4 Billion Miles in 10 Years: Rosetta Spacecraft Finally Reaches Comet

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After traveling 4 billion miles over the past decade, the European Space Agency's Rosetta probe reached its destination: a comet orbiting between Mars and Jupiter.

The arrival marks a huge milestone for mankind in space and is a huge step toward Rosetta's next goal, landing a spacecraft on a comet. Rosetta rendezvoused with the comet known as 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko on Wednesday after a seven-minute thrust.

See also: Humans on Mars: Who Will Be First?

Once it was close enough to the comet, Rosetta beamed back images of its destination.

“Hello, Comet!” http://ift.tt/1sej22e

— ESA Rosetta Mission (@ESA_Rosetta) August 6, 2014 Read more...

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from MashableAmanda Wills