Scientists at the European Space Agency are experiencing “seven hours of terror", as the Rosetta spacecraft’s Philae lander heads toward Comet 67P for an historic landing.
Rosetta, which was launched into space in 2004, is equipped with five sensors called the Rosetta Plasma Consortium.
The spacecraft was about 100 kilometres away from the comet in August when its fluxgate magnetometer detected inaudible radio signals emitted by the comet. Scientists have amplified the frequencies of the “comet song”, but the phenomenon behind the signals remains unexplained.
On November 12, the Philae lander detached from Rosetta, making its way to Comet 67P. Philae’s journey to the comet was scheduled to take about seven hours. Its cold-gas thruster has malfunctioned, so it will have to solely rely its two harpoons to land.
The lander may bounce away from the comet because of the comet’s low gravity, which is 10,000 times less than Earth’s gravity.
Rosetta has travelled 4 billion miles to reach the comet, which scientists believe may hold clues to the mystery of the origin of life on Earth.
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