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The global shape, density and rotation of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko from preperihelion Rosetta/OSIRIS observations
Jorda, L.; Lara, L. M.; Lamy, P. +45 more
The Rosetta spacecraft reached Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (hereafter 67P/C-G) in August 2014 at an heliocentric distance of 3.6 a.u. and was then put in orbit around its nucleus to perform detailed observations. Among the collected data are the images acquired by the OSIRIS instrument up to the perihelion passage of the comet in August 2015, …
Refractory and semi-volatile organics at the surface of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko: Insights from the VIRTIS/Rosetta imaging spectrometer
Fornasier, S.; Erard, S.; Drossart, P. +34 more
The VIRTIS (Visible, Infrared and Thermal Imaging Spectrometer) instrument aboard the Rosetta spacecraft has performed extensive spectral mapping of the surface of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in the range 0.3-5 µm. The reflectance spectra collected across the surface display a low reflectance factor over the whole spectral range, two spe…
Typology of dust particles collected by the COSIMA mass spectrometer in the inner coma of 67P/Churyumov Gerasimenko
Langevin, Y.; Schulz, R.; Hilchenbach, M. +7 more
The COSIMA mass spectrometer on board the ROSETTA orbiter has collected dust in the near coma of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko since August 11, 2014. The collected dust particles are identified by taking images with a microscope (COSISCOPE) under grazing incidence illumination before and after exposure of the target to cometary dust. More than 1…
The global surface composition of 67P/CG nucleus by Rosetta/VIRTIS. (I) Prelanding mission phase
Longobardo, Andrea; Palomba, Ernesto; Piccioni, Giuseppe +27 more
From August to November 2014 the Rosetta orbiter has performed an extensive observation campaign aimed at the characterization of 67P/CG nucleus properties and to the selection of the Philae landing site. The campaign led to the production of a global map of the illuminated portion of 67P/CG nucleus. During this prelanding phase the comet's helioc…
Investigation into the disparate origin of CO2 and H2O outgassing for Comet 67/P
Piccioni, Giuseppe; De Sanctis, Maria Cristina; Filacchione, Gianrico +15 more
We present an investigation of the emission intensity of CO2 and H2O and their distribution in the coma of 67P/ Churyumov-Gerasimenko obtained by the VIRTIS-M imaging spectrometer on the Rosetta mission. We analyze 4 data cubes from Feb. 28, and 7 data cubes from April 27, 2015. For both data sets the spacecraft was at a suff…
ROSETTA lander Philae - soil strength analysis
Arnold, Walter; Roll, Reinhard; Witte, Lars
The landing of Philae, the lander of ESA's ROSETTA-mission, on November 12th 2014 on Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, was planned as a descent with passive landing activating a damper system and anchoring by harpoons at touch-down. The lander was not fixed to the ground at touch-down due to failing harpoons. The lander damper, however, was actuate…
A radiative transfer model to treat infrared molecular excitation in cometary atmospheres
Bockelée-Morvan, D.; Debout, V.; Zakharov, V.
The exospheres of small Solar System bodies are now observed with high spatial resolution from space missions. Interpreting infrared spectra of cometary gases obtained with the VIRTIS experiment onboard the Rosetta cometary mission requires detailed modeling of infrared fluorescence emission in optically thick conditions. Efficient computing metho…
Disk-resolved photometry of Vesta and Lutetia and comparison with other asteroids
Longobardo, Andrea; Palomba, Ernesto; De Sanctis, Maria Cristina +7 more
Photometry of asteroids gives fundamental information about their spectral and physical properties. The aim of this work is two-fold: (1) to calculate phase functions of Vesta and Lutetia in the visible spectral range; and (2) to compare photometric properties of all the asteroids visited by space missions, as inferred from disk-resolved photometr…
Asteroid (21) Lutetia: Disk-resolved photometric analysis of Baetica region
Sierks, H.; Barucci, M. A.; Fornasier, S. +4 more
(21) Lutetia has been visited by Rosetta mission on July 2010 and observed with a phase angle ranging from 0.15° to 156.8°. The Baetica region, located at the north pole has been extensively observed by OSIRIS cameras system. Baetica encompass a region called North Pole Crater Cluster (NPCC), shows a cluster of superposed craters which presents si…