Yesterday’s topic of the day about that asteroid (earlier) caused networks to look forward to one of ESA’s missions, Rosetta.
The spacecraft will be launched in February of 2004 and is expected to send a lander (artistic impressions) to the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.
Personally, I find ESA’s comet missions pretty exciting and I think it has to do with Giotto’s success we saw unfold that March night in 1986. If I remember correctly, Giotto’s encounter with Halley was broadcasted live: there were live images from Giotto almost every minute until the camera was damaged. Nobody at that time knew what those computer coloured pictures actually were until those scientists were able to figure out that the camera actually had pointed to the wrong part of the comet. Eventually they came up with this image. Amazing.