WWW.ASTRONOMY.COM 49dust may have made its way into the ovens during the probe’s mul-
tiple bounces, so there may already be material ready to analyze.
Scientists got one final piece of good news June 23 when ESA
announced it would extend the mission until the end of Septem-
ber 2016, nine months longer than originally planned. (Don’t
expect any further reprieves, however, because Rosetta will be
nearly out of propellant by then and the Sun will be so distant that
the solar panels won’t deliver enough power.)
“This is fantastic news for science,” said Rosetta project scien-
tist Matt Taylor in a statement responding to the decision. “We’ll
be able to monitor the decline in the comet’s activity as we move
away from the Sun again, and we’ll have the opportunity to f ly
closer to the comet to continue collecting more unique data. By
comparing detailed before-and-after data, we’ll have a much bet-
ter understanding of how comets evolve during their lifetimes.”
FOR THE LATEST IMAGES AND SCIENCE FROM ROSETTA AND PHILAE, VISIT http://www.Astronomy.com/toc.Although dust covers most of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko’s
surface, Rosetta has revealed more than 100 patches of water ice,
including the four in these false-color images. ESA/ROSETTA/MPS/OSIRIS TEAMRosetta dipped within 4.9 miles
(7.9 kilometers) of the comet’s sur-
face October 19 when it snapped
this view looking across the object’s
“neck” from the small lobe toward
the large one. ESA/ROSETTA/NAVCAM