The European Space Agency's (ESA) has the comet it plans on mounting next month in its sights, but 67P/Churyumov - Gerasimenko is looking a little "irregular."
According to Discovery News, the Rosetta probe beamed photos back to Earth that seem to show three large objects on the comet, but it could possibly be a large hole. The photo was taken July 4 at a distance of about 23,000 miles away.
The ESA launched Rosetta in March 2004 and the probe has spent its last 10-plus years drifting through deep space looking to attach itself to a comet. This kind of mission has never been attempted and will allow scientists on Earth to gather valuable data on the nature of comets. Rosetta spent most of its journey in hibernation mode to conserve energy while it floated deep into the universe.
"From what we can discern in these early images, 67P is an irregularly looking body," Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research in Germany researcher Holger Sierks, Rosetta's principal investigator for scientific imaging system the, said in a statement.
CLICK HERE for an interactive map from the ESA detailing Rosetta's current location.
In a press release last week, the space agency said Rosetta was 20,000 km, which will shrink to just 100 km.
"This unique occasion will secure ESA's place in history with the first spacecraft to rendezvous with a comet," ESA said in the release. "Later, Rosetta will orbit the comet and, in November, it will become the first mission to send a lander to a comet's surface."
The ESA will appoint its own judges to pick one winner and the other will be put to a fan vote. The space agency will also award 10 runners up with a gift bag prize. Based on long family trips, the campaign is called "Rosetta, Are We There Yet?"
