The Rosetta spacecraft's Philae lander has successfully landed on a comet. Visit the webcast here and the Rosetta blog for the latest updates.

The Rosetta spacecraft was launched by the European Space Agency on March 2, 2004 and has traveled 7 billion miles over the last 10 years. After flybys of Mars and two asteroids, the spacecraft was put into hibernation for more than 2.5 years to conserve power. It was successfully “reawakened” earlier this year and spectacularly entered into orbit around Comet 67P/Churyumov/Gerasimenko on Aug. 6 after a complex maneuvering strategy.

While previous spacecraft have made close encounters with comets, Rosetta is the first to begin to orbit one all while matching the comet’s speed of about 84,000 MPH. Today, a small, 220 lb. lander named Philae was released from Rosetta, and became the first craft ever to land on a comet. Philae’s 10 instruments will immediately begin conducting experiments which will continue as the comet orbits around the sun next year. Read Frequently Asked Questions about the Rosetta mission.

Watch the trailer: Landing on a Comet -- The Rosetta Mission.