Space probe "Rosetta": description of the satellite and photo

When you read about the discoveries of the last century, it seems that the most interesting things have already been found and studied, and the contemporaries only have awe at the scientific power of the past century. However, this is not the case. Progress, technical and scientific, allows humanity to set more and more ambitious goals and achieve them. Among the similar can be attributed and the study of comets with the help of apparatus capable of descending to their surface. It was for such purposes that the Rosetta probe was created, a spacecraft that went to the comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko in 2004. About him and will be discussed below.

A bit of history

The Rosetta mission is not the only attempt to explore comets. The history of the issue begins back in the 1980s, when Vega and ICE, Soviet and American-European vehicles, flew past the tailed space bodies, received and transmitted certain information about them. These and subsequent meetings with comets brought a lot of data to scientists. In particular, the core of such a cosmic body was photographed , a metal disc was dropped on a comet, and after several years the results of the fall were observed, dust samples from the comet's tail were delivered to Earth. However, the Rosetta probe has no analogs in the history of space exploration. Before it was initially set a more difficult task: to become for some time a companion's companion and to descend on its surface the apparatus of "Phil" for direct investigation of the object.

Change of landmark

Initially, this very object was to become the comet of Virtanen. At the heart of the choice lay the convenient trajectory of the flight of the cosmic body and some of its features that reduced the risk of failure of the research mission of the probe. In order to go to the comet of Virtanen, the satellite "Rosetta" was supposed to start in January 2003. However, about a month before, during the launch, the engine of the Ariane-5 launch vehicle failed. As a result, it was decided to postpone the launch of the probe and revise the flight program.

67P

The new object, to which the Rosetta space probe was supposed to be sent, was the 67P comet, it also bears the name of Churyumov-Gerasimenko. It was discovered in 1969 by Klim Churyumov in the photographs taken by Svetlana Gerasimenko. The object is a short-period comet: every 6.6 years it flies near the Sun. The flight path is practically limited to the orbit of Jupiter. An important feature for the researchers of this comet is the predictability of its flight, which means the ability to accurately calculate the necessary motion of a spacecraft.

Structure

The probe "Rosetta" carries a large number of equipment, and the downlink module "Fila" is not the only valuable part of it. Among the equipment, an ultraviolet spectrometer required for analyzing gases in the tail of a comet and determining the composition of its core, chambers that operate not only in the visible but also in the ultraviolet and infrared ranges, various apparatus for studying the composition, temperature and velocity of particles in the tail of the object, and Determination of its orbit, gravitation and other characteristics. All this equipment is necessary both for obtaining data on the comet, and for finding the optimal landing place for the "Fila" apparatus.

Rosetta probe: flight path

Before reaching the goal, the apparatus for ten years traveled through the expanse of the solar system. Such a long time interval is explained by the need to approach the comet "from the rear", to equalize the speed and move along a similar trajectory. For ten years, the satellite Rosetta flew past our planet five times. He managed to meet Mars and cross the Main Belt of the asteroids several times .

All ten years, the space probe Rosetta sent colorful photographs of various objects to Earth. In addition to aesthetic pleasure, they carry scientific information. Scientists received new images of the surface of Mars, which made a probe "Rosetta", a photo of asteroids Steins and Lutetia. Of course, the device and the Earth were not ignored. Photographs of the Rosetta probe show our planet in various angles, as well as some atmospheric phenomena.

Convergence

Throughout the flight, the Rosetta probe was lucky. At some point in order to save resources, he was immersed in hibernation, where he stayed a record 957 days. In January 2004, the Rosetta mission continued successfully after the satellite's awakening. However, the most difficult was waiting for him ahead. The greatest difficulties could arise during the landing of the module "Fila", which delivered to the comet the probe "Rosetta". The visualization of this moment, prepared by the European Space Agency, demonstrated a soft landing of the apparatus, accompanied by the release of three harpoons. They were necessary for fixing on the surface of a comet whose gravitational force is such that the slightest push could lead to the disappearance of the Phil apparatus in outer space.

The rapprochement as a whole was successful, however it was not possible to release all three harpoons. Module "Filas" during landing two times bounced off the surface and only on the third managed to land, while remaining loose. The result of this incident was the removal of the device from the proposed landing site by about a kilometer, and the project participants were not able to pinpoint the point where the "Fila" apparatus sat. Only the approximate landing area was understood.

57 hours

Problems in landing led to the "Fila" module being hit on a practically permanently shaded surface. The main energy source of the device is solar panels, which can not operate at temperatures below zero. As a result, most of the energy was spent on heating the batteries, but the amount of available sunlight was still small. Apparatus "Fila" was equipped for such situations with a charged battery, designed for 64 hours. He worked, however, only 57. During this time, the heroic module "Filas", whose precise location was not even determined, transmitted to the Earth a lot of information about the comet, even (presumably) was able to drill the surface and take a sample of the ground.

All this time "Rosetta" constantly followed the actions of the apparatus "Fila", transmitted to him and from him messages. Upon completion of the module, the probe started its own research activity.

The form

As of the end of January 2015, several scientific articles were published containing a description of the research results. One of the interesting issues discussed in them is the unusual form of a comet. The cosmic body looks like a rubber duckling: visually one can distinguish the head, trunk and neck. The study of the data has not yet given an answer to the question of whether the comet 67P arose as a result of the collision of two space objects, or its form - a consequence of mass loss and severe erosion. In the first case, the event, supposedly occurred at the dawn of the solar system, 4.5 billion years ago, can be proved if there are fundamental differences between the two halves of the comet. The assertion of the second hypothesis will call for an answer to the question of the nature of the forces that lead to so much erosion in the "neck of a duckling" area.

Now it is precisely known that a comet inside has a porous structure. According to scientists, the core density is twice less than the same parameter of water.

Relief

The probe "Rosetta" and the device "Fila" transferred to the Earth a mass of images of the surface of 67P. It was discovered dunes and mountains, as well as gorges. However, the rocks of a comet only remotely resemble terrestrial ones. Some of them are basically compacted dust, many are the result of the circulation of gas and dust, that is, they are closer to desert barkhans than to rocks.

Some of the hills, rising three meters above the surface, were called goose bumps and are considered an education characteristic of many similar cosmic bodies. Presumably, they formed during the period when the solar system was just beginning to form, and consist of stuck dust and ice.

Origin

The investigations of the apparatus concerned the content of water and carbon compounds. Were observed fluctuations in the content of these substances, coinciding with the rotation of the cosmic body around the axis and with the change of seasons. In addition, it turned out that 67P in its composition has a large number of organic compounds and significantly less ice than it was supposed to detect.

These and other data allow us to state that the comet, contrary to the opinion of the researchers, formed in the Kuiper belt located beyond the orbit of Neptune. Initially, it was believed that the location of the formation of 67P is located much closer to Jupiter.

The data of Rosetta and Fila devices concerned the features of the comet's nucleus, its gravity and magnetosphere. A huge part of them has yet to be analyzed. Regardless of the picture that emerges after studying and pondering all the information, the flight and the mission of Rosetta are today one of the most grandiose realized space projects. Many scientists call this event the third most important after the flight of Yuri Gagarin and the disembarkation of people on the moon. It should be noted that Rosetta is not the last research mission, whose goal is to expand our knowledge of the universe. The success of the flight to the comet 67P stimulated the development of new projects. Several of them are preparing to start in the near future.