Kalim Churyomov in an interview with the scientist website: "I am happy that the European Space Agency chose a comet that I co-discovered as a target for the spacecraft"

Earlier, being on stage, Churyumov said that astronomy is one of the most important sciences, both because thanks to it we have the calendar and the clock, but also for the future, for the era when we can utilize resources of other objects in the solar system - the moon, asteroids and comets

Kalim Ivanovich Churiomov was very impressed by the commotion around him. He is now retired, but continues to run a small planet laboratory at Kyiv University and is also the director of the Kyiv Planetarium, and a proud Ukrainian. We bring the things he said on the stage of the event hall of the European Space Agency in Darmstadt, and in addition, I managed to interview him for a short interview with the help of an interpreter into the Ukrainian language.

"Today is a great day for comet science and science in general and will even go down in the history of human civilization. The comet is the nucleus of which we have all seen. Rosetta's maneuvers were a lesson in celestial mechanics. We (Churyumov and his colleague Svetlana Gramisenko) discovered the comet 45 years ago when we participated in an astronomical expedition of Kyiv University to Alma-Ata (which was the capital of Kazakhstan AB). I was the leader of the expedition and Svetlana Grasimenko (pronounced Grasimenko) was an undergraduate student. Our teacher was a famous astronomer Prof. Sergej Konstantinovich Vsekhsvyatskij. Using the Miniscus telescope, we observed a number of comets belonging mainly to the family of comets of Jupiter. In five photographic plates that we prepared during the observation in which Comet Comsula was visible, we accidentally discovered a new object. Since we located its exact location, we sent the coordinates to the Central Astronomical Committee to Prof. Merdel. Five positions in successive photographs are enough to determine the exact route. About a month later, he was discovered in the place predicted for him according to the calculations. It was confirmed as a new comet, and as usual in this case it is named after the discoverers Churyumov-Garasimenko and its serial number 67P."

Why do you think space science and astronomy in particular are important to human society?
"Astronomy is the most important science for human civilization. Astronomy brought us the calendar, the calculations of time, what is our part in the universe. In the future, when we will not have enough oil (for a moment he did not remember the word OIL in English and said in Russian ... oil). And the other resources, we can find the missing resources in space. We will use the space resources - asteroids, comets, the moon and the various minerals. The comets will play a very important role in saving humanity from a lack of resources."

In a short interview for the science website, we ask Churyumov what it is like to be a partner in the discovery of a comet that is now the comet about which the knowledge is the most detailed?
"It is a great joy for me as the discoverer of the comet. Me and my partner in the discovery of the comet, that the comet we discovered aroused interest and is now known for its details. I am glad that the European Space Agency has chosen it as the main target. We celebrate the discoveries and are happy that we contributed to human knowledge."

What would you say to young astronomers who are looking for their future in the field?
I wish young astronomers - amateurs and professionals many years of enjoyment and discoveries, and I want to thank everyone who worked with me and everyone who worked to reach the comet."

What is the status of the space program in Ukraine today?
After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Ukraine inherited ten astronomical observatories as well as a launcher industry mainly in the southern city of Dnipropetrovsk. Our missiles are very successful. But government support is currently very limited. I hope that there will be peace, prosperity and freedom and then Ukraine will be able to prosper in space as well.

Churyumov's partner in the discovery of the comet, Svetlana Grasimenko, was in the control room of the Philae lander in Cologne, Germany, and in an interview with the European Space Agency's television, she said that the discovery of the comet did not change her life or career because she had wanted to be an astronomer even before. She also added in response to the moderator's question what her reaction was to the appearance of the comet as revealed when Rosetta came close to it in August 2014 that the comet looked to her like a boot.

Landing on the comet - special coverage on the Hidan website

• The wisdom of the crowds helped discover the jump of the Philae lander and its final landing place on the comet
• Philae completed her initial mission and went into forced hibernation
• Philae landed on her side, still sending impressive pictures
• Philae settled on a rocky surface but did not anchor to the ground of the comet
• Assessment as to the cause of the disruptions: Philae landed, then took off again and landed at a different point

• ESOC director Paolo Perry in an interview with the science website: Rosetta is not a typical space mission

• European Space Agency control room director: "Philae on the comet" Update: apparently the anchors did not stick to the ground

• The European Space Agency has revealed the photograph of Philae's farewell to Rosetta before landing on the comet

• Update: A signal was received from the lander. The director of the landing operation of the Philae spacecraft to the science site: one of the gas tanks intended to assist in the landing did not open, but we are sure that the landing on the comet will be smooth

Later we will bring additional interviews that we conducted during the events of the landing on the comet at the control center of the European Space Agency in Darmstadt.