Rosetta: The Remarkable Story of Europe's Comet Explorer

by Peter Bond

In 2014, Rosetta became the first mission to orbit a comet and to deploy a lander onto its surface. This is the story of ESA’s pioneering comet explorer, following the mission from its initial inception to its historic touchdown. Read along as the Rosetta orbiter and its lander, Philae, evolve over the years, overcoming early mission hurdles before embarking on their one-way, decade-long voyage to a comet. See how the saga then culminates with Rosetta and Philae at last unveiling their icy target and achieving an unprecedented touchdown on its surface. Award-winning space writer Peter Bond takes us behind the scenes of this historic endeavor, sharing insights from the international team of scientists and engineers who made the mission possible, describing the remarkable technology that they created, and delving into the treasure trove of scientific discoveries that followed.
Recounting in vivid detail the inner workings of Rosetta, this book is a celebration of the mission that has left a lasting impact on planetary science and space exploration.

Genres: Nonfiction, Space

417 pages, Paperback

Published December 18, 2020

Reviews

[Kam Yung Soh · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fantastic book on the Rosetta space probe and its mission to explore comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko (67P) from its conception, the launch, the actual mission itself and the discoveries of the comet that the mission has revealed, so far.

The book starts with a history of what we know about comets from ancient times to now, based on observations from Earth. It then covers some early space mission to explore various comets like Comet Halley. The concept and planning of the Rosetta mission is then covered, followed by the initial attempt to launch it to explore comet 46P/Wirtanen that was aborted, after the failure of a rocket that would have been used to launch Rosetta.

After an examination of the various options, 67P was chosen as the new target for Rosetta and the mission was on its way. But it didn't get there directly: Rosetta had to flyby the Earth and Mars several times to get enough velocity for the rendezvous, and it was tasked to examine other targets (like asteroids) during the journey.

Then, Rosetta arrived at 67P and, following an examination of the comet, the Philae lander was released. Rosetta then followed 67P as it approached and then left the vicinity of the sun. Finally, Rosetta itself was made to land on 67P, ending the mission. But it's not the end of the book. Based on the data from the mission, a summary of what is known about how 67P came about and how it is now is presented in fascinating detail.

If you are looking for a book that covers in detail the management and planning of the Rosetta mission, technical detail on the instruments on the probe and the running of the mission itself (including dealing with the various problems encountered during the mission), this is the book to read.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reads a bit like a report and is clearly pieced together from the available ESA material, but a mission this fascinating is going to be fun to read about no matter what. I didn't need "page-turning" prose to keep me glued to each chapter. Rosetta and the Philae lander were beset by all sorts of setbacks and unknowns, but they were brilliantly made spacecraft and the mission succeeded against steep odds. That makes for pretty thrilling reading.

In addition to covering the entire mission from conception to the final communication with Rosetta, I really appreciated the round-up of scientific findings at the conclusion of the book. This wouldn't be my first choice for a book to glamorize space exploration, but I do highly recommend it for anyone wanting thorough coverage of an amazing engineering and scientific achievement! (Also, it's got lots of great pictures!)