10 years ago, the Rosetta deep space explorer was sent off
to begin its long journey into deep space. This journey was long, and along the
voyage to the comet it had to get not one, but three gravity assists from earth
and one from mars (Using the gravity of the planets to get to the right
direction and increase its speed). After that, the comet went into hibernation
for a couple of years, before finally embarking on the comet earlier this year.
However, (If everything goes to plan that is) today will prove the be a
historic event in the history of astrophysics and space travel, as this is both
the first time that an orbital spacecraft has ever orbited a comet, and the
first time that a lander has attempted to land on one. This could prove to be a
historic day for earth and physics, as if the landing is successful, scientist
will be able to know a large amount of information about how comets work, and
whether they were the reason as to why our planet has an atmosphere and oceans.
In fact, even before they have landed scientists have begun to find new and
unexplained things, such as a strange noise coming out of the comet, which they
believe to be a stream of charged particles coming out of the comet, however
the exact reason is not yet fully known (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2830476/Listen-Rosetta-s-comet-singing-Scientists-baffled-mysterious-sounds-recorded-near-67P-ahead-Philae-landing.html,
visit that link to hear the singing comet).
Today will be a day that will truly go down in history, and
the knowledge gained from the comet should prove revolutionary. Remember to
visit the live stream at: http://new.livestream.com/esa/cometlanding
The landing should happen around 3:30 PM GMT, and we should
get the first images at around 5:30, as there is a several hour delay from the
spacecraft to earth. Make sure to stay tuned!
Damian Bemben
Columnist
