Rosetta flies past asteroid Lutetia
Posted: Sun, Jul 11, 2010, 12:18 PM ET (1618 GMT)
ESA's Rosetta spacecraft flew past the asteroid Lutetia on Saturday, the largest asteroid to date visited by a spacecraft. The spacecraft made its closest approach to the asteroid, at a distance of 3,162 kilometers, at 12:10 pm EDT (1610 GMT) Saturday. Images returned by the spacecraft revealed an elongated, cratered body about 130 kilometers lin diameter on its longest axis. Scientists believe the asteroid is a metal-rich body, although previous groundbased observations have revealed characteristics similar to C-type primitive bodies. The flyby is the latest milestone for the mission, launched in 2004, whose ultimate destination is the comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Rosetta will rendezvous with the comet in late 2014 and deploy a spacecraft to land on the comet's nucleus.
ESA's Rosetta spacecraft flew past the asteroid Lutetia on Saturday, the largest asteroid to date visited by a spacecraft. The spacecraft made its closest approach to the asteroid, at a distance of 3,162 kilometers, at 12:10 pm EDT (1610 GMT) Saturday. Images returned by the spacecraft revealed an elongated, cratered body about 130 kilometers lin diameter on its longest axis. Scientists believe the asteroid is a metal-rich body, although previous groundbased observations have revealed characteristics similar to C-type primitive bodies. The flyby is the latest milestone for the mission, launched in 2004, whose ultimate destination is the comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Rosetta will rendezvous with the comet in late 2014 and deploy a spacecraft to land on the comet's nucleus.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
Starship explodes during preparations for static-fire test
Posted: Sun, Jun 22 6:52 AM ET (1052 GMT) |
|
news links
|
|
Saturday, July 5
Huge cost of my trip, what I saw – First Nigerian in space, Owolabi Salis
Punch (Nigeria) — 9:38 am ET (1338 GMT) Owolabi Salis Describes Travel to Space as ‘A Spiritual Journey,’ Urges African Youth to Explore Beyond Earth
Arise News — 9:37 am ET (1337 GMT) CoinDCX co-founder partners with ISRO scientists to launch Astrobase, raises $10 Mn
Entrackr — 9:37 am ET (1337 GMT) ISRO conducts student interactions with Gaganyatri onboard ISS
ISRO — 9:32 am ET (1332 GMT) Shux in space: ISRO's Shubhanshu Shukla conducts bone, radiation, and microgravity experiments on ISS
The Economic Times (India) — 9:31 am ET (1331 GMT) |
