What happened when Philae landed?

It bounced and ended up in shadow

What did the mission find on the comet?

Organic molecules, including an amino acid

Comet 67P Quiz: Rosetta, Philae and the Duck-Shaped Nucleus

This comet 67P quiz rides along with ESA's Rosetta mission. Play 10 interactive questions on the comet's discovery in 1969, a nucleus shaped like a rubber duck, Rosetta's arrival in 2014, Philae's bouncing landing, finding organic molecules and an amino acid, water different from Earth's oceans, a smell like rotten eggs and the mission's planned crash landing in 2016.

Start Comet 67P Quiz

🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

Name
Who discovered comet 67P?
Year
When was 67P discovered?
Shape
What does 67P's nucleus look like?
Mission
Which ESA spacecraft orbited 67P?
Lander
What was the name of Rosetta's lander?
Bounce
What happened when Philae landed?
Organics
What did the mission find on the comet?
Water
How did 67P's water compare to Earth's oceans?
Smell
What would 67P smell like, according to scientists?
End
How did the Rosetta mission end in 2016?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: Who discovered comet 67P?
Answer: Klim Churyumov and Svetlana Gerasimenko
It carries their names.
Q2: When was 67P discovered?
Answer: 1969
Photos revealed it.
Q3: What does 67P's nucleus look like?
Answer: A rubber duck with two lobes
It may have formed from two pieces.
Q4: Which ESA spacecraft orbited 67P?
Answer: Rosetta
It arrived in August 2014.
Q5: What was the name of Rosetta's lander?
Answer: Philae
It touched down in November 2014.
Q6: What happened when Philae landed?
Answer: It bounced and ended up in shadow
Harpoons failed to fire.
Q7: What did the mission find on the comet?
Answer: Organic molecules, including an amino acid
Glycine was detected.
Q8: How did 67P's water compare to Earth's oceans?
Answer: It was chemically different
This affected ideas about ocean origins.
Q9: What would 67P smell like, according to scientists?
Answer: Rotten eggs and a horse stable
Gas chemistry suggested it.
Q10: How did the Rosetta mission end in 2016?
Answer: With a controlled landing on the comet
It touched down gently.

Rosetta and the Rubber Duck Comet

Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko was discovered in 1969 by Klim Churyumov and Svetlana Gerasimenko. When ESA's Rosetta spacecraft arrived in August 2014, it revealed a nucleus shaped like a rubber duck, with two lobes that may once have been separate pieces.

In November 2014, Rosetta released the lander Philae. Its harpoons failed to fire, and it bounced across the surface before settling in shadow, where its batteries soon ran low. It still sent back data, and Rosetta later spotted it wedged in a crevice.

Rosetta found organic molecules, including the amino acid glycine, and measured water that was chemically different from Earth's oceans. Scientists joked the comet would smell like rotten eggs and a horse stable. In September 2016 the mission ended with a controlled landing on the comet.

What This Quiz Teaches

Space fans will enjoy these questions.

Who discovered 67P
What it looks like
What Rosetta and Philae did
What they found
How the mission ended

Did You Know?

Rosetta was named after the Rosetta Stone.
Philae was named after an obelisk island.
The journey took ten years.
Jets of gas burst from the surface.
The comet orbits every 6.4 years.