The solar system with a history of 4.6 billion years is really a complicated galaxy. In addition to the eight planets and the Pluto with the planetary title removed, there are also a large number of other celestial bodies flying, including comets traveling in elliptical orbits, and some rotating in circles Large rocks, scattered clouds of dust and gas, and man-made objects that change their trajectories and speeds from time to time.
and one of the big rocks successfully aroused the curiosity of astronomers, because the flight trajectory, speed and shape are very strange, every 6.45 years will approach earth orbit and Jupiter orbit, when it approaches the earth orbit, the speed As fast as 38 kilometers per second, when it approaches the orbit of Jupiter, the speed slows down to a few kilometers per second. From the outside, it looks like a crispy fried chicken drumstick, with two large ends and small middle. The temporary name
is 67P. It is now classified as Jupiter . Astronomers estimate that it originally came from the distant Kuiper belt. What force caused it to come near the earth's orbit? In order to solve a series of mysteries, in March 2004, European Space Agency launched a man-made spacecraft named Rosetta and decided to investigate 67P.
Rosetta spacecraft chased for 10 years, flew 6.3 billion kilometers, and obtained 76,994 space photos
In order to catch up with the extremely fast big rock 67P, the Rosetta with human hope used a whole In 10 years, it has flown more than 6.3 billion kilometers.
When the Rosetta and 67P rendezvous, the European Space Agency scientists were so excited to hug each other, because Rosetta has been chasing after 10 years, and the scientists also waited for 10 years, just for this day to come. Do some research on this big rock and unravel the unsolved mystery.
European Space Agency scientists can’t wait. On the first day of the rendezvous, they ordered Rosetta to take pictures without stopping, and to return to Earth as soon as possible. From the end of the mission from 2014 to 2016, Rosetta won 76994 A photo of space. The photo of
shows a dark extraterrestrial world. Except for the celestial bodies illuminated by the sun as white, the other places are as black as charcoal. They are not as bright as the earth world. In the daytime, even if it is not illuminated by the sun, It also shows very clearly.
Seeing these photos sent back by Rosetta creates a tranquil atmosphere, instantly gets rid of the pressure and troubles of life, and brings our vision to another peaceful world. There is no car whistling, no human beings. The noise, a world without any sound, a world without any vitality.
To be honest, this kind of environment is very suitable for meditating friends. Sitting cross-legged on the 67P surface will surely have something unusual, and you may be able to understand the way of life.
Rosetta also made the first accurate measurement of 67P. 67P is a large rock with two large ends and a small middle. The length is about 4.4 kilometers and the widest is about 4 kilometers. It is equivalent to a very high mountain. Scientists found that 67P may be The two small Kuiper Belt small celestial bodies accidentally met and stuck together to form a new whole. The collision reduced the flight speed and was dragged by the sun's gravity, coming near the earth's orbit, creating a new trajectory.
Philae lander achieves zero-distance exploration
In order to realize zero-distance exploration, Rosetta released the Philae lander on November 12, 2014. Although Philae successfully landed on the 67P surface, because 67P has almost no gravitational force, So Philae was bounced twice after touching the ground, and finally landed in a shaded area with no sunlight.
Because there is no sunlight, Philae has been using the internal power supply, and the battery is getting less and less. Within a few days, he entered the safe mode, and then completely lost contact with the Rosetta and turned into a pile of scrap iron.
However, before losing contact, Philae lander sent someIt is often valuable scientific data. Unfortunately, the Philae lander is not equipped with a movable device, otherwise it will not become scrap iron.
What did the Rosetta spacecraft find after zero-range detection of 67P?
actually has many new discoveries, the following two are the most important ones.
1. The composition of water vapor on 67P is different from that of water vapor on the earth. The ratio of deuterium to hydrogen in the water on 67P is determined to be three times that of earth water. Water is also mixed with formaldehyde and methanol.
Two, through the COSAC and Ptolemy instruments of the Philae lander, 16 organic compounds were found on the surface of 67P, including acetamide , acetone, methyl isocyanate, propionaldehyde and glycine, etc., these organic compounds It is interpreted as the presence of extraterrestrial microorganisms.
In short, Rosetta's research on the 67P large rock has given us a deeper understanding of the origin of the solar system, which is the most important process for mankind to explore the universe.
At the same time, it also gives us a certain understanding of the material composition of near-Earth objects and prepares for the advent of the era of space mining, because with the depletion of earth resources, space mining will become more and more urgent, because many people I believe that some small planets may contain mouth-watering treasures. Whoever can open the treasures can become a trillionaire.
