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A plausible link between the asteroid 21 Lutetia and CH carbonaceous chondrites
Fornasier, Sonia; Barucci, Maria A.; Trigo-Rodríguez, Josep M. +3 more
A crucial topic in planetology research is establishing links between primitive meteorites and their parent asteroids. In this study, we investigate the feasibility of a connection between asteroids similar to 21 Lutetia, encountered by the Rosetta mission in July 2010, and the CH3 carbonaceous chondrite Pecora Escarpment 91467 (PCA 91467). Severa…
Exploring the Moon's surface for remnants of the lunar mantle 1. Dunite xenoliths in mare basalts. A crustal or mantle origin?
Shearer, Charles K.; Burger, Paul V.; Bell, Aaron S. +2 more
Remotely sensed observations from recent missions (e.g., GRAIL, Kaguya, Chandrayaan-1) have been interpreted as indicating that the deep crust and upper mantle are close to or at the lunar surface in many large impact basins (e.g., Crisium, Apollo, Moscoviense). If this is correct, the capability of either impact or volcanic processes to transport…
SMART-1 end of life shallow regolith impact simulations
Foing, B.; Burchell, M. J.; Cole, M. J. +3 more
The SMART-1 end-of-life impact with the lunar surface was simulated with impacts in a two stage light-gas gun onto inclined basalt targets with a shallow surface layer of sand. This simulated the probable impact site, where a loose regolith will have overlaid a well consolidated basaltic layer of rock. The impact angles used were at 5° and 10° fro…
Stardust Interstellar Preliminary Examination X: Impact speeds and directions of interstellar grains on the Stardust dust collector
Postberg, Frank; Altobelli, Nicolas; Trieloff, Mario +65 more
On the basis of an interstellar dust model compatible with Ulysses and Galileo observations, we calculate and predict the trajectories of interstellar dust (ISD) in the solar system and the distribution of the impact speeds, directions, and flux of ISD particles on the Stardust Interstellar Dust Collector during the two collection periods of the m…
The evolution of co-orbiting material in the orbit of 2201 Oljato from 1980 to 2012 as deduced from Pioneer Venus Orbiter and Venus Express magnetic records
Zhang, Tielong; Russell, Christopher T.; Lai, Hairong +1 more
Asteroid 2201 Oljato passed through perihelion inside the orbit of Venus near the time of its conjunction with Venus in 1980, 1983, and 1986. During those three years, many interplanetary field enhancements (IFEs) were observed by the Pioneer Venus Orbiter (PVO) in the longitude sector where the orbit of Oljato lies inside Venus' orbit. We attribu…
Structure and density of cometary nuclei
Weissman, Paul R.; Lowry, Stephen C.
Understanding the nature of the cometary nucleus remains one of the major problems in solar system science. Whipple’s (1950) icy conglomerate model has been very successful at explaining a range of cometary phenomena, including the source of cometary activity and the nongravitational orbital motion of the nuclei. However, the internal structure of…
Rosetta target asteroid 2867 Steins: An unusual E-type asteroid
Weissman, Paul R.; Hicks, Michael D.; Choi, Young-Jun +2 more
ESA's Rosetta spacecraft will fly by main-belt asteroid 2867 Steins on September 5, 2008. We obtained new visible wavelength spectra of 2867 Steins on December 19, 2006 (UT), using the Palomar 5 m telescope and the facility Double Spectrograph. Two sets of spectra, taken ∼3 h apart, one half of the rotation period for 2867 Steins, show it to be an…
Finite difference time domain simulation of radar wave propagation through comet nuclei dielectric models
Heggy, Essam; Carley, Ruth A.
The 90 MHz radar-wave experiment, Comet Nucleus Sounding Experiment by Radiowave Transmission (CONSERT), on board the Rosetta mission (ESA, 2004) is expected to probe the nucleus of the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (67P/C-G) to reveal information on its physical properties, chemical composition, and internal structure. This investigation assess…
A review of penetrometers for subsurface access on comets and asteroids
Ball, Andrew J.; Glaser, David L.; Zacny, Kris A.
The characterization of comet and asteroid interiors will eventually require in situ exploration with drills, penetrators/penetrometers, hypervelocity impactors, excavators or other devices. Because they offer desirable scientific capabilities and relative mechanical simplicity, penetrators and penetrometers, which use only axial force to push ben…
Gamma rays from cosmic radioactivities
Diehl, Roland; Hartmann, Dieter H.; Prantzos, Nikos
Gamma rays from radioactive byproducts of cosmic nucleosynthesis are direct messengers from nuclear processes taking place in various cosmic sites, and can be measured with telescopes operated in space. Due to low detector sensitivity, up until now, only a handful of sources have been detected in that electromagnetic window. Cobalt lines from SN19…