NASA`s first robotic lander designed to study the deep interior of a distant world hurtled closer to Mars on course for a planned touchdown on Monday after a six-month voyage through space.

Travelling 301 million miles (548 million km) from Earth, the Mars InSight spacecraft was due to reach its destination on the dusty, rock-strewn surface of the Red Planet at about 3 p.m. EST (2000 GMT).

If all goes according to plan, InSight will streak into the pink Martian sky at 12,000 miles per hour (19,310 kilometers per hour). Its 77-mile descent to the surface will be slowed by atmospheric friction, a giant parachute and retro rockets. When it lands 6-1/2 minutes later, it will be traveling a mere 5 mph (8 kph).

The stationary probe, which launched from California in May, will then pause for 16 minutes for the dust to settle, literally, around the landing site before its disc-shaped solar arrays unfurl to provide power.&nbsp;

The mission control team at NASA`s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) near Los Angeles hopes to get real-time electronic confirmation of the spacecraft`s safe arrival from miniature satellites that were launched along with InSight and will fly past Mars.

The JPL controllers also expect to receive a photo of the probe`s surroundings on the flat, smooth Martian plain close to the planet`s equator called the Elysium Planitia.

The site is roughly 373 miles (600 km) from the 2012 landing spot of the car-sized Mars rover Curiosity, the last spacecraft sent to the Red Planet by NASA.

The smaller, 880-pound (360 kg) InSight - its name is short for Interior Exploration Using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport - marks the 21st US-launched Martian exploration including the Mariner fly-by missions of the 1960s. Nearly two dozen other Mars missions have been sent from other nations.

HOW ROCKY PLANETS FORMED

InSight is the first dedicated to unlocking secrets from deep below the Martian surface. The lander will spend 24 months - about one Martian year - using seismic monitoring and underground drilling to gather clues on how Mars formed and, by extension, the origins of Earth and other rocky planets of the inner solar system more than 4 billion years ago.

"What this helps us understand is how we got to here," said JPL`s Bruce Banerdt, InSight principal investigator, during a pre-landing briefing with reporters last week.

While Earth`s tectonics and other forces have erased most evidence of its early history, much of Mars - about one-third the size of Earth - is believed to have remained largely static over the eons, creating a geologic time machine for scientists.

InSight`s primary instrument is a highly sensitive French-built seismometer, designed to detect the slightest vibrations from "marsquakes" and meteor impacts.&nbsp;

Scientists expect to see a dozen to 100 marsquakes over the course of the mission, producing data to help them deduce the size, density and composition of the planet.&nbsp;

The Viking probes of the mid-1970s were equipped with seismometers, but they were bolted atop the landers, a design that proved largely ineffective.

InSight also is fitted with a German-made drill to burrow as much as 16 feet (5 meters) underground, pulling behind it a rope-like thermal probe to measure heat.

Meanwhile, a radio transmitter will send signals back to Earth, tracking Mars` subtle rotational wobble to reveal the size of the planet`s core and possibly whether it remains molten.

The InSight and next rover mission, along with others in the planning stage, are seen as precursors for eventual human exploration of Mars, NASA officials said.

NASA`s first robotic lander designed to study the deep interior of a distant world hurtled closer to Mars on course for a planned touchdown on Monday after a six-month voyage through space.

NASA`s first robotic lander designed to study the deep interior of a distant world hurtled closer to Mars on course for a planned touchdown on Monday after a six-month voyage through space. Travelling 301 million miles (548 million km) from Earth, the Mars InSight spacecraft was due to reach its destination on the dusty, rock-strewn surface of the Red Planet at about 3 p.m. EST (2000 GMT). If all goes according to plan, InSight will streak into the pink Martian sky at 12,000 miles per hour (19,310 kilometers per hour). Its 77-mile descent to the surface will be slowed by atmospheric friction, a giant parachute and retro rockets. When it lands 6-1/2 minutes later, it will be traveling a mere 5 mph (8 kph). The stationary probe, which launched from California in May, will then pause for 16 minutes for the dust to settle, literally, around the landing site before its disc-shaped solar arrays unfurl to provide power. The mission control team at NASA`s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) near Los Angeles hopes to get real-time electronic confirmation of the spacecraft`s safe arrival from miniature satellites that were launched along with InSight and will fly past Mars. The JPL controllers also expect to receive a photo of the probe`s surroundings on the flat, smooth Martian plain close to the planet`s equator called the Elysium Planitia. The site is roughly 373 miles (600 km) from the 2012 landing spot of the car-sized Mars rover Curiosity, the last spacecraft sent to the Red Planet by NASA. The smaller, 880-pound (360 kg) InSight - its name is short for Interior Exploration Using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport - marks the 21st US-launched Martian exploration including the Mariner fly-by missions of the 1960s. Nearly two dozen other Mars missions have been sent from other nations. HOW ROCKY PLANETS FORMED InSight is the first dedicated to unlocking secrets from deep below the Martian surface. The lander will spend 24 months - about one Martian year - using seismic monitoring and underground drilling to gather clues on how Mars formed and, by extension, the origins of Earth and other rocky planets of the inner solar system more than 4 billion years ago. "What this helps us understand is how we got to here," said JPL`s Bruce Banerdt, InSight principal investigator, during a pre-landing briefing with reporters last week. While Earth`s tectonics and other forces have erased most evidence of its early history, much of Mars - about one-third the size of Earth - is believed to have remained largely static over the eons, creating a geologic time machine for scientists. InSight`s primary instrument is a highly sensitive French-built seismometer, designed to detect the slightest vibrations from "marsquakes" and meteor impacts. Scientists expect to see a dozen to 100 marsquakes over the course of the mission, producing data to help them deduce the size, density and composition of the planet. The Viking probes of the mid-1970s were equipped with seismometers, but they were bolted atop the landers, a design that proved largely ineffective. InSight also is fitted with a German-made drill to burrow as much as 16 feet (5 meters) underground, pulling behind it a rope-like thermal probe to measure heat. Meanwhile, a radio transmitter will send signals back to Earth, tracking Mars` subtle rotational wobble to reveal the size of the planet`s core and possibly whether it remains molten. The InSight and next rover mission, along with others in the planning stage, are seen as precursors for eventual human exploration of Mars, NASA officials said.

NASA spacecraft nears Red Planet on mission to detect 'marsquakes'

Elon Musk-led SpaceX has launched Dragon spacecraft as part of its resupply mission to the International Space Station.&nbsp;

The spacecraft was launched from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on Monday. Within 10 minutes of its launch, the spacecraft was confirmed of having reached a "good orbit".&nbsp;

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Right on schedule, solar arrays have been deployed on the <a href="https://twitter.com/SpaceX?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SpaceX</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Dragon?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Dragon</a> cargo spacecraft as it heads to <a href="https://twitter.com/Space_Station?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Space_Station</a>. Watch: <a href="https://t.co/C8BIw7hGzo">https://t.co/C8BIw7hGzo</a> <a href="https://t.co/OjC13uB8zj">pic.twitter.com/OjC13uB8zj</a>
— NASA (@NASA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NASA/status/980909013788315648?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 2, 2018</a></blockquote>
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'Dragon'&nbsp;left Earth packed with 2,630 kg of research, crew supplies and hardware. It is expected to attach to the space station on Wednesday after which it will spend close to a month attached to the ISS.

Dragon's return is scheduled around May with some results of completed experiments.

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Dragon is on its way to the International Space Station. Capture by <a href="https://twitter.com/Space_Station?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Space_Station</a> crew set for Wednesday morning.
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/980909925865000963?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 2, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Dragon's mission includes delivering scientific investigations such as studying severe thunderstorms on Earth, food growth in space, among others.

The spacecraft also carried equipment for testing and studying the effects of the harsh space environment on items, identifying potential pathogens in the station and investigating an antibiotic-releasing wound patch.

Dragon's return is scheduled around May with some results of completed experiments

Elon Musk-led SpaceX has launched Dragon spacecraft as part of its resupply mission to the International Space Station. The spacecraft was launched from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on Monday. Within 10 minutes of its launch, the spacecraft was confirmed of having reached a "good orbit". Right on schedule, solar arrays have been deployed on the @SpaceX #Dragon cargo spacecraft as it heads to @Space_Station. Watch: https://t.co/C8BIw7hGzo pic.twitter.com/OjC13uB8zj — NASA (@NASA) April 2, 2018 × 'Dragon' left Earth packed with 2,630 kg of research, crew supplies and hardware. It is expected to attach to the space station on Wednesday after which it will spend close to a month attached to the ISS. Dragon's return is scheduled around May with some results of completed experiments. Dragon is on its way to the International Space Station. Capture by @Space_Station crew set for Wednesday morning. — SpaceX (@SpaceX) April 2, 2018 × Dragon's mission includes delivering scientific investigations such as studying severe thunderstorms on Earth, food growth in space, among others. The spacecraft also carried equipment for testing and studying the effects of the harsh space environment on items, identifying potential pathogens in the station and investigating an antibiotic-releasing wound patch.

SpaceX's 'Dragon' launched in resupply mission to ISS

The interior of Jupiter is just as intriguing as the planet&#39;s dazzling surface, with a swirling mixture of liquid hydrogen and helium at its centre, vast atmospheric jet streams and exotic gravitational properties, scientists said on Wednesday. 
 
Data from NASA&#39;s Juno spacecraft, orbiting the solar system&#39;s largest planet since 2016, is providing researchers with what they called unprecedented insight into Jupiter&#39;s internal dynamics and structure. Until now, scientists have had scant information about what lies below Jupiter&#39;s thick red, brown, yellow and white clouds. 
 
&quot;Juno is designed to look beneath these clouds,&quot; said planetary science professor Yohai Kaspi of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, who led part of the research using Juno&#39;s new measurements of Jupiter&#39;s gravity. 
 
&quot;On Jupiter, a gaseous planet without a solid surface, we can only gather information from orbit,&quot; added aerospace engineering professor Luciano Iess of the Sapienza University of Rome, who also led part of the research. 
 
Jupiter is a type of planet called a gas giant, as opposed to rocky planets like Earth and Mars, and its composition is 99 percent hydrogen and helium. Juno&#39;s data showed that as you go deeper under the surface, Jupiter&#39;s gas becomes ionized and eventually turns into a hot, dense metallic liquid. 
 
The scientists said Jupiter&#39;s jet streams, related to the familiar stripes on its surface, plunge some 1,800 miles (3,000 km) below cloud level, and that its deep interior is comprised of a fluid hydrogen and helium mixture that rotates as if it were a solid body. 
 
&quot;The very centre may contain a core made of high-pressure and high-temperature rocks and perhaps water, but it is believed to be fluid as well, not solid,&quot; said planetary scientist Tristan Guillot of the Universite Cote d&#39;Azur in Nice, another of the research leaders.

Juno&#39;s data showed a small but significant asymmetry between the gravitational field of Jupiter&#39;s northern and southern hemispheres, driven by the immense jet streams. The deeper the jets streams go, the more mass they contain, exerting a strong effect on Jupiter&#39;s gravitational field, Kaspi said. 
 
Jupiter, the fifth planet from the sun, dwarfs the solar system&#39;s other planets, measuring about 89,000 miles (143,000 km) in diameter at its equator, compared with Earth&#39;s diameter of about 8,000 miles (12,750 km). It is big enough that 1,300 Earths could fit inside it.

The research was published in the journal Nature.

Data from NASA's Juno spacecraft, orbiting the solar system's largest planet since 2016

The interior of Jupiter is just as intriguing as the planet's dazzling surface, with a swirling mixture of liquid hydrogen and helium at its centre, vast atmospheric jet streams and exotic gravitational properties, scientists said on Wednesday. Data from NASA's Juno spacecraft, orbiting the solar system's largest planet since 2016, is providing researchers with what they called unprecedented insight into Jupiter's internal dynamics and structure. Until now, scientists have had scant information about what lies below Jupiter's thick red, brown, yellow and white clouds. "Juno is designed to look beneath these clouds," said planetary science professor Yohai Kaspi of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, who led part of the research using Juno's new measurements of Jupiter's gravity. "On Jupiter, a gaseous planet without a solid surface, we can only gather information from orbit," added aerospace engineering professor Luciano Iess of the Sapienza University of Rome, who also led part of the research. Jupiter is a type of planet called a gas giant, as opposed to rocky planets like Earth and Mars, and its composition is 99 percent hydrogen and helium. Juno's data showed that as you go deeper under the surface, Jupiter's gas becomes ionized and eventually turns into a hot, dense metallic liquid. The scientists said Jupiter's jet streams, related to the familiar stripes on its surface, plunge some 1,800 miles (3,000 km) below cloud level, and that its deep interior is comprised of a fluid hydrogen and helium mixture that rotates as if it were a solid body. "The very centre may contain a core made of high-pressure and high-temperature rocks and perhaps water, but it is believed to be fluid as well, not solid," said planetary scientist Tristan Guillot of the Universite Cote d'Azur in Nice, another of the research leaders. Juno's data showed a small but significant asymmetry between the gravitational field of Jupiter's northern and southern hemispheres, driven by the immense jet streams. The deeper the jets streams go, the more mass they contain, exerting a strong effect on Jupiter's gravitational field, Kaspi said. Jupiter, the fifth planet from the sun, dwarfs the solar system's other planets, measuring about 89,000 miles (143,000 km) in diameter at its equator, compared with Earth's diameter of about 8,000 miles (12,750 km). It is big enough that 1,300 Earths could fit inside it. The research was published in the journal Nature.

NASA's Juno spacecraft strips Jupiter down to its underwear

India today reaffirmed its space prowess and commercial launch capabilities as it successfully <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/isros-pslv-c40-successfully-launches-31-satellites-29295" target="_blank">launched its 100th satellite </a>along with 30 other spacecraft including weather observation Cartosat 2 series onboard the Polar rocket from here.

Also read: <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/all-you-need-to-know-about-cartosat-2-series-satellite-launched-by-isro-today-29296" target="_blank">All you need to know about Cartosat-2 series satellite launched by ISRO today</a>

This was PSLV&#39;s longest-ever mission.

With the successful launch, including 28 satellites from foreign countries, by the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), ISRO put behind a rare failure it encountered four months ago.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) had suffered a setback after the failure of the earlier PSLV-C39 mission in August last year.

The previous mission to launch backup navigation satellite IRNSS-1H on board PSLV-C39 had failed after the heat shield did not separate in the final leg of the launch sequence, with the satellite getting stuck in the fourth stage of the rocket.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed ISRO scientists for the successful PSLV C-40 mission.

&quot;The launch of the 100th satellite by @isro signifies both its glorious achievements and also the bright future of India&#39;s space programme,&quot; he said a tweet.

A visibly relieved ISRO Chairman A S Kiran Kumar, on his final mission as the chief of the space agency, said he was happy to provide Cartosat 2 Series as a New Year gift for the country.

&quot;ISRO is starting 2018 with the successful launch... All satellites have been released. So far Cartosat performance is satisfactory,&quot; he said at the mission control room.

He said the previous launch faced a heat shield problem and an ISRO committee has addressed it and taken steps to ensure the vehicle was &#39;robust&#39;.

Today&#39;s mission marked a milestone in ISRO&#39;s annals with a microsatellite, among the three Indian spacecraft launched, becoming the 100th to roll out through ISRO Satellite Centre Complex (ISAC).

Besides ISRO&#39;s communication, weather observation, navigation and experimental spacecraft, the 100 satellites included nano and micro spacecraft made by educational institutions in the country, Kumar, who is retiring later this month, said.

&quot;Basically...The 100 satellites covers all student satellites also that have been put (by ISRO),&quot; he told reporters at the post-launch briefing.

Earlier, in a precise launch, PSLV-C40 lifted off at 9.28 am at the end of the 28-hour countdown from the first launch pad of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre here, about 110 km from Chennai, and soared into a cloudy sky.

After a perfect flight sequence, each of which was applauded by ISRO scientists, the four-stage rocket first injected the 710-kg Cartosat-2 Series Satellite for earth observation into 505-km polar sun-synchronous orbit about 17 minutes after liftoff.

India&#39;s nanosatellite and 28 payloads from six countries, including the US and the UK, totally weighing 613 kg were then released into orbit one by one in a space of about seven minutes.

In a multi-orbit manoeuvre, microsatellite built by ISRO was placed in the orbit finally after the PSLV-C40 was brought down to 359.584 km in polar Sun-synchronous orbit by twice re-starting the fourth stage of the rocket, about 105 minutes after lift-off.

The fourth stage was finally shut off at about 2 hours 21 minutes, thus making the mission the longest ever by ISRO.

A similar kind of process was taken up during the launch of SCATSAT-1 onboard PSLV-C35 in September 2016 in which the fourth stage engine was restarted and later cut off for launching the satellite.

This mission had lasted two hours and 15 minutes, ISRO scientists said.

Cartosat-2 Series is an advanced remote sensing satellite similar in configuration to earlier six spacecraft in the series and intended to augment data services to the users.

Its primary objective is to provide high-resolution scene-specific spot imageries that would help in urban and rural applications, coastal land use and regulation, road network monitoring, water distribution and geographical information system applications among others.

The 28 international customer satellites were launched as part of the commercial arrangements between ISRO and its commercial arm Antrix Corporation Ltd.

The co-passenger satellites include three micro and 25 nano-satellites from six countries -- Canada, Finland, France, Korea, the United Kingdom and US.

According to ISRO, the Cartosat-2 series satellite carries panchromatic and multi-spectral cameras operating in Time Delay Integration mode and is capable of delivering high-resolution data.

India today reaffirmed its space prowess and commercial launch capabilities as it successfully launched its 100th satellite along with 30 other spacecraft including weather observation Cartosat 2 series onboard the Polar rocket from Sriharikota

India today reaffirmed its space prowess and commercial launch capabilities as it successfully launched its 100th satellite along with 30 other spacecraft including weather observation Cartosat 2 series onboard the Polar rocket from here. Also read: All you need to know about Cartosat-2 series satellite launched by ISRO today This was PSLV's longest-ever mission. With the successful launch, including 28 satellites from foreign countries, by the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), ISRO put behind a rare failure it encountered four months ago. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) had suffered a setback after the failure of the earlier PSLV-C39 mission in August last year. The previous mission to launch backup navigation satellite IRNSS-1H on board PSLV-C39 had failed after the heat shield did not separate in the final leg of the launch sequence, with the satellite getting stuck in the fourth stage of the rocket. Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed ISRO scientists for the successful PSLV C-40 mission. "The launch of the 100th satellite by @isro signifies both its glorious achievements and also the bright future of India's space programme," he said a tweet. A visibly relieved ISRO Chairman A S Kiran Kumar, on his final mission as the chief of the space agency, said he was happy to provide Cartosat 2 Series as a New Year gift for the country. "ISRO is starting 2018 with the successful launch... All satellites have been released. So far Cartosat performance is satisfactory," he said at the mission control room. He said the previous launch faced a heat shield problem and an ISRO committee has addressed it and taken steps to ensure the vehicle was 'robust'. Today's mission marked a milestone in ISRO's annals with a microsatellite, among the three Indian spacecraft launched, becoming the 100th to roll out through ISRO Satellite Centre Complex (ISAC). Besides ISRO's communication, weather observation, navigation and experimental spacecraft, the 100 satellites included nano and micro spacecraft made by educational institutions in the country, Kumar, who is retiring later this month, said. "Basically...The 100 satellites covers all student satellites also that have been put (by ISRO)," he told reporters at the post-launch briefing. Earlier, in a precise launch, PSLV-C40 lifted off at 9.28 am at the end of the 28-hour countdown from the first launch pad of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre here, about 110 km from Chennai, and soared into a cloudy sky. After a perfect flight sequence, each of which was applauded by ISRO scientists, the four-stage rocket first injected the 710-kg Cartosat-2 Series Satellite for earth observation into 505-km polar sun-synchronous orbit about 17 minutes after liftoff. India's nanosatellite and 28 payloads from six countries, including the US and the UK, totally weighing 613 kg were then released into orbit one by one in a space of about seven minutes. In a multi-orbit manoeuvre, microsatellite built by ISRO was placed in the orbit finally after the PSLV-C40 was brought down to 359.584 km in polar Sun-synchronous orbit by twice re-starting the fourth stage of the rocket, about 105 minutes after lift-off. The fourth stage was finally shut off at about 2 hours 21 minutes, thus making the mission the longest ever by ISRO. A similar kind of process was taken up during the launch of SCATSAT-1 onboard PSLV-C35 in September 2016 in which the fourth stage engine was restarted and later cut off for launching the satellite. This mission had lasted two hours and 15 minutes, ISRO scientists said. Cartosat-2 Series is an advanced remote sensing satellite similar in configuration to earlier six spacecraft in the series and intended to augment data services to the users. Its primary objective is to provide high-resolution scene-specific spot imageries that would help in urban and rural applications, coastal land use and regulation, road network monitoring, water distribution and geographical information system applications among others. The 28 international customer satellites were launched as part of the commercial arrangements between ISRO and its commercial arm Antrix Corporation Ltd. The co-passenger satellites include three micro and 25 nano-satellites from six countries -- Canada, Finland, France, Korea, the United Kingdom and US. According to ISRO, the Cartosat-2 series satellite carries panchromatic and multi-spectral cameras operating in Time Delay Integration mode and is capable of delivering high-resolution data.

India sends its 100th satellite into space to watch borders

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			<td colspan="2">Europe&#39;s Rosetta spacecraft, due to switch off on Friday (September 30) after a 12-year odyssey, carried eleven scientific instruments to sniff, smell and photograph a comet from all angles. 
			 
			After arriving in orbit around comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, it launched Philae, a separate lander, which had another ten hi-tech gadgets, including a drill that never deployed, but also cameras, X-ray scans and radio wave probes. 
			 
			Together, the robot explorers have advanced our understanding of comets, of which there are billions, believed to be leftovers from the birth of our Solar System some 4.6 billion years ago. 
			 
			&quot;Nobody had any idea comets can be so weird until Rosetta got there,&quot; said Fabio Favata of the European Space Agency`s (ESA) robotic exploration directorate. 
			 
			67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko is currently 710 million kilometres (440 million miles) from Earth. 
			What the mission found:&nbsp; 
			 
			Expecting to encounter something roughly the shape of an American football, scientists were flabbergasted to observe through Rosetta`s cameras that 67P resembled a rubber bath duck with a distinct &quot;body&quot; and &quot;head&quot;, and a crack through its &quot;neck&quot;. 
			 
			Some scientists have since postulated that this shape was not created by erosion, but a low-velocity impact billions of years ago between two objects which fused. 
			 
			This all suggests the comet was formed in a young, outer part of our Solar System that was much less densely packed with bodies than previously thought.&nbsp; 
			 
			If not, 67P &quot;is so fragile it should have been clobbered by something else and broken apart,&quot; ESA senior science advisor Mark McCaughrean told AFP. 
			 
			This affects our understanding of planetary formation, thought to have happened when ice and dust debris, swirling around in a proto-planetary disk around an infant Sun, collided and stuck together, growing bigger and bigger over time.&nbsp; 
			 
			The comet&#39;s surface was another surprise. 
			 
			It was less &quot;fluffy&quot; and much harder than expected, which contributed to Philae bouncing several times after its harpoons failed to fire on landing. 
			 
			The comet had much less water ice than thought, was littered with pebbles and rocks ranging in size from a few centimetres (inches) across to five metres (18 feet), and pocked with deep craters. The surface is rendered super-dark and non-reflective by a thin layer of dust. 
			 
			Scientists were astonished to find oxygen molecules in the gassy halo around the comet, and said they appeared to be older than our Solar System.&nbsp; 
			 
			Scientific models had previously calculated that oxygen as a molecular compound on its own would not have existed at the time the comet was formed, as it would have bound with other elements like hydrogen. 
			 
			So, how the comet got its oxygen remains a mystery. 
			 
			67P has organic molecules, many different ones -- including amino acids which are the building blocks of life as we know it.&nbsp; 
			 
			This discovery supports the hypothesis that comets may very well have helped spark life on Earth by delivering organic materials when they slammed into a young planet that was basically molten iron. 
			 
			Water, on the other hand, is unlikely to have come from comets of 67P&#39;s type, the mission found. 
			 
			The water on Rosetta is of a very different &quot;flavour&quot; than that on our planet, with three times more deuterium, a heavy hydrogen isotope. 
			 
			Analysing the comet&#39;s chemical signature, Rosetta scientists concluded it probably smells like a noxious mix of rotten eggs, horse urine, alcohol and bitter almonds. 
			 
			&quot;If you could smell the comet, you would probably wish that you hadn&#39;t,&quot; the ESA team said at the time. 
			 
			Philae&#39;s magnetometer found that, surprisingly, 67P has no measurable magnetic field -- throwing into question another key theory on the formation of solar system bodies.&nbsp; 
			 
			It implied that magnetism played no part in debris in the early Solar System clumping together to form planets, comets, asteroids and moons. 
			Scientists expect that the data extracted by Philae and Rosetta will keep them busy for decades to come. 
			 
			&quot;The metaphor I used at the beginning, was Rosetta would be the key that would unlock the treasure chest to the secrets of the Solar System. I think... we found the key, it&#39;s on the floor and it&#39;s in pieces. We need to assemble the key first before we can unlock the treasure chest,&quot; said McCaughrean. 
			 
			(AFP)</td>
		</tr>
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Rosetta's findings were a breakthrough in the understanding of planetary formation

Europe's Rosetta spacecraft, due to switch off on Friday (September 30) after a 12-year odyssey, carried eleven scientific instruments to sniff, smell and photograph a comet from all angles. After arriving in orbit around comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, it launched Philae, a separate lander, which had another ten hi-tech gadgets, including a drill that never deployed, but also cameras, X-ray scans and radio wave probes. Together, the robot explorers have advanced our understanding of comets, of which there are billions, believed to be leftovers from the birth of our Solar System some 4.6 billion years ago. "Nobody had any idea comets can be so weird until Rosetta got there," said Fabio Favata of the European Space Agency`s (ESA) robotic exploration directorate. 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko is currently 710 million kilometres (440 million miles) from Earth. What the mission found: Expecting to encounter something roughly the shape of an American football, scientists were flabbergasted to observe through Rosetta`s cameras that 67P resembled a rubber bath duck with a distinct "body" and "head", and a crack through its "neck". Some scientists have since postulated that this shape was not created by erosion, but a low-velocity impact billions of years ago between two objects which fused. This all suggests the comet was formed in a young, outer part of our Solar System that was much less densely packed with bodies than previously thought. If not, 67P "is so fragile it should have been clobbered by something else and broken apart," ESA senior science advisor Mark McCaughrean told AFP. This affects our understanding of planetary formation, thought to have happened when ice and dust debris, swirling around in a proto-planetary disk around an infant Sun, collided and stuck together, growing bigger and bigger over time. The comet's surface was another surprise. It was less "fluffy" and much harder than expected, which contributed to Philae bouncing several times after its harpoons failed to fire on landing. The comet had much less water ice than thought, was littered with pebbles and rocks ranging in size from a few centimetres (inches) across to five metres (18 feet), and pocked with deep craters. The surface is rendered super-dark and non-reflective by a thin layer of dust. Scientists were astonished to find oxygen molecules in the gassy halo around the comet, and said they appeared to be older than our Solar System. Scientific models had previously calculated that oxygen as a molecular compound on its own would not have existed at the time the comet was formed, as it would have bound with other elements like hydrogen. So, how the comet got its oxygen remains a mystery. 67P has organic molecules, many different ones -- including amino acids which are the building blocks of life as we know it. This discovery supports the hypothesis that comets may very well have helped spark life on Earth by delivering organic materials when they slammed into a young planet that was basically molten iron. Water, on the other hand, is unlikely to have come from comets of 67P's type, the mission found. The water on Rosetta is of a very different "flavour" than that on our planet, with three times more deuterium, a heavy hydrogen isotope. Analysing the comet's chemical signature, Rosetta scientists concluded it probably smells like a noxious mix of rotten eggs, horse urine, alcohol and bitter almonds. "If you could smell the comet, you would probably wish that you hadn't," the ESA team said at the time. Philae's magnetometer found that, surprisingly, 67P has no measurable magnetic field -- throwing into question another key theory on the formation of solar system bodies. It implied that magnetism played no part in debris in the early Solar System clumping together to form planets, comets, asteroids and moons. Scientists expect that the data extracted by Philae and Rosetta will keep them busy for decades to come. "The metaphor I used at the beginning, was Rosetta would be the key that would unlock the treasure chest to the secrets of the Solar System. I think... we found the key, it's on the floor and it's in pieces. We need to assemble the key first before we can unlock the treasure chest," said McCaughrean. (AFP)

Rosetta's 12-year odyssey: What did it find?

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