Rosetta, the highly successful European Space Agency comet probe has reached its final resting place, 720 million kilometres (450 million miles) on the other side of the Solar System beyond Jupiter, and shut down. Its observations have transformed understanding of the mountainous balls of ice and dust that wander among the planets; and added to knowledge of the early Solar system.
Rosetta, a project started 30 years ago, was launched on 2 March 2004 at 7.17am UT Kourou, French Guinea, with a cosmic Pisces Sun Mercury Uranus in a Water Grand Trine to a Scorpio MC trine Saturn, formed into a Kite by Sun Mercury opposition Jupiter, making Jupiter the driving planet. So a talented and innovative chart, blessed with luck. Jupiter was also in a positive-thinking, new-project trine Mars and North Node in steadfast Taurus.
Ground control lost radio communication at 11.40am in Darmstadt, Germany on September 30 2016 indicating the craft had landed on the comet surface and shut down.
Tr Saturn square tr Neptune had this year been in hard aspect to the launch Sun Mercury; with tr Pluto trine Mars as the mission drew to a close. There was sadness about the end as well as jubilation for an inspirational achievement – with tr Pluto trine the Jupiter.