That's all folks

[DaveS]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-37520420

[AndreaA]

Yes, very sad to witness the end - but some great science done there.

[lukebl]

Another great mission.

I find it odd that 'they' make a point of avoiding crashing probes on moons with potential for life, e.g. Europa, to avoid contamination by terrestrial microbes, but are happy to do so on comets. I would have thought comets were equally sensitive as agents of organic dispersal in the solar system?

[Knight of Clear Skies]

3 hours ago, lukebl said:

Another great mission.

I find it odd that 'they' make a point of avoiding crashing probes on moons with potential for life, e.g. Europa, to avoid contamination by terrestrial microbes, but are happy to do so on comets. I would have thought comets were equally sensitive as agents of organic dispersal in the solar system?

It was done partly to take observations close to the surface, but mostly to keep this guy happy.

(From here.)

More seriously, I guess from a contamination point of view there are plenty more comets out there to check.

 

 

 

[barkis]

I think 67P has date with the sun eventually. It's orbit has been eroded over the years by Jupiter's gravitational pull, to the extent that it's
Perihelion distance has been drastically reduced, so a likely dive in to the Sun is probable.
Possibly the reason why the mission scientists were not fussed about any contamination fears.