JEAN-PIERRE BIBRING & HANNS ZISCHLER
THE COMETE, THE JOURNEY OF ROSETTA
Published by Xavier Barral, 2019
Book size 25 x 27 cm
Pages 216 with 150 B&W photographs
Hardcover
Language French
A photographic dream, this publication takes us into space aboard the Rosetta probe and tells the incredible story of its mission led by the European Space Agency. The reader follows the ten-year orbital journey of Rosetta through 150 B&W photographs: first, leaving Earth, breaching its atmosphere and watching its lights disappear, then skirting the Moon and coming close to Mars, asteroids, before finally losing itself in the starry void of the cosmos and approaching the comet Tchoury in 2014. Thanks to powerful sensors, these dazzling photographs reveal through the darkest shades, the diverse reliefs of the comet composed of dust and ice, barely lit by sunrays.
These collected images are the exploration's treasure find. Looking at them invites us to reconsider our earthbound frames of reference. On 67P, what appears solid can often prove extremely fragile. (Xavier Barral)
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A photographic dream, this book transports us into space aboard the Rosetta probe and immerses us in the incredible story of this mission led by the European Space Agency. The reader follows the orbital journey of the Rosetta probe over ten years, through 150 photographs taken along its route: departure from Earth, crossing the clouds then skirting the Moon until approaching Mars, asteroids, to finally get lost in the starry void of the cosmos and approaching the comet Chury in 2014. Thanks to powerful sensors, these dazzling photographs reveal to us even the darkest shadows, the various reliefs of this comet composed of dust and ice, barely lit by the sun's rays. The images collected are part of the treasure of these discoverers. Reading them invites us to reconsider our terrestrial references. On 67P, what seems solid can turn out to be very fragile. (Xavier Barral)
A first text by Jean-Pierre Bibring, French astrophysicist at the Institute of Space Astrophysics, responsible for the scientific operations of the Rosetta lander, looks back at the objectives of this mission and the accomplishment of such a technological and human feat. Following this interstellar journey, an essay by Hanns Zichler, author and director, evokes the various historical and literary symbols that this mission echoes.