Rosetta prepares for deployment of lander on Nov. 12th

 The European Space Agency’s Rosetta spacecraft now orbiting the Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko will release  its Philae lander to touch down on the comet on November 12th at 08:35 UTC (09:35 CET, 03:35 EST) . They have now chosen the name Agilkia for the landing spot: Farewell ‘J’, hello Agilkia – ESA

Rosetta & Philae at comet 67P. Credit: ESA–C. Carreau/ATG medialabRosetta & Philae at comet 67P. Credit: ESA–C. Carreau/ATG medialab

On October 31st, Rosetta made a maneuver to align itself for the release of the lander :  Rosetta lined up for lander delivery – Rosetta blog.

the next planed orbit-changing manoeuvres will occur on the 12th at (a) 2 hours before separation and (b) about 40 minutes after (see animation below), in between which Philae will be released.

The pre-delivery manoeuvre will shift Rosetta’s trajectory so that the orbiter would be on a path so as to pass over the comet at a distance of 5 km, while the separation will occur at 08:35 UTC on board the spacecraft about 22 km (the confirmation signal will arrive on Earth at 09:03 UTC).

The second manoeuvre will cause a deflection of the Rosetta trajectory away from the comet; it will occur 40 minutes after separation, and help guarantee visibility of Philae at touchdown.

This video shows the orbital path (accelerated in time) of the orbiter

This video is about the landing and the people involved in the project: