Europe's ambitious Comet Interceptor spacecraft's construction moves forward

The European Space Agency (ESA) and aerospace company OHB have signed a contract to move forward with the design and construction of the agency's ambitious Comet Interceptor spacecraft, the first mission to visit a truly pristine comet or an as-yet undiscovered interstellar object in the inner Solar System.

The mission was proposed to ESA in July 2018 and selected in June 2019. It is foreseen to launch as a co-passenger with the agency's exoplanet-studying Ariel spacecraft in 2029.

"Comet Interceptor's ground-breaking aims include characterising 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. Having access to this material is vital for understanding our origins, in terms of how our Solar System formed and evolved over time," says Michael Kueppers, ESA’s Comet Interceptor study scientist. 

🛰️☄️ @ESA and @OHB_SE have signed a contract to move forward with the design & construction of ESA's ambitious #CometInterceptor spacecraft.Planned for launch in 2029, it will be the first to visit a truly pristine #comet or other #interstellar object.👉https://t.co/tI1Gagrv7t pic.twitter.com/fNuJdlJwsK

— ESA Science (@esascience) December 15, 2022

ESA's Comet Interceptor will make a flyby of the chosen target when it is on the approach to Earth's orbit. The mission comprises three modules - a main spacecraft and two probes.

The composite spacecraft will wait at the Sun-Earth Lagrange point L2 for a suitable target, then travel together before the three modules separate a few weeks prior to intercepting the target. Each module will be equipped with a complementary science payload, providing different perspectives of the comet's nucleus and its gas, dust, and plasma environment.

The mission is expected to offer new insight into the evolution of comets as they migrate inwards from the periphery of the Solar System.