Rosetta and 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko: a comet under observation

Abstract

After a ten year’s expedition through the Solar system Europe’s comet chaser Rosetta arrived at comet 67 P/Churyumov- Gerasimenko in August 2014. Less than 100 kilometers from the nucleus the eleven orbiter payload instruments started to map and characterize the comet in great detail. In November 2014 Philae was the first robotic subsystem ever that landed on a cometary surface performing in situ measurements with ten instruments. The mission’s scientific program following the deployment of Philae is determined by the activity of the comet, which will increase as 67P approached perihelion in August 2015. This paper is a review article. It introduces the mission goals and profile. It gives an overview of some of the preliminary results of the mission. Selected results gained during the pre-landing phase of the subsystem Philae and the comet’s escort phases are discussed.