Crucial flyby of Mars for European spacecraft

A European spacecraft carried out a close flyby of Mars today, a crucial manoeuvre in its meandering, 10-year voyage through the solar system to make the first soft landing on a comet.

Applause broke out in the European Space Agency’s mission control centre in western Germany as the Rosetta comet probe’s radio signal was picked up after 15 tense minutes of silence as the craft passed behind the Red Planet.