67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko

3D Model

67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko (abbreviated as 67P or 67P/C-G, and written in Cyrillic as комета Чурюмова — Герасименко) is a comet, originally from the Kuiper belt, with a current orbital period of 6.45 years, a rotation period of approximately 12.4 hours and a maximum velocity of 135,000 km/h (38 km/s; 84,000 mph). Churyumov–Gerasimenko is approximately 4.3 by 4.1 km (2.7 by 2.5 mi) at its longest and widest dimensions. It was first observed on photographic plates in 1969 by Soviet astronomers Klim Ivanovych Churyumov and Svetlana Ivanovna Gerasimenko, after whom it is named. It came to perihelion (closest approach to the Sun) on 13 August 2015.

Churyumov–Gerasimenko was the destination of the European Space Agency’s Rosetta mission, launched on 2 March 2004. Rosetta rendezvoused with Churyumov–Gerasimenko on 6 August 2014 and entered orbit on 10 September 2014. Rosetta‍‍ ’​‍s lander, Philae, touched down on its surface on 12 November 2014, becoming the first spacecraft to land on a comet nucleus.