Fact Sheet
Starting a Long Journey
The European Space Agency's Rosetta spacecraft was launched early Tuesday from Kourou, French Guiana, on a 10-year mission to Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. On arrival, Rosetta will fly in formation with the comet for 18 months, and dispatch a small probe that will land on the comet's icy surface. The long escort period will give astronomers a chance to study a comet as it approaches and then recedes from the Sun; some of its icy crust will vaporize as it nears the Sun, forming a long tail. Rosetta will fly past Earth three times and Mars once to boost its speed. The mission originally was planned to rendezvous with another comet, but the failure of a similar booster rocket last year forced a change. The new target requires several extra years of travel time for Rosetta. [Credit: ESA/Arianespace]
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