Challenges of the rosetta sample return mission

Abstract Rosetta is a correrstone mission of the science programme of the European Space Agency (ESA) and it has been studied as a collaborative project with NASA. The major scientific objectives of Rosetta is to return cometary samples to Earth. About 20 kg of cometary material from up to 3m below the surface would be made available to the scientific community for analysis. Since relatively little is known a priory about the environment to be expected, the mission design must be based on a limited body of knowledge and rely on autonomy. The paper outlines the main mission characteristics and the experimental approach to demonstrate the mission feasibility.