Editing Rosetta (spacecraft) (section)

=== Background ===
During the 1986 approach of [[Halley's Comet]], international space probes were sent to explore the comet, most prominent among them being [[European Space Agency|ESA]]'s [[Giotto (spacecraft)|''Giotto'']].<ref name="vice20160314">{{cite news |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/happy-anniversary-giotto-the-probe-that-flew-by-halleys-comet-30-years-ago/ |title=Happy Anniversary Giotto, the Probe That Flew By Halley's Comet 30 Years Ago |work=[[Vice (magazine)|Vice]] |series=Motherboard |first=Victoria |last=Turk |date=14 March 2016 |access-date=1 October 2016}}</ref> After the probes returned valuable scientific information, it became obvious that follow-ons were needed that would shed more light on cometary composition and answer new questions.<ref name="Altwegg2001">{{cite book |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6aQRBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA1280 |chapter=The constituents of cometary nuclei |title=The Century of Space Science |publisher=Kluwer Academic |editor1-first=Johan A. M. |editor1-last=Bleeker |editor2-first=Johannes |editor2-last=Geiss |editor3-first=Martin C. E. |editor3-last=Huber |first1=Kathrin |last1=Altwegg|author1-link=Kathrin Altwegg |first2=Wesley T. Jr. |last2=Huntress |page=1280 |date=2001 |isbn=978-0-7923-7196-0}}</ref>

Both ESA and [[NASA]] started cooperatively developing new probes. The NASA project was the [[Comet Rendezvous Asteroid Flyby]] (CRAF) mission.<ref name="Neugebauer1987">{{cite journal |title=The Comet Rendezvous Asteroid Flyby Mission |journal=Advances in Space Research |first1=M. |last1=Neugebauer |first2=R. F. |last2=Draper |volume=7 |issue=12 |pages=201–204 |date=1987 |doi=10.1016/0273-1177(87)90218-3 |bibcode=1987AdSpR...7l.201N |hdl=2060/19930010071|hdl-access=free }}</ref> The ESA project was the follow-on Comet Nucleus Sample Return (CNSR) mission.<ref name="Schwehm1989">{{cite journal |title=Rosetta - Comet Nucleus Sample Return |journal=Advances in Space Research |first=G. H. |last=Schwehm |volume=9 |issue=6 |pages=185–190 |date=1989 |doi=10.1016/0273-1177(89)90228-7 |bibcode=1989AdSpR...9f.185S}}</ref> Both missions were to share the [[Mariner Mark II]] spacecraft design, thus minimising costs. In 1992, after NASA cancelled CRAF due to budgetary limitations, ESA decided to develop a CRAF-style project on its own.<ref name="Moltenbrey2016">{{cite book |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Bf_NCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA223 |chapter=Exploration of Small Solar System Bodies |title=Dawn of Small Worlds: Dwarf Planets, Asteroids, Comets |publisher=Springer |series=Astronomer's Universe |first=Michael |last=Moltenbrey |pages=223–224 |date=2016 |isbn=978-3-319-23002-3 |doi=10.1007/978-3-319-23003-0}}</ref> By 1993 it was evident that the ambitious sample return mission was infeasible with the existing ESA budget, so the mission was redesigned and subsequently approved by the ESA, with the final flight plan resembling the cancelled CRAF mission: an asteroid flyby followed by a comet rendezvous with in-situ examination, including a lander.<ref name="Moltenbrey2016" /> After the spacecraft launch, [[Gerhard Schwehm]] was named mission manager; he retired in March 2014.<ref name="techrep">{{cite news |url=http://www.techrepublic.com/article/the-tech-behind-the-rosetta-comet-chaser-from-3d-printing-to-solar-power-to-complex-mapping/ |title=The tech behind the Rosetta comet chaser: From 3D printing to solar power to complex mapping |work=[[TechRepublic]] |first=Lyndsey |last=Gilpin |date=14 August 2014}}</ref>

The ''Rosetta'' mission included generational team management; this allowed mission continuity over the long period of the mission and for special knowledge to be maintained and passed on to future team members. In particular, several younger scientists were brought on as principal science investigators, and regular training sessions were conducted.<ref name="FAQ" />