14 DAY TRIAL // Rosetta is the space probe that was sent to meet the Churyumov–Gerasimenko comet and that carried the Philae lander, which eventually made a touchdown on the comet itself. It looks like the guys who are analyzing the data sent by the probe are also using Ubuntu.
It's a given that the scientific community is using open source products, for the most part, even if it's just powerful servers. On the other hand, many scientists also use Linux distros and there are a lot of them dedicated to this task alone. That doesn't mean they don't enjoy working with other OSes as well, like Ubuntu for instance.
Ubuntu has been spotted in numerous places, including NASA. Now, it looks like the guys from ESA mission control (European Space Agency) are also Ubuntu fans. They have shared a screenshot on Google+ showing off some of the data that's being sent by the probe. It's hard to tell from just one screenshot what version it is, but it looks like Ubuntu 12.04 LTS, which is still regarded to this day as the best one from Canonical by many users.
The planetary scientist that's also an Ubuntu user is Mark Bentley and he works for the Institut für Weltraumforschung, Graz, Austria.
Don't forget that, if you happen to stop by Ubuntu or any other Linux distro in a cool place (including outer space), don't be shy and leave us a message.
What does it look like working with @ESA_Rosetta MIDAS data? This screenshot from @msbentley gives some idea #Rosetta pic.twitter.com/dNzjKrneuZ
— Rosetta MIDAS (@RosettaMIDAS) November 19, 2014