Space agency gives date for historic comet-landing attempt

The European Space Agency says it will attempt to land the first spacecraft on a comet on Wednesday, November 12.

It says the historic landing attempt will take about seven hours starting from the moment its unmanned probe Rosetta releases the 100kg lander at 8.35am Irish time.

Because of the 28 minutes it takes the signal to travel back to Earth, confirmation of a successful landing won’t arrive until about shortly after 4pm.