Comet Interceptor mission receives key Dust Field & Plasma hardware

The European Space Agency's Comet Interceptor mission has reached a new milestone as the Spanish aerospace group Sener took delivery of the flight‑hardware Dust Field & Plasma (DFP‑B2) instrument. The DFP‑B2 unit is a core component of the spacecraft’s scientific payload, designed to analyse dust and plasma environments around long‑period comets that enter the inner Solar System for the first time.

Comet Interceptor is a joint ESA‑JAXA project; JAXA will supply one of the two probes that will accompany the main spacecraft. Polish engineers from Sener Polska have developed a separation mechanism and other hardware elements that will release and spin the ESA probe (PB2) for close‑up observations. The successful delivery confirms the instrument’s readiness for integration ahead of the mission’s planned launch.