Rosetta: Science Update '97

ESA's Rosetta mission, due to be launched by Ariane 5 in January 2003, will spend eight years positioning ultra-sensitive equipment to observe Comet Wirtanen. Rosetta will rendezvous with the comet in 2011; in April 2012, it will go into a near orbit around Comet Wirtanen and escort it for 17 months as it flies towards its closest approach with the Sun in September 2113. Ultimately, Rosetta will map and examine the entire surface of Wirtanen using remote-sensing. In addition, a lander will be dropped onto the comet's surface, investigating physical condition and chemical composition. This video index covers the following topics: ESA's ISO and its role in studuying Hale-Bopp; how comets may have played a key role in the formation of Earth and the other planets in our solar system; the Rosetta mission. The index contains interviews, animations, ISO images and footage of instruments to be carried onboard Rosetta; the B-roll contains a more complete set of graphics.