67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko
Position on the route: 27/130 · level needed 70 · journey (Mk0 engine) 12.2 h
By the numbers
| Size | ≈ 4.3 × 4.1 km, two lobes |
|---|---|
| Year | 6.45 years |
| Semi-major axis | 3.46 AU |
| Rosetta | 2014–2016 |
The story
67P is a Jupiter-family comet found on a photographic plate in Kyiv in 1969. Its nucleus has two lobes like a rubber duck, formed when two separate bodies touched gently and merged. ESA’s Rosetta entered orbit in 2014; the Philae lander touched down on 12 November 2014, bounced twice and ended up in the shadow of a cliff where its solar panels could not recharge, so it fell silent.
Rosetta showed that the water’s deuterium ratio differs from Earth’s oceans, and found molecular oxygen and glycine in the gas. The mission ended on 30 September 2016 with a controlled landing on the surface. In the game it is a comet nucleus: full of ice, ammonia and organic molecules.
Missions
- Rosetta (ESA, 2004–2016): orbit and the Philae landing
- Philae (2014): the first landing on a comet nucleus
Colony note
A cometary nucleus: weak gravity, fractured ice. A station for water and gas; the jets vary with the heat.
What probes bring back
- Rosetta (ESA) entered orbit in 2014; Philae became the first lander on a comet nucleus on 12 November 2014 (it bounced twice).
- The water’s deuterium ratio differs from Earth’s oceans: the oceans cannot have come from comets alone.
- Molecular oxygen and the amino acid glycine were found in its gas cloud.