Afrikaans: Die Agilkia-landingsterrein is sigbaar op hierdie foto van die komeet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko, wat op 6 November 2014 met die
Rosetta-tuig se navigasiekamera geneem is, enkele dae voor die landingstuig
Philae 'n historiese neerdaling na die oppervlak uitgevoer het. Die beeld is saamgestel uit 'n mosaiek van vier NavCam-beelde, wat op 'n afstand van 30,5 km bo die komeetmiddelpunt verkry is, terwyl
Rosetta die separeringstrajek genader het, waarvandaan
Philae op 12 November neergelaat is. Op hierdie afstand is die skaal 2,6 meter per beeldelement, en die volle mosaiek beslaan 3,7 x 3,3 km. Die beplande landingsplek het sowat 1
vierkante kilometer beslaan en is naby die bokant van die beeld, op die kleiner lob van die komeet geleë. Dit is naamlik gereken as die mins riskante terrein van al die landingsplekke wat tydens 'n seleksieproses oorweeg is. Die komeetoppervlak is oortrek met rotse waarvan sommiges groter as huise is, benewens steil hellings, diep holtes en hoë kranse. Op die beeld is die dun nekstreek opvallend wat die twee lobbe verbind, met die ruwe terrein van die groter lob wat 'n agtergrond vorm.
Philae is om 08:35
Burgerlike Tyd vanaf 'n hoogte van 22,5 km bo die komeetmiddelpunt neergelaat, en 28 minute later is seine op die aarde ontvang wat die ontplooiing bevestig het. Dit het
Philae egter sowat 7 uur geneem om na die oppervlakte neer te daal, en 'n verdere sein sou 'n suksesvolle landing bevestig.
English: The Agilkia landing site is seen on this image of comet
67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko, taken with
Rosetta’s navigation camera on 6 November, just days before its lander Philae makes its historic descent to the surface.
The image presented here is a mosaic of four individual NavCam frames, captured from a distance of 30.5 km from the comet centre on 6 November 2014 while Rosetta was en route to the separation trajectory from which it will deploy Philae on 12 November 2014. At this distance, the image scale is 2.6 m/pixel, and the mosaic measures 3.7 x 3.3 km.
The landing site, covering about one square kilometre, is located close to the top of this image, above the easily recognisable, boulder-filled depression that characterises the smaller of the comet’s two lobes. Although it may not seem like it from this image, Agilkia – previously known as Site J – presented the least hazardous terrain of all the landing sites considered during the selection process.
Much of the surface of the comet is covered in boulders – some larger than houses – as well as steep slopes, deep pits and towering cliffs. In the lower part of this image, the narrowness of the neck region connecting the two lobes is emphasised, with the rugged terrain of the larger lobe in the background.
On 12 November 2014, Rosetta will release Philae from an altitude of 22.5 km from the comet centre at 08:35 GMT/09:35 CET, with signals confirming deployment arriving at Earth 28 minutes later.
Philae will take about seven hours to descend to the surface, with the signal confirming a successful touchdown expected to arrive on Earth in a one-hour window centred on 16:02 GMT/17:02 CET.
Follow the landing events live via esa.int/rosetta.
The four individual images making up this mosaic are available via the
blog.