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 Rosetta's on-board alarm clock is due to go off at 5 a.m. EST
(1000 GMT), but it will take the spacecraft about seven hours to
warm up its star tracking navigation gear, fire up rocket thrusters
to slow its spin, turn on its transmitter and beam a message back to
Earth, the European Space Agency said in a status report posted on
its website.
The probe, presently located about 500 million miles (about 800
million km) from Earth and just shy of Jupiter's orbit, is so far
away that its radio transmissions, traveling at the speed of light,
will take 45 minutes to reach listening stations in California and
Australia.
Ground control teams hope to have confirmation of Rosetta's
resuscitation by 1:30 p.m. EST (1830 GMT), the European Space Agency
said.
The spacecraft, which carries a 220-pound (100 kg) lander called
Philae, has been hibernating for most of the past three years to
save power. It is due to reach a 2.4-mile diameter comet called
67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in August.
Unlike previous comet probes, Rosetta won't just sail by. The
spacecraft is designed to put itself into orbit around 67P for more
than a year of close-up studies.
Comets are believed to be the pristine leftover remains from the
formation of the solar system some 4.6 billion years ago. Scientists
hope the mission will provide more clues about how the solar system
came into existence, much like the Rosetta Stone, for which the
spacecraft is named, provided a blueprint for deciphering ancient
Egyptian hieroglyphs.
"Rosetta should become a key element for our understanding of the
history of the solar system," Stephan Ulamec, a Rosetta project
manager, said in an interview with Reuters last month.
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One of Rosetta's first tasks will be to scout for a suitable landing
location for its piggyback-riding Philae probe. Scientists are
particularly keen to conduct organic chemistry experiments on
samples drilled out from inside the comet's body.
"It would be really interesting to find out whether the organic
chemistry that is relevant for life is there on comets," Ulamec
said.
Engineers who designed the lander did not know what type of terrain
they would find on the comet's surface. It is outfitted with twin
harpoons laced with tethers that will be fired into the comet's
surface to anchor Philae and keep it from bouncing back into space
after touchdown.
Europe spent about 1 billion euros ($1.35 billion) on the mission,
which is due to run at least until the end of 2015.
(Reporting by Irene Klotz in Cape Canaveral, Fla.;
editing by Chris
Reese)
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