31 DÉC. 2003
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2004: On 11 March 2004, the Rosetta Science Working Team made the final selection of the asteroids that ESA's Rosetta will observe at close quarters during its journey to Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.
Steins and Lutetia lie in the asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.
Rosetta's scientific goals always included the possibility of studying one or more asteroids from close range. However, only after Rosetta's launch and its insertion into interplanetary orbit could the ESA mission managers assess how much fuel was actually available for fly-bys.
Information from the European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) in Germany enabled Rosetta's Science Working Team to select a pair of asteroids of high scientific interest, well within the fuel budget.
Modal média
30 March
239 BC: On 30 March 239 BC, the first recorded passage of Halley's Comet was observed by Chinese astronomers in the Shih Chi and Wen Hsien Thung Khao chronicles.
29 March
1974: On 29 March 1974, the first probe to Mercury, Mariner 10, arrived at the planet.
28 March
1807: On 28 March 1807, Vesta 4, the only asteroid visible to the naked eye, thus the brightest on record, was first observed by the German astronomer Heinrich Wilhelm Olbers.
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