Rosetta spacecraft set for comet crash

Europe's pioneering spacecraft Rosetta headed for a crash landing Friday on the comet it has stalked for two years, a dramatic end to a 12-year odyssey to demystify our Solar System's origins. Sent by ground controllers on a leisurely, 14-hour freefall, Rosetta was engaged in a last-gasp spurt of science-gathering on the 19-kilometre (12-mile) journey to its icy comet tomb. "Next stop #67P!" the European Space Agency (ESA) tweeted late Thursday, using a shortened version of Comet 67P/Churyumov-G