The European Space Agency has announced the landing spot on Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko to which the Rosetta space probe's lander Philae will descend.

Five sites were identified as suitable for Philae to land on the comet, but the final two areas, a primary and a backup, have been presented by the ESA today.

Having spent the weekend debating where to try and land Philae, they selected a relatively smooth region on the smaller of the comet's two lobes, identified only by the letter "J".

The second site is situated on the larger of 67P's lobes, known as the letter "C".

The European Space Agency hosted a webcast to announce the selection of the primary landing spot and both areas will be reviewed over the coming weeks, before a final decision is made in mid-October.

Since early August, its Rosetta probe has been in close proximity to the comet - which is around 400-million kilometres from Earth.

The decision has been challenging, as Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko is very irregular in shape with a difficult terrain, pockmarked with craters and cliff areas. Even seemingly flat areas still contain boulders and fissures.

The attempt to land will be made on 11 November, when Rosetta will dispatch Philae from a distance of around 10km.

The "Jupiter class" comet is named after its discoverers Klim Churyumov and Svetlana Gerasimenko, who found the object in 1969.

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