We'd rather go out now in true rock'n'roll style
September 30, 2016 9:56 AM   Subscribe

The Rosetta Space Probe ended its mission at 11:19 UTC September 30, with a controlled touch down on the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko at low speed. After a 10 year journey, Rosetta spent 25 months in orbit of the comet, sending a large amount of images and scientific data.

Rosetta also launched the Philae lander, which touched down on the surface on November 2014 and lasted for three days before being powered down as the landing location did not allow Philae to recharge. Philae briefly made contact again in June and July of 2015 before going dark; its final resting place was discovered earlier this month

The Rosetta mission ended because of fading solar power, with the comet now 573 million kilometers from the sun.

Some overviews of the Rosetta mission and what we have seen and learned so far:
All the incredible things we learned
The Rosetta Mission

High definition photos of Rosetta’s destination in the Ma’at region of the comet

Final image from Rosetta.

Rosetta previously on Metafilter:

Rosetta wakes up

Rosetta takes a selfie with a comet

The Philae lander thread

What Philae revealed about sexism and science

Results show organic molecules in comet
posted by nubs (24 comments total) 19 users marked this as a favorite
 
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Not for Rosetta, but for the team behind it, who must be feeling a mix of emotions at the conclusion of the mission.
posted by nubs at 9:57 AM on September 30, 2016 [3 favorites]


Our robot friends do such great exploration for us in the solar system. I'm grateful for what Rosetta (and awkward friend Philae) has given us. Maybe when the comet comes around again, Rosetta will wake up again to the surprise of whatever humans are left listening to those radio bands at that point.
posted by hippybear at 10:06 AM on September 30, 2016 [5 favorites]


oh my god and we're just leaving it there all alone in space on a comet

is there no end to the monstrosity of mankind
posted by poffin boffin at 10:17 AM on September 30, 2016 [10 favorites]




shiny and chrome
posted by He Is Only The Imposter at 10:26 AM on September 30, 2016 [13 favorites]


.
posted by doctornemo at 10:31 AM on September 30, 2016


I'm not sure where that comet is going, or when it will be back, and I'm too lazy to go find out, but I love the idea that there will be a couple of human-made (dead) robots sitting on it as it makes its journey.

Or am I wrong? Is the nature of comets that they'll constantly deteriorate and one day those robots will be ejected off into space?

Yay to the teams who built, launched, and flew this thing. Humans can do amazing things sometimes.
posted by bondcliff at 10:49 AM on September 30, 2016 [1 favorite]


I both love the thought and feel terribly thinking that Rosetta shouted "WITNESS ME!!!" into the empty void of soundless space before launching itself into the comet.
posted by nevercalm at 11:25 AM on September 30, 2016 [7 favorites]


Maybe when the comet comes around again, Rosetta will wake up again to the surprise of whatever humans are left listening to those radio bands at that point.

Sounds like the last line from an Arthur C. Clarke short story.
posted by Atom Eyes at 11:32 AM on September 30, 2016 [2 favorites]


apologies if this was answered in the past, but why even crash the thing? Can they just let it go and roam the stars and just see what happens?

I love the idea that there will be a couple of human-made (dead) robots sitting on it as it makes its journey

Although bondcliff's comment above might be the answer to my question
posted by bitteroldman at 11:34 AM on September 30, 2016


If I understand everything correctly, it wasn't ever going to be able to escape the orbit of the comet again, and the distance from the sun now (and for most of the comet's journey) means it will be very difficult to keep it powered. The team apparently discussed leaving it in orbit and shutting it down, in the hopes it might be able to be restarted when in comes back in again. However, they decided to "crash" it on the comet (sounds like it "hit" at less than walking speed) and then shut down because: 1. it allowed for some final, very close images and science on the way in; 2. even at a slow speed, "landing" the Rosetta likely destroyed several instruments; and 3. they weren't very optimistic about being able to power up the Rosetta in a few years:

"Esa project scientist Matt Taylor said the team had discussed the idea of putting Rosetta to sleep for a few years and then trying to wake it up again when 67P next visited the inner Solar System. But there was no confidence Rosetta would still be working: "It's like one of those 60s rock bands; we don't want to have a rubbish comeback tour. We'd rather go out now in true rock'n'roll style.""
posted by nubs at 11:42 AM on September 30, 2016 [8 favorites]


Rosetta was not projected to be able to survive lengthy hibernation, because it needs electrical power to run heaters that maintain some of its components. Anyway, it's been set to turn itself off permanently immediately after touchdown. Even if it's able to get enough sunlight in the future and the landing didn't damage the solar panels too badly, it will never start up again and probably couldn't talk to Earth anyway if it did.

The ESA FAQ on the touchdown has a lot of details on this (like the impact velocity, which I was curous about. Less then 1 m/s).
posted by figurant at 11:46 AM on September 30, 2016 [1 favorite]


I know it was a very successful mission, and that Rosetta and Philae did some great Science for us, but all the same, I feel quite sad for Rosetta and our little space dishwasher out there alone and cold.

Thanks, little guys. You did good.
posted by Capt. Renault at 12:04 PM on September 30, 2016 [5 favorites]


Folks at ESA were prepared for Rosetta related sadness.

Final approach GIF: Ground! I wonder if it will be friends with me?
posted by zamboni at 12:50 PM on September 30, 2016 [5 favorites]


.
posted by thegirlwiththehat at 1:08 PM on September 30, 2016


I'm a little surprised that the shutdown method seems like a bit of a hack--they "passivate" the orbiter by tricking it into going into a bench-test mode.

(Found by one of the many excellent tweets from Emily Lakdawalla, who does a lot of great space reporting.)
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 2:07 PM on September 30, 2016


Word has it that it's up on blocks already.
posted by davelog at 2:14 PM on September 30, 2016 [2 favorites]


..

The project is old enough that two team members are no longer with us, but have comet features named after them.

I'm not sure if Rosetta will be reanimated by an extraterrestrial machine species one day, but every now and then comets wander out of their parent systems.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 2:17 PM on September 30, 2016


Don't worry, Kirk will talk it out of being an asshole when it makes it's way home.
posted by valkane at 6:07 PM on September 30, 2016 [3 favorites]


Also, it delivered the Rosetta disk to 67P.
posted by joeyh at 8:07 PM on September 30, 2016


🏵
posted by Joe in Australia at 3:23 AM on October 1, 2016


Whats this about crying for robots?
posted by tocts at 6:41 AM on October 1, 2016


"It's like one of those 60s rock bands; we don't want to have a rubbish comeback tour. We'd rather go out now in true rock'n'roll style."

A joke lifted from my local news, after they read this quote: "Well, they did smash it into a Rolling Stone"
posted by nubs at 10:07 AM on October 1, 2016 [1 favorite]


When people say to me, why are you on Twitter, it's such a cesspool of crap, I tell them that there are smart scientists and actual ESA and NASA accounts that educate and enliven my day almost every day.
posted by 922257033c4a0f3cecdbd819a46d626999d1af4a at 6:24 PM on October 1, 2016 [1 favorite]


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