Mission type Comet lander Operator European Space Agency COSPAR ID PHILAE Website esa.int/rosetta Mission duration 1–6 weeks (planned) Spacecraft properties Launch mass 100 kg (220 lb)[1] Payload mass 21 kg (46 lb)[1] Dimensions 1 × 1 × 0.8 m (3.3 × 3.3 × 2.6 ft)[1] Power 32 watts at 3 AU[2] Start of mission Launch date 2 March 2004, 07:17 UTC Rocket Ariane 5G+ V-158 Launch site Kourou ELA-3 Contractor Arianespace 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko lander Landing date 12 November 2014 15:35 UTC Instruments APX Alpha: Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer ÇIVA: Comet nucleus Infrared and Visible Analyzer CONSERT COmet Nucleus Sounding Experiment by Radiowave Transmission COSAC: COmetary SAmpling and Composition MUPUS: Multi-Purpose Sensors for Surface and Subsurface Science PTOLEMY: gas chromatograph and medium resolution mass spectrometer ROLIS: ROsetta Lander Imaging System ROMAP: ROsetta lander MAgnetometer and Plasma monitor SD2: Sample and Distribution Device SESAME: Surface Electric Sounding and Acoustic Monitoring Experiment Philae (/ˈfaɪliː/ or /ˈfiːleɪ/) is a robotic European Space Agency lander that accompanied the Rosetta spacecraft[4] until its designated landing on Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko, more than ten years after departing Earth. On 12 November 2014, the lander achieved the first-ever controlled touchdown on a comet nucleus. Its instruments are expected to obtain the first images from a comets surface and make the first in situ analysis to determine its composition. The lander is named after Philae Island in the Nile, where an obelisk was found and used, along with the Rosetta Stone, to decipher Egyptian hieroglyphics. By: ESA - European Space Agency
Posted on: Thu, 13 Nov 2014 06:03:04 +0000
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