The Associated Press
BERLIN—Europe’s comet-chasing space probe Rosetta performed its final task today—dipping out of orbit for a slow-motion crash onto the icy surface of the alien world it’s been following for more than a decade.
Mission controllers lost contact with the probe as expected after it hit the surface of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, marking the planned end of a 12-year mission, the European Space Agency said.
“Farewell Rosettta, you’ve done the job,” said mission manager Patrick Martin.
“That is space science at its best.”
Scientists sent their final command to the probe late yesterday—ordering Rosetta to fire its thrusters for 208 seconds and perform a last series of scientific measurements as it swooped toward the surface of the four-km wide comet.
Aside from sending a lander onto the surface of comet 67P in November, 2014 (a cosmic first), the Rosetta mission has collected vast amounts of data that researchers will spend many more years analyzing.
The controlled descent took place at about 90 cm per second, or roughly half-walking speed, giving Rosetta a chance to snap some unprecedented low-altitude images of the comet that could reveal surface features as small as an inch (2.5 cm).
