Rosetta mission : Watch Philae’s comet landing after a 10-year journey

Europe’s Rosetta probe is nearing its final destination and readying to deploy the Philae lander onto the surface of comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko, where it hopes to unveil the secrets of this icy body. Watch the denouement of this incredible space odyssey, which began with its launch 10 years ago by Ariane 5, unfold live on Wednesday 12 November on the Web or from one of the venues broadcasting the event.

To mark this first in the history of space, the public is invited to watch the comet landing at various venues and on the Internet, where a number of special events will be happening. Follow Philae’s landing with commentary from space specialists and hear the reactions of mission teams as events unfold, live from ESA’s control centre in Darmstadt, Germany, and from the Space Operations and Navigation Centre (SONC) at CNES in Toulouse, in charge of the Philae lander.

Free public showings at three venues in France

Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie – Paris
30, avenue Corentin Cariou - 75019 Paris
Doors open 3.30 p.m., close 8.30 p.m.

Musée de l’Air et de l’Espace – Le Bourget
Paris - Le Bourget Airport, BP 173 - 93352 Le Bourget
Doors open 3.30 p.m., close 9.00 p.m.

Cité de l’Espace – Toulouse
Avenue Jean Gonord - 31506 Toulouse
Doors open 10.00 a.m., close 8.30 p.m.

These events are being organized in partnership with ESA, the French national scientific research centre CNRS, the Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie, the Musée de l’Air et de l’Espace at Le Bourget, the Paris Observatory, the Cité de l’Espace in Toulouse, the French astronomy society and the French astronomy association.

Multi-feed webcast on CNES’s website

For those unable to get to one of the public showings, CNES is setting up a multi-feed webcast covering Philae’s landing from start to finish, with simultaneous translation into French of the ESA broadcast from Darmstadt and from the SONC in Toulouse, in charge of lander navigation and coordination.

CNES also invites passers-by to come and see the Rosetta showcase at its Paris headquarters, which presents a model of the Philae lander and comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko, plus video animations retracing the key mission milestones at the heart of Les Halles, 2 Place Maurice Quentin, in the first arrondissement of Paris.

CNES press contacts
Alain Delrieu Tel. +44 (0)1 44 76 74 04 alain.delrieu@cnes.fr
Julien Watelet Tel. +44 (0)1 44 76 78 37 julien.watelet@cnes.fr
www.cnes.fr/presse

CP138-2014 - Evenements Rosetta_va.pdf (pdf - 92.51 KB)