What scientific instruments are on board the spacecraft and what will they do?
Rosetta’s goal is to examine the comet in great detail. The instruments on the orbiter include several cameras, spectrometers and a number of sensors and experiments that work at different wavelengths – infrared, ultraviolet, microwave and radio. The instruments on the lander will do an on-the-spot analysis of the composition and structure of the comet’s surface and subsurface material. A drilling system will take samples down to 30 centimetres below the surface and will feed these to the ‘composition analysers’. See http://www.esa.int/rosetta.
