This whole thing is just so freaking amazing.
The most amazing part, of course, is the ridiculous amount of planning and just how well the laws (and approximations, in the case of Newton) work.
Things like this are why I get so hot under the collar any time a creationist labels science as dogmatic and based on belief just as much as their own, religious world view. It works. It just WORKS. (Bitches.)
I mean, planning a 10 year journey involving THREE gravity assist manoeuvres from the Earth and one from Mars, coordinating two other comet fly-bys, rendezvousing with an object travelling 135,000 km/h and then inserting itself into an orbit with with a body that has an escape velocity of about 1 m/s. That's just crazy-cool.
Yes, there were corrections needed but this step was also pre-planned, hence waking up from hibernation when it did, allowing the scientists and engineers to re-assess the situation and adjust. Even then, the ability to accurately ascertain the position of the vehicle and comet and calculate the precise burn directions and timings is testament to just how well this all works.
There's no real point here, just if I go home and wax lyrical about this all to my partner, I am met with just the barest approximation of indulgence.
Obvious choice of icon.