The document discusses how the ESA's Rosetta mission to land the Philae probe on comet 67P captured global attention in 2014. It analyzes how the ESA used anthropomorphism, storytelling and social media to engage the public by portraying the spacecraft as characters in an adventure story. A study found that the public strongly empathized with the fictionalized spacecraft characters, feeling concern for their wellbeing and taking their perspective. The ESA is recommended to continue using storytelling and anthropomorphism to help the public engage with future space missions.

1. Sebastian D. Marcu & Ryan Laird
IAC 2015 | 15.10.2015
Rosetta & Philae
captivating the and of a global audience

2. Once upon a time…
October 2013

4. ROSETTA CARTOON!

8. 20. January 2014

10. #RosettaAreWeThereYet
© Mathilde Faure

11. #CometLanding

12. #WakeUpRose,a!
#Rose,aAreWeThereYet!
#CometLanding!
Twi,er!follower!growth!count!@ESA_Rose,a.!Credit:!ESA.!!
Social Media Growth

13. Anthropomorphism

14. I'm in interstellar space & you make me feel
like a star. Thanks for the #launchiversary
wishes! I left Earth 37 years ago today.
— NASA Voyager (@NASAVoyager)
September 5, 2014!

15. Oh No!! I'm going to be creating a new crater
on Mercury? Hum.. This should be interesting.
— MESSENGER (@MESSENGER2011)
April 16, 2015

16. “The sun has fallen, and the
temperature is dropping so
quickly...to tell you all a
secret, I don't feel that sad. I
was just in my own adventure
story - and like every hero, I
encountered a small problem."
"Goodnight, Earth.
Goodnight, humanity.”
— Yutu rover (“Jade Rabbit”)
on Weibo

17. "Tiangong, my lover, for the
arrival of this moment -- wait
for me. I'm coming.”
— “Lovers’ Talk”, Tianfu
Zaobao, a Sichuan-based daily.
"If we compare the space
docking mission with the pact
of a pair of lovers deeply in
love, it will be the most
romantic story of the season.”
— Xinhua (Chinese News)

18. Storytelling

20. Transmedia Storytelling

21. ROSETTA:
“OK @Philae2014, I’m getting lined up
with #67P, are you ready to jump?
#CometLanding”
PHILAE:
“Ready when you are, @ESA_Rosetta.
Give me a little nudge?
#cometlanding”
ROSETTA:
“Standby for separation @philae2014…
#CometLanding”

22. ROSETTA:
“How are you feeling @philae2014?
#CometLanding”
PHILAE:
“.@ESA_Rosetta WOW! I feel like
I’m floating! And #67P is closer
and closer…. #CometLanding”
ROSETTA:
“@Philae2014 :) My back is chilly
now you’ve left, but I’m in a better
position to watch you now. Send
me a postcard! #CometLanding”

23. Empathy

24. Fantasy Scale (FS):
fantasy element of the fictional characters
Empathic Concern (EC):
concern for wellbeing of the spacecraft
Perspective Taking (PT):
perspective of our audience relating to the spacecraft
Personal Distress (PD):
feeling of distress for the Philae lander

25. • A total of 321 respondents
• 53% male, 47% female
• A mix of all ages
• Bias towards science-related/
space background
How did the public
perceive the Rosetta
cartoon characters?

27. Recommendations
• Mission planning with storytelling
• Empathy throug anthropomorphism
• Engagement through transmedia

28. Sebastian D. Marcu & Ryan Laird
IAC 2015 | 15.10.2015