Philae, the landing craft of the Rosetta mission. Image via ESA/ATG medialab
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Today is the day the Rosetta spacecraft’s Philae probe is due to be deployed at about 8.35am UT and land on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko seven hours later, to help scientists determine the physical properties of the comet’s composition.
If the landing is successful, it will mark the first time a probe has ever been landed on a comet.
Here are facts and figures about Philae, courtesy of US space agency NASA, to put in perspective the enormity of the task the craft is to undertake today:
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