After a 6.4 billion km passage lasting 10 years and involving velocity accelerating flybys of Earth and Mars, at 0800 GMT on 6 August 2014, European Space Agency’s Rosetta mission rendezvoused with Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.
The Rosetta spacecraft will accompany the comet as it traces its own 6.5 year long orbit around the Sun, observing how its tail is formed. In November 2014, Rosetta will also land its three-legged Philae Minilab Lander. The lander’s legs are equipped with a screw grip system to stop the lander bouncing or sliding off in the very low gravity conditions.
