From a media release:
After 10 years travelling towards its destination, looping around the sun five times, and logging up 6.4 billion kilometers – Rosetta has arrived for the drop of a lifetime. Discovery’s LANDING ON A COMET: ROSETTA MISSION joins this pioneering space mission led by the European Space Agency – which has set out to eject Philae, a lander, onto the surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Premiering same day as the scheduled landing, Wednesday, November 12 at 7 p.m. ET, and anchored by DAILY PLANET co-host Dr. Dan Riskin from Germany, the one-hour special from Canada’s Exploration Production Inc. (EPI) chronicles how the futuristic science lab will unleash powerful anchors to hold on to this comet. Why catch a comet? Once Philae lands, it will embark on the most incredible journey to gather and analyze what is considered a yet-unreachable primordial treasure chest. But a succesful landing is far from guaranteed. Scientists compare landing Philae on the comet to trying to drop a piece of paper from a Boeing 747 at cruising altitude over New York City and trying to hit… Central Park!
LANDING ON A COMET: ROSETTA MISSION is the pinnacle of a multi-decade space quest – and offers scientists clues to the beginnings of life itself. Designed to withstand the rigours of reckless speeds and turbulence in the solar system, the Rosetta orbiter will rendezvous with Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko and remain in close proximity to the icy nucleus as it plunges towards the warmer inner reaches of the Sun’s domain. At the same time, a small washing machine-sized lander will be released onto the surface of this mysterious cosmic iceberg.
Active manoeveurs, stakes, and compelling make-it-or-break it drama make this a space mission for the digital age. Viewers are invited to join the Rosetta conversation NOW at Discovery.ca with behind-the-scenes videos from key players and a live feed pulling in real-time tweets from #67P and key experts! Viewers can also watch the latest update video from the European Space Agency on Rosetta’s mission status, and read articles breaking down everything they need to know about LANDING ON A COMET: ROSETTA MISSION. LANDING ON A COMET: ROSETTA MISSION is produced by Exploration Production Inc. Kelly McKeown is the Executive Producer.
