Artist's impression of the Rosetta Spacecraft (Credit: ESA - C. Carreau)

Rosetta’s hibernation mode starts today (8th June 2011) and will last until January 2014, during which time the spacecraft will reach its maximum distances from the Sun (about 800 million kilometres) and Earth (about 1000 million kilometres). UK scientists and engineers involved in this exciting mission are hoping Rosetta will unlock the hidden secrets of comets and teach us more about the origin of these huge, dirty snowballs.