Rosetta was a European Space Agency probe sent to study comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, and it was named after the Rosetta Stone, whose inscriptions unlocked Egyptian hieroglyphs. Launched on an Ariane 5 rocket from French Guiana, it needed a decade-long journey with gravity-assist flybys of Earth and Mars, and it passed the asteroids Steins and Lutetia on its way. In 2014 it became the first spacecraft to orbit a comet, and its lander Philae made the first soft landing on a comet nucleus, bouncing before coming to rest in shadow. Rosetta followed the comet around the Sun and ended its mission in 2016 with a controlled descent onto the surface.
Before and after
- 4 February 2004Founding of Facebook
- 10 February 2004Release of Flickr
- 28 February 2004Creation of Deepin
- 2 March 2004Launch of Philae
- 2 March 2004Launch of Rosetta
- 11 March 20042004 Madrid train bombings
- 16 March 2004Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
- April 2004Carbon dioxide passes 380 ppm at Mauna Loa
- 31 May 2004Premiere of Peppa Pig
More in Universe & space
- 16 February 1948Discovery of Miranda
- 5 September 1977Launch of Voyager 1
- 4 March 1979Discovery of Metis
- 5 March 1979Discovery of Thebe
- 8 July 1979Discovery of Adrastea
- 16 June 1989Discovery of Proteus
The era
This moment belongs to the Contemporary world (1945 CE to today), the world since 1945. You can also browse everything in the 21st century.