Rosetta Spacecraft Reports on Smelly Comet's 'Perfume'

Medicine & Technology Oct 25, 2014

The Rosetta Orbiter, which is orbiting Comet 67P/C-G, has recently reported back on what the fumes coming off of the comet smell like--and it's not good. Rosetta is using its 'mass spectrometers' to 'sniff' what the ESA is calling the comet's 'perfume.'

ESA Shows Ambition of Rosetta Mission—Sci Fi Film Reveals Importance of Mission

Oct 24, 2014

With only a matter of days standing between now and the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Rosetta Mission landing on its host Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, researchers and the ESA are looking towards what the future of the mission may mean for Earth. As the first successful orbit around a comet, speeding through our solar system on its mission around the sun, the ESA is searching for answers not only on the origin of our Earth, but also of our solar system—something they say they will find in a new sci-fi film released this morning, Oct. 24.

A Magnetic Topsy Turvy Earth—When North Becomes South

Oct 21, 2014

The directionally challenged may find a new curveball thrown their way, as researchers reveal that in our lifetime we may see flip in what we know to be North and South. For those who know their way around navigating the wild, seeking directions in the stars, or even reading the face of a compass, you may have to reconsider the norm or repaint the stars to fit a changing magnetic field that may soon have Antarctica pointing North.

Not Just NASA ‘Ducks & Covers’—Comet Siding Spring

Oct 20, 2014

As news spread worldwide of the arrival of Comet C/2013 A1 Siding Spring, anticipated to arrive yesterday Sunday Oct. 19 just outside of Mars’ outer atmosphere, it appears that aerospace agencies invested in the red planet headed the warnings and got out of the way of the fast moving rock. Following NASA’s lead in safety protocol, intended to keep Mars orbiters functional and safe from cosmic debris, other agencies like the European Space Agency (ESA) elected to “duck and cover” behind the planet Mars and peak out only for an up-close look at the rare, passing comet.

ESA Asks Public to Name Philae Landing Site of Comet 67P This November

Oct 20, 2014

It’s been a conversation months in the making. No, it’s not a new iPhone product or what celebrity baby names will be hot this Winter, but rather what to call one of the greatest achievements mankind will make in your lifetime? Reaching out to the public for a little bit of inspiration in creative names, researchers at the ESA have created an open competition where anyone and everyone can submit their own ideas for what the site should be named.

ESA Rosetta Spacecraft Is Showing Off Its ‘Cheops’

Oct 14, 2014

While Rosetta mission team members are preparing to touch down on the surface for a more up-close view of the comet, Rosetta’s Optical, Spectroscopic and Infrared Remote Imaging System (OSIRIS) is taking a look at the surface from afar. And in the newest batch of images sent back Monday morning, researchers have revealed a large pyramid-shaped boulder standing 82-feet-tall near the intended landing site for Rosetta’s Philae rover.