It has been slumbering for almost three years. But later today a signal from Earth will awaken the spacecraft Rosetta to begin one of the most complex and exciting missions in the exploration of our solar system.
The target is a four kilometre wide comet heading towards the Sun. After its midday alarm call, Rosetta will start a 10-month chase at speeds of up 100,000kph that will end, if all goes well, with an audacious first landing on a comet.
The task has been compared with the film Armageddon, which featured Bruce Willis as the commander of a mission to intercept and destroy a gigantic asteroid on a collision course with Earth.
The path of comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko – named after the Russian scientist who discovered it in 1969 – is considerably less dramatic, with nothing worse than a close encounter with Jupiter.
Indeed, the Rosetta craft has been deemed more of a hazard than the comet it is chasing, after being mistakenly identified as a near-Earth asteroid by American astronomers after it swept past at a distance of just 5,700 kilometres seven years ago.
But the prospect of a successful landing on a comet is generating just as much excitement as the plot of a science fiction film, at least among the world’s scientific community.
Rosetta, named after the ancient Egyptian stele that cracked the code of hieroglyphs, carries in its payload the landing module Philae, named after the Nile island where the Rosetta Stone was discovered in 1799.
Launched by the European Space Agency (ESA) from French Guiana in 2004, the twin craft are also seeking to crack a code – in this case, unlocking the secrets of the solar system before its planets were formed.
Hence the decision to hunt down comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko, also known as comet 67P. Like all such bodies, it is a collection of dirt and ice that is thought to be a remnant of the birth of the solar system.
Mark McCaughrean, an astrophysicist and the ESA’s director of science, describes 67P as a “time capsule” that has been locked away for 4.6 billion years: “It’s time to unlock the treasure chest,” he says.
Since its launch, Rosetta has flown round the Sun five times, making three fly-bys of Earth and one of Mars and travelling 7 billion km on its journey. It has used both planets’ gravity to provide the acceleration to catch comet 67P.
In July 2010, the spaceship caught up with and photographed a 100km-diameter asteroid, Lutetia. Almost a year later, heading to the darkest region of the solar system, Rosetta was put into hibernation to conserve energy until the most crucial stage of the mission.
That begins today, by what the ESA calls “the most important alarm clock in the solar system”, a computer on the spaceship.
Rosetta is now 673 million km from the Sun, and close enough for the rays of light to power its solar panels again.
Until the reactivation, the craft has retained only enough power to keep its computer on standby and for three small heaters to stop it freezing solid. But for 31 months, the ESA has had no contact with the vessel.
At the mission control in Darmstadt, Germany, the first sign that all is still well will be a signal from Rosetta announcing it has woken up.
Before that, the spaceship will switch on its “star trackers”, taking it out of its hibernation spin, checking its position and beginning the process of warming up other systems.
After firing thrusters the craft will have its solar arrays directly aligned with the Sun. It will next turn its antenna towards Earth to send a signal home. In all, it will take about six hours before scientists know all is well.
Because the distance is so enormous, the message will take nearly 45 minutes to reach Earth, with ESA relying on Nasa’s help to boost the signal through its deep-space station in Goldstone, California.
In the next stage of the €1.3 billion (Dh7.8bn) mission, Rosetta will spend five months testing its systems during its journey through space.
This will include putting into place procedures to correct two small glitches that have occurred during the 10-year mission. One involves two of four “reaction wheels” that turn the ship, with the other a leak of helium for the thrusters.
All being well, Rosetta will gradually drawn alongside comet 67P in August at a distance of just 25km, initially taking photographs and identifying a possible landing site.
At present, scientists are divided over whether to pick one of three “live” sides, where material is being released into space, or another location less likely to damage the lander’s instruments.
Finally, in November, Rosetta will be close enough to release Philae. Because of the comet’s low gravity, the refrigerator-sized lander will fire a harpoon attached to a tether to stop itself drifting into space after the landing.
Once on the surface, Philae will start conducting a series of nine experiments, including a drill to extract material from the comet’s interior.
While this stage of the mission is scheduled to last a week, there are hopes it will last much longer, with the rest of the mission scheduled to end in December next year.
For comet 67P, though, time is also running out. It is thought to have originated in the Kulper Belt, a reservoir of icy objects beyond Neptune. Collisions eventually eject some of these towards the Sun.
Comet 67P’s trajectory will have taken it toward Jupiter, altering its orbit. Such bodies are known as short-period comets, as the heat of the Sun causes them to melt.
After so many billions of years, 67P will be lucky to survive another 20.
jlangton@thenational.ae
Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Baby Driver
Director: Edgar Wright
Starring: Ansel Elgort, Kevin Spacey, Jamie Foxx, Lily James
Three and a half stars
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
The%20specs
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The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
SPECS
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E4-litre%20flat-six%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E525hp%20(GT3)%2C%20500hp%20(GT4)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E465Nm%20(GT3)%2C%20450Nm%20(GT4)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeven-speed%20automatic%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh944%2C000%20(GT3)%2C%20Dh581%2C700%20(GT4)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENow%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The Buckingham Murders
Starring: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ash Tandon, Prabhleen Sandhu
Director: Hansal Mehta
Rating: 4 / 5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Total eligible population
About 57.5 million people
51.1 million received a jab
6.4 million have not
Where are the unvaccinated?
England 11%
Scotland 9%
Wales 10%
Northern Ireland 14%
