Thales Alenia Space takes lead with Comet Interceptor

The company has been awarded a contract to design the mothership for ESA’s Comet Interceptor mission, which will see one main spacecraft and two smaller robotic probes travel to an as-yet-unidentified comet to map it in three dimensions.

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Comets contain information about the formation of the Solar System 4.6 billion years ago. Unlike previous missions, Comet Interceptor will target a pristine comet on its first approach to the Sun before it is altered by our star’s light and heat.

According to the UK Space Agency, Comet Interceptor will wait in a parking orbit until a suitable target has been spotted by astronomers. It will then set out on an intercept course, deploying the two smaller probes, which will make close passes of the comet’s nucleus and relay their data back to the main craft.

https://www.theengineer.co.uk/catching-a-comet/

The fly-by of the two probes, which are roughly 30cm in length, is likely to take a few hours but could shed light on conditions that prevailed over four billion years ago.