- published: 26 May 2015
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Rosetta is a space probe built by the European Space Agency launched on 2 March 2004. Along with Philae, its lander module, Rosetta is performing a detailed study of comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko (67P). On 6 August 2014, the spacecraft reached the comet and performed a series of manoeuvres to be captured in its orbit. On 12 November, the lander module performed the first successful landing on a comet.As of 2015, the mission continues to return data from the spacecraft in orbit and from the lander in the comet's surface. During its journey to the comet, the spacecraft flew by Mars and the asteroids 21 Lutetia and 2867 Šteins.
The probe is named after the Rosetta Stone, a stele of Egyptian origin featuring a decree in three scripts. The lander is named after the Philae obelisk, which bears a bilingual Greek and Egyptian hieroglyphic inscription. A comparison of its hieroglyphs with those on the Rosetta Stone catalysed the deciphering of the Egyptian writing system. Similarly, it is hoped that these spacecraft will result in better understanding of comets and the early Solar System. In a more direct analogy to its namesake, the Rosetta spacecraft also carries a micro-etched nickel alloy Rosetta disc donated by the Long Now Foundation inscribed with 13,000 pages of text in 1200 languages.
Coordinates: 31°24′N 30°25′E / 31.400°N 30.417°E / 31.400; 30.417
Rosetta (/roʊˈzɛtə/; Arabic: رشيد Rašīd IPA: [ɾɑˈʃiːd]; French: Rosette [ʁo.zɛt]) is a port city of the Nile Delta, located 65 km (40 mi) east of Alexandria, in Egypt's Beheira governorate.
Founded around in the 9th century, Rashid boomed with the decline of Alexandria following the Ottoman conquest of Egypt in 1517, only to wane in importance after Alexandria's revival. During the 19th century, it was a popular British tourist destination, known for its charming Ottoman mansions, citrus groves and comparative cleanliness.
Both the Arabic name Rašīd (meaning "guide") and the western name Rosetta or Rosette ("little rose" in Italian and French respectively) are corruptions (or folk etymologies) of a Coptic toponym, Trashit.Rosetta or Rosette was the name used by the French at the time of Napoleon Bonaparte's campaign in Egypt and thus became eponymous of the Rosetta Stone (French: Pierre de Rosette), which was found by French soldiers at the nearby Fort Julien in 1799.