Rosetta’s 11-year expedition began in March 2004, with an Ariane 5 launch from Kourou in French Guiana, and the spacecraft was then sent towards the outer Solar System. The long journey includes three gravity assists at Earth (2004, 2007, 2009), one at Mars (2007), and two asteroid encounters: (2867) Steins (2008) and (21) Lutetia (2010).

Rosetta will reach Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in 2014, and will be the first mission ever to orbit a comet’s nucleus and to deliver a lander, called Philae, on its surface.

Credits: ESA, image by AOES Medialab

Comet Approach: as Rosetta drifts towards the heart of the comet, the mission team will try to achieve good comet illumination conditions, in order to study the dynamic properties of the comet in great detail: the first camera images will dramatically improve calculations of the comet’s position and orbit, as well as its size, shape and rotation. The relative velocities of the spacecraft and comet will gradually be reduced, slowing to 2 m/s after about 90 days.

Credits: ESA/AOES Medialab

Immediately after touchdown in November 2014, a harpoon will be fired to anchor the lander and prevent it from escaping the comet’s extremely weak gravity. The minimum targeted mission time for Philae is one week, but surface operations may continue for many months. The measurements from the Rosetta orbiter will last from August 2014 to the end of 2015.

Credits: ESA / AOES Medialab