On November 12, 2014, Philae will land (or not!) on the Churyumov-Gerasimenko comet! Also known as “67p” or its nickname “TCHOURI”.
The Rosetta mission started 10 years ago by the European Spatial Agency (ESA), went through more than 6 billions kilometers, and Rosetta engineers will hope to make space history by landing the “Philae” robot on the surface of this icy comet for the first time, the comet being about 2.4 miles (4km) wide. You can follow the latest news on the ESA website, this a real challenge, a world first!
Thanks to many photos took by the Rosetta cameras while in orbit around the comet, a 3D model of the comet has been reconstructed based on images from the OSIRIS and NAVCAM cameras.
Because roughly 30% of the ‘dark side’ of 67P/C-G has not been resolved and analysed fully yet, the shape model is very incomplete over those regions. As a result, some of the derived parameters for the comet are only best estimates at present.
3DS Fablab worked hard to create 3D Printed parts from the 3D model generated from photos, and for this special event, hosted by “La cité des Sciences” in Paris, in which 3D prints will be offered to VIPs invited to witness this unique event live. Using the Form1 printer from FormLabs, the result is quite impressive, and will give attendees an opportunity to better feel and understand the shape and surface of this comet. Watch the video of the project below:
[youtube width=”470″ height=”264″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rab4BgIdhVc
Dassault Systèmes is proud to be a partner of this event, but you too can 3D-print the comet by downloading the 3D file provided by the ESA on the MadeIn3D Community!
The event will be held at La Cité des sciences et de l’Industrie, in multiplex with ESA center in Darmstadt, Germany and the space museum in Toulouse, France. People will be able the see the first landscape from the comet landing viewpoint, and get the first scientific data transmitted by Philae. This moment should be of great emotion! The event program should begin on November 12, 2014 at 3.30 PM Paris time (exact hour can vary, you’ll understand why 🙂 ). Till then, you will want to watch this fantastic short film directed by Oscar-winning Tomek Bagiński and starring Aidan Gillen—Littlefinger of Game of Thrones—about the importance of the Rosetta mission:
[youtube width=”470″ height=”264″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32vlOgN_3QQComet photos courtesy from ESA. Credits: ESA/Rosetta/MPS for OSIRIS Team.
