Rosetta's spacecraft enters 'comet escort phase' post Philae going to sleep

Rosetta's spacecraft will continue its own extraordinary exploration by orbiting the comet as it arcs closer to the Sun.

Flight Director Andrea Accomazzo, said that with lander delivery complete, Rosetta will resume routine science observations and they will transition to the "comet escort phase".

Rosetta's orbit will be selected and planned based on the needs of the scientific sensors and on 3rd December, 2014 , the craft will move down to height of 20 km for about 10 days, after which it will return to 30 km.

Rosetta will become the first spacecraft to witness at close quarters the development of a comet's coma and the subsequent tail streaming for millions of kilometres into space. Rosetta will then have to stay further from the comet to avoid the coma affecting its orbit.

European Space Agency's (ESA) Rosetta spacecraft delivered its Philae lander to the surface of the comet for a dramatic touchdown.

The lander's planned mission ended after about 64 hours when its batteries ran out, but not before it delivered a full set of results that are now being analyzed by scientists across Europe.