text: Esa’s Rosetta spacecraft has survived a hair-raising encounter with comet 67P after the probe ran into difficulties during a recent flyby. On Saturday the spacecraft had dipped to within nine miles (14km) of the surface to take a closer look at the jets that are being ejected from its surface. But during the manoeuvre, Rosetta lost sense of where it was due to the amount of dust and gas and was placed into ‘safe mode’, causing it to momentarily lose contact with Earth. The European Space Agency's Rosetta spacecraft (illustrated) has survived a hair-raising encounter with comet 67P after the probe ran into difficulties during a recent flyby. Rosetta launched into space in 2004 and entered orbit around 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in August 2014 . ‘Not the best month to choose to go dry…’ Rosetta project scientist Dr Matt Taylor quipped on Twitter, as the team back on Earth sweated over the safety of the spacecraft. The problems arose due to Rosetta’s limited vision owing to the amount of material it was flying through. The spacecraft uses two star trackers to work out where it is in space, in addition to a sun sensor, navigation cameras and three laser gyroscopes. Crucially, the star trackers allow Rosetta to know where it is with respect to the sun and Earth, so it can correctly orient its antenna to send and receive signals from ground stations on our planet. The Rosetta probe, which was carrying Philae, launched into space in 2004, using the gravity of Earth and Mars to slingshot its way towards comet 67P. It chased comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko through space for more than ten years, and entered orbit in August 2014. After a four billion mile (6.5 billion km) journey, the probe then successfully released the Philae lander from its grip to land on the comet on 12 November 2014, travelling at 3.3ft (one metre) per second relative to the comet. But when it first made contact with the surface it failed to fire harpoons that would have kept it attached to the comet. This resulted in it bouncing to a height of 0.62 miles (1km) above the comet before again landing on the surface. It then bounced again, but to a much lower altitude. Philae managed to perform more than 90 per cent of its goals before running out of power. Rosetta, meanwhile, is continuing to orbit and study the comet. From data collected by the two proves, Esa said that water on the comet was different to that on Earth - suggesting water on our world came from an asteroid, not a comet. When the star trackers are not working properly, the antenna  drifts, causing communications to be temporarily lost. And during the recent flyby, the spacecraft started to mistake comet debris for stars, causing it to lose sight of Earth. The spacecraft autonomously attempted to readjust itself but struggled due to its close proximity to comet 67P. Esa said that ‘hundreds of “false stars” were registered’ and it took nearly 24 hours before the spacecraft could properly start tracking again. During this dramatic event, the antenna had become mis-aligned with Earth, so that only a very weak radio signal was being received. Once the tracking system was restored, the off-pointing was immediately correct and the operations team on the ground saw a return to full signal strength. Some issues with ‘false stars’ were still occurring, though, and attempts to eradicate them caused the same problem to occur. This time, the spacecraft but itself into ‘safe mode’ to preserve its safety, during which it switched off its science instruments to replace them. Esa said it took until Monday to get the spacecraft back into ‘normal’ status. On whether the problem could cause Rosetta to lose permanent contact with Earth if it happened again, Dr Taylor told MailOnline that they were 'looking at ways to minimise this from happening.' ‘Plans for the future are being discussed now,’ he added. He also said they had been ‘flying at a very low relative velocity to the comet to reduce the chance’ of any lasting damage being caused by debris. The spacecraft is now performing a wide sweep around the comet, giving engineers ample time to make sure the problem does not occur again. 'We are looking to examine the best way to mitigate the chance of re-occurrence,' said Dr Taylor. The spacecraft completed a manoeuvre yesterday that will bring it from about 250 miles (400km) of the comet to within 90 miles (140km) by Wednesday next week. The spacecraft uses two star trackers (shown in red) to work out where it is in space, in addition to a sun sensor, navigation cameras and three laser gyroscopes. The star trackers allow Rosetta to know where it is with respect to Earth, so it can send and receive signals. The high gain antenna is in the background . Rosetta was tasked with studying the jets coming from its surface (shown in image). It is hoped that continuing studies like this could reveal what the comet's interior is composed of - but engineers will be hoping that this 'false stars' anomaly does not occur again . This diagram shows an example of Rosetta's recent flyby trajectories at Comet 67P. The spacecraft completed a manoeuvre yesterday that will bring it from about 250 miles (400km) of the comet to within 90 miles (140km) by Wednesday next week . The purpose of flying in so close is to examine 67P's geysers. These jets are formed when ice on the surface sublimates - or vapourises - and they become more active as the comet approaches the sun. It is getting closer and closer over the next few months, with its point of closest approach taking place in August. As it becomes more active, Rosetta has a fantastic opportunity to sweep through the increasingly large jets and gather data. Studying the jets could reveal vital data on how gas and dust flows out from the surface, and it could also reveal the connection between the comet’s atmosphere - its coma - and the surface. Despite the drama, Esa was still able to release some amazing images recently taken by Rosetta. This stunning scene was created from two Rosetta frames acquired at 12 miles (19.9 km) from the comet centre on 28 March. The scale is about 1.7 m/pixel and the image measures 3.1 x 1.7 km . The latest images include ones of Earth and Mars which were taken when the probe was attempting ‘gravity assist manoeuvres’ in which it used other planets to slingshot its way towards the comet. Pictured is Mars as seen by Rosetta in 2007 . As the comet gets closer to the sun, scientists will also be hoping to hear from the Philae lander on the surface. The washing machine-sized Philae probe gripped the imaginations of the world when it landed on comet 67P on 12 November 2014. But after making two unscheduled bounces on the surface, the probe landed in an unknown location and ran out of power. Now, as the comet approaches the sun, it is hoped that solar rays will recharge Philae’s batteries and bring it back to life. As the comet approaches the sun, it is hoped that solar rays will recharge Philae’s batteries and bring it back to life. Shown is one of the first images returned by Philae on the surface, showing what appears to be the probe on its side wedged in darkness against a cliff .
target: Esa's Rosetta spacecraft temporarily lost contact with Earth .
  The problem occurred when flying just nine miles above comet 67P .
  Comet debris caused the probe to lose track of its position in space .
  But after a nervy 24 hours, engineers successfully made contact again .