What is the Rosetta probe? Historic spacecraft crash-lands on comet TODAY
THE Rosetta probe has crash-landed onto a comet, bringing a historic 12-year mission to an end.
Rosetta spacecraft- Story of the comet-chasing probe so far
The European Space Agency has confirmed that the Rosetta probe has crash-landed into the 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko comet, completing a landmark investigation into the building blocks of life.
Scientists manoeuvred the probe into the comet just after 12pm earlier today, with confirmation coming through 20 minutes later.
The spacecraft travelled seven billion kilometres through space and had orbitted the icy body for two years.
But as the comet travels further away from the sun, solar power has become too weak to operate the probe.
The craft beamed back images of the comet as it landed, giving scientists a never-before-seen look at its rugged surface.
The blue dot marks Rosetta's final landing spot
Patrick Martin, Rosetta’s mission manager, said the day marked “a culmination of tremendous scientific and technical success.”
He added: “Farewell Rosetta, you have done the job.”
Scientists will crash land the Rosetta probe into a comet
What is the Rosetta probe?
Rosetta is the first ever spacecraft to orbit and land on a comet.
It was commissioned by the European Space Agency in 2000 at a cost of over £1billion.
The mission’s primary objectives are to study the comet's icy mass and discover how it is transformed by the warmth of the sun as it passes it in orbit.
The three-metre long probe carries a range of scientific equipment to measure the comet’s surface and interior.
The probe was initially scheduled to launch in January 2003, but it was delayed after a rocket failure.
It finally embarked in March 2004, beginning a ten-year journey through space towards the 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko comet.
It ventured past Mars and became the first mission to pass Jupiter relying on just solar power.
The mission discovered the building blocks of life on the icy comet
Rosetta entered into orbit on August 6, 2014 after performing a complicated series of manoeuvres.
Philae was dispatched on November 12 the same year. It bounced twice on the comet’s surface before finally touching down in a dark crevice.
The module – which contained cameras, solar panels and scientific instruments – beamed information back to Rosetta for three days before running out of solar power.
Philae was discovered in a rocky crevice
Its exact location was not discovered until almost two years later on September 5, 2016, when it was spotted by Rosetta’s high-resolution camera.
Earlier this year, the ESA announced they had detected the key organic compounds in the comet’s thin atmosphere.
The discovery lends weight to the theory that that comets "seed" planets with these building blocks of life by colliding into them.