After a decade-long journey chasing its target, the European Space Agency’s Rosetta, carrying three NASA instruments, became the first spacecraft to rendezvous with a comet.
The last of a series of 10 rendezvous maneuvers that began in May, to adjust Rosetta’s speed and trajectory to gradually match those of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, known as “Chury” for short, occurred today, August 6.
“Thruster burn complete. Rosetta has arrived at comet 67P. We’re in orbit!” announced the European Space Agency, which is leading the ambitious project, on Twitter.
(WATCH the real-time video below, or READ the story from CNN)
Photo by NASA/ESA – Story tip from Shannan Heinitz