Scientists are close to being the first to “feel” the space pilgrim – Independent Newspaper

Scientists close to being the first to “feel” the pilgrim space

If you are very lucky, in November, “Rosetta” will lower research module to the surface of the comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Photo from www.esa.int

 

As news agencies reported with reference to the European Space Agency, yesterday, at 13.29 MSK, the space probe “Rosetta” reached the point calculated in the vicinity of the orbit of the planet Jupiter, breaking the 6 billion km. The ultimate goal of the mission space probe sent from Earth in March 2004 – to land on the surface of the three-kilometer comet nucleus Churyumov- Gerasimenko Research Module “Phil” and the chemical analysis of the rocks of the comet. This operation is scheduled for November. By the time the distance between the “Rosetta” and the surface of the comet will be only 10 km.

  
 

The path to the kernel has been a long and confusing. RIA Novosti cites the following data. Moving along a complex path around the Sun, “Rosetta” was approaching the orbit of Jupiter, flew close to Mars and three times – close to the Earth. In July 2010, the unit was about 3 thousand. Miles of the 120-kilometer asteroid Lutetia – the largest asteroid that people could see at such close range. About three years, from June 2011, the probe was in hibernation mode, without giving any signals. But in January of this year, automatic “Rosetta” worked and the probe was released on bond.

  
 

Then in an interview with “Nezavisimaya Gazeta” astronomer, associate professor of the Moscow State University. MV University Vladimir Surdin said: “Landing on the nuclei of comets and work on them until now was not. Comet Churyumov interesting by the fact that not nearly approaches the Sun. Therefore, it has been preserved in a relatively pristine state. ” However, the probability that “Phil” is not smears and gets to the surface of the comet’s nucleus, is far from absolute – too much work to be jewelry.

  
 

Recall that astronomers and astrobiologists have long expressed the hypothesis that a comet, these giant clusters of cosmic dust, ice and water ice, and contain chemical compounds that were present in the early stages of the formation of the solar system. There is also the panspermia hypothesis, according to which it is our duty to spread the comets of life in the universe.