What exactly is the function of a rubber duck? @ScienceMuseum
What exactly is the function of a rubber duck? @ScienceMuseum
Uploaded December 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
A humble bath toy to many, this rubber duck fulfilled a much greater potential as a tool in a space mission that (amongst other things) investigated the origins of life on Earth

Image credits:
ESA/ATG medialab
ESA/Rosetta/NAVCAM
ESA/Rosetta/MPS for OSIRIS Team MPS/UPD/LAM/IAA/SSO/INTA/UPM/DASP/IDA
Touchdown 1: ESA/Rosetta/Philae/ROLIS/DLR; all other images: ESA/Rosetta/MPS for OSIRIS Team
MPS/UPD/LAM/IAA/SSO/INTA/UPM/DASP/IDA; Analysis: O’Rourke et al (2020)
The Open University / ESA
ESA website (www.esa.int)
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What exactly is the function of a rubber duck?

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