Science

Rosetta probe crashes into its comet

Written by Teunis Felter

Europe’s Rosetta probe has ended its mission to Comet 67P by crash-landing on to the icy object’s surface. Mission control in Darmstadt, Germany, was able to confirm the impact had occurred when radio contact to the ageing spacecraft was lost abruptly. The assumption is that the probe would have been damaged beyond use. In the hours before the planned collision, Rosetta sent back a host of high-resolution pictures and other measurements of the icy dirt-ball. Scientists expect all the data gathered at 67P in the past two years to keep them busy for decades to come.

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-37520420

About the author

Teunis Felter

Teunis Felter has over 20 years experience as an author, editor, and scientist. When not exploring outside, he enjoys reading history, researching genealogy, and civilly discussing politics.