by Playfuls Staff |
27th February 2007
The European Space Agency's Rosetta spacecraft completed a swing-by of Mars last weekend, marking a milestone on [more] its 4.4 billion-mile journey.
The spacecraft came within 155 miles of Mars early Sunday as it gained a critical gravity assist from the red planet, helping it change direction on its complex path to comet Churyumov Gerasimenko.
"Rosetta has provided some amazing images of Mars from a completely different perspective," said Keith Mason of Britain's Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council. "Data gathered during the swing-by will complement that collected by other current missions enabling us to build up a comprehensive picture of the make up of Mars."
The Paris-based ESA said Rosetta is now moving toward Earth, its next destination planet, whose gravitational energy Rosetta will exploit in November to gain acceleration and continue its 10-year journey to the comet that it will reach in 2014.
© 2007 UPI
