ESA's Rosetta successfully flies by asteroid Lutetia

ESA European probe Rosetta successfully flies by asteroid Lutetia

The ESA European spacecraft Rosetta performed a fly-by of a massive asteroid Lutetia, on Saturday, the European Space Agency said, taking images that could one day help Earth defend itself from destruction.

Racing through the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter at 47,800 kph (29,925 mph), the billion-euro (1.25-billion-dollar) probe flew within 3,200 kms (2,000 miles) of the huge potato-shaped rock, Lutetia.

"The fly-by has been a spectacular success with Rosetta performing fautlessly," ESA said in a statement.

"Just 24 hours ago, Lutetia was a distant stranger. Now, thanks to Rosetta, it has becomme a close friend," the agency added.

Holger Sierks of Germany's Max Planck Institute, who is in charge of the spacecraft's Osiris (Optical, Spectroscopic and Infrared Remote Imaging System) camera said the more than 400 "phantastic images" showed many craters and details.

"Rosetta opened up a new world which will keep scientists busy for years," he added.

"We have completed the fly-by phase," Rosetta's director of operations Andrea Accomazzo said earlier on the ESA's website from the European Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt, Germany.

The aim of the fly-by of the asteroid, measuring 134 kms (83.75 miles) in diameter, is to measure Lutetia's mass and then calculate its density, knowledge which could one day be a lifesaver, according to ESA scientists.

If a rogue asteroid enters on a collision course with Earth, knowing its density will help the planet's defenders to determine whether they should try to deflect the rock or, instead, blow it up.

As Rosetta is around half a million kilometres from Earth, the probe's signal and images took 25 minutes to be received.