Free Astronomy Magazine September-October 2014

SMALL BODIES setta’s team must first identify at least 5 possible sites, among which to se- lect, by mid-September, the one offering greater guar- antees in terms of safety and the most interesting research opportunities. If all goes well, it is likely that the first landing in history on a comet will take place on 11 Novem- ber, though no certainties in this regard shall be had until mid-October. It must be noted that the mission controllers are not entirely optimistic about the suc- cess of the landing opera- tion, which in effect in- volves a high degree of fail- ure, without considering that during the phase of maximum cometary acti- vity Philae could easily be swept away by a burst of dust and gas that was to unexpectedly arise in its vicinity. The anchors pro- vided and the weak gravity of the comet would not in this case be sufficient to A rtist’s depic- tion of the descent of Philae on the comet. Also in this case the form of the nucleus is far from the real one. [ESA, image by AOES Medialab] Below, a graphic simulation of Philae already anchored to the comet’s surface, ready to begin its analyses of the soil. [ESA/ATG Medialab] hold the lander in its position. For now we can only wait and see what emerges from the first months of ob- servations and close measurements (so far only a few grains of dust have been col- lected in the coma and some analysis con- ducted on the gas). We will certainly have other opportunities to return on the topic, since the best is yet to come and since Ro- setta will remain oper- ational at least until the end of 2015. n