European Space Agency's Rosetta mission to a Comet almost 900
million km from Earth is one of the most ambitious scientific
missions to be launched during the next decade.
the Rosetta web site for more information
Rosetta was be launched in 2004 by an Ariane-5 from Kourou, French
Guiana into the required escape hyperbola trajectory towards Mars.
A rendezvous with the Comet is the destination of ESA's Rosetta
mission. On its journey to the comet, the spacecraft will pass
close to asteroids. Comets are believed to be the most primitive
objects in the Solar System, and are particularly interesting
to scientists because they hold many clues about our Sun and its
planets. To gain enough
orbital energy to reach its target, one Mars and two Earth gravity
assists will be required.