ESARosetta Comet Orbiter & Philae Lander - 2004-006A
Rosetta & Philae
First mission to orbit a comet - and the first to land on one
PHASE 01
Launch
Mar 2, 2004 ✓
PHASE 02
Cruise & flybys
2004-2014 ✓
PHASE 03
Comet arrival
Aug 6, 2014 ✓
PHASE 04
Philae landing
Nov 12, 2014 ✓
PHASE 05
Escort & science
2014-2016 ✓
PHASE 06
Controlled impact
Sep 30, 2016 ✓
- Telemetry
Rosetta & Philae at a glance.
Duration
12y 7m
Distance
5.0Bmi
Comet escorted
67P/C-G
Agency
ESA
- Status
Catching a comet.
After a ten-year cruise that included three Earth flybys and a visit to two asteroids, Rosetta arrived at Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in August 2014 - the first spacecraft ever to orbit a comet. In November the Philae lander made the first-ever soft landing on a comet's surface, though it bounced into a shadowed location and lost power within days.
Rosetta itself ended the mission on September 30, 2016 with a controlled descent onto 67P.