Math in Minute: Comet c-g edition

Mission Explained

philea Landing inNumbers

In this section you will find many different facts about the landing of Philea on the comet. Use these numbers for problem solving activities, estimation situations and calculation scenarios.

On Wednesday, November 12th, an unmanned spacecraft made history by landing perfectly on its target - a speeding comet that lies at a distance of 310 million miles from earth.The comet is speeding through space at 41,000 miles per hour!

The picture perfect landing on the Space rock that measures 4 kilometers or 2.5 miles in diameter.

Philae's battery was only equipped with enough power to last 64 hours - ample time for its solar panel to get exposure to the sun and help it recharge.

Launched in 2004, Rosetta had to revolve around Earth thrice and Mars once, before it could gain enough speed and momentum to chase down the comet.

By early Saturday, the historical lander lost all contact with its human creators.

Philae provided data from a complex experiment that involved drilling a 25-centimeter hole in the comet's surface and extracting a sample for analysis.

In 2016, NASA plans to launch a spacecraft that will zip close to an asteroid in a speedy quick three years. However, instead of landing, it will simply extend out its robotic arm, pluck a piece of the rock, and bring it back to Earth for scientists to examine.

President Obama has officially challenged NASA to send humans to an asteroid by 2025, and to Mars by the mid-2030s.