Rosetta commissioning in final stages

Artist’s impression of the Rosetta orbiter. Credit: ESA/ATG medialab

All of Rosetta’s 11 science instruments and the lander Philae have now been successfully switched on! But the data are still being analysed to confirm the mission’s readiness for science operations, so the commissioning period is not officially complete until those final reports from the instrument teams are in (this is expected to take place on 13 May, and we’ll provide another update then).