Fig. 1 | Nature Communications

Fig. 1

From: The European Space Agency’s Comet Interceptor lies in wait

Fig. 1

Sketch of mission phases. The spacecraft launches from Earth and waits at L2 until a suitable comet is discovered, before departing on an interplanetary cruise to be in the right place at the right time to intercept the comet as it crosses the ecliptic plane. The smaller probes are released just before arriving at the comet. The trajectory of the spacecraft is in green, while the comet’s orbit is in red.

Back to article page