Friday's Unscientific Poll: Rosetta's Grand Finale

[nanila]

The Rosetta mission to Comet 67P came to an end today, with the orbital spacecraft landing on the surface of the comet and switching off.


Cartoon of Rosetta with its busted solar panels, clutching its Mission Achievements log. *sniff*


Cartoon of the Philae lander going to sleep forever on the comet's surface. *wibble*

Poll #17682 Rosetta's Grand Finale

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 41

View Respondents

The saddest cartoon spacecraft image ever is:

View Answers

Rosetta with its busted solar panels, clutching its Mission Achievements log
17 (45.9%)

Philae going to sleep forever on the comet's surface
20 (54.1%)

I shed a tear over Rosetta's demise.

View Answers

Yes, I did. I'm not ashamed.
22 (56.4%)

That's cometary dust. Dust, I tell you.
12 (30.8%)

Yes, but that's a tear of rage because now the aliens will find our space junk and come to DESTROY US.
2 (5.1%)

I have no idea what you're talking about, but here, have a tissue.
7 (17.9%)

Comments

[askygoneonfire]

Where are the comics from? Because: wibble

[askygoneonfire]

The thing is, it's not so much personifying tech that gets me in the feels, it's what the end of their missions represent in terms of the audacity of human endeavour and discovery, the hugeness of sending all that technology so far away on such a leap of imagination and [scientifically based] hope and....yeah.

[cosmolinguist]

Yeah. I totally get why the ESA staff watching Rosetta meet its end were emotional; it's 20 or 30 years of their work, coming to an end. I'm just pretty sure any anthropomorphizd spacecraf wouldn't feel the same way. :)

[clanwilliam]

Whoever did the comica for ESA did a different one for each language "mission accomplished" was tweeted in. Gorgeous work - I've not checked the twitter feed this evening, but I intend to ask who the illustrator is.

[cosmolinguist]

They did an amazing job with the cartoons for Rosetta and Philae; I know it contributed hugely to my emotional investment in this mission, as a non-sciencey space-adoring person.