The International Rosetta Mission
Publication date: 01 February 1998
Authors: Verdant, M. & Schwehm, G.H.
Journal: ESA Bulletin
Volume: 93
Year: 1998
Copyright: ESA
Direct evidence of the constitution of cometary volatiles is particularly difficult to obtain, as the constituents observable from Earth and even during the flybys of Comet Halley in 1986, result from physico-chemical processes such as sublimation and interactions with solar radiation and the solar wind. What we know today about cometary material from those earlier missions and ground-based observations does, however, demonstrate the low degree of evolution of cometary material and hence its tremendous potential for providing us with unique information about the make up and early evolution of the solar nebula.
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