Rosetta is ESA's space science mission to the comet Wirtanen and is schuduled for launch in January 2003. This exciting mission is planned to orbit the comet aswell as send a lander to find out more about the composition and structure of these celestial bodies.
This programme outlines the Rosetta mission and emphasises the difficulties faced in reaching and landing on a comet. It includes soundbites by Rosetta's science operations Manager Detlef Koschny.
The 5-minute A-roll contains split audio with an English guide track and is complemented by a B-roll with international sound only

Comets have fascinated astronomers since ancient times with their first recorded discovery being made by the Chinese as far back as 240BC. Often the source of myths over the centuries they have enthralled scientists and the public alike. Even as recently as 1985, during an appearance of Halley's comet, a rumour started that it would crash into the North Pole, corrupt the Earth's magnetic field and electrocute us all.
Thanks to recent space science missions, the mystery that surrounds these celestial bodies is slowely being uncovered. Data such as the image sent back by ESA's Giotto spacecraft of Halley's Comet has given scientists a better understanding of their composition.
Soundbite:
' Fred Whipple (Harvard-Smithsonion Centre for Astrophysics) actually proposed once a model of the comet and he called it a ""dirty snowball"". So just imagine a piece of snow, when you go outside in winter, and mix in some dirt and there you have a very crude model of the comet. Right now scientists discuss whether