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| Rosetta flyby uncovers the complex history of asteroid Lutetia |
| The long and tumultuous history of asteroid (21) Lutetia is revealed by a comprehensive analysis of the data gathered by ESA's Rosetta spacecraft when it flew past this large main-belt asteroid on 10 July 2010. New studies have revealed the asteroid's surface morphology, composition and other properties in unprecedented detail. In particular, extensive studies of Lutetia's geological features have opened a unique window into the complex history of this peculiar object. |
| Date: 29 May 2012 |
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| Rosetta reveals mysterious Lutetia |
| On 10 July 2010, ESA's Rosetta spacecraft flew past asteroid (21) Lutetia, one of the largest objects orbiting within the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Rosetta's encounter revealed an intriguing object which has survived since the birth of the planets, some 4.5 billion years ago. |
| Date: 27 Oct 2011 |
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| Hubble and Rosetta unmask nature of recent asteroid wreck |
| High-resolution images from the Hubble Space Telescope and a rare view obtained, from a unique perspective, by the Rosetta spacecraft provide a comprehensive picture of P/2010 A2, a puzzling body in the asteroid main belt. Although similar in appearance to a comet, this object and its diffuse trail have been exposed as the remnant of an asteroid crash that happened only one and a half years ago. These observations, reported in the 14 October issue of Nature, provide the first direct evidence for a recent collision in the asteroid belt. |
| Date: 13 Oct 2010 |
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| Rosetta operations strategy modified following a RCS test |
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| Date: 23 Sep 2010 |
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| Rosetta's OSIRIS cameras reveal the nature of asteroid Steins |
| Close-up images of asteroid (2867) Steins, obtained with the OSIRIS cameras on Rosetta, have provided extensive new measurements of the physical properties of this main-belt asteroid. Steins is revealed to be a loosely-bound 'rubble pile' whose diamond shape has been honed by the YORP effect. This is the first time this effect has been seen in a main-belt asteroid. The results are reported by H. Uwe Keller and colleagues in the 8 January issue of Science magazine. |
| Date: 08 Jan 2010 |
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| Rosetta's observations during the third Earth swingby |
| Rosetta's third Earth swingby on 13 November 2009 provides an important opportunity to obtain calibration measurements for the science instruments and to perform science observations of both the Earth and the Moon from a unique vantage point. |
| Date: 10 Nov 2009 |
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| Rosetta's third Earth swingby |
| On 13 November 2009 Rosetta will swing by Earth and pass within 2500 km of Earth's surface. The manoeuvre is the fourth and last in a series of gravity assists and will provide the spacecraft with the required orbital boost to set course for the mission's final destination: comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. |
| Date: 30 Oct 2009 |
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| Rosetta's gravitational microlensing programme |
| In the four weeks since the Rosetta spacecraft flew by asteroid Steins the OSIRIS Narrow Angle Camera has periodically observed the Galactic Bulge in a programme to detect gravitational microlensing events. When combined with simultaneous observations taken with ground-based telescopes this OSIRIS observing programme will provide a unique measure of the mass distribution of disk brown dwarfs. |
| Date: 09 Oct 2008 |
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| First Rosetta/OSIRIS images of asteroid Steins |
| Images of asteroid Steins, taken by the OSIRIS Wide Angle Camera during the fly-by, were presented at a press conference on 6 September. |
| Date: 06 Sep 2008 |
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| Rosetta's scientific instruments ready for close encounter with Steins |
| As the Rosetta spacecraft closes in on asteroid Steins the science instruments are prepared for this extraordinary opportunity to study a rare, E-type asteroid. Final orbit trajectory corrections have been performed and the spacecraft is now on track for a closest approach at 20:58 CEST at a distance of 800±2 km. |
| Date: 05 Sep 2008 |
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| Rosetta fly-by of asteroid Steins: press conference (first results & images) |
| First results and images from Rosetta's fly-by of asteroid Steins will be presented at a press conference, which will be webcast live, on Saturday 6 September starting at 12:00 CEST. |
| Date: 04 Sep 2008 |
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| Optical navigation campaign off to a good start |
| Rosetta's on-board cameras have successfully started to visually track asteroid Steins in an optical navigation campaign. The images have been used to calculate the asteroid's location and to optimise Rosetta's trajectory for the upcoming fly-by of the asteroid on 5 September 2008. |
| Date: 19 Aug 2008 |
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| Rosetta fine-tunes its approach to asteroid Steins |
| On 4 August Rosetta starts to use its cameras to visually track asteroid Steins. These observations will be used to refine the trajectory of the spacecraft relative to Steins and to adjust it, if necessary, to achieve the desired fly-by conditions: 800 km distance at closest approach on 5 September at 18:37 UTC and zero phase angle reached prior to closest approach. |
| Date: 04 Aug 2008 |
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| Preparations underway for Rosetta flyby of asteroid Steins |
| On 5 September 2008 the Rosetta spacecraft will make its closest approach to asteroid Steins. Preparations are underway to ready the spacecraft for this important scientific milestone. |
| Date: 08 Jul 2008 |
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| Successful Second Earth Swing-by for Rosetta |
| Rosetta's Earth swing-by last evening has been performed successfully and after passing to within 5295 km above the Earth the spacecraft is now heading out again on its new course with respect to the Sun. |
| Date: 14 Nov 2007 |
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| Rosetta Second Earth Swing-by |
| In the evening of 13 November, at 20:57 UTC, the Rosetta spacecraft returns to Earth for a second time after its launch in March 2004. The spacecraft will perform its second Earth swing-by which is part of a series of gravity assists required to put the spacecraft on an intercept course with comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. |
| Date: 12 Nov 2007 |
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| Successful Mars Swingby |
| At 02:57 UT 25 February, mission controllers at ESOC, ESA's Space Operations Centre in Germany, confirmed Rosetta's successful swingby of Mars. |
| Date: 25 Feb 2007 |
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| Rosetta Mars Swing-by |
| The Rosetta swing-by of Mars is the second of four gravity assist manoeuvres that are required to place Rosetta on course for its final destination: comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. The closest approach of the swing-by will take place at 01:54 UT, 25 February 2007, when the spacecraft will pass 250 km above the surface of Mars. |
| Date: 23 Feb 2007 |
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| Two asteroid fly-bys for Rosetta |
| ESA PR 15-2004. Today the Rosetta Science Working Team has made the final selection of the asteroids that Rosetta will observe at close quarters during its journey to Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Steins and Lutetia lie in the asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. |
| Date: 11 Mar 2004 |
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| Rosetta lander named Philae |
With just 21 days to the launch of the European Space Agency's Rosetta comet mission, the spacecraft's lander has been named "Philae". Rosetta embarks on a 10-year journey to Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko from Kourou, French Guiana, on 26 February.
Philae is the island in the river Nile on which an obelisk was found that had a bilingual inscription including the names of Cleopatra and Ptolemy in Egyptian hieroglyphs. This provided the French historian Jean-François Champollion with the final clues that enabled him to decipher the hieroglyphs of the Rosetta Stone and unlock the secrets of the civilisation of ancient Egypt. |
| Date: 05 Feb 2004 |
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