In preparation of the “Rosetta” comet-chasing mission, we equipped telescopes with “comet filters,” which are astronomical narrow-band filters with central wavelengths between 308 nm and 684 nm at bandwidths between 4 nm and 12 nm.
With the help of these telescopes, a global network was set up that delivered data for target identification and proved to be of value in an extremely critical phase of the project:
Originally, the “Wirtanen” comet was the designated target, but delays in providing a launch vehicle ultimately prohibited the approach of this comet.
The telescopes, which have been equipped by us with filters, have found another target: the “67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko” comet. This comet was reached by the probe in August of 2014 after ten years of flight in space.
This comet is “fresh” and produces large amounts of dust and gas. For the first time in the history of space research, a probe will land on the core of a comet to take measurements on site. The Rosetta comet chaser is the most ambitious space mission to be started in Europe, and LASER COMPONENTS is proud to have contributed to this mission.
