It is comet-landing time. Officials at the European Space Agency have approved of a plan for its Rosetta comet chaser to deploy a special lander on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, an object that Rosetta has been stalking for the past two months.

Comets are thought to be ancient remnants of the formation of our solar system, and the decision, made Tuesday, is one for attempting to reach a major milestone in space exploration. The lander, called Philae, will descend to a specific location on the comet called Site J, which is on the smaller of the two obvious lobes of the 2.5-mile-wide comet. The colloquial name “rubber duck” comes from the rubber duck-like shape of the comet, and the landing site will be on the “head.”

“Now that we know where we are definitely aiming for, we are an important step closer to carrying out this exciting — but high-risk — operation,” Fred Jansen, Rosetta mission manager, said in a statement.

The mission team put Rosetta to within 62 miles of the comet on August 6 and has steadily moved it in closer to within six miles. According to the plan to contact the comet’s surface, Rosetta will be brought back out to about 14 miles away, and then Philae will be launched. On its way in, Philae will capture moment-by-moment images and samples of the dust, gas, and plasma. The lander will take about seven hours to travel between Rosetta and the comet.

Once on the surface, Philae will anchor itself and perform tests with its 10 different solar-powered instruments before it gets too hot from the sun in March 2015. Rosetta will continue to shadow the comet as it approaches and passes the sun in August 2015 on its way to the outer solar system again.