December comet brings back Rosetta memories 14 December 2018 A special visitor is crossing the sky: Comet 46P/Wirtanen, sighted with telescopes and binoculars in recent weeks, is on the way to its closest approach to Earth this weekend, when it might become visible to the naked eye. Read more

Rosetta witnesses birth of baby bow shock around comet 12 December 2018 A new study reveals that, contrary to first impressions, Rosetta did detect signs of an infant bow shock at the comet it explored for two years – the first ever seen forming anywhere in the Solar System. Read more

Rosetta image archive complete 21 June 2018 All high-resolution images and the underpinning data from Rosetta's pioneering mission at Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko are now available in ESA's archives, with the last release including the iconic images of finding lander Philae, and Rosetta's final descent to the comet's surface. Read more

Rosetta and Planck honoured in annual Royal Astronomical Society awards 12 January 2018 ESA’s Matt Taylor has been awarded the 2018 Service Award for Geophysics by the Royal Astronomical Society for his outstanding contribution to the Rosetta mission, while the Planck mission has been honoured with the Group Achievement Award for their extraordinary achievements in cosmology. Read more

Rosetta finds comet plume powered from deep below 26 October 2017 Last year, a fountain of dust was spotted streaming from Rosetta's comet, prompting the question: how was it powered? Scientists now suggest the outburst was driven from inside the comet, perhaps released from ancient gas vents or pockets of hidden ice. Read more

Biomarker found in space complicates search for life on exoplanets 02 October 2017 A molecule once thought to be a useful marker for life as we know it has been discovered around a young star and at a comet for the first time, suggesting these ingredients are inherited during the planet-forming phase. Read more

Rosetta Science Highlights Briefing - Presentations 30 September 2016 Rosetta science experts presented the key discoveries made at Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko, in a dedicated briefing at ESA’s European Space Operations Centre on 29 September, ahead of the mission’s finale on 30 September 2016. Available presentations can be downloaded from here in pdf format. Read more

The surprising comet 26 September 2016 As Rosetta began homing in on Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko in the weeks leading up to its arrival in August 2014, it became very clear that this was no ordinary comet. But its striking shape was only just the beginning of the comet's surprises. Read more

Impressions of Rosetta's legacy: an e-book 23 December 2016 In September–October 2016, over 200 people contributed to the Rosetta Legacy campaign, sharing stories, images, videos, creations and experiences to convey what the mission had meant to them. Read more

OSIRIS Data Release: March–May 2015 22 December 2016 A new batch of thousands of images from Rosetta's OSIRIS imaging system have been released into ESA's Archive Image Browser and the Planetary Science Archive. Read more

Reflections 12 December 2016 Some ten weeks have passed since Rosetta ended its mission on the surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko, and it is time for a little reflection here on the Rosetta blog... Read more

An encounter with Klim Churyumov 11 November 2016 Two years ago this week, the entire world was getting ready for a historic endeavour in space: the first soft landing of a human-made probe on a comet. The day before landing I had the pleasure to briefly meet Professor Churyumov and even asked him a few questions, taking down notes with the help of his interpreters. Read more

Last NAVCAM archive release 20 October 2016 The last batch of NAVCAM images taken by Rosetta during the final month of its incredible mission at Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko have been released to the Archive Image Browser. The image set covers the period 2-30 September when the spacecraft was on elliptical orbits that sometimes brought it to within 2 km of the comet's surface. Read more

CometWatch - NavCam images 30 September 2016 Images of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko taken by Rosetta's navigation camera (NavCam). Last images are from 30 September 2016. Read more

Rosetta Ground Based Campaign: Calling All Amateur Astronomers 08 April 2015 Are you an amateur astronomer? The Rosetta mission has an opportunity for you, one that will allow you to collaborate with professional astronomers and study a comet in tandem with a real space mission. Read more

ScienceCasts: How to Land on a Comet 05 November 2014 The European Space Agency's Rosetta spacecraft is about to attempt something "ridiculously difficult" - landing a probe on the surface of a speeding comet. Read more

Rosetta features in Von Karman Lecture Series 13 October 2014 Art Chmielewski (US Rosetta Project Manager) and Claudia Alexander (US Rosetta Project Scientist) presented the mission to an audience attending the Von Karman Lecture Series at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory on October 9. Read more

Rosetta-Alice spectrograph to begin first-ever close up ultraviolet studies of comet surface and atmosphere 10 June 2014 After a 10-year journey that began in March 2004, the European Space Agency's Rosetta comet orbiter has its sights set on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. The orbiter's payload, including the Alice ultraviolet (UV) spectrograph developed by Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), is poised to begin the first orbital and closest-ever observations of a comet. Read more

NASA Instruments on Rosetta Start Comet Science 10 June 2014 Three NASA science instruments aboard the European Space Agency's (ESA) Rosetta spacecraft, which is set to become the first to orbit a comet and land a probe on its nucleus, are beginning observations and sending science data back to Earth. Read more

ScienceCasts: Rosetta Comet Comes Alive 04 June 2014 Later this year, Europe's Rosetta probe will orbit and land on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. New images of the comet show that it will be a lively place when Rosetta arrives. Read more