Rosetta set for death dive into Comet 67P two years after historic mission – watch it live
Rosetta was launched in 2004 and a decade later saw Philae land on the surface of a comet.
The ESA's Rosetta spacecraft is getting set to crash into the surface of comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko, bringing to an end its 16-year mission. The descent and collision manoeuvre will take place on 30 September and will be broadcast live online, a stream of which you can watch above.
Prior to the collision, Rosetta scientists will be discussing the highlights of the historic mission, which saw the Philae lander descend and land onto a speeding comet on 6 August 2014. This was the first time a spacecraft had been sent to a comet, deploy a lander on its surface and accompanied it as it orbits the sun.
Viewers can listen to discussions about the impact the mission has had throughout the day on 29 September. The programme will begin at 13.30 BST and will include Rosetta Project Scientist Matt Taylor, Cecila Tubiana from the Max-Planck Institute for Solar Physics and Thurid Mannel, from the University of Graz and who was involved in analysing dust from the comet.
At 21:50 BST, Rosetta will begin its "collision manoeuvre" at an altitude of 19km. This will set it on course to crash into the comet the following day – at approximately 11.40 BST. Updates will be provided throughout the manoeuvre until completion.
On 30 September, at 08:55 BST, the final commands will be given for Rosetta to bring the mission to an end. The ESA said: "At 09:00 BST the last commands will be uploaded to the spacecraft to fine-tune the spacecraft's pointing, based on the Navigation Camera images taken shortly after the collision manoeuvre. It is at this stage that a refined time for Rosetta's impact will be known."
Rosetta is being crashed into the comet in order to get the highest resolution images of Comet 67/P possible. After that, the spacecraft will be gone. "After Rosetta has touched down, it will not be possible to collect or return any additional data," the ESA said. "The unique measurements obtained during this final descent will be a fitting closing chapter to Rosetta's time spent living with this comet."
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