Rosetta Mission Update
News story originally written on January 21, 2003

This is an artist's impression of how Rosetta will look when it releases its lander which will land on a comet nucleus. Click on image for full size (191K JPEG) Courtesy of European Space Agency

The Rosetta spacecraft was to be launched aboard an Ariane 5 rocket. Just a month before Rosetta's projected launch date, another Ariane 5 rocket self-destructed because it had veered so far off course! It is a bitter blow, but the European Space Agency, which is managing the Rosetta mission, chose to delay the mission until a suitable rocket is tested and is proven safe.

Rosetta missed its launch window. This means it cannot rendezvous with comet Wirtanen as was planned. However, the ESA is in the process of finding other suitable comets that Rosetta might meet with and land on! The Rosetta spacecraft is actually made of two parts: an orbiter, which will approach the chosen comet and then circle it, and a lander, which will touch down on the comet.

Rosetta is certainly taking a new direction than was first planned. Rosetta's Project Scientist, Gerhard Schwehm, speaks on behalf of all of those involved with Rosetta. He said, "During the decade it has taken us to develop and build Rosetta, we have faced many challenges and overcome them all. This new challenge will be met with the same energy, enthusiasm and, ultimately, success." Given time, Rosetta will still study a given comet in detail, in hopes that this will lead to new scientific findings about all comets and thus about the formation of our solar system.

This is an artist's impression of how Rosetta will look when it releases its lander which will land on a comet nucleus. Click on image for full size (191K JPEG) Courtesy of European Space Agency

The Rosetta spacecraft was suppose to be launched on an Ariane 5 rocket. A month ago, another Ariane 5 rocket blew up! Just to be safe, the European Space Agency (ESA), which is managing the Rosetta mission, chose to delay the mission until a new rocket is tested and proven safe.

Rosetta missed its launch window. This means it cannot meet up with comet Wirtanen as was planned. The ESA is in the process of finding other comets that Rosetta might meet with. The Rosetta spacecraft is actually made of two parts: an orbiter, which will approach the chosen comet and then circle it, and a lander, which will touch down on the comet.

Rosetta is certainly taking a new direction than was first planned. It will still be the first mission to have a lander which will touch down on a comet. And the scientists and engineers working on the Rosetta mission are sure Rosetta will become a success! Given time, Rosetta will still study a given comet in detail, in hopes that this will lead to new scientific findings about all comets and thus about the formation of our solar system.

This is an artist's impression of how Rosetta will look when it releases its lander which will land on a comet nucleus. Click on image for full size (191K JPEG) Courtesy of European Space Agency

Unfortunately, the launch had to be delayed! But the spacecraft will be launched at a later time and will be able to land on a different comet. Cool!

Look for a new Rosetta launch date to be put out in the future!