Rosetta spacecraft will complete its mission. What will happen with the vehicle at the end of its work

Artistic representation of the probe Rosetta comet 67P moving over / Churyumov Gerasimenko (Photo: pbs.org)

The probe was launched on 2 March 2004 and entered orbit around comet 67P on 6 August 2014.

Rosetta spacecraft will crash on comet 67P / Churyumov-Gerasimenko, thus ending his mission held for more than two years. The vehicle launched by the European Space Agency will have the same fate as Philae, the robot recently discovered by the team coordinated by Laurcence O'Rourke.

Along the comet 67P moves away from the Sun, Rosetta probe's solar panels can not be used to capture energy. For this reason, experts initially thought to pull the vehicle out of activity until the comet will approach again in 4 or 5 years. Later, they decided that the risk of re-running vehicle is too high, which is why the mission will be terminated.

Comets and 67P are studied composition especially for materials in their nuclei. They were formed in the first acts of the Solar System, but were protected from solar radiation as the cosmic object orbiting at a distance from the solar orb. Scientists hope that studying these materials can unlock the secrets of which the training system and our planet.

When comets near the sun is, their temperature increases and begin to emit gas. ,, Solar radiation penetrate into the lower layers of the comet, increasing the temperature in deposits of carbon dioxide ice and carbon. These deposits evaporated, leaving behind cavities whose ceilings are crumbling. Inside them, you could see objects that we call dragon egg. They might be objects of primordial comet formed. Therefore, we will send Rosetta probe to study, "said researcher Mark McCaughrean The Guardian.

Once you will complete its last mission conducted on September 24, Rosetta will head to Deir el-Medina cavity. The speed that a probe will not be very high, but it is expected that the impact will be strong enough to trigger the interruption of communications systems on Earth.

,, That will be the end of Rosetta. It will be an exciting time. It was a great mission and a remarkable joint effort, "added Mark McCaughrean.

Rosetta mission carried out using the probe was full of successes. The researchers used information obtained from this device to dismantle the theory that water was transported from Earth to other planets comets. However, on the surface of 67P discovery of molecules that trigger the emergence of life suggests that cosmic object was, at one time, a common history with our planet.

Even if the probe Rosetta mission ended date was set, the vehicle will be used until the last moment to carry out. ,, Although I used Rosetta probe for more than two years, using it to ulimele weeks of the mission in the unpredictability of this comet and so far from the Sun and the Earth will be the biggest challenge so far, "he said Sylvain Lodiot, researcher at the European Space Agency


Source: washingtonpost.com