In january 2003, ESA's Rosetta space probe launched on a nine year voyage to comet Wirtanen. Rosetta is the first probe that landed on a comet. This transmission is the second in a series of five TV Exchanges on Rosetta, and features the history of cometary exploration and what scientist know about these fascinating objects. Challenge for the spacecraft and its operations of chasing a comet at the far end of the solar system.
The programme comprises of a 8-minute A- roll with split track and commentray and is complemnted by a B-Roll with clean international sound.

The comet
00:40
Appearances of comets are rare and spectacular events in the sky. Comets formed together with the Sun and the planets, but in contrast to those they have not changed since. Therefore they carry a message from the time our planetary system was born, 4,5 billion years ago.
00:59
In January 2003, ESA will start the most important mission in cometary science ever developed yet. The Mission is called Rosetta. The prime scientific objective of Rosetta is to study the origin of comets, the relationship between cometary and interstellar material and its implications with regard to the origin of the Solar System.
01:23
About 200 scientists all around Europe are involved in the project, Dr. Katrin Altwegg from the Bern University is one of them. Compared to other space bodies, comets are the best preserved objects in space.
01:37
IN O-TON Kathrin Altwegg University Bern
Here in Bern we are mostly interested in the material which outgases from the comet and finally also makes the