Not available
ROSETTA INDEX
Start program : TC IN 10.00.40
The comet
Comets are rare and spectacular events in the sky. Comets originated together with the Sun and planets, but in contrast to those they have not changed since. Therefore they carry a message from the time the planetary system was formed, 4,5 billion years ago.
In January 2003, ESA will start the most important mission in cometary astronomy ever developed yet. The Mission is called Rosetta. The prime scientific objective of Rosetta is to study the origin of comets, the relationship between cometary and interstellar material and its implications with regard to the origin of the Solar System.
About 200 scientists all around Europe are involved in the project, Dr. Katrin Altwegg from the Bern University is one of them. Compared to other space bodies, comets are the best preserved objects in space.
IN O-TON Katrin Altwegg University Bern
Here in Bern we are mostly interested in the material which outgases from the comet and finally al