Rosetta’s Navigation Camera captured five images shortly after the collision manoeuvre last night, which are being analysed by flight dynamics to confirm the spacecraft is on track to impact its target in the Ma’at region of Comet 67P/C-G later today.
The last image returned from the spacecraft was taken at 00:59 UT onboard the spacecraft, and downlinked to Earth a couple of hours later. It was taken at a distance of 17.4 km from the centre of the comet. The image scale is 1.5m/pixel and the image measures about 1.5 km across.
Lightly enhanced NAVCAM image taken on 30 September 2016 at 00:59UT. ESA/Rosetta/NAVCAM – CC BY-SA IGO 3.0
The five images were used by the flight team to update the estimate of the landing time and final pointing of the spacecraft. The revised impact time is now predicted as 10:38:32 UT+/- 2 minutes at the comet.Because of the 40 minute signal travel time between Rosetta and the Earth today, confirmation of the mission’s end will arrive at ESA’s mission control at 11:18 UT/ 13:18 CEST +/- 2 minutes.
The full set of five images will be published later this morning.
Follow rosetta.esa.int for live coverage.
The original unprocessed image is provided below:
Discussion: 2 comments
Well , I’ve got kinda of mixed feelings : I know that everything has its beginning and its end as well … it was a great pleasure all these months to watch such amazing photos which ”Rosetta” sent from the comet (…) and suddenly … today that’s it ! But if to choose what ”Rosetta’s” destiny gonna-be , gotta tell you guys that it’s much better to place ”Rosetta” onto her comet rather to let her fly away off the comet instead ! Thanks ”Rosetta” , thanks ”Philae” 🙂
What a journey you’ve been on.. and we still are. Thanks Rosetta for pushing the horizon further. And by that I think we mean thanks to everyone involved, both for thinking far ahead and constantly getting the details right. Could we consider Rosetta our furthest pseudopod to date? An extension not only of our “senses” but of mankind’s peripersonal space? Now you’re grounded, offline, beyond reach. All the data is ours. Still I’m sure many -like me- will also feel loss. What peculiar things we indeed are.