On 20 January 2014, after 957 days of hibernation in deep space, ESA’s comet-chasing Rosetta spacecraft is set to wake up automatically en route to the destination it has been travelling towards for nearly a decade. In preparation for the critical activation and the challenges that lie ahead for Rosetta, members of the media were invited to a briefing by ESA’s science and mission control experts and partners on Tuesday, 10 December 2013, at ESA’s European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) in Darmstadt, Germany.

Speakers and presentations:

          Jocelyne Landeau-Constantin, ESOC Head of Communication

10:05  Comets as cosmic time capsules: Rosetta’s scientific goals
          Mark McCaughrean, Senior Scientific Advisor, Directorate of Science and Robotic Exploration
10:20  Rosetta’s year of living dangerously: critical challenges in catching a comet

          Paolo Ferri, Head of Mission Operations
          Philippe Gaudon, CNES Rosetta Project Manager
          Koen Geurts, DLR Rosetta Lander Technical Manager

10:55  ESA’s Rosetta communication campaign
          Markus Bauer, Science Communication Officer