Rosetta en Mars Express hebben klein 'lanceervenster'   ESA’s Comet Rendezvous Mission, which has been selected as a Cornerstone mission of ESA’s long-term science program Horizon 2000. The mission goal is a rendezvous with comet 46P/Wirtanen. On its eight-year journey to the comet, the spacecraft will fly by close to two asteroids. The spacecraft will map the comet’s surface in fine detail and land a package of instruments (the Rosetta Lander) to study some of the most primitive, un-processed material in the solar system. The mission will provide clues to the physical and chemical processes that marked the systems beginning 4.6 billion years ago. Rosetta will be launched in January 2003 by an Ariane-5 from Kourou, French Guiana. Courtesy: Astrium Aansluiting niet te missen     During the course of its journey to Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, Rosetta is making use of several gravitational ‘kicks’: one at Mars on 25 February 2007 (250 km distance) and three at Earth: 4 March 2005 (1995 km distance), 13 November 2007 (5301 km distance) and 13 November 2009 (2500 km distance). Manoeuvres to correct Rosetta's orbit take place before and after each swing-by. Risico, maar ook voordeel     ESA's Mars Express mission, scheduled for launch in 2003.   An image taken by the Hubble Space Telescope in August 2000 showing the Martian poles and cloud cover. Release date: 16 september 2002