The Rosetta satellite and its Philae lander have seen their Nov. 12 rendezvous with Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko green lit.
According to BBC News, the European Space Agency (ESA) had already confirmed the target landing spot for the comet-tailing probe. Now approved for an official landing attempt, Rosetta will detach the Philae lander at 8:30 GMT on Nov. 12.
The whole process should be some seven hours long, but mission managers on the ground will not be able to guide the machinery themselves. Because of how far the satellite is from Earth, Rosetta will have to act on its own. After the task is complete, the ESA will need about half an hour to confirm Rosetta's success or failure.
"Now that we know where we are definitely aiming for, we are an important step closer to carrying out this exciting - but high-risk - operation," Fred Jansen, ESA's Rosetta mission manager, said in a statement. "However, there are still a number of key milestones to complete before we can give the final 'go' for landing."
No space agency has ever tried to put a satellite onto a comet before and, if successful, the Rosetta probe will gain never-before-seen information as the comet enters the solar system and heads for our sun. One potential problem is Comet 67P's strange shape, though Rosetta has spent months observing every last corner of the space clump of ice and dust.
To try and ensure success, Rosetta will propel itself toward the comet before shooting the Philae lander at the target, dubbed "Site J." Rosetta will then abruptly careen away while staying close enough to control the lander. Still, BBC News noted, the mission is going to need a break here and there.
Due to its small size, lack of gravitational force and unpredictable composition, mission managers are most worried that the Philae lander will never truly grab hold of its target.
