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Comets consist of the most primitive material in the solar system and to understand the earliest epoch of solar system formation, we must investigate the nature of this material. Much of what we know of comets presently comes from remote sensing using Earth-based telescopes. The Rosetta mission is poised to make a dramatic advance in our understanding of comets.

ROSETTA: ESA's Mission to the Origin of the Solar System is the first book of its kind on ESA's Planetary Cornerstone Mission, Rosetta, that discusses the science and instrumentation involved. Comets consist of the most primitive material in the solar system. An in depth study of this material could provide us with the knowledge to understand the earliest epoch of the solar system's formation. Until now, our knowledge of comets has come from Earth-based telescopes and fly-by missions. Rosetta will be the first ever spacecraft to rendezvous with a comet and go in orbit around the nucleus. It will stay there for over one year, in order to study the comet's evolution. Rosetta will also land on the surface of the comet with its Lander Philae to perform dedicated in-situ analysis of the comet nucleus composition and structure. The Rosetta mission is an ambitious one that is poised to make a dramatic advance in our understanding of comets, and the origin of our solar system. ROSETTA: ESA's Mission to the Origin of the Solar System is partially reprinted, with updates and corrections, from Space Science Reviews journal, Vol. 128/1-4, 2007. This book is appropriate for researchers as well as graduate students working in astronomy, planetology, and astrobiology.