Awaken the comet 'hunter'

The European Space Agency (ESA) is preparing to wake up the comet hunting craft after two years of "hibernation", when it is approaching its intended target.

>>>Comet causes huge fire rain on Earth

ESA's Rosetta spacecraft is approaching the comet named 67P / Churyumov-Gerasimenko , with the goal of anchoring in orbit around the comet and placing the device on its surface to study the role of this mysterious object in evolution of the solar system, according to Space.com.

Rosetta and her mission to study comets - (Photo: ESA)

Rosetta, launched in March 2004, underwent a long journey, including a series of complex horizontal flight cycles, three times through Earth and once through Mars, on her way to the reunion point. Comet, scheduled for August 2014.

In July 2011, Rosetta was put into hibernation for the furthest and coldest passage, when it crossed over 800 million kilometers from the sun near the orbit of Jupiter.

The operators placed Rosetta's "alarm clock" inside, leaving it back to its operational state within 100 days, on January 20, 2014.

When waking up, Rosetta will restart the orientation device and shift the main antenna to the Earth so that the ground controllers know it is still working. The first image of 67P / Churyumov-Gerasimenko is expected to be transmitted in May next year.