“To Catch A Comet” follows the international team of scientists and engineers who guide the European Space Agency’s (ESA) spacecraft Rosetta through the last year of its ten-year trajectory across the universe: around the Earth, around Mars, and twice through the asteroid belt to reach its destination.
In the nail-biting months before the landing, the team awakens Rosetta from three years of power-saving hibernation, manually navigates the craft through unexplored areas of the solar system, catches up to Comet 67P in a delicate cat-and-mouse orbiting dance, and releases a washing-machine-sized lander (named Philae) onto the comet’s surface.
The film crew was at ESA mission control during crucial milestone moments, capturing scientific demonstrations and experiments that illustrate the challenges Rosetta and Philae faced.
With remarkable production value, the film gives a complete backstory of the ten-year Rosetta mission, from inception, to intergalactic near-misses, to its eventual touchdown.
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This program originally aired in 2014.
Credits:
A production of Darlow Smithson Productions Ltd. in association with PBS and National Geographic Channels International. Executive Producer: Iain Riddick. Producer/Director: Rory Griffin. Narrator: Corey Johnson.
