Rosetta scientific instruments. Riding a comet: the touching story of the Rosetta probe and the Philae module

Moscow. September 30. website - The Rosetta spacecraft mission has come to an end. According to the calculations of the mission team, at 13:39:10 the device made a planned collision with comet 67P Churyumov - Gerasimenko. However, final confirmation will come after forty minutes - during this time the information will reach the Earth from the comet. Very soon, radio communication with the device will be completely stopped. Scientists are now waiting to receive final data.

The device gradually descended relative to the comet, after which a controlled collision with the surface occurred. The approach speed was expected to be half that of the Philae probe.

The decision to land the spacecraft on comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko was made by the European Space Agency in 2014, after consultation with the mission’s scientific team. Gradually, Rosetta moves away from the Sun along with 67/P and the energy produced by its solar panels is not enough to operate the probe. Several years ago, scientists dealt with this problem by putting the device into hibernation mode. However, according to scientists, Rosetta may not survive a new hibernation.

At the same time, during landing, physicists will have the opportunity to carry out measurements that were previously impossible. In particular, engineers plan to conduct ultra-high-resolution surveys. Preliminary maneuvers for landing will begin in August. By September 30, Rosetta will be 570 million km from the Sun and 720 million km from the Earth. The comet itself moves at a speed of about 14.3 km/s. As experts note, the calculation of orbits turned out to be much more complex than during preparations for the landing of Philae.

A path 6 billion km long

Rosetta followed the comet for 6 billion kilometers. IN total Rosetta spent more than two years in orbit around the comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko - almost a third of the full cycle of the celestial body (6 years and 7 months). The Rosetta probe with the Philae module was launched into space in 2004. It traveled 6.4 billion kilometers before reaching comet 67P, located near the orbit of Jupiter. In November 2014, Philae undocked from Rosetta. After this, over the course of several hours, the descent to the surface of comet 67P Churyumov-Gerasimenko took place.

The device collected a huge amount of scientific data on the composition of the gas shell of 67P, its morphology and geology and internal structure. After this, the module stopped working due to a lack of solar energy. However, this time was enough for scientists to find out that the comet is the same age as solar system, which means it stores information about the conditions under which the planets arose. It was also possible to refute the hypothesis that water on Earth originated from comets - isotopic composition water ice on Churyumov-Gerasimenko is noticeably different from the earthly one.

"Philae"

The Philae space probe was of great importance for the mission - it was the first spacecraft in human history to land on a comet. However, during landing, difficulties arose with the harpoons, which were supposed to fix the device on the comet. He moved away from the intended landing point and fell into the shadow of a cliff. Philae worked on the surface of the comet for a little more than two days, after which its batteries were completely discharged and it stopped working.

During this time, the robot transmitted photographs to Earth and collected soil samples by drilling. In particular, one of Philae's sensors detected the molecules after analyzing the comet's atmosphere. Some of them contain carbon atoms, without which life is impossible.

Rosetta became the first spacecraft to orbit a comet. In the coming years, scientists will have to study the entire array of information received from the device. The total cost of the project was 1.3 billion euros.

"Goodbye Rosetta! You did a good job. This is space science at its finest," said Martin Patrick, Rosetta mission director.

Comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko was discovered in 1969 by two Soviet astronomers. Its 67P index means it is the 67th comet discovered to orbit the Sun with an orbital period of less than 200 years.

When you read about the discoveries of the last century, it seems that all the most interesting things have already been found and studied, and contemporaries are left with only awe of the scientific power of the past century. However, this is far from the case. Progress, technical and scientific, allows humanity to put more and more ambitious goals and achieve them. These include the study of comets using devices that can descend to their surface. It was for such purposes that the Rosetta probe was created, a spacecraft that in 2004 went to the comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko. It will be discussed below.

A little history

The Rosetta mission is not the only attempt to study comets. The history of the issue begins back in the 1980s, when Vega and ICE, Soviet and American-European vehicles, flew past tailed cosmic bodies, received and transmitted certain information about them. These and subsequent encounters with comets brought scientists a wealth of data. In particular, a similar nucleus was photographed on the comet; a metal disc was dropped and a few years later the results of the fall were observed; dust samples from the comet's tail were brought to Earth. However, the Rosetta probe has no analogues in the history of astronautics. He was initially faced with more difficult task: become a comet satellite for some time and lower the Philae apparatus to its surface for direct

Change of reference point

Initially, this very object was supposed to be Comet Wirtanen. The choice was based on the convenient flight trajectory of the cosmic body and some of its features, which reduced the risk of failure of the probe’s research mission. In order to go to Comet Wirtanen, the Rosetta satellite had to launch in January 2003. However, about a month earlier, the engine of the Ariane 5 launch vehicle failed during launch. As a result, it was decided to postpone the launch of the probe and revise the flight program.

67P

The new object to which it was supposed to send space probe"Rosetta" became comet 67P, it also bears the name Churyumov-Gerasimenko. It was discovered in 1969 by Klim Churyumov in photographs taken by Svetlana Gerasimenko. The object is a short-period comet: every 6.6 years it flies close to the Sun. The flight path is practically limited by the orbit of Jupiter. An important feature of this comet for researchers is the predictability of its flight, which means it is possible to accurately calculate the required movement of the spacecraft.

Structure

The Rosetta probe carries a large amount of equipment, and the Philae lander is not the only valuable part of it. The equipment includes an ultraviolet spectrometer necessary for analyzing the gases in the tail of a comet and determining the composition of its nucleus, cameras operating not only in the visible, but also in the ultraviolet and infrared ranges, various equipment for studying the composition, temperature and velocity of particles in the tail of the object, as well as determining its orbit, gravity and other characteristics. All this equipment is necessary both to obtain data about the comet and to find the optimal landing site for the Philae spacecraft.

Rosetta probe: flight path

Before reaching its goal, the device traveled for ten years across the expanses of the solar system. Such a long time period is explained by the need to approach the comet “from the rear,” equalize the speeds and move along a similar trajectory. Over the course of ten years, the Rosetta satellite flew past our planet five times. He managed to meet Mars and cross the main planet several times.

For ten years, the Rosetta space probe has been sending colorful images to Earth. various objects. In addition to aesthetic pleasure, they also carry scientific information. Scientists have received new images taken by the Rosetta probe, photos of the asteroids Steins and Lutetia.

Of course, he did not ignore the apparatus and the Earth. Images from the Rosetta probe show our planet from different angles, as well as some atmospheric phenomena.

Rapprochement

Throughout its flight, the Rosetta probe was lucky. At a certain point, to save resources, he was plunged into hibernation, where he remained for a record 957 days. In January 2004, the Rosetta mission continued safely after the satellite awakened. However, the most difficult thing awaited him ahead. The greatest difficulties could arise during the landing of the Philae module, which delivered the Rosetta probe to the comet. The prepared visualization of this moment demonstrated the soft landing of the device, accompanied by the release of three harpoons. They were necessary to attach to the surface of the comet, the gravitational forces of which are such that the slightest push could lead to the disappearance of the Philae apparatus in outer space.

The approach was generally successful, but it was not possible to release all three harpoons. During landing, the Philae module bounced off the surface twice and only managed to land on the third, while remaining unsecured. The result of this incident was the distance of the device from the intended landing site by about a kilometer, and the project participants were unable to accurately determine the point where the Philae device landed. Only the approximate landing area was clear.

57 hours

Problems with landing led to the Philae module landing on an almost permanently shaded surface. The main source of energy for the device is solar panels, which cannot operate at temperatures below zero. As a result, most of the energy was spent on heating the batteries, but the amount of available sunlight it was still small. The Philae apparatus was equipped for similar situations charged battery for 64 hours. It worked, however, for only 57. During this time, the heroic module "Philae", whose exact location was not even determined, transferred a mass to Earth and was (presumably) able to drill the surface and take a soil sample.

All this time, Rosetta constantly monitored the actions of the Philae apparatus and transmitted messages to and from it. Upon completion of the module, the probe began its own research activities.

Form

At the end of January 2015, several scientific articles containing a description of the research results. One of interesting questions discussed in them - unusual shape comets. The cosmic body is similar to the visually distinguishable head, torso and neck. Studying the data has not yet answered the question of whether comet 67P arose as a result of the collision of two space objects, or its shape is a consequence of mass loss and severe erosion. In the first case, an event that supposedly occurred at the dawn of the solar system, 4.5 billion years ago, can be proven if fundamental differences between the two halves of the comet are discovered. The approval of the second hypothesis will necessitate searching for an answer to the question about the nature of the forces leading to such severe erosion in the “duckling’s neck” area.

It is now known for sure that the inside of the comet has a porous structure. According to scientists, the density of the core is half that of water.

Relief

The Rosetta probe and the Philae spacecraft transmitted a ton of images of the surface of 67P to Earth. Dunes and mountains, as well as gorges, were discovered on it. However, the comet's rocks only vaguely resemble those on Earth. Some of them are basically compacted dust, many are the result of the circulation of gas and dust, that is, they are closer to desert dunes than to rocks.

Part of the hills, rising three meters above the surface, were called goosebumps and are considered a formation characteristic of many similar cosmic bodies. Presumably, they were formed during the period when the Solar system was just beginning to form, and consist of dust and ice stuck together.

Origin

The research of the devices also concerned the content of water and carbon compounds. Fluctuations in the content of these substances were discovered, coinciding with the rotation of the cosmic body around its axis and with the change of seasons. In addition, it turned out that 67P contains a large number of organic compounds and significantly less ice than was expected to be discovered.

These and other data suggest that the comet, contrary to the opinion of researchers, was formed in the Kuiper belt, located beyond the orbit of Neptune. Initially, it was believed that the site of formation of 67P was located much closer to Jupiter.

Data from the Rosetta and Philae probes also concerned the features of the comet's nucleus, its gravity and magnetosphere. A huge part of them remains to be analyzed. Regardless of the picture that emerges after studying and pondering all the information, the Rosetta flight and mission are one of the most ambitious space projects ever completed to date. Many scientists call this event the third most important after the flight of Yuri Gagarin and the landing of people on the Moon. It should be noted that Rosetta is not the last research mission whose goal is to expand our knowledge of the Universe. The success of the flight to comet 67P stimulated the development of new projects. Several of them are preparing to start in the near future.

The name of the probe comes from the famous Rosetta Stone - a stone slab with three identical texts carved into it, two of which are written in ancient Egyptian (one in hieroglyphs, the other in demotic script), and the third is written in ancient Greek. By comparing the texts of the Rosetta Stone, Jean-François Champollion was able to decipher ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs; Using the Rosetta spacecraft, scientists hope to discover what the solar system looked like before the planets formed.

The name of the lander is also associated with the deciphering of ancient Egyptian inscriptions. An obelisk with a hieroglyphic inscription mentioning King Ptolemy VIII and Queens Cleopatra II and Cleopatra III was found on the island of Philae on the Nile River. The inscription, in which scientists recognized the names “Ptolemy” and “Cleopatra,” helped decipher ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs.

Prerequisites for creating the device

In 1986 in the history of the study outer space A significant event occurred: Halley's Comet approached the Earth at its minimum distance. It was studied by spacecraft from different countries: the Soviet Vega-1 and Vega-2, the Japanese Suisei and Sakigake, and the European Giotto probe. Scientists have received valuable information about the composition and origin of comets.

However, many questions remained unanswered, so NASA and ESA began working together on new space research. NASA has focused its efforts on asteroid flyby and comet encounter program(English) Comet Rendezvous Asteroid Flyby , abbreviated CRAF). ESA was developing a program to return a sample of the comet's nucleus. Comet Nucleus Sample Return - CNSR), which was to be carried out after the program CRAF. The new spacecraft were planned to be made on a standard platform Mariner Mark II , which greatly reduced costs. In 1992, however, NASA stopped development CRAF due to budget restrictions. ESA continued to develop the spacecraft independently. By 1993, it became clear that with the existing ESA budget, a flight to the comet with the subsequent return of soil samples was impossible, so the program of the device was subjected to major changes. Finally, it looked like this: the vehicle’s approach, first with asteroids, and then with a comet, and then - research of the comet, including a soft landing of the Philae descent module. The mission was planned to end with a controlled collision of the Rosetta probe with a comet.

Purpose and flight program

Rosetta's launch was originally scheduled for January 12, 2003. The target of the research was comet 46P/Wirtanen.

However, in December 2002, the Vulcan-2 engine failed during the launch of the Ariane 5 launch vehicle. Due to the need to improve the engine, the launch of the Rosetta spacecraft was postponed, after which a new flight program was developed for it.

The new plan included a flight to comet 67P/Churyumov - Gerasimenko, with a launch on February 26, 2004 and a meeting with the comet in 2014. The launch delay caused additional costs of about 70 million euros for spacecraft storage and other needs. Rosetta was launched on March 2, 2004 at 7:17 UTC from Kourou in French Guiana. The discoverers of the comet, Professor, were present as guests of honor at the launch. Kyiv University Klim Churyumov and researcher at the Institute of Astrophysics of the Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan Svetlana Gerasimenko. Apart from the change in time and purpose, the flight program remained virtually unchanged. As before, Rosetta was supposed to approach the comet and launch the Philae lander towards it.

Philae was supposed to approach the comet with relative speed about 1 m/s and upon contact with the surface, release two harpoons, since the weak gravity of the comet is not able to hold the device, and it can simply bounce off. After the landing of the Philae module, it was planned to begin the scientific program:

• determining the parameters of the comet's nucleus;
• chemical composition research;
• study of changes in comet activity over time.

It is worth noting that the Rosetta flight program is very complex. It included four gravity assist maneuvers near Earth and Mars, and even small deviations could affect success.

Flight program

The main propulsion system consists of 24 two-component engines with a thrust of 10. At the start, the device had 1670 kg of two-component fuel, consisting of monomethylhydrazine (fuel) and nitrogen tetroxide (oxidizer).

The case made of cellular aluminum and the electrical power distribution on board were manufactured by the Finnish company Patria. (English) manufactured probe and lander instruments: COSIMA, MIP (Mutual Impedance Probe), LAP (Langmuir Probe), ICA (Ion Composition Analyzer), water search device (Permittivity Probe) and memory modules (CDMS/MEM).

Scientific equipment of the lander

The total mass of the descent vehicle consists of ten scientific instruments. The lander is designed for a total of 10 experiments to study the structural, morphological, microbiological and other properties of the comet's nucleus. The basis of the analytical laboratory of the descent module consists of pyrolyzers, a gas chromatograph and a mass spectrometer.

Pyrolyzers

To study the chemical and isotopic composition of the comet's nucleus, Philae is equipped with two platinum pyrolyzers. The first can heat samples to a temperature of 180 °C, and the second - up to 800 °C. Samples can be heated at a controlled rate. At each step, as the temperature increases, the total volume of released gases is analyzed.

Gas chromatograph

The main tool for separating pyrolysis products is a gas chromatograph. Helium is used as the carrier gas. The apparatus uses several different chromatography columns capable of analyzing different mixtures of organic and inorganic substances.

Mass spectrometer

To analyze and identify gaseous pyrolysis products, a time-of-flight mass spectrometer is used. time of flying - TOF) detector.

List of research instruments by purpose

Core

• ALICE(An Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrometer).
• OSIRIS(Optical, Spectroscopic, and Infrared Remote Imaging System).
• VIRTIS(Visible and Infrared Thermal Imaging Spectrometer).
• MIRO(Microwave Instrument for the Rosetta Orbiter).

Gas and dust

• ROSINA(Rosetta Orbiter Spectrometer for Ion and Neutral Analysis).
• MIDAS(Micro-Imaging Dust Analysis System).
• COSIMA(Cometary Secondary Ion Mass Analyzer).

Influence of the Sun

• GIADA(Grain Impact Analyzer and Dust Accumulator).
• RPC(Rosetta Plasma Consortium).

• On January 20, 2014, at 10:00 UTC (11:00 CET), Rosetta “woke up” from an internal timer. The signal from the device was received at 18:17 UTC (19:17 CET). Preparations have begun for a meeting with comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko.

Scientific results

December 10, 2014 in the online issue of the magazine Science article published 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, a Jupiter family comet with a high D/H ratio (“67P/Churyumov - Gerasimenko, a Jupiter-family comet with a high D/H ratio”), in which a higher earth's oceans the content of heavy water in the ice of the comet is more than three times. This result contradicts the accepted theory that Earth's water is of cometary origin.

On January 23, 2015, Science magazine published a special issue scientific research associated with a comet. The researchers found that the bulk of the gases emitted by the comet occurred in the “neck” - the area where the two parts of the comet meet: here OSIRIS cameras constantly recorded the flow of gas and debris. Members of the OSIRIS imaging system science team have determined that the Hapi region, located in the bridge between the comet's two large lobes and showing high activity As a source of gas and dust jets, it reflects red light less efficiently than other areas, which may indicate the presence of frozen water on the surface of the comet or shallow below its surface.

See also

• Deep Impact is a NASA spacecraft that explored comet 9P/Tempel; the first landing of a spacecraft on a comet (hard landing - deliberate collision of a heavy impact device with a comet).
• Stardust is a NASA spacecraft that explored comet 81P/Wilda and returned samples of its material to Earth.
• Hayabusa is a spacecraft of the Japan Aerospace Agency that explored the asteroid Itokawa and delivered samples of its soil to Earth.

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Notes

Inhabited

Telecommunication

Technological
demonstrations

Canceled

Out of order

Bold active spacecraft are highlighted

Excerpt characterizing Rosetta (spacecraft)

At this time, with quick steps in front of the parting crowd of nobles, in a general's uniform, with a ribbon over his shoulder, with his protruding chin and quick eyes, Count Rostopchin entered.
“The Emperor will be here now,” said Rostopchin, “I just came from there.” I believe that in the position we find ourselves in, there is not much to judge. The Emperor deigned to gather us and the merchants,” said Count Rastopchin. “Millions will flow from there (he pointed to the hall of merchants), and our job is to field a militia and not spare ourselves... This is the least we can do!”
Meetings began between some nobles sitting at the table. The entire meeting was more than quiet. It even seemed sad when, after all the previous noise, old voices were heard one by one, saying one: “I agree,” the other, for variety, “I am of the same opinion,” etc.
The secretary was ordered to write a decree of the Moscow nobility stating that Muscovites, like Smolensk residents, donate ten people per thousand and full uniforms. The gentlemen who were sitting stood up, as if relieved, rattled their chairs and walked around the hall to stretch their legs, taking someone by the arm and talking.
- Sovereign! Sovereign! - suddenly echoed through the halls, and the entire crowd rushed to the exit.
Along a wide passage, between the wall of nobles, the sovereign walked into the hall. All faces expressed respectful and frightened curiosity. Pierre stood quite far away and could not fully hear the sovereign’s speeches. He understood only from what he heard that the sovereign was talking about the danger in which the state was, and about the hopes that he placed in the Moscow nobility. Another voice answered the sovereign, reporting on the decree of the nobility that had just taken place.
- Gentlemen! - said the sovereign’s trembling voice; the crowd rustled and fell silent again, and Pierre clearly heard the sovereign’s so pleasantly human and touched voice, which said: “I have never doubted the zeal of the Russian nobility.” But on this day it exceeded my expectations. I thank you on behalf of the fatherland. Gentlemen, let's act - time is most valuable...
The Emperor fell silent, the crowd began to crowd around him, and enthusiastic exclamations were heard from all sides.
“Yes, the most precious thing is... the royal word,” said the sobbing voice of Ilya Andreich from behind, who heard nothing, but understood everything in his own way.
From the hall of the nobility the sovereign went into the hall of the merchants. He stayed there for about ten minutes. Pierre, among others, saw the sovereign leaving the merchants' hall with tears of tenderness in his eyes. As they later learned, the sovereign had just begun his speech to the merchants when tears flowed from his eyes, and he finished it in a trembling voice. When Pierre saw the sovereign, he went out, accompanied by two merchants. One was familiar to Pierre, a fat farmer, the other was a head, with a thin, narrow beard, yellow face. They both cried. The thin man had tears in his eyes, but the fat farmer wept like a child and kept repeating:
- Take life and property, Your Majesty!
Pierre no longer felt anything at that moment except the desire to show that he didn’t care about anything and that he was ready to sacrifice everything. His speech with a constitutional direction appeared to him as a reproach; he was looking for an opportunity to make amends for it. Having learned that Count Mamonov was donating the regiment, Bezukhov immediately announced to Count Rostopchin that he was giving up a thousand people and their contents.
Old man Rostov could not tell his wife what had happened without tears, and he immediately agreed to Petya’s request and went to record it himself.
The next day the sovereign left. All the assembled nobles took off their uniforms, again settled in their houses and clubs and, grunting, gave orders to the managers about the militia, and were surprised at what they had done.

Napoleon started the war with Russia because he could not help but come to Dresden, could not help but be overwhelmed by honors, could not help but put on a Polish uniform, and not succumb to the enterprising impression June morning, could not refrain from an outburst of anger in the presence of Kurakin and then Balashev.
Alexander refused all negotiations because he personally felt insulted. Barclay de Tolly tried in the best possible way control the army in order to fulfill his duty and earn the glory of a great commander. Rostov galloped to attack the French because he could not resist the desire to gallop across a flat field. And so exactly, due to their personal properties, habits, conditions and goals, all those innumerable persons who took part in this war acted. They were afraid, they were conceited, they rejoiced, they were indignant, they reasoned, believing that they knew what they were doing and that they were doing it for themselves, and all were involuntary instruments of history and carried out work hidden from them, but understandable to us. This is the unchangeable fate of all practical figures, and the higher they stand in the human hierarchy, the more free they are.
Now the figures of 1812 have long since left their places, their personal interests have disappeared without a trace, and only historical results that time before us.
But let’s assume that the people of Europe, under the leadership of Napoleon, had to go deep into Russia and die there, and all the self-contradictory, senseless, cruel activities of the people participating in this war become clear to us.
Providence forced all these people, striving to achieve their personal goals, to contribute to the fulfillment of one huge result, about which not a single person (neither Napoleon, nor Alexander, nor even less any of the participants in the war) had the slightest aspiration.
Now it is clear to us what was the cause of the death of the French army in 1812. No one will argue that the reason for the death of Napoleon’s French troops was, on the one hand, their entry at a late time without preparation for a winter campaign deep into Russia, and on the other hand, the nature that the war took on from the burning of Russian cities and the incitement of hatred towards the enemy in the Russian people. But then not only did no one foresee that (which now seems obvious) that only in this way could the army of eight hundred thousand, the best in the world and led by the best commander, die in a clash with the Russian army, which was twice as weak, inexperienced and led by inexperienced commanders; not only did no one foresee this, but all efforts on the part of the Russians were constantly aimed at preventing the fact that only one could save Russia, and on the part of the French, despite the experience and so-called military genius of Napoleon, all efforts were directed towards this to stretch out to Moscow at the end of summer, that is, to do the very thing that should have destroyed them.
IN historical works About the year 1812, French authors are very fond of talking about how Napoleon felt the danger of stretching his line, how he looked for a battle, how his marshals advised him to stop in Smolensk, and give other similar arguments proving that then the danger of the campaign was already understood ; and Russian authors are even more fond of talking about how from the beginning of the campaign there was a plan for the Scythian war to lure Napoleon into the depths of Russia, and they attribute this plan to some Pfuel, some to some Frenchman, some to Tolya, some to Emperor Alexander himself, pointing to notes, projects and letters that actually contain hints of this course of action. But all these hints of foreknowledge of what happened, both on the part of the French and on the part of the Russians, are now exhibited only because the event justified them. If the event had not happened, then these hints would have been forgotten, just as thousands and millions of opposing hints and assumptions that were in use then, but turned out to be unfair and therefore forgotten, are now forgotten. There are always so many assumptions about the outcome of every event that takes place that, no matter how it ends, there will always be people who will say: “I said then that it would be like this,” completely forgetting that among the countless assumptions, completely opposite.
Assumptions about Napoleon's awareness of the danger of stretching the line and on the part of the Russians - about luring the enemy into the depths of Russia - obviously belong to this category, and historians can only attribute such considerations to Napoleon and his marshals and such plans to Russian military leaders only with great reserve. All the facts completely contradict such assumptions. Not only throughout the war was there no desire on the part of the Russians to lure the French into the depths of Russia, but everything was done to stop them from their first entry into Russia, and not only was Napoleon not afraid of stretching his line, but he rejoiced at how triumph, every step forward, and very lazily, unlike in his previous campaigns, he looked for battle.
At the very beginning of the campaign, our armies are cut up, and the only goal to which we strive is to unite them, although in order to retreat and lure the enemy into the interior of the country, there does not seem to be any advantage in uniting the armies. The emperor is with the army to inspire it to defend every step of the Russian land, and not to retreat. The huge Dries camp is being built according to Pfuel's plan and it is not intended to retreat further. The Emperor reproaches the commander-in-chief for every step of retreat. Not only the burning of Moscow, but the admission of the enemy to Smolensk cannot even be imagined by the emperor, and when the armies unite, the sovereign is indignant that Smolensk was taken and burned and was not given before its walls pitched battle.
The sovereign thinks so, but the Russian military leaders and all Russian people are even more indignant at the thought that ours are retreating into the interior of the country.
Napoleon, having cut up the armies, moves inland and misses several occasions of battle. In August he is in Smolensk and thinks only about how he can move on, although, as we now see, this movement forward is obviously detrimental for him.
The facts clearly show that neither Napoleon foresaw the danger in moving towards Moscow, nor Alexander and the Russian military leaders then thought about luring Napoleon, but thought about the opposite. The luring of Napoleon into the interior of the country did not happen according to anyone’s plan (no one believed in the possibility of this), but occurred from the most difficult game intrigues, goals, desires of people - participants in the war, who did not guess what should be, and what was the only salvation of Russia. Everything happens by accident. The armies are cut up at the start of the campaign. We try to unite them with the obvious goal of giving battle and holding off the enemy’s advance, but in this desire to unite, avoiding battles with the strongest enemy and unwittingly retreating under acute angle, we are bringing the French to Smolensk. But it’s not enough to say that we are retreating at an acute angle because the French are moving between both armies - this angle is becoming even sharper, and we are moving even further because Barclay de Tolly, an unpopular German, is hated by Bagration (who will become under his command ), and Bagration, commanding the 2nd Army, tries not to join Barclay for as long as possible, so as not to become under his command. Bagration does not join for a long time (although this is the main goal of all commanders) because it seems to him that he is putting his army in danger on this march and that it is most profitable for him to retreat to the left and south, harassing the enemy from the flank and rear and recruiting his army in Ukraine. But it seems that he came up with this because he did not want to obey the hated and junior German Barclay.
The emperor is with the army to inspire it, and his presence and lack of knowledge of what to decide on, and a huge number of advisers and plans destroy the energy of the 1st army’s actions, and the army retreats.
It is planned to stop at the Dris camp; but unexpectedly Paulucci, aiming to become commander-in-chief, influences Alexander with his energy, and Pfuel’s entire plan is abandoned, and the whole matter is entrusted to Barclay. But since Barclay does not inspire confidence, his power is limited.
The armies are fragmented, there is no unity of leadership, Barclay is not popular; but from this confusion, fragmentation and unpopularity of the German commander-in-chief, on the one hand, follows indecision and avoidance of battle (which could not be resisted if the armies were together and Barclay was not the commander), on the other hand, more and more indignation against the Germans and excitement of the patriotic spirit.
Finally, the sovereign leaves the army, and as the only and most convenient pretext for his departure, the idea is chosen that he needs to inspire the people in the capitals to excite people's war. And this trip of the sovereign and Moscow triples the strength of the Russian army.
The sovereign leaves the army in order not to hamper the unity of power of the commander-in-chief, and hopes that more decisive measures will be taken; but the position of the army command is even more confused and weakened. Bennigsen, Grand Duke and a swarm of general adjutants remain with the army in order to monitor the actions of the commander-in-chief and excite him to energy, and Barclay, feeling even less free under the eyes of all these sovereign eyes, becomes even more careful for decisive actions and avoids battles.
Barclay stands for caution. The Tsarevich hints at treason and demands a general battle. Lyubomirsky, Branitsky, Wlotsky and the like inflate all this noise so much that Barclay, under the pretext of delivering papers to the sovereign, sends the Poles as adjutant generals to St. Petersburg and enters into an open fight with Bennigsen and the Grand Duke.
In Smolensk, finally, no matter how Bagration wished it, the armies are united.
Bagration drives up in a carriage to the house occupied by Barclay. Barclay puts on a scarf, goes out to meet him and reports to the senior rank of Bagration. Bagration, in the struggle of generosity, despite the seniority of his rank, submits to Barclay; but, having submitted, she agrees with him even less. Bagration personally, by order of the sovereign, informs him. He writes to Arakcheev: “The will of my sovereign, I cannot do it together with the minister (Barclay). For God's sake, send me somewhere, even to command a regiment, but I can’t be here; and the entire main apartment is filled with Germans, so it’s impossible for a Russian to live, and there’s no point. I thought I was truly serving the sovereign and the fatherland, but in reality it turns out that I am serving Barclay. I admit, I don’t want to.” The swarm of Branitskys, Wintzingerodes and the like further poisons the relations of the commanders-in-chief, and even less unity emerges. They are planning to attack the French in front of Smolensk. A general is sent to inspect the position. This general, hating Barclay, goes to his friend, the corps commander, and, after sitting with him for a day, returns to Barclay and condemns on all counts the future battlefield, which he has not seen.
While there are disputes and intrigues about the future battlefield, while we are looking for the French, having made a mistake in their location, the French stumble upon Neverovsky’s division and approach the very walls of Smolensk.
We must take on an unexpected battle in Smolensk in order to save our messages. The battle is given. Thousands are being killed on both sides.
Smolensk is abandoned against the will of the sovereign and all the people. But Smolensk was burned by the residents themselves, deceived by their governor, and the ruined residents, setting an example for other Russians, go to Moscow, thinking only about their losses and inciting hatred of the enemy. Napoleon moves on, we retreat, and the very thing that was supposed to defeat Napoleon is achieved.

The day after his son’s departure, Prince Nikolai Andreich called Princess Marya to his place.
- Well, are you satisfied now? - he told her, - she quarreled with her son! Are you satisfied? That's all you needed! Are you satisfied?.. It hurts me, it hurts. I'm old and weak, and that's what you wanted. Well, rejoice, rejoice... - And after that, Princess Marya did not see her father for a week. He was sick and did not leave the office.
To her surprise, Princess Marya noticed that during this time of illness the old prince also did not allow m lle Bourienne to visit him. Only Tikhon followed him.
A week later, the prince left and began his old life again, being especially active in buildings and gardens and ending all previous relations with m lle Bourienne. His appearance and cold tone with Princess Marya seemed to say to her: “You see, you made it up about me, lied to Prince Andrei about my relationship with this Frenchwoman and quarreled me with him; and you see that I don’t need either you or the Frenchwoman.”

In the near future, all systems of the Rosetta probe will be turned off, and the probe itself will be buried today, September 30, at 13:40 Moscow time on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Life recalls the main milestones of this grandiose space experiment that lasted twelve years.

Dream of a comet

Twelve s extra years ago, on March 2, 2004, the Ariane 5 launch vehicle with the Rosetta space probe on board was launched from the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana. Ahead of the probe was a ten-year journey through space and a meeting with a comet. This was the first spacecraft launched from Earth, which was supposed to reach the comet, land a descent module on it and tell earthlings a little more about these celestial bodies flying into the Solar System from deep space. However, the history of Rosetta began much earlier.

Russian trace

In 1969, photographs of comet 32P/Comas Sola , taken by a Soviet astronomer Svetlana Gerasimenko at the Alma-Ata Observatory and another Soviet astronomer Klim Churyumov found a comet unknown to science at the very edge of the image. After its discovery, it was entered into the register under the name 67R / Churyumova - Gerasimenko.

67P means that this is the sixty-seventh short-period comet discovered by astronomers. Unlike long period comet with a short orbital period, they orbit the Sun in less than two hundred years. 67P and generally rotates very close to the star, completing an orbit in six years and seven months. This feature made comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko the main target for the first landing of a spacecraft.

Don't eat it, just bite it

Initially, the European Space Agency planned the CNSR (Comet Nucleus Sample Return) mission to collect and return to earth samples of the comet's nucleus together with NASA. But NASA’s budget couldn’t handle it, and left alone, the Europeans decided that they couldn’t afford to return the samples. It was decided to launch a probe, land a descent module on the comet and obtain maximum information on the spot without returning.

For this purpose, the Rosetta probe and the Philae lander were created. Initially, their target was a completely different comet - 46P/Wirtanen (it also has less period treatment: only five and a half years). But, alas, after the failure of the launch vehicle engines in 2003, time was lost, the comet left the trajectory, and, in order not to wait for it, the Europeans switched to 67R / Churyumova - Gerasimenko. On March 2, 2004, a historic launch took place, which was attended by Klim Churyumov and Svetlana Gerasimenko. "Rosetta" began its journey.

Space rose

The Rosetta probe was named after the famous Rosetta Stone, which helped scientists understand the meaning of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs. It was collected in a clean room (a special room where the minimum possible dust particles and microorganisms are maintained), since it was possible to find molecules on the comet - the precursors of life. It would be a shame to instead discover terrestrial microorganisms with the probe.

The probe weighed 3,000 kilograms, and the area of ​​Rosetta's solar panels was 64 square meters. 24 engines were supposed to be in right moment to correct the course of the device, and 1670 kilograms of fuel (the purest monomethylhydrazine) to ensure maneuvers. The payload includes scientific instruments, a unit for communication with the Earth and the descent module, and the Philae descent module itself, weighing 100 kilograms. The main work on the creation of scientific instruments and assembly was carried out by the Finnish company Patria.

Dear difficult

The flight pattern of Rosetta is more like a task in a children's book: “help the spacecraft find its comet,” where you have to drag your finger along a confusing trajectory for a long time. Rosetta made four revolutions around the Sun, using the gravity of Earth and Mars to accelerate it, in order to develop sufficient speed to reach the comet.

catch up with the celestial body. Only in this case would Rosetta be captured by the gravitational field of the comet and become its artificial satellite. During the flight, the probe performed four gravity maneuvers, an error in any of which would have put an end to the entire mission.

Philami on the water

Scientists from ten countries, including Russia, took part in the creation of the Philae lander. The name was given to the module as a result of a competition. A fifteen-year-old Italian girl suggested continuing the theme of archaeological mysteries with the ancient Egyptian island of Philae, where an obelisk that required deciphering was also found.

Despite its light weight, the baby being lowered to the comet carried almost 27 kilograms of payload: a dozen instruments for studying the comet. These include a gas chromatograph, a mass spectrometer, a radar, six microcameras for surface imaging, density measurement sensors, a magnetometer and a drill.

The Fila looks more like a Swiss pocketknife with claws. In addition, two harpoons were built into it for fixation on the surface of the comet and three drills on the landing legs. Additionally, shock absorbers had to absorb the shock on the surface, and rocket engine- press the module against the comet for a few seconds. However, everything went wrong.

A small step for the lander

On August 6, 2014, Rosetta caught up with the comet and approached it at a distance of one hundred kilometers. Comet Churyumova - Gerasimenko has complex shape, looking like a poorly made dumbbell. Its larger part measures four by three kilometers, and the smaller part measures two by two kilometers. Philae would have landed on the larger part of the comet, Area A, where there were no large boulders.

On November 12, being at a distance of 22 kilometers from the comet, Rosetta sent Philae to land. The probe flew up to the surface at a speed of one meter per second, tried to secure itself with drills, but for some reason the engine did not fire and the harpoons were not activated. The probe was torn off the surface, and, after making three contacts, it landed completely different from where it was planned. The main problem with the landing was that Philae ended up in the shadowed part of the comet, where there was no lighting for recharging.

In general, landing on a comet is a most complex technical undertaking, and even this result shows the highest skill of the specialists who carried it out. Information reaches Earth with a delay of half an hour, so all possible commands are given in advance or arrive with a huge lag.

Imagine that you need to throw out a load from an airplane flying 22 kilometers from the surface of the earth (well, just imagine one), which should accurately hit a small area. Moreover, your cargo is a rubber ball, which, at the slightest mistake, strives to jump off the surface, and the plane responds to commands an hour later.

It wasn't about the comet

However, on Earth, the first landing on a comet in human history caused much less emotion than the shirt of the British scientist Matt Taylor, who led the landing. A Hawaiian shirt with half-naked beauties made us talk about disrespect for women, objectification, sexism, anti-feminism and other “isms”. It even got to the point that Matt Taylor was forced to tearfully apologize to those who were frapped by his choice of clothing. Almost no attention was paid to one of the greatest achievements in space.

60 hours

Since Phila landed in a shaded area, it had no opportunity to charge its batteries. As a result, on scientific works Less than three days of operation left on internal batteries. During this time, scientists managed to obtain a lot of data. Organic compounds were found on 67P, four of which (methyl isocyanate, acetone, propionaldehyde and acetamide) had never before been found on the surface of comets.

Gas samples were taken, which were found to contain water vapor, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and several others organic components, among which there is formaldehyde. This is very important find, since the discovered materials can serve as building materials for creating life.

After 60 hours of experiments, the lander turned off and went into energy conservation mode. The comet was heading closer to the Sun, and scientists still had hope that after some time there would be enough energy to launch it again.

Instead of an epilogue

In June 2015, seven months after the last communication session, Phila announced that it was ready to go. Over the course of a month, two short communication sessions took place, during which only telemetry was transmitted. On July 9, 2015, communication with the lander was lost forever. Scientists did not give up trying to reach the module throughout the year, but, alas, to no avail.On July 27, 2016, scientists turned off the communications unit on Rosetta, recognizing the hopelessness of their attempts. Philae remained on the comet.

67R / Churyumova - Gerasimenko began to move away from the sun, and Rosetta, located in its orbit, also no longer has enough energy. All scientific experiments she completed it, and today, having turned off all sensors, scientists will land the probe on an eternal parking lot on the surface of the comet as a monument to human thought and ambition.

This is how it ends space travel twelve years long, one of the most daring and successful experiments of mankind.

Illustration copyright E.K.A. Image caption The picture was taken 10 seconds before the collision with the comet

The Rosetta space probe collided with comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko, which it followed for 12 years.

As it approached the comet's surface - a 4 km-diameter sphere of ice and dust - the probe was still transmitting photographs to Earth.

Specialists from the European flight control center space agency(ESA), which is located in German city Darmstadt, gave the order to change course on Thursday afternoon.

Final confirmation that a controlled collision had finally occurred came from Darmstadt after radio contact with the probe was suddenly lost.

"Goodbye, Rosetta! You've done your job. This is space science at its best," mission director Patrick Martin said.

Project Rosetta lasted 30 years. Some of the scientists who followed Rosetta's comet collision in Darmstadt devoted significant portions of their careers to the mission.

The speed of approach of the probe with the comet was extremely low, only 0.5 meters per second, the distance was about 19 kilometers.

According to ESA representatives, Rosetta was not designed to land on the surface and could not continue to function after the collision.

That's why the probe was pre-programmed to shut down completely automatically upon contact with a celestial body.

Comet 67 R (Churyumova-Gerasimenko)

• Comet rotation cycle: 12.4 hours.
• Weight: 10 billion tons.
• Density: 400 kg per cubic meter(about the same as some types of wood).
• Volume: 25 cu. km.
• Color: Charcoal - judging by its albedo (reflectivity of the body surface).

Rosetta followed the comet for 6 billion kilometers. The probe was in its orbit for more than two years.

It became the first spacecraft to enter orbit around a comet.

Over the course of 25 months, the probe sent back to Earth over 100 thousand photographs and readings from measuring instruments.

The probe collected previously unavailable data on celestial body, in particular, about its behavior, structure and chemical composition.

In November 2014, Rosetta lowered a small robot called Philae to the comet's surface to collect soil samples, the world's first of its kind.

Comets, as scientists suggest, have been preserved since the formation of the solar system in almost their original form, so the data transmitted by the probe to Earth will help to better understand the cosmic processes that took place 4.5 billion years ago.

“The data transmitted by Rosetta will be used for decades,” says flight director Andrea Accomazzo.

Last Stand

The probe was located at a distance of 573 million km from the Sun and was moving further and further away from it, approaching the boundaries of the Solar system.

The spacecraft operated at solar powered, which could no longer be recharged effectively.

In addition, the data transfer speed has become extremely low: only 40 kb per second, which is comparable to the speed of accessing the Internet through a telephone line.

In general, Rosetta, launched into space in 2004, lately wasn't in the best place technical condition, having been exposed to radiation and extreme temperatures for many years.

According to project coordinator Matt Taylor, the team discussed the idea of ​​putting the probe into standby mode and reactivating it when Comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko next he'll come in once into the inner solar system.

However, scientists had no confidence that Rosetta would then work as before.

Therefore, the researchers decided to give Rosetta a chance to prove itself in the “last battle” and “exit life with brilliance,” no matter how bitter it may sound.