Sinkholes on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko could teach us a lot about the geology and history of the body, but they could also spell the end for Philae.
- Professor of Planetary and Space Sciences, The Open University
Jets and plumes of dust and gas from comet 67P/Churyumov Gerasiemko’s suface could put an abrupt end to Philae’s mission.
Tim Hunt should have realised that his “light-hearted” comment about the “trouble with girls” was going to offend.
The millions we spend on the space industry don’t go up in smoke: they pay for jobs, services, new technology and much more.
NASA’s Dawn spacecraft hasn’t reached optimum orbit around Ceres but the data it’s returning has already got scientists excited.
Landing a spacecraft on a celestial body, whether it be the moon, Mars or a comet, is not easy. The European Space Agency found out the hard way in 2003 when its robot Beagle2, which was supposed to send…
As a headline, “No gas leak on the International Space Station” ranks alongside recent news stories, such as “Mild earthquake in North Texas – no damage reported” and “No-one hurt in bedroom fire”. But…
There is no doubt that 2014 was a fantastic year for planetary sciences – the high points were the successful landing of Philae on comet 67P, the discovery of methane by the Curiosity rover on Mars and…
The first results on comet 67P Churyumov-Gerasimenko obtained by instruments on-board the Rosetta spacecraft have been announced – and they are, literally and figuratively, a deluge of information! Over…
Generations of mariners have spent time anxiously watching the weather, waiting for the right conditions. It seems that despite all the high-tech advances we’ve made, spacecraft are still subject to the…
Phew, what a day it was yesterday. Ended up having a quiet drink at the hotel. Last drink of the day – a nice cup of tea! Slept well – no nightmares about flying through space looking for somewhere to…
It has been a busy few weeks. The last scientific experiments in support of forthcoming results. The final, detailed command sequences uploaded to Rosetta. Hotels and flights booked. As each successive…
Rosetta is a first-class mission, because it is a mission of firsts. First to fly-by asteroid Steins, a rare metal-poor asteroid. First to travel past asteroid Lutetia, which might be related to a class…
The final week in October was widely reported as having been disastrous for space exploration. First we had the explosion of the crewless Antares launcher as it lifted off to take provisions to the International…
Success never comes without sacrifice. And frontiers are never crossed without some type of loss. We are seeing with brutal clarity that the frontier of successful space travel is one which has not yet…
Sputnik was launched more than 50 years ago. Since then we have seen missions launched to Mercury, Mars and to all the planets within the solar system. We have sent a dozen men to the moon and many more…
The golden age of planetary exploration had voyagers navigating new sea routes to uncharted territory. These territories were then claimed in the name of the monarchs who had financed the expeditions…
The Rosetta mission reaches a defining moment on Wednesday November 12, when its lander, Philae, is released. After about seven hours of descent, Philae will arrive on the surface of Comet 67P Churyumov-Gerasimenko…
As every good marketing manager knows, value for money is a major driver for the success of a product. Being a bargain is not usually a feature of space projects, but planetary scientists will get two…
World Space Week is one of a series of events co-ordinated by the UN to celebrate the global nature of space exploration. It was established in 1999. Why is it organised this particular week? Because October…
“Are we there yet?” is a plaintive query that most parents learn to dread, especially if uttered while halted in a traffic jam in the baking hot sun. At least the Rosetta spacecraft has not had to deal…
The red planet is about to welcome a new visitor: India’s Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) started orbiting Mars on September 24. But MOM is not the only new kid in town. The American MAVEN explorer arrived…
It is three years since the final flight of the US space shuttle programme, during which time NASA has had to rely on the Russians, its allies, in space at least, to ferry astronauts and supplies between…
Almost all of the reflections and eulogies of Colin Pillinger, who passed away on May 8, will focus on his role in the Beagle 2 space mission to Mars. But this only occupied a small part of his career…
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