³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ

This week, the European Space Agency made history. A ten year trip brought the Rosetta spacecraft into the orbit of Comet 67P Churyumov Gerasimenko in August and this week Rosetta sent the Philae probe to the comet’s treacherous surface. After a nail-biting 7-hour descent, the hall at the European Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt, Germany, erupted with cheers of jubilation and cries of joy and relief – they had done it, the European space scientists and engineers had landed a small robot probe on a comet. But the days that followed this victorious moment have taken ESA, and everyone who has been following Rosetta’s journey, on a turbulent rollercoaster ride. Philae has bounced off the comet twice and though now settled back on the surface, its exact location is yet to be determined. ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ producer and presenter, Andrew Luck-Baker and ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Science Correspondent Jonathan Amos have just got back from their trip to Space Operations Centre in Germany. In this week’s Science Hour they look back on this incredible week of history-making and nerve-wracking moments, bring the latest on Rosetta and Philae’s developments and discuss hopes for what this mission could achieve in both the near and distant future.

Photo Credit: Getty Images