosetta will follow the comet for more than a year to provide a detailed scientific study of the Solar System body.
[en.itar-tass.com]
12/11/14

Διαστημική αποστολή «Ροζέτα»... εξετελέσθη

Μετά από δέκα χρόνια και απόσταση σχεδόν επτά εκατομ. χλμ. το διαστημόπλοιο «Ροζέτα» φτάνει στον κομήτη Tσουριόμοφ-Γκερασιμένκο. Οι επιστήμονες αναμένουν με αγωνία τα ερευνητικά αποτελέσματα....

«Είμαστε στον κομήτη», ήταν οι πρώτες λέξεις χαράς και εθνουσιασμού του Συλβαίν Λοντιότ, επικεφαλής της παρακολούθησης της διαστημικής αποστολής «Ροζέτα» από το σταθμό του Ευρωπαϊκού Οργανισμού Διαστήματος (ESA) στο Ντάρμσταντ της Γερμανίας. Πριν από δέκα χρόνια και πέντε μήνες ακριβώς, εν έτει 2004, το μη επανδρωμένο διαστημόπλοιο «Ροζέτα» ξεκίνησε το μεγάλο ερευνητικό του ταξίδι. Μόλις χθες (06.07.2014) η «Ροζέτα» προσέγγισε τον τελικό της προορισμό της, τον κομήτη 67P /Tσουριόμοφ-Γκερασιμένκο, μετά από πολλές περιπέτειες.


Μέχρι το Νοέμβριο αναμένεται μάλιστα να ξεκινήσει τις ερευνητικές του διαδρομές στο μακρινό κομήτη και το ρομπότ «Philae», το οποίο βρίσκεται πάνω στη «Ροζέτα». Θα βγει στον κομήτη με στόχο να συλλέξει πολύτιμες πληροφορίες για το διάστημα και ειδικότερα την ιστορία του ηλιακού μας συστήματος. «Το ευρωπαϊκό διαστημόπλοιο 'Ροζέτα' είναι πια το πρώτο στην ιστορία που βρίσκεται τόσο κοντά σε έναν κομήτη» δήλωσε περήφανος ο Γενικός Διευθυντής τoυ ΕSA Zαν-Zακ Ντορντέν.

Η Ροζέτα «ξύπνησε» μετά από δύο χρόνια

Η δεκαετής αποστολής βρισκόταν υπό κανονική τροχιά και παρακολουθηση μέχρι πριν δύο χρόνια, οπότε και τα ίχνη της πάγωσαν στο διάστημα. Από το 2012 μέχρι τον Ιανουάριο του 2014 η "Ροζέτα" βρισκόταν σε λήθαργο, μέχρις ότου ξαφνικά ξύπνησε, στέλνοντας και πάλι σημεία διαστημικής ζωής στο σταθμό του Ντάρμσταντ. Έκτοτε τα μάτια των επιστημόνων στο γερμανικό σταθμό βρίσκονταν αδειάλλειπτα στην πορεία που κατέγραφε η «Ροζέτα» για να προσεγγίζει με ασφάλεια τον κομήτη.
«Πρόκειται για μία δύσκολη αποστολή, αλλά εμπιστεύομαι τους επιστήμονες και τεχνικούς της ομάδας», ανέφερε στη Deutsche Welle o Γιόχαν - Ντίτριχ Βέρνερ, διευθυντής του Γερμανικού Κέντρου Αεροδιαστημικής (DLR) του Ντάρμσταντ, σημειώνοντας ότι οι ειδικοί του χώρου έχουν δοκιμάσει στο παρελθόν το ρομπότ υπό διάφορες συνθήκες και πάντα «ανταποκρινόταν κανονικά». Το επιστημονικό ενδιαφέρον εστιάζεται πλέον στη συλλογή πληροφοριών, μέσω δειγμάτων από το έδαφος, για την πυκνότητα, το μέγεθος και την τροχιά του κομήτη. Σύμφωνα με τον καθηγητή Βέρνερ η ερευνητική ομάδα θα εξετάσει μέσω ενός ειδικού φασματομέτρου τα μόρια των δειγμάτων, μελετώντας τη χημική τους σύσταση.

Αναζητώντας την προέλευση της ζωής

«Πολλοί εκτιμούν ότι υπάρχουν ίχνη άνθρακα και νερού», σημειώνει ο Βέρνερ. Σύμφωνα με τους ειδικούς ο εντοπισμός οργανικών ουσιών, όπως αμινοξέων, θα μπορούσε, για παράδειγμα, να δώσει πολύτιμες πληροφορίες για την προέλευση της ζωής στη Γη. Οι κομήτες δρουν σαν «ψυγεία» για το ηλιακό μας σύστημα, αποθηκεύοντας και διατηρώντας υλικά, τα οποία έχουν ηλικία ακόμη και 4,6 δισεκατομμυρίων ετών. «Οι κομήτες αποτελούν πολύ παλιά τμήματα του ηλιακού συστήματος. Μέσα από τη μελέτη τους προσπαθούμε να κατανοήσουμε πώς και πότε ακριβώς δημιουργήθηκε το ηλιακό μας σύστημα», εκτιμά ο γερμανός καθηγητής.
Οι ερευνητές του ESA αποσκοπούν, μεταξύ άλλων, στο να εξετάσουν κατά πόσο το νερό της Γης είναι δυνατό να είχε κάποτε μεταφερθεί μέσω κομητών από το διάστημα. «Πρόκειται πραγματικά για ένα ταξίδι στο άγνωστο», λέει ο Βέρνερ. Ένα συναρπαστικό ταξίδι χαρτογράφησης και αποκρυπτογράφησης του διαστήματος που αναμένεται να αποκαλύψει τα πρώτα μυστικά, όταν πια ο "Philae" αρχίσει να εκτελεί διαδρομές πάνω στον 67P /Tσουριόμοφ-Γκερασιμένκo. Ας σημειωθεί ότι η αποστολή «Ροζέτα» έχει κοστίσει μέχρι στιγμής, σύμφωνα με στοιχεία του γερμανικού υπ. Οικονομικών, πάνω από ένα δις ευρώ, εκ των οποίων τα 300 εκατομ. προέρχονται από γερμανικά κονδύλια.
Fabian Schmidt, afp / Δήμητρα Κυρανούδη
http://dw.de/p/1Cqiv  
7/8/14
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• Rosetta space probe makes historic rendezvous with comet

• Rosetta spacecraft to be woken after nearly three years, ESA awaits signs of life(20/1/13)

• Rosetta: Raumsonde erfolgreich aus dem Tiefschlaf erwacht ....

• Après 31 mois de sommeil, la sonde spatiale Rosetta se réveille...

Rosetta space probe makes historic rendezvous with comet

European scientists announced the historic rendezvous on Wednesday between a comet and the Rosetta spacecraft after a 10-year, six billion-kilometre (3.7-billion-mile) chase through the solar system.

The scout Rosetta has now become the first envoy to orbit one of these wanderers of the solar system in deep space, the European Space Agency (ESA) said.

Scientists and spectators at ESA’s mission control in Darmstadt, Germany, cheered after the spacecraft successfully completed its final thrust to swing alongside comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.

ESA chief Jean-Jacques Dordain says the probe’s rendezvous with 67P is an important milestone in Rosetta’s life.

The goal of the mission is to orbit 67P from a distance of about 100 kilometres (60 miles) and observe the giant ball of dust and ice as it hurtles toward the sun. If all goes according to plan, Rosetta will drop the first ever lander, a robot chemistry lab, onto a comet in November.

Scientists hope this will help them learn more about the origins of comets, stars and planets.

Orbital entry was triggered by a small firing of her thrusters, lasting just six minutes and 26 seconds, starting at 0900 GMT on Wednesday, it said.

“This burn will tip Rosetta into the first leg of a series of three-legged triangular paths about the comet,” it said.

Top officials from ESA will be were at mission control in Darmstadt, Germany, waiting for the signals to start and stop this crucial final operation to be safely received by ground monitoring stations, 22 minutes later.

The “pyramidal” orbits will put the craft at a height of about 100 kilometres (60 miles) above the comet, said Sylvain Lodiot, Rosetta’s flight operations manager. Each leg of the triangle will be around 100 kilometres and take Rosetta between three and four days to complete.

The arrival will mark a key moment of the boldest project ever undertaken by ESA—a 1.3-billion-euro ($1.76-billion) investigation into one of the enigmas of the solar system.

Comets are believed by astrophysicists to be ancient ice and dust left from the building of the solar system around 4.6 billion years ago. This cosmic rubble is the oldest, least touched material in our stellar neighbourhood.

Understanding its chemical ID identity and physical composition will give insights into how the planets coalesced after the sun flared into light, it is hoped.

t could also determine the fate of a theory called “pan-spermia,” which suggests comets, by smashing into the infant Earth, sowed our home with water and precious organic molecules, providing us with a kickstart for life.

Navigational feat

Rosetta was poised to meet up with Comet “C-G” more than 400 million kilometres from where it was launched.

Getting there has been an unprecedented navigational exploit. Launched in March 2004, the three-tonne craft has had to make four flybys of Mars and Earth, using their gravitational force as a slingshot to build up speed.

It then entered a 31-month hibernation as light from the distant Sun became too weak for its solar panels. That period ended in January with a wake-up call sent from Earth.

The spacecraft is named after the famous stone, now in the British Museum, that explained Egyptian hieroglyphics, while its payload Philae is named after an obelisk that in turn helped decipher the Rosetta stone.

The four-kilometre comet is named after two Ukrainian astronomers who first spotted it in 1969.

(FRANCE24 with AP and AFP)
http://www.france24.com/en/20140806-rosetta-space-probe-comet-meeting-solar-system/
6/8/14
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Related:

• Rosetta spacecraft to be woken after nearly three years, ESA awaits signs of life(20/1/13)

• Rosetta: Raumsonde erfolgreich aus dem Tiefschlaf erwacht ....

• Après 31 mois de sommeil, la sonde spatiale Rosetta se réveille...

Rosetta spacecraft to be woken after nearly three years, ESA awaits signs of life

The European Space Agency (ESA) is awaiting signs of life from its comet-chasing spacecraft Rosetta. The probe - now in the vicinity of Jupiter's orbit - has been in hibernation for nearly three years. 

An internal "alarm clock" aboard the Rosetta spacecraft was scheduled to go off at 1000 UTC on Monday, waking it up from nearly three years of slumber. But given the six hours Rosetta would need to power up its system, plus the time needed for its signal to traverse the 807 million kilometers (501 million miles) to Earth, the European Space Agency (ESA) said it wasn't expecting to hear anything until the early evening.

The signal is to be heard first by NASA's deep space tracking dish in Goldstone, California, then by eastern Australia's station in Canberra, and finally, by the ESA's station in Western Australia.
The ESA launched Rosetta into space in 2004with the goal of carrying out tests on the comet 67/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. If all goes well on Monday, the spacecraft will fly towards the comet in the coming months (depicted above), enter into its orbit and eventually land on its surface. Scientists hope to gather samples from the rock with its 220-pound (100 kg) lander Philae, which could reveal more about the make-up of the solar system at its earliest stages.
In the time since it was thrust into space, the comet-chaser has been gathering speed to put it on the right trajectory toward comet 67/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. It has travelled past Earth three times and Mars once.
In mid-2011, ESA scientists shut down all of its operating systems except for its computer and several heaters. Rosetta has been running on solar power since that time on its journey toward Jupiter's orbit.
The ESA has provided a link to its live broadcast as it awaits signs of life from Rosetta: ESA live transmission
kms/pfd (AP, Reuters)

DW.DE
20/1/14