Rosetta Mission

Hello there. My name is Rosetta, and I'm a spacecraft built for adventure. My job was to do something nobody had ever done before: chase a comet and land on it. A comet is like a giant, icy snowball that zooms through space, and I wanted to learn all its secrets. I wasn't going alone, though. I had a brave little robot friend with me named Philae. He was tucked safely inside me, waiting for his big moment. Our amazing journey began on March 2nd, 2004. A huge rocket pushed us away from Earth with a mighty ROAR. We shot up into the sky, past the clouds, and into the starry darkness of space. It was a little scary leaving home, but I was so excited to start our mission.

My trip to the comet was very, very long. It took ten years to get there. To save all my power for the important work ahead, the scientists on Earth decided I should take a long nap. For years, I floated quietly through space in a deep sleep. Then, on January 20th, 2014, my special alarm clock went off. It was time to wake up. I stretched out my solar panels, which are like big wings that soak up sunlight for energy, and got ready. In August of 2014, I finally saw it. The comet. And it had the funniest shape. It looked just like a rubber ducky. I flew all around it, getting closer and closer. The most exciting day of my whole trip was November 12th, 2014. It was time for Philae to land. I opened my door and gently let him go. "Good luck, friend." I thought. Watching him float down was nerve-wracking. He bounced when he hit the ground, which was a big surprise. But he landed safely and was ready to explore.

I was so proud of Philae. Before his batteries ran out, he used his special tools to study the comet's surface. He discovered all sorts of amazing secrets and sent them to me in messages, which I then sent all the way back to our friends on Earth. After Philae's job was done, I kept working. For two more years, I flew around the rubber-ducky comet, taking pictures and learning about the dust and ice it was made of. Finally, my own journey had to come to an end. On September 30th, 2016, the scientists gave me one last mission. I flew down, down, down, and made a gentle landing on the comet, coming to rest with my friend Philae. We are still there together, resting on our comet as it flies through the universe. Our adventure showed that with teamwork and curiosity, we can explore faraway places and learn incredible things.