[meteorite-list] Rosetta stoned

From: Darren Garrison <cynapse_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu, 28 Aug 2008 12:46:06 -0400
Message-ID: <8fldb4ljpq5kimehuu02ufstn39ak0tpai_at_4ax.com>

http://pr-usa.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=128560&Itemid=34

Rosetta spacecraft meets asteroid Steins

ESA PR 35-2008. ESA?s Rosetta spacecraft will make a historic encounter with
asteroid (2867) Steins on 5 September 2008. The doors of ESA?s European Space
Operations Centre (ESOC) in Darmstadt, Germany, will be open to the media as of
18:00 on 5 September to follow the fly-by events.

First images and results will be available for presentation to the media during
a press conference which will be held at ESOC the following day, Saturday 6
September at 12:00 CEST.

Steins is Rosetta?s first nominal scientific target. The spacecraft will
rendezvous with the asteroid in the course of its first incursion into the
asteroid belt located between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, while on its way
to comet 67/P Churyumov-Gerasimenko.

The study of asteroids is extremely important as they represent a sample of
Solar System material at different stages of evolution ? key to understanding
the origin of our own planet and of our planetary neighbourhood.

The closest approach to Steins is due to take place on 5 September at 20:58 CEST
(Central European Summer Time), from a distance of 800 km, during which the
spacecraft will not be communicating with Earth. First ground contact with the
spacecraft and announcement of successful fly-by will take place at 22:23 CEST.
The first data and images collected by Rosetta will be sent to Earth throughout
the night of 5 to 6 September and will undergo preliminary processing in the
morning of 6 September. The first images will be made available for broadcasters
via a special satellite feed on Saturday 6 September (details will be given on
http://television.esa.int).

To register for the events, please use the form linked from the right menu. The
press conference on 6 September will also be streamed on the ESA web: at
http://www.esa.int/rosetta.


Rosetta Steins Fly-By
Doors open to the media
5 September 2008, 18:00, Building K
ESA-ESOC
Robert-Bosch Strasse 5, 64293 Darmstadt, Germany

18:00 - Doors open
18:00 ? 19:00 Interview opportunities
19:00 ? 20:15 Buffet dinner
20:15 ? 20:30 The Steins Fly-By, Introduction by Paolo Ferri, Head of Solar and
Planetary Missions Division (Mission Operations Dept.), ESA
The crucial role of Flight Dynamics, by Trevor Morley, Rosetta Flight Dynamics
Team, ESA
20:30 ? 21:00 Live from Rosetta?s control room (loss of telemetry signal at
20:47)
22:23 - First telemetry on ground: signal of successful fly-by
23:00 - End of event


Rosetta Steins Fly-By Press Conference
6 September 2008, 12:00, Building D
ESA-ESOC
Robert-Bosch Strasse 5, 64293 Darmstadt, Germany

11:00 - Doors open
12:00 - Welcome and introduction, by David Southwood, Director of Science and
Robotic Exploration, ESA
12:10 - Rosetta: the status of the mission, by Gerhard Schwehm, Rosetta Mission
Manager & Head of Solar System Science Operations Division, ESA
12:20 - Rosetta and the study of asteroids, by Rita Schulz, Rosetta Project
Scientist, ESA
12:30 - The fly-by of Steins ? stretching Rosetta?s limits, by Andrea Accomazzo,
Rosetta Spacecraft Operations Manager, ESA
12:40 - Steins: first images and results, by Uwe Keller, OSIRIS camera Principal
Investigator, Max Planck Institut f?r Sonnensystemforschung
12:50 - ESA?s plans for asteroid and space debris monitoring, by Gaele Winters,
Director of Operations and Infrastructure, ESA
13:00 - Questions & Answers session
13:20 - Interview opportunities
15:00 - End of event
Received on Thu 28 Aug 2008 12:46:06 PM PDT