The European Space Agency's Rosetta spacecraft is gearing-up for the landing of its Philae probe on Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko on November 12. This will be the first ever comet landing in history.

Rosetta's orbit is now closer to Comet 67P, which is now 30 kilometers near the center of the comet from the original 10 kilometers after two thruster firings this week. Last Tuesday, the first burn lasted 82 seconds and on Friday, the second burn lasted for about 90 seconds.

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Rosetta will now make intensive preparations before deploying Philae to the landing site called ste "J".

Scientists believe comets are ancient relics that reveal clues about the early formative stages of the solar system around 4.6 billion years ago. Philae and its scientific instruments will study the terrain and composition of the comet.

Last August, Rosetta arrived within 100 kilometers of Comet 67P and as the epic comet landing nears, it's now a mere 10 miles away from the body of the comet.

Rosetta is set to release Philae on November 12 at 4:35 A.M. EDT from a distance of 22.5 miles from the comet's center. Philae will touch down on the comet seven hours later at around 11:30 A.M. EDT.

There will be a delay of some 28 minutes and 20 seconds as signals reach back to Earth. The confirmation of the landing will reach ground tracking stations at 5:03 A.M. EDT and the landing at around 12:00 P.M. EDT.

The day before Rosetta deploys Philae, the mission team will arrange for Rosetta to be in the right path before launching Philae.

After Philae separates itself from Rosetta, it will take a series of photos as it approaches the surface of 67P. When Philae latches itself onto the surface of the comet, it will take panoramic images of the terrain that will reach Earth within a few hours.

An hour after the landing, the first batch of experiments will be carried out by Philae. These experiments will take place immediately since the battery life of the space lab will only last for 64 hours. Philae will rely on solar power afterwards.

The Philae scientific mission will end in March 2015 since comet 67P will orbit the sun at a very close range that will make it too hot for the instruments. Rosetta will keep following Comet 67P until August 2015.

Rosetta was launched in 2004 and has been travelling for almost decade in deep space using the Earth's and Mars' gravitational forces as a slingshot to propel itself closer to Comet 67P.

TagsRosetta Spacecraft Gears Up for Historic Comet Landing on November 12, ESA, rosetta, philae, 67p comet, rosetta philae comet 67P landing november 12