Schott has contributed to the success of the Rosetta mission, supplying the radiation-resistant optical glass that is delivering images of the comet from inside the panorama camera.
Four out of five lenses installed in each of the seven objective lenses used in the CIVA camera system of the Philae lander were manufactured from two different types of radiation-resistant optical glasses from Schott.
“Thanks to our radiation-resistant optical glass, ten years of exposure to cosmic radiation has not impaired the performance of our lenses”, said Dr. Ralf Jedamzik, Principal Scientist at Schott Advanced Optics.
“Our special lenses ensure that the image quality is still excellent even following the long flight into space.
“It is an honour for us that our high-performance glass is being used in this mission.”
The lenses used in the panorama camera were designed and built by Fisba Optik from St. Gallen, Switzerland.
This isn’t the first time that Schott glass has landed on another celestial body.
Optical glass from Mainz was already on board the first manned lunar landing back in 1969.
The television camera used on the moon contained a fourfold lens system that was manufactured using optical glass from Schott.
