Rosetta Space Probe Snaps Pics of Massive Asteroid

Scientists will soon have close up images of a huge asteroid named Lutetia thanks to the European spacecraft Rosetta.

Rosetta was launched into space back in 2004 and is half way through its mission to collect data on the far reaches of our Solar System.

The probe flew through the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, snapping pics of the massive rock as it did, all 87.5 miles of it.

If an asteroid of that size somehow managed to enter into the earth’s atmosphere and be on a collision course with the planet, knowing a little more about them could greatly help in our own defense.

Scientists from the European Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt, Germany will be analyzing the picture data, and according to Rosetta’s director of operations Andrea Accomazzo “We have completed the fly-by phase.”

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