Rosetta in 3D: live position and trajectory

Launched in 2004, the first mission to orbit a comet, and to land on one with Philae in 2014.

The real position of Rosetta is shown, from the trajectory computed by NASA JPL Horizons. The view opens on Rosetta; you can travel in time, follow its route and compare it with the planets.

Mass

1,200 kg¹

Launch date

March 2, 2004¹

Launch vehicle

Ariane 5¹

Launch site

Kourou, French Guiana¹

Trajectory: JPL Horizons, precomputed from March 4, 2004 to October 3, 2016.

Instruments

• The Alice Spectrometer for the Rosetta Orbiter
  urn:esa:psa:context:instrument:ro.alice
• The Cometary Secondary Ion Mass Analyzer (COSIMA) for the Rosetta Orbiter
  urn:esa:psa:context:instrument:ro.cosima
• The Grain Impact Analyset and Dust Accumulator (GIADA) for the Rosetta Orbiter
  urn:esa:psa:context:instrument:ro.giada
• The Micro-Imaging Dust Analysis System (MIDAS) for the Rosetta Orbiter
  urn:esa:psa:context:instrument:ro.midas
• The Microwave Instrument for the Rosetta Orbiter (MIRO)
  urn:esa:psa:context:instrument:ro.miro
• The Navigation Camera (NavCam) for the Rosetta Orbiter
  urn:esa:psa:context:instrument:ro.navcam
• The Optical, Spectroscopic, and Infrared Remote Imaging System (OSIRIS) Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) for the Rosetta Orbiter
  urn:esa:psa:context:instrument:ro.osinac
• The Optical, Spectroscopic, and Infrared Remote Imaging System (OSIRIS) Wide Angle Camera (WAC) for the Rosetta Orbiter
  urn:esa:psa:context:instrument:ro.osiwac
• The Radio Science Investigations (RSI) for the Rosetta Orbiter
  urn:esa:psa:context:instrument:ro.rsi
• The Rosetta Orbital Spectrometer for Ion and Neutral Analysis (ROSINA)
  urn:esa:psa:context:instrument:ro.rosina
• The Rosetta Plasma Consortium (RPC) Ion and Electron Sensor (IES) for the Rosetta Orbiter
  urn:esa:psa:context:instrument:ro.rpcies
• The Rosetta Plasma Consortium (RPC) Ion Composition Analyser (ICA) for the Rosetta Orbiter
  urn:esa:psa:context:instrument:ro.rpcica
• The Rosetta Plasma Consortium (RPC) Magnetometer (MAG) for the Rosetta Orbiter
  urn:esa:psa:context:instrument:ro.rpcmag
• The Rosetta Plasme Consortium (RPC) Langmuir Probe (LAP) for the Rosetta Orbiter
  urn:esa:psa:context:instrument:ro.rpclap
• The Visible Infrared Thermal Imaging Spectrometer (VIRTIS) for the Rosetta Orbiter
  urn:esa:psa:context:instrument:ro.virtis

Investigations it appears in

• International Rosetta Mission

What the PDS archive declares this spacecraft carries, read on September 30, 2026. Each name is the one the archive publishes, and the identifier below it is its citation.

Sources

1. NASA NSSDCA, Master Catalog. read 2026-09-20. https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/