Posted: Mon, Mar 15, 2004, 1:17 PM ET (1817 GMT)
The European Space Agency announced late last week that its Rosetta comet spacecraft will fly by two asteroids en route to its final destination. Project officials announced that Rosetta will fly past the asteroid Steins in September 2008 and Lutetia in July 2010. Steins is a small asteroid no more than a few kilometers in diameter while Lutetia is far larger, about 100 kilometers across. Scientists had hoped that Rosetta would be able to fly past one or more asteroids during its passages through the main asteroid belt, but had to wait until after Rosetta was launched March 2 to determine its exact trajectory and propellant requirements. Rosetta’s prime mission is to study the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, which the spacecraft will rendezvous with in mid-2014.

Related Links:

•  BBC article
•  AFP article
•  ESA press release