Spacecraft set for asteroid fly-by

Scientists at the European Space Agency are preparing for the first fly-by of a asteroid by their deep-space explorer, Rosetta, on a mission to solve the mystery of the birth of the solar system.

Rosetta is set to rendezvous with the Steins asteroid, also known as Asteroid 2867, at a distance of just less than 500 miles.

Already the craft, launched in March 2005, is some 250 million miles away from Earth.

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