Search Publications
Dynamical features and spatial structures of the plasma interaction region of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko and the solar wind
Glassmeier, K. -H.; Richter, I.; Koenders, C. +2 more
In the advent of the Rosetta arrival at the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, we present a global 3D hybrid simulation model of the cometary plasma interaction which resolves the innermost coma sufficiently. As Rosetta will only provide local information, global simulations are required to put these local observations into a wider global perspectiv…
COSIMA calibration for the detection and characterization of the cometary solid organic matter
Briois, Christelle; Cottin, Hervé; Fray, Nicolas +4 more
On the orbiter of the Rosetta spacecraft, the Cometary Secondary Ion Mass Analyser (COSIMA) will provide new in situ insights about the chemical composition of cometary grains all along 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (67P/CG) journey until the end of December 2015 nominally. The aim of this paper is to present the pre-calibration which has already been…
Surface charging and electrostatic dust acceleration at the nucleus of comet 67P during periods of low activity
Coates, A. J.; Jones, G. H.; Roussos, E. +2 more
We have investigated through simulation the electrostatic charging of the nucleus of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko during periods of weak outgassing activity. Specifically, we have modeled the surface potential and electric field at the surface of the nucleus during the initial Rosetta rendezvous at 3.5 AU and the release of the Philae lander at…
Craters on comets
Vincent, Jean-Baptiste; Oklay, Nilda; Sierks, Holger +2 more
This paper reviews the observations of crater-like features on cometary nuclei. We compare potential crater sizes and morphologies, and we discuss the probability of impacts between small asteroids in the Main Belt and a comet crossing this region of the Solar System. Finally, we investigate the fate of the impactor and its chances of survival on …
Philae localization from CONSERT/Rosetta measurement
Kofman, Wlodek; Herique, Alain; Rogez, Yves +3 more
On 12 November 2014 at 15:34 UTC, after a 7-h descent, the Philae lander made contact with the surface of the comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko (67P/CG) in the centre of the intended landing zone. Following the failure of its anchoring systems, it bounced and continued to fly ballistically. A couple of hours later, telemetry transmitted to Rosetta showe…
COSIMA-Rosetta calibration for in situ characterization of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko cometary inorganic compounds
Trieloff, Mario; Krüger, Harald; Fischer, Henning +15 more
COmetary Secondary Ion Mass Analyzer (COSIMA) is a time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS) instrument on board the Rosetta space mission. COSIMA has been designed to measure the composition of cometary dust particles. It has a mass resolution m/Δm of 1400 at mass 100 u, thus enabling the discrimination of inorganic mass peaks fro…
Acceleration of ions and nano dust at a comet in the solar wind
Kallio, E.; Gunell, H.; Nilsson, H. +6 more
A quasi-neutral hybrid simulation of the interaction of the solar wind with the atmosphere of a comet is used together with a test particle simulation of cometary ions and dust to compute trajectories and velocity distribution functions of charged particles, starting outside the diamagnetic cavity at 150 km cometocentric distance. The simulations …
The capabilities of ROSINA/DFMS to measure argon isotopes at comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
Altwegg, K.; Berthelier, J. J.; Fuselier, S. A. +8 more
Little is known about the noble gas abundances in comets. These highly volatile atoms are possible tracers of the history of cometary matter including the thermal evolution. They can help quantify the contribution of cometary impacts to terrestrial oceans and help elucidate on the formation history of comets and their role in the formation and evo…
Cometary ion instabilities in the solar wind
Hellinger, P.; Matteini, L.; Schwartz, S. J.
We review some of the processes that characterize the interaction of the solar wind with newborn cometary ions. Instabilities generated by the typical ring-beam velocity-space configuration of the pick-up ions in the solar wind frame are studied by means of one- and two-dimensional hybrid numerical simulations. In agreement with previous studies, …
Pile driving models for the evaluation of soil penetration resistance measurements from planetary subsurface probes
Kömle, Norbert I.; Kargl, Günter; Poganski, Joshua +1 more
Several planetary lander missions conducted in the past and planned for the near future have instruments on board, which are dedicated to the determination of various material properties, among them mechanical properties of the surface like material strength and penetration resistance. In this paper two instruments are considered in more detail: (…