ScienceCasts: How to Land on a Comet

The European Space Agency's Rosetta spacecraft is about to attempt something "ridiculously difficult" - landing a probe on the surface of a speeding comet.

[dcssteve]

I have followed this project for a while. It is fantastically difficult to land the probe but  Rosetta has already achieved the very difficult because orbiting this comet was far more difficult than orbiting, say Mars or Venus.  Comets may hold a key to the evolution of the earth, so landing and taking samples is extremely significant. The last Mars lander was very impressive with the landing sequence that, at first seemed impossible and bizarre. This one is also far out but highly inspiring.

I have read the comments below and have to admit that dumbing this great presentation down with imperial units and speeding bullets diminishes a little but hats off to the goals and science behind Rosetta and my best hope for success.

[titchglover]

Hope everything goes well, and as planned today!
Good luck!

[webbhk]

"The comet will be moving 40 times faster than a speeding bullet". I will now attempt to walk down the street while hurtling around the sun at 108, 000 km/h - the speed of Earth around the sun. Sometimes NASA exaggerates difficulty by referring to velocity relative to a third object rather than relative velocity between the two objects. This project is very impressive already - no need to exaggerate. The probe has already matched the comet's orbit around the sun.

[hunakosdem]

Rriddddicolously bombastic voiceover. Thanks NASA.
Also, skip to 3:11 to see the animation answering to video title.
ScienceCasts: How to Land on a Comet

[seeingatruth]

OH whew! And here I was going to launch my ship toward the sun for the gravitational whip, good thing this video set me straight! 

[lightsidemaster]

Ridiculously difficult: Hitting the exaust port of the Death Star with a proton torpedo while evading turbo laser towers and tie fighters.
Though it's another story with the force as ally...

[NicosMind]

The comet is obviously gonna have very little gravity of which to attract and hold the lander in place. Hence why it has ice harpoons on it to hold it in place (but it looks like those ice harpoons have rocks to stab). So ive heard it likened to trying to keep yourself from floating off into space when doing repairs on the ISS. However the ISS has handles all over it. Rosetta doesn't.

[creamone]

It doesn't look like it was easy because the lander had a few clinches but history has been made. Let's just hope that the lander is secure and the science instruments work. 

[jdgrahamo]

I sincerely hope that it goes according to plan -- i don't think I'll be around for another attempt.

[Sanif]

hope this goes well and the information comes home to earth it might help in the futuer

[ChrisMarshallUS]

Let's not forget about the numerous landings back on Earth those are just as difficult.

[rafaelbarababosa]

Lo importante, no es posarse sobre un cometa, lo que importa es posarse y despegar con muestras de la superficie del Cometa y traerlas analizar  

[Opdehoede]

Well, I think its an improvement that they are not talking about landing on a dirty snownall now.

[AlohaMilton]

Having done a few hundred landing in the game Kerbal Space Program on various bodies, YIKES!  This looks nuts, to land on a spinning object without a sufficient gravity field to maintain a relative position.  Edit: mkay my bad, enough gravity to maintain a relative position on the plane of rotation.  Slightly less scary, but still impressive.

[konzeptzwei]

i wonder how fast the comet is rotating?

[icicle]

One black diamond? Two black diamonds? No, we're going TEN FREAKING BLACK DIAMONDS!!

[lcs]

As usual the narrator makes the mistake of stating the velocity of the comet (40 times faster than a speeding bullet) as if that makes any difference to the difficulty of the task. The lander is gravitationally bound to the comet, they are moving together at 40 times a bullet's speed. 

[Kalepherion]

I hope they accounted for strong Electrical discharge as landing occurs. 

[emeraldone]

Philae  Island  back together with Agilkia ,   in space !  wonder when buildings will form.

[swift-cut]

mmmm and I have a vision now, I'm seeing the future ... breaking news!! comet is a rocky body, no ice has been found.