Rosetta – a comet ride to solve planetary mysteries ESA INFO
01-2003. ESA's Rosetta will be the first mission to orbit and
land on a comet, one of the icy bodies that travel throughout
the Solar System and develop a characteristic tail when they
approach the Sun. Rosetta is scheduled to be launched on-board
an Ariane-5 rocket in January 2003 from Kourou, French Guiana. A
decision on the launch date will be taken by Tuesday 14 January
(see Arianespace press release N° 03/02 of 7 January 2003 or at
http:www.arianespace.com). The mission’s target is Comet
Wirtanen and the encounter will occur in 2011. Rosetta’s name
comes from the famous Rosetta stone, that almost 200 years ago
led to the deciphering of Egyptian hieroglyphics. In a similar
way, scientists hope that the Rosetta spacecraft will unlock the
mysteries of the Solar System. Comets are very interesting
objects for scientists, since their composition reflects how the
Solar System was when it was very young and still 'unfinished',
more than 4600 million y