Contrasting Terrains on Comet Churyumov Gerasimenko
Explanation:
Where should
Philae land?
As ESA's robotic
spacecraft Rosetta circles toward
Comet 67P/ Churyumov-Gerasimenko, a decision must eventually be made as to where
its mechanical lander should attempt to touch-down.
Reaching the comet earlier this month,
Rosetta is sending back detailed pictures of the
comet's unusual nucleus from which a smooth landing site will be selected.
Pictured above, near the image top, the head of the comet's nucleus shows rugged
grooves, while near the image bottom, the body shows a patch-work of areas sometimes
separated by
jagged hills.
Some of the patch-work areas apparent on both the
head and body seem to have fields of relatively smooth
terrain.
In the connecting area called the neck, however, visible across the image center,
a relatively large swath of light-colored smooth terrain appears, punctuated occasionally
by
large boulders.
Rosetta is scheduled to release
Philae toward the
dark mountain-sized
comet nucleus with an anticipated landing date in November.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
