Rosetta spacecraft ends mission

comet 67P from 51 meters

FINAL APPROACH  Rosetta's last picture of comet 67P, taken just 51 meters from the surface, reveals a gravelly landscape.

ESA, Rosetta, MPS for OSIRIS Team, MPS, UPD, LAM, IAA, SSO, INTA, UPM, DASP, IDA

Rosetta is no more. On September 30, the orbiter touched down on the surface of comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko and immediately shut down, bringing an end to the mission.

The landing site has been dubbed Sais, the ancient Egyptian town believed to be the original home of the Rosetta stone, after which the mission is named.

Confirmation came from a planned loss of radio signal from the spacecraft. Onboard computers were programmed to shut down when Rosetta hit the comet. The spacecraft approached the comet at just a few kilometers per hour, but the probe wasn’t designed for landings and was probably damaged.

Mission scientists will continue to keep busy analyzing all the data sent back before touchdown.

See all of our coverage of the Rosetta mission.

Christopher Crockett is an Associate News Editor. He was formerly the astronomy writer from 2014 to 2017, and he has a Ph.D. in astronomy from the University of California, Los Angeles.