Comet Landing Site Gets a Proper Name

The site where the Rosetta spacecraft's Philae lander will make history later this month finally has a name. And despite the fact that this name was chosen by the public, it's not quirky or clever, it's just plain appropriate.

On Nov. 12 the Philae lander will touch down on Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, marking the first time in history that a human-made robot will make contact with a comet as it hurtles through space. The spot where this historic landing will occur, initially known as "Site J," was officially confirmed as the mission's destination just a few weeks ago.

However, you can't have the landing site go down in history simply as "Site J." For one, that would just look silly in our text books. So the European Space Agency (ESA) and its international partners asked the world to name the site for them. And surprisingly, it seems that the world took this task very seriously.

"We received so many good suggestions on how to name Site J, and we were delighted with such an enthusiastic response from all over the world. We wish to thank all participants for sharing their great ideas with us," Felix Huber of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) said in a statement.

But, there can only be one name, and it turns out it's one that a lot of people wanted. The name "Agilkia" was one of the most popular entries - it was proposed by over 150 participants - but Alexandre Brouste from France was decided the overall winner, as one of the first to propose it with sound reasoning.

According to the ESA, a complex of Ancient Egyptian buildings, including the famous Temple of Isis, was moved to Agilkia after the island of Philae - the namesake of the lander - was flooded.

Now it seems Philae will be taking the treasure that is knowledge back from Agilkia, after it spends more than a year collecting samples and data readings at the comet site.

You can find out what exactly makes the Rosetta mission so special by watching the ESA's new science-fiction short film here.