Planetary Society logo
  • “Exploration is in our nature.” - Carl Sagan

Bruce Murray Space Image Library

Rosetta OSIRIS context view of Philae's landing site

Rosetta OSIRIS context view of Philae's landing site
Rosetta OSIRIS context view of Philae's landing site Rosetta took the two images for this wide view of Philae's future landing site on September 14, 2014, from a height of 30 kilometers. The image scale is about half a meter per pixel. The center of the landing site is marked with a small "+", but the lander could fall nearly anywhere in this image. An annotated version showing the full landing site circled is here, and an unannotated version is here. ESA / Rosetta / DLR / MPS for OSIRIS Team MPS / UPD / LAM / IAA / SSO / INTA / UPM / DASP / IDA

Here are a few detail views from the mosaic:

Detailed views from Rosetta OSIRIS mosaic of Philae landing site
Detailed views from Rosetta OSIRIS mosaic of Philae landing site Each of these squares covers an area about 128 meters across. Upper left: scary boulders. Upper right: scary scarps. Second row: gullies, signs of mass wasting. Third row, left: an interesting "elephant skin" texture. Third row, right: pitting (usually a sign of volatile material escaping from below). Bottom row, left: fractures. Bottom row, right: the center of the landing area.Image: ESA / Rosetta / MPS for OSIRIS-Team MPS / UPD / LAM / IAA / SSO / INTA / UPM / DASP / IDA

"We're changing the world. Are you in?"
- CEO Bill Nye

Sign up for email updates