rosetta spacecraft

Description

Brought to you by MconneX (http://www.engin.umich.edu/alumni) Two comets will be swinging around the sun in 2013, allowing for rare naked-eye appearances by the elusive balls of rock and ice. But 2014 and 2015 will be the real exciting years for space enthusiasts as the Rosetta spacecraft is set to land a probe on a comet for the first ever up-close inspection. U-M Professor Mike Combi helped develop two devices, one on the orbiter and one on the lander, that will help to analyze the composition of these ancient "dirty snowballs". Researchers hope that the contents of the comet will give hints about the origin of the solar system more than 4.5 billion years ago. ABOUT THE PROFESSOR: Mike Combi (http://aoss.engin.umich.edu/people/mcombi) is a Distinguished Research Professor of Planetary Science and Cometary Physics in the Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Sciences department (http://aoss.engin.umich.edu/) at the University of Michigan College of Engineering (http://www.engin.umich.edu/) . His research includes cometary X-ray observations and study of the excitation mechanism. In 2005, Asteroid 17061 Mikecombi was named in honor of his contributions to the study of cometary atmospheres. MORE: Watch additional MichEpedia videos or join the discussion at http:// www.engin.umich.edu/info/alumni/mconnex/michepedia/