ESA BR-318: Rosetta - Rendezvous with a cometPublication date: 22 July 2014
Journal: ESA Brochure Copyright: ESA
Rosetta is ESA's comet-chasing mission to 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Launched on 2 March 2004, the spacecraft travelled for 10 years and required three gravity-assist flybys at Earth and one at Mars before homing in on its target. Comets are considered to be the most primitive building blocks of our cosmic neighbourhood, surviving the Solar System's chaotic 4.6 billion-year history more or less intact. Laced with ice and organic materials, comets likely helped to 'seed' Earth with water, and perhaps even the ingredients for life. By studying one of these icy treasure chests in great detail, ESA's Rosetta is set to unlock the secrets of the Solar System. Table of contents:
Note: a more recent Rosetta mission brochure (ESA BR-321) is available here.
Last Update: 16 September 2015
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