Rosetta celebrates its first anniversary by Comet 67P – Hypertext

Just a year ago, Rosetta reached its first major objective after traveling through space for a decade. On August 6, 2014, the probe of the European Space Agency’s comet 67P reached, starting at this rocky object orbiting in transit to the site perihelion, will happen in less than a week.

Rosetta mission success, especially after the historic landing of Philae on the comet 67P, led the European Space Agency plans to change over the duration of the project. When Rosetta was sent into space in 2004, researchers had decided that the mission would last until the end of 2015, coinciding with the passage of 67P with the closest point to the Sun, known as perihelion.

However, the great results obtained by Rosetta and module Philae allowed to extend the mission of the European Space Agency until September 2016. These nine additional months will allow the scientific community to obtain More information about the comet 67P, and especially monitor their activity decreased after passage through the solar perihelion, will happen on 13 August.

But what results so far Rosetta? As explained from the European Space Agency , one of his first discoveries was the detection of molecular nitrogen on the surface of Comet 67P, which gave a big hint about the conditions in which this rocky body was born. Since the molecular nitrogen was abundant during the formation of the solar system, but also required low temperatures to be literally “caught” on the ice, scientists believe that the comet 67P may have formed in the cold and distant Kuiper Belt .

Another Rosetta research has revealed that the comet’s nucleus would not be magnetized. Besides knowing their origin and interior, scientists from the European Space Agency have also been able to know more about the enigmatic origin of the “wells” of the surface of the rock body. The discovery of these circular cavities has also helped chart the recent cometary activity, offering new clues about the state of the surface of the nucleus of Comet 67P. The Rosetta mission has allowed tracing the origin and evolution Comet 67P

These findings on comet 67P, besides the historic landing of Philae, would never have been possible without the work of Rosetta. As Nicolas Altobelli, a scientist at the European Space Agency, explains “this mission has enabled us to make new scientific discoveries, raising new questions every day to understand and question.” After a year of exploration of comet 67P, the probe is still working to make new findings that allow us to know its origin and evolution.

This evolution will be marked in the coming days by the imminent passage by the sun perihelion . This region near the Sun completely change the cometary activity, and Rosetta will continue offering us clues about the transformation of 67P by the high temperatures to which it will be subjected. Before arriving on 13 August, and we can enjoy new snapshot, the ESA has made an interesting assembly with the most striking images captured in the last twelve months. Photographs that undoubtedly have changed forever the history of space exploration.

Some of the historical images taken by Rosetta after year exploration of Comet 67P.