posted 11-15-2014 01:30 PM               

Royal Mail postmark takes off following Rosetta mission success

Letters delivered across the UK will be reaching for the stars tomorrow (Friday 14th Nov.), as Royal Mail celebrates the European Space Agency (ESA) landing a spacecraft on a comet, with a special postmark.

• Royal Mail is issuing a postmark to highlight the historic moment the European Space Agency landed a spacecraft on a comet
  
• The Philae lander touched down on comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko yesterday following the Rosetta orbiter's 10 year mission across the Solar System
  
• Royal Mail's postmark will be delivered on mail across the UK from Friday to Saturday
  
• It will say: 'Celebrating the first ever landing on a comet. Congratulations to the European Space Agency."

Yesterday (Nov. 12) saw the the ESA make history as the Rosetta orbiter's Philae lander touched down on comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko.

It was the first time that a spacecraft has landed on a comet. The Rosetta orbiter began its ten year journey in 2004, chasing the comet across the solar system. The mission aims to conduct unprecedented scientific analysis of the comet and its environment.

To mark the occasion, Royal Mail's postmark will appear on millions of items of mail delivered to addresses nationwide on Friday and Saturday. It will say:

Celebrating the first ever landing on a comet. Congratulations to the European Space Agency.

Andrew Hammond from Royal Mail, said: "We're thrilled to be marking the European Space Agency's fantastic achievement with one of our special postmarks.

"The Rosetta mission has captured the public's imagination and excitement about space exploration, and we're pleased to be recognising this historic moment in this unique way.

"Our postmark is set to take off and will appear on mail delivered by our postmen and women across the UK."

posted 11-19-2014 05:36 AM               

The rectangular cancel shows a design study of Philae landing on the comet, with the Rosetta zond flying overhead. The text reads "30. Tage der Raumfahrt" (30th Space Days) and "Rosetta/Philae at comet P67".

The cancellation is available from German mail's special handstamp center until 28 days after the cancellation date (request arriving there).

Collectors can send their own covers (blank: min. 20c postage; addressed: 60c domestic/ 75c international) to this address:

Deutsche Post AG
Niederlassung Brief
Sonderstempelstelle
10770 Berlin
Germany)

posted 12-13-2014 11:27 AM               

Each design includes a silhouette of Queen Elizabeth II in the upper right and the emblem of the European Space Agency, or ESA, in the upper left.

The souvenir sheet contains a £3 stamp showing the comet. Discovered in 1969 by astronomers Klim Churyumov and Svetlana Gerasimenko from Kiev, Ukraine, the 2.5-mile wide comet is located more than 300 million miles from Earth.

Pictured in the selvage of the sheet is the ESA tracking station on Ascension Island. The station on this remote South Atlantic island is used for tracking Ariane 5 rockets that take off from the Guiana Space Centre in French Guinea.

The 35-penny stamp in the set pictures the launch of the Rosetta spacecraft on an Ariane 5 rocket March 2, 2004, from the Guiana Space Center. Stations in Brazil, Kenya, Australia and Hawaii also tracked the spacecraft. The Rosetta spacecraft is shown in space on the 55p denomination.

The 65p denomination shows the deploying of the Philae lander, which has been compared in size to a washing machine. On the £1.60 stamp, Philae is shown making its descent to the comet.