Comet craft

摘要

The European Space Agency's Rosetta spacecraft has woken up after almost three years of hibernation in space. The craft, part of a € 1 -billion (US$1.4-billion) mission to track down a comet, was turned off in 2011 to save energy while travelling in deep space. Rosetta successfully re-established communications with Earth on 20 January, to much jubilation at the agency (pictured). The spacecraft will nowjourney to its target, the comet 67P/ Churyumov-Gerasimenko, which it will approach in August and observe at close quarters before attempting to release and land a probe in November. See go.nature. com/ligyyz for more.