Michael Küppers (left) and Laurence O'Rourke (right) with a 1:4 scale model of Rosetta and Philae at ESAC.



plus the latest picture of the comet (still ~83km away)

more preliminary results:

Determining the mass of comet 67P/C-G
Rosetta is equipped with a range of instruments to analyse comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, but the spacecraft itself can also be used to determine properties of the comet.
As the spacecraft passes close to comet 67P/C-G, it is pulled slightly off course by the comet’s gravity, resulting in tiny changes to the spacecraft’s velocity. These small deviations are recorded in the spacecraft’s radio signals as they are beamed back to Earth, and can subsequently be translated into measurements of the mass and density structure of the comet. The measurements can also be used to refine the details of the comet’s orbit along its trajectory around the Sun.
For the Rosetta mission, this task comes under the umbrella of the Radio Science Investigation (RSI). Using 80 hours worth of tracking data between 6 August, since arriving at the comet, and up to 9 August, the RSI team made a first estimate of the comet’s mass as approximately 1x10^13 kg +/-10%, or about 10 trillion kilograms.
... At the same time, in order to be able to navigate the spacecraft close to the comet, ESA's flight dynamics and operations teams have also independently determined the mass and gravity parameters. These values fall within the same range as those derived by the RSI team. ...

and the most recent picture (from ~69km, getting closer):

Five candidate sites were identified on Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko during the Landing Site Selection Group meeting held 23–24 August 2014. The approximate locations of the five regions are marked on these OSIRIS narrow-angle camera images taken on 16 August from a distance of about 100 km.

Philae candidate landing sites



and two of them at close up:



This image shows a zoom into candidate site A, which is located on the larger lobe, but in good view of the smaller lobe. The region is interesting because the terrain between the two lobes is likely the source of some outgassing. However, higher-resolution imaging is needed to study potential surface hazards such as small depressions and slopes, while the illumination conditions also need to be considered further.



This image shows a zoom into candidate site B, which is located within the crater-like structure on the smaller lobe. This site is considered relatively safe for landing given the flat terrain, but illumination conditions may pose a problem when considering the longer-term science planning of the lander. Higher-resolution imaging will be used to assess the boulder hazards in more detail. In addition, the boulders are also thought to represent more recently processed material and therefore this site may not be as pristine as other sites.

cool story bro

and here are the other three selected sites:



This image shows a zoom into candidate site C, which is located on the larger lobe of the comet. It hosts a range of surface features including some brighter material, depressions, cliffs, hills and smooth plains, but higher-resolution imaging is needed to assess the risk of some of these features. It is also well illuminated, which would benefit the long-term scientific planning for Philae.



This image shows a zoom into candidate site I, which is located on the smaller lobe of the comet. It is a relatively flat area that may contain some fresh material, but higher-resolution imaging is needed to assess the extent of the rough terrain. The illumination conditions would also allow for longer-term science planning.



Similar to site I, this site also offers interesting surface features and good illumination. It offers advantages for the CONSERT experiment compared with I, but higher-resolution imaging is needed to determine the details of the terrain, which shows some boulders and terracing.

i see the space rock and the space rock sees me

@

&

if you are not interested in the subject get your +1s in gc

but for those who are interested and wonder what role nasa plays:

What part, if any, is NASA playing in the Rosetta mission?
NASA is involved in four experiments – MIRO, ALICE, IES (part of IES-RPC) and part of ROSINA. NASA scientists are principal investigators on two of these (MIRO and ALICE). The MIRO (Microwave Instrument for the Rosetta Orbiter) instrument will be used to determine the comet’s abundance of some major gas species, surface outgassing rate and sub-surface temperature. It was also employed to measure the sub-surface temperatures of asteroids visited by Rosetta and to search for gas around them.
ALICE is an ultraviolet imaging spectrometer that will analyse gases in the coma and tail and measure the comet’s production rates of water, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide. It will also provide information on the surface composition of the nucleus.
In addition, NASA’s Deep Space Network will provide communications and navigation backup during the mission.

not to forget that there are a few other interesting missions on the run, the next 12 months will provide plenty exciting news

i was interested based on the "origins of life" line but all i read was "damn the rocks closer now"

im sorry if i upset you

then you clearly haven't looked into the linked articles, especially the one in the op
in the moment it's mainly images while rosetta moves into a close orbit
more information on organic molecules will become available once the lander has descended
and/or when the comet gets closer to the sun
there are a total of 21 different scientific instrument packages on the probe and lander combined
only a few are able to currently sample information
and yes, one gets more pictures of the 'rock' is closer now, the closest released so far
(and believe it or not, there are people happy to see them):



Rosetta navigation camera image taken on 23 August 2014 at about 61 km from 4 km-wide comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. From 23 August, Rosetta started taking NAVCAM image sequences as small 2 x 2 rasters, such that roughly one quarter of the comet is seen in the corner of each of the four images, rather than all in just one shot. This is one example of the 512 x 512 pixel ‘corner’ image.