The European Space Agency (ESA) is Europe’s gateway to space. Its mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.
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Exploring our Solar System and unlocking the secrets of the Universe
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Go to topicUsing space to benefit citizens and meet future challenges on Earth
Go to topicMaking space accessible and developing the technologies for the future
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On 13 August Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko reaches its closest point to the Sun (perihelion) and the Rosetta orbiter will be there to see exactly what happens. Rosetta will continue monitoring the comet’s activity until the extended mission ends, in September 2016, to increase our understanding of how a comet changes during its orbit and as it approaches and moves away from the Sun.
This film includes some of the most recent science findings about the comet including those from the CONSERT, CIVA, ROLIS, PTOLEMY and COSAC instruments. It covers the comet’s high porosity and the detection of multiple organic compounds. Some of these compounds are key ingredients for life and four compounds have never been found before on a comet until now. Both A-roll and B-roll contain interview clips from Wlodek Kofman, CONSERT Principal Investigator (English and French); Jean-Pierre Bibring, CIVA Principal Investigator and Principal Investigator for the Philae lander (English and French) and Fred Goesmann, Principal Investigator of COSAC (English and German).