MACDERMOTT , A. J.

The comet rendezvous mission Rosetta will be the first mission to encounter and land on a comet nucleus. After a 10-year journey Rosetta is set for rendezvous with Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in summer 2014. The mission goal is: to study the origin of comets; the relationship between cometary and interstellar material and its implications...

Comets harbor the most pristine material in our solar system in the form of ice, dust, silicates, and refractory organic material with some interstellar heritage. The evolved gas analyzer Cometary Sampling and Composition (COSAC) experiment aboard Rosetta's Philae lander was designed for in situ analysis of organic molecules on comet...