The historic encounter is scheduled for September 5, 2008, during the encounter the European spacecraft will study the asteroid closely and provide a wealth of images and scientific data
Using optical and infrared cameras (OSIRIS) will allow it to photograph the asteroid up close and the doors of the European Space Agency in Germany will open to journalists at 18:00 on September 5.
The asteroid Steins is Rosetta's first mission. This is the spacecraft's first encounter during its entry into the asteroid belt located between Mars and Jupiter. Rosetta's final destination is comet 67/P Churyomov-Grasminenko.
The study of asteroids in general and the asteroid belt in particular is very important for understanding the composition of the solar system and its development. The asteroids contain materials from different periods during the evolution of the solar system and hence the importance of their research.
The closest flyby to Steins will occur on September 5 at 20:58 (CEST) at a distance of 800 km, during which the spacecraft will not transmit information to Earth. The first images and the first information will be received during the night between September 5 and 6 and will undergo initial processing on the morning of September 6. The images will be available to the general public in a presentation to be shown at 12:00 (CEST) during a press conference.
Rosetta will remain in the asteroid's vicinity for a month, during which it will transmit scientific data to Earth. The data will help scientists optimize the orbit and speed of the asteroid, reducing the deviation from 100 km to only 2 km.
For the announcement on the European Space Agency website
For previous articles on the subject on the science website:
