Comet Interceptor/COMPLIMENT LP & Boom

Comet Interceptor is an ESA F-class mission for a multi-spacecraft study of a dynamically new comet.

Launch is planned for early 2029 and will take Comet Interceptor to the Earth L2 Lagrange point for a stand-by phase lasting up to 4-years, while a search for a suitable comet target is undertaken.

This comet will be a type of long-period comet reaching the inner solar system for the first time, such that it is virtually unchanged since the formation of the solar system. The target could also be an instersteller object if the opportunity should arise.

During the subsequent flyby of this target, a suite of instruments will make detailed studies of both the comet nucleus as well as the surrounding gas, plasma and dust environment.

This mission is in a sense a nice continuation of ESA’s cometary mission Rosetta: while Rosetta made single spacecraft measurements at slow pace in orbit around the weakly active comet 67P, Comet Interceptor will get a 3D snapshot of a comet that has not been close to the Sun before and therefore possibly very active.The Swedish Institute of Space Physics in Uppsala (IRF-U) contributes to this mission through the Cometary Plasma Light Instrument (COMPLIMENT), which is built on the heritage from the two successful Rosetta-LAP and Rosetta-MIP instruments.

COMPLIMENT is a combined instrument consisting a double Langmuir probe and a mutual impedance experiment for measuring cold plasma properties, such as electron and ion density, temperature and ion mass but also integrated solar EUV flux, spacecraft potential and electric fields.

IRF is responsible for the LP electronics board (IRF-Uppsala) and the boom on which one of the COMPLIMENT sensor will be mounted (IRF-Kiruna).The Comet Interceptor mission is currently in Phase B2, which for the scientific instrument means design and definition.

With this application we seek funding to cover all relevant activities for the years 2022-2025 for completing the tasks of producing the COMPLIMENT/LP-board and the Boom.