August 6, 2022
On this date in 2014, ESA’s Rosetta spacecraft completed its orbital insertion of comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko, making it the first spacecraft to rendezvous with a comet. Rosetta launched in 2004, looped around the Sun five times, and completed several gravity assist swingbys at Earth and Mars prior to reaching comet 67P.
A Rosetta image of the Imhotep region on Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko. Image credit: ES/Rosetta/MPS for OSIRIS Team MPS/UPD/LAM/IAA/SSO/INTA/UPM/DASP/IDA