The European Space Agency announced yesterday that it had signed a contract with individual space caller OHB to build the Comet Interceptor , a space vehicle to take a yet - to - be identified pristine comet from the Oort cloud , due for launching in 2029 .
The partnership between ESA andOHB ’s Italian armwill bring Comet Interceptor to life . The ballistic capsule will eventually turn some 930,000 miles ( 1.5 million kilometre ) from Earth atLagrange item 2 , which is behind our planet as viewed from the Sun ( fun fact : the recently deployed Webb Telescope is currently working at L2 ) . Once there it will lie in wait as astronomers search for a worthy target , at which metre it will be polish off and sent on an explorative mission .
probe have visited comet before , theRosetta missionbeing a recent example , but Comet Interceptor is dissimilar in that its purpose is to inquire a pristine comet , that is , a comet that ’s move into the solar scheme for the very first metre . Non - pristine comet have come on the inner solar system of rules at least once before — a journeying towards the Sun that fundamentally alters a comet ’s volatile airfoil characteristic , obscuring its original make-up .
An artist’s rendition depicting how Comet Interceptor will sit behind Earth, ready to intercept any asteroids that could pose a threat to the planet.Illustration: ESA
Comets occasionally come out from the Oort swarm , a spherical band of icy planetesimals at the kayoed edge of the Solar System . It ’s inconceivable to predict when a pristine comet will make a sudden guest coming into court , which is why Comet Interceptor is being institutionalize out in expectancy of uranologist descry a suitable butt . Parked in L2 , the probe will be well positioned to intercept the comet and papers what will be a momentary heavenly upshot .
When an incoming pristine comet is detected , Comet Interceptor will be remove to cope with the body in space , studying it from multiple viewpoints . Pristine comet , and the tails of throttle they bring out as they come near the Sun , can extend great insights to the bloodline of the solar arrangement since these dirty snowball , as they ’re often called , have not yet been weather by a stumble to the Sun . If an interstellar asteroid — such as‘Oumuamua and Borisov , the only two we ’ve detected so far — presented itself , Comet Interceptor could analyse that too .
“ Comet Interceptor is an ambitious mission that requires a unique space vehicle — three novel spacecraft in fact — and after an intensive work and planning stage we are quick to originate building the European elements , ” said ESA Comet Interceptor project manager Nicola Rando in anESA jam sacking .
Specifics on the three spacecraft that will make up Comet Interceptor are light , but ESA says Comet Interceptor will dwell of a master spacecraft and two probes . ESA will evolve the primary spacecraft and one of the probes , both of which will be carrying scientific instruments developed by European industry and institutions , while Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency is providing the other investigation and its instrument .
“ Comet Interceptor ’s ground - breaking purpose admit qualify the surface composition , shape and structure of a pristine comet for the first time ever and sampling the composition of its gas and dust coma , ” allege Michael Kueppers , ESA ’s Comet Interceptor study scientist , in ESA ’s release . “ have access to this material is vital for understanding our blood line , in terms of how our Solar System form and evolved over time . ”
Comet Interceptor was approved as a projection in 2019 and is scheduled for launching in 2029 . Now that the agreement between ESA and OHB has been signed , designing and expression of the Comet Intercept can formally begin .
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