Rosetta Spacecraft Awakened from Hibernation for Asteroid Encounter

The European Space Agency probe Rosetta has been awoken from hibernation recently for its September meeting with asteroid 2867 Steins. And though the probe’s ultimate goal is another six years and many more thousands of miles in to the future, the ESA is hopeful that this asteroid encounter will begin to reveal mysteries from our galaxy’s infancy.

Rosetta is set to make a flyby of Steins on the 5th of September, this year. 2867 Steins is a small main-belt asteroid (ie, within the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter), that was originally discovered in 1969 by N.S. Chernykh. Approximately 4.6 kilometers in diameter, Rosetta is set to make its fly by at a distance of 800 kilometers.

Launched on March 2nd, 2004, Rosetta will reach its final destination, 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, towards the middle of 2014. This, after travelling a total of 6.5 billion kilometers, including three Earth flybys and a Mars flyby, all to gain extra speed boosts.

Its third and final Earth flyby will take place in November of 2009, followed by a flyby of asteroid 21 Lutetia on July 10 of 2010, before being entered into deep-space hibernation for almost three years before it begins its approach to 67P.

When Rosetta reaches 67P it will enact a two stage process, involving the Rosetta space probe and the Philae lander, which will detach itself from the main body of Rosetta and fall towards the comet along a ballistic trajectory.

Between now and the 5th of November, scientists at the ESA will test the instruments aboard Rosetta, in preparation for its meet-up with Steins.

http://www.space.com/news/080705-rosetta-asteroid.html