Oct. 24, 2014
The Rosetta spacecraft was launched in 2004, aiming to give the most in depth understanding of a comet that humanity has to date. Last August, the spacecraft became the first to successfully rendezvous with the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Currently Rosetta is mapping the comet in detail to determine the safest place to land. And then, in November it will send a probe, Philae, to land on the comet's surface.
It was 20 years ago when the European Space Agency (ESA) decided to study a comet. There are hundreds of comets flying around the Solar System, eventually ESA chose 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko (67P/C-G) and it marked the beginning of the most ambitious project for studying a comet to date. Like all comets, Churyumov-Gerasimenko is named after its discoverers and was first observed in 1969.
Last August, after ten years in space (including a close flyby of Mars) the spacecraft managed to rendezvous with the comet and has entered the 67P's orbit on 10 September. Since then, it has been able to gather a lot of data about the comet, which is somewhat of an 'ice mountain', already. While its dimensions were earlier vaguely described as 'about 4 km wide', the mission has since revealed far more details and even discerned the duck shape.
But the most important phase is yet to begin, as the ESA will try to put a small robot on the surface of this the comet on 12 November. If deemed to be safe enough to do so, the space probe will get as close as 10km to the 67P and deploy its 'Philae' lander (named after Philae Island, where an obelisk was found and used in addition to the Rosetta stone to decipher Egyptian hieroglyphics) on the 'head of the duck'.
No-one has ever been this close to a comet before, and there are major discoveries to be made. The next phase is to find a right landing zone for Philae. Rosetta spacecraft has taken many pictures of the comet for ESA to reconstruct a 3D model of the comet.
The CNES, France's contribution to the ESA, took the 3D model created through the spacecraft's photographs and went to 3D printing company Sculpteo.
"Having a physical object in our hands, to hold, observe and show definitely helped us make our decision. Even if you have a good imagination, it's always easier to plan the journey when you have the 3D print on hand," Philippe Gaudon, Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES) Project Manager of the Rosetta mission, explains. "The public gets a better understanding of the project with a 3D print, the project becomes concrete."
Courtesy of Sculpteo.
The ESA ordered multiple prints from Sculpteo. Using the 3D printed miniature they were able to select two potential landing sites for the 'Philae' lander.
"Several years ago, when we scanned Steins and Lutetia asteroids, we ordered physical versions of it made through manual plaster molding. But it was definitely less precise than the print we got for 67P/Churymov-Gerasimenko. It was also a lot faster: we got the print exactly one week after we uploaded it on Sculpteo's website," said Gaudon.
Courtesy of Sculpteo.
This was Gaudon's first experience with 3D printing. "Even though I heard a lot about 3D printing, I had never seen a 3D print with my own eyes. I'm really satisfied with the finale version we got from Sculpteo," he explains.
ESA has released 3D models of the comet, which can be easily transformed into STL files and printed. A fan of space travel and 3D printing? You can download their free rendering of the comet on the ESA website. The relevant files are available in .wrl and .obj formats.
Posted in 3D Printing Applications
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