This Is The Last Thing The Rosetta Spacecraft Saw Before It Died

This Is The Last Thing The Rosetta Spacecraft Saw Before It Died

Image Cache: At 8:39PM AEST yesterday, a spacecraft weighing over 2000k with a wingspan half that of a Boeing 747 crashed gently into a comet’s surface, following 13 hours of free-fall. These, my friends, are the last, fleeting glimpses of Comet 67P that Rosetta managed to capture before its instruments went dead.

Comet 67P from 1.2km. All images: ESA/Rosetta/MPS for OSIRIS Team MPS/UPD/LAM/IAA/SSO/INTA/UPM/DASP/IDA

Browse through the cool photos, animations and diagrams in Gizmodo’s Image Cache here.

They’re also some of the best photos humans have ever taken of the surface of a comet, period. So enjoy them — because we won’t get another mission like this for a long time.

This Is The Last Thing The Rosetta Spacecraft Saw Before It Died
Comet 67P from 1.2 km.

Comet 67P from 1.2km.

This Is The Last Thing The Rosetta Spacecraft Saw Before It Died
The Rosetta spacecraft’s landing site, Ma’at, is stitched together here from a series of images. It was aiming for a a spot between the pits seen on the left and right.

The Rosetta spacecraft’s landing site, Ma’at, is stitched together here from a series of images. It was aiming for a a spot between the pits seen on the left and right.

This Is The Last Thing The Rosetta Spacecraft Saw Before It Died
Comet 67P from 5.8 km.

Comet 67P from 5.8km.

This Is The Last Thing The Rosetta Spacecraft Saw Before It Died
Comet 67P from 8.9 km.

Comet 67P from 8.9km.

This Is The Last Thing The Rosetta Spacecraft Saw Before It Died
Comet 67P from 15.5 km, showing the entire ‘head’ region where Ma’at is located.

Comet 67P from 15.5km, showing the entire ‘head’ region where Ma’at is located.

This Is The Last Thing The Rosetta Spacecraft Saw Before It Died
Comet 67P from 19.4 km.

Comet 67P from 19.4km.

This Is The Last Thing The Rosetta Spacecraft Saw Before It Died
Comet 67P from 20 km.

Comet 67P from 20km.

On Rosetta’s blog, the ESA also posted a series of screenshots showing the signal from the spacecraft fading into white noise at around 9:19PM AEST (it takes 40 minutes for communications to travel from Comet 67P to the Earth). No doubt, these images will come in handy when Rosetta truthers start insisting that the comet landing was faked.

This Is The Last Thing The Rosetta Spacecraft Saw Before It Died
Fading…

Fading…

This Is The Last Thing The Rosetta Spacecraft Saw Before It Died
Fading…

Fading…

This Is The Last Thing The Rosetta Spacecraft Saw Before It Died
Gone.

Gone.

Fare thee well, Rosetta. Your watch is over.


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