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Comet dust brought back to Earth: paving the way for Rosetta

12 January 2006

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This image of Comet Wild 2 was one of 72 taken with the navigation camera on NASA's Stardust spacecraft during its encounter with the comet between 31 December 2003 and 2 January 2004. The Wild 2 nucleus measures five kilometres wide.

Credits: NASA

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Artist's impression of NASA's Stardust spacecraft

Credits: NASA

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An artist’s impression of Rosetta approaching the nucleus of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.

Rosetta’s 11-year expedition began in March 2004, with an Ariane 5 launch from Kourou in French Guiana. Using three Earth-gravity assists (2004, 2007, 2009) and one at Mars (2007), the spacecraft was propelled towards the outer Solar System. It has encountered two asteroids, (2867)Steins in 2008 and (21)Lutetia in 2010, and is now cruising to its final destination.

Rosetta will reach the comet 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

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Rosetta factsheet

Evidence for more dust than ice in comets Life of a comet Tempel 1: Biography of a comet Rosetta monitors Deep Impact XMM-Newton to observe Deep Impact Hubble sees outburst from Deep Impact comet ESA observes Deep Impact from Earth Dust and gas from Comet 9P/Tempel 1 seen by ESA OGS Tempel 1 is weak X-ray source, XMM-Newton confirms