Philae will land on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in November, but before it detaches from the Rosetta spacecraft, the lander took a "selfie" with the comet in the background.
The Rosetta spacecraft, and its accompanying Philae lander, were launched to the comet in March 2004 to study the ancient body up close. The mission was designed and managed by the European Space Agency (ESA).
The Comet Infrared and Visible Analyser (CIVA) camera aboard the craft was used to take the image.
The spacecraft and lander combination were just 31 miles away from the nucleus of the comet when the picture was taken on Sept. 7. The image, showing one solar panel of Rosetta with the comet, was compiled from a pair of high-contrast exposures. The panel in the picture is around 45 feet long.
"#Selfie at #67P - @philae2014's CIVA camera snapped my solar array in front of the comet :-)," the "lander" tweeted on the ESA Rosetta Mission Twitter page.
The CIVA camera operates in both visible and infrared wavelengths, and will be used to record information on the Philae landing site, after the smaller craft touches down on the frozen surface of the comet. This instrument is one of seven micro-cameras aboard the vehicle that will be used to create 360-degree panoramic images of the region around the lander.
Due to the long flight time to the comet, Rosetta was put into a hibernation mode which lasted 31 months. Mission managers returned the craft to normal operating status on Jan. 2, 2014.
"The image was taken as part of the preparations being made for Philae, as the lander team gear up for the first ever attempt to land on a comet. It was presented at the EPSC conference this week, during a presentation highlighting the status of the lander," Rosetta mission managers stated in a press release announcing the selfie.
On Sept. 15, representatives from the European Space Agency will announce their selection of a landing spot for the Philae lander. The team made their final decision from a list of five possible locations on the frozen interplanetary visitor.
If Philae makes a successful landing on the surface of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, it will become the first man-made craft to ever touch down safely on one of the frozen bodies.
Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko was first discovered in 1969, and was named after the Ukrainian astronomers who discovered the body. The comet orbits the Sun once every 6.5 years, falling back as the orbit of Jupiter. Rosetta will accompany the icy relic as it sweeps around the Earth this time around.
