N° 32–2014: Call for Media: Opportunities to follow Rosetta mission’s historic comet landing
16 October 2014
Members of the media are invited to attend events being held by ESA and the German and French space agencies on the occasion of the first ever attempt at landing on a comet.
ESA’s Rosetta spacecraft arrived at Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko on 6 August after a ten-year journey through the Solar System. The landing site, currently known as Site J and located on the smaller of the comet’s two ‘lobes’, was selected just six weeks after Rosetta arrived at the comet.
The mission’s lander, Philae, will be deployed on 12 November at 08:35 GMT/09:35 CET from a distance of 22.5 km from the centre of the comet. It will land about seven hours later, with confirmation expected to arrive at Earth at around 16:00 GMT/17:00 CET.
Three control centres are involved in the landing: the Rosetta Mission Operations Centre at ESA’s Space Operations Centre (ESOC) in Darmstadt, Germany; the Lander Control Centre at DLR in Cologne, Germany; and the Lander Science Operations and Navigation Centre at CNES in Toulouse, France. The activities at each control centre will be closely linked and will be featured in a combined English-language ESA TV programme broadcast from ESOC, with live updates transmitted from all three control centres.
Three main media events will be organised. The international media event will take place at ESA’s Rosetta Mission Operations Centre (ESOC) in Darmstadt. National media events will be organised by CNES at the Cité des Sciences in Paris, and by DLR at the Philae Lander Control Centre in Cologne, Germany.
Press briefings and/or live ESA TV transmissions are planned throughout the week of 10 November to provide status reports on Rosetta and its lander, outcomes of the key Go/No-Go decisions in the lead up to separation, and progress as Philae descends towards the comet. The latest science results from the mission will also be presented and there will be opportunities to interview scientists and engineers working on the mission.
(Times below are in CET and programme outlines are subject to change)
CNES event at Cité des Sciences, Paris, France
12 November
15:00 Doors open
15:30–17:30 Landing, official statements and reactions
21:00 Press centre closes
DLR event at Philae Lander Control Centre, Cologne, Germany
12 November
12:00 Doors open
12:15–15:30 Lectures on Philae and interview opportunities
15:30–17:30 Landing (confirmation expected at around 17:00), official statements and reactions, interview opportunities
19:00 Presentation of first images from the surface
20:00 Press centre closes
13 November
14:00 Media update on first science observations
ESA event at ESOC, Darmstadt, Germany
10 November
15:00 Media update (tbc)
11 November
10:00 Media update (tbc)
20:30 Media update
12 November
06:00 Doors open
07:15 Media updates begin; wrap-up of night operations
10:03 Confirmation of lander separation
13:15–15:00 Lunch and interview opportunities
15:00–17:30 Landing (confirmation expected at around 17:00), official statements and reactions
19:00 Presentation of first images from the surface
00:00 Press centre closes
13 November
14:00 Media update on first science observations
14 November
Media update (TBC)
Media applications
Please apply before 22:59 GMT/23:59 CET on 26 October, indicating your preferred location at: https://fs30.formsite.com/Rosetta2014/application/
Given the expected high demand and limits owing to logistical, security and health and safety constraints at each site, it is possible that not all applications will be successful. Applicants will be informed whether they have been successful or not on 30 October.
Live coverage of the key Go/No-Go decisions during the night of 11–12 November and of events through the day on 12 November will be provided by ESA TV, on the homepages of all partners and on Twitter (#CometLanding). Press briefings each day either side of landing day will also be streamed live on the Internet at www.esa.int/rosetta and www.dlr.de
For further information, please contact:
Cité des Sciences, Paris, France
CNES Media
Email: cnes-presse@cnes.fr
Tel: + 33 1 44 76 76 88
Philae Lander Control Centre, Cologne, Germany
DLR
Email: presse@dlr.de
ESOC, Rosetta Mission Operations Centre, Darmstadt, Germany
ESA Corporate Communications Office
ESOC
Tel : +49 6151 902516
Email: esoc.communication@esa.int