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67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko

Encyclopedia of Astrobiology

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Synonyms

67P

Definition

Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko is the target of the ESA ROSETTA mission. This comet was selected because its orbit allowed its exploration by the European spacecraft for a launch scheduled in 2004 and an encounter in 2014. It was also of particular interest since it is thought that the comet has not a long history in the inner Solar System and therefore could contain primitive material kept at low temperature and far from the Sun since the formation of the Solar System.

Overview

Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko is the target of the ESA ROSETTA mission. ROSETTA has reached the comet in August 2014 and delivered on the nucleus a lander called PHILAE on November 12, 2014, after a global mapping of the surface in order to choose the best landing site. The comet was discovered by Klim Ivanovich Churyumov and Svetlana Ivanovna Gerasimenko in September 1969. Its current orbital period is 6.44 years, with an aphelion at 5.7 AU and a perihelion at 1.24 AU. Observations...

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire Interuniversitaire des Systèmes Atmosphériques, Université Paris Est-Créteil, 61, av. du Général de Gaulle, 94010, Créteil Cedex, France

    Hervé Cottin

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  1. Hervé Cottin
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Correspondence to Hervé Cottin .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Biología Molecular, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain

    Ricardo Amils

  2. Labo. d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux (LAB), Observatoire Aquitain des Sciences de l'Univers (OASU), Floirac CX, France

    Muriel Gargaud

  3. Centro de Astrobiología (CAB), Inst. Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial, Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain

    José Cernicharo Quintanilla

  4. Geophysical Lab., Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, District of Columbia, USA

    Henderson James Cleaves

  5. Astronomy Department, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA

    William M. Irvine

  6. Dépt. Sc. de la Terre et de l’Atmosphère, Université du Québec, Montréal, Montreal, Québec, Canada

    Daniele Pinti

  7. Centre National d'Etudes Spatiale (CNES) DPI/E2U, Paris CX, France

    Michel Viso

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© 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Cottin, H. (2014). 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko. In: Amils, R., et al. Encyclopedia of Astrobiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_5042-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_5042-3

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27833-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Physics and AstronomyReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Chemistry, Materials and Physics

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Chapter history

  1. Latest

    67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko
    Published:
    29 December 2021

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_5042-4

  2. Original

    67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko
    Published:
    14 April 2015

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_5042-3

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