This image may not be used to state or imply ESA endorsement of any company or product Rosetta spacecraft. Artwork of the European Space Agency's (ESA

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This image may not be used to state or imply ESA endorsement of any company or product Rosetta spacecraft. Artwork of the European Space Agency's (ESA) Rosetta spacecraft being released from it payload housing in the Ariane-5 launch rocket. Rosetta was launched in March 2004 on a 10 year mission to study the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. It will rendezvous with the comet in mid 2014. It is the first mission designed to land on a comet. Rosetta is carrying instruments to map the comet's surface and probe its core, as well as the Philae lander. Philae will perform detailed analysis of the comet's surface, giving an insight into conditions during the formation of the solar system some billion years ago.

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Size: 3500px × 2612px
Photo credit: © ESA/CNES/Arianespace/J. Huart/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

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