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Getting ready for a probe to land on a comet!:

Getting ready for a probe to land on a comet!:

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Fast and Curious

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http://phys.org/news/2014-01-rosetta-sprint-comet.html

Started 10 years ago, just now waking up from a long voyage, and it did wake up after getting a signal from Earth.

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Originally posted by sonhouse
http://phys.org/news/2014-01-rosetta-sprint-comet.html

Started 10 years ago, just now waking up from a long voyage, and it did wake up after getting a signal from Earth.
Does anyone know the procedure for landing on a comet (which doesn't have much gravity)? I found some vague references to harpoons and ice screws. I'm guessing maybe the probe harpoons the comet and reels itself in, then screws itself to the comet?

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Originally posted by PatNovak
Does anyone know the procedure for landing on a comet (which doesn't have much gravity)? I found some vague references to harpoons and ice screws. I'm guessing maybe the probe harpoons the comet and reels itself in, then screws itself to the comet?
It would have to be something like that since it would probably weigh about 1 gram on the surface. If it didn't do something like that, it would just bounce off.

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