Yesterday, engineers at ESA’s Space Operations Centre confirmed that Rosetta had successfully swung by Mars in the second of four critical gravity assists in its ten-year voyage to comet 67P Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Closest approach occurred at 3:15 AM CET at an altitude of 250 km; departure velocity was estimated to be 36 191 km/hour relative to the Sun. In addition to confirming extensive and careful operations preparations, the successful passage allowed scientists to switch on several of the spacecraft’s instruments as well as the camera onboard the Philae lander to image Mars. Results will help calibrate instruments after comparison to parallel observations made by ESA’s Mars Express.
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Since 2004, ESA has gathered over 150 imaginative ideas for new investigations proposed by scientists worldwide. The team preparing the Cosmic Vision plan has identified areas where major progress can be expected in the next two decades. Now, says Prof David Southwood, the Agency’s Director of Science, ESA is ready to ask the greater science community for specific mission proposals.
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In his weekly radio address President Bush said, “America has the best health care system in the world, because it puts doctors and patients in charge, encourages new technologies, and finds new ways to improve quality. By giving our states more flexibility and making our tax code fairer, we can reform our health care system and restrain costs. And by implementing these reforms now, we can help ensure every American has a future with better choices, better care, and greater hope for a healthy tomorrow.”

On 25 February 2007, the Rosetta spacecraft will go round the far side of the Red Planet, swooping to within only a few hundred kilometres of its surface. This gravity assist manoeuvre will alter its course for the next leg of the ten-year odyssey towards final its destination: Comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko.Since the probe’s launch in March 2004, several missions have shed new light on the nature and composition of comets. Analysis of comet particles has revealed chemical elements originating not just in the colder outer Solar System, but present once in the hotter regions during its creation. The samples were also rich in organic matter, unlike anything seen to date in extraterrestrial materials.The Mars swingby is a key moment in Rosetta’s journey. Scientists will also calibrate Rosetta’s instruments by comparing data gathered by other orbiting spacecraft. The flyby is also very interesting because it’s a unique opportunity to do plasma science […]

On 25 February, Rosetta will swing by Mars in the second of four critical gravity assists in its ten-year voyage to comet 67P Churyumov-Gerasimenko. The upcoming manoeuvre, with Rosetta skimming Mars at 250 kilometres, is a delicate operation and a key milestone, and mission controllers and flight dynamics specialists at ESA’s Space Operations Centre are in intense preparations for the early-morning event. The spacecraft will also conduct observations of Mars, primarily to help calibrate the instruments but also to gather data, which will complement those gathered by ESA’s Mars Express, in a ‘mini’ coordinated observation campaign.
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