The craft passed barely 150 miles from Mars. The navigation had to be precise, as a mistake could not be corrected.
By David McHugh -- Associated Press
Feb. 25, 2007 -- DARMSTADT, Germany (AP) -- A European spacecraft executed a close flyby of Mars Sunday, a crucial maneuver in its meandering, 10-year voyage through the solar system to make the first soft landing on a comet.
Applause broke out in the European Space Agency's mission control center as the Rosetta comet probe's radio signal was picked up after 15 minutes of silence as the craft passed behind the Red Planet. The maneuver, which used the planet's gravity to change course, sends the craft toward two similar flybys of Earth this year and in 2009.
"Rosetta is on its way,'' said Manfred Warhaut, head of mission operations.
The momentum gained from these flybys will sling the spacecraft toward its final rendezvous with the comet 67/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in 2014. The 3-mile long irregular chunk of ice, frozen gases and dust, is named for its discoverers, Soviet astronomers Klim Churyumov and Svetlana Gerasimenko.
The craft passed barely 150 miles from Mars. The navigation had to be precise, as a mistake could not be corrected.
more
www.malaymail.com/news/world/2026/01/11/bomb-attac…
BANGKOK, Jan 11 — A series of late-night bomb attacks targeted 11 PTT petrol stations in Thailand’s southern border provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala…
www.khaama.com/at-least-eight-refugees-die-37-resc…
At least eight refugees died and 37 were rescued when their boat sank off Badmeli near Izmir, Turkish authorities said on Saturday.
katu.com/news/local/oregon-confirms-first-measles-…
Health officials in Oregon have confirmed the state's first measles cases of 2026, with two people diagnosed in Linn County.
abc11.com/post/measles-north-carolina-state-report…
Measles in North Carolina: State reports 5th case linked to South Carolina surge
