Search Publications
ROSINA/DFMS capabilities to measure isotopic ratios in water at comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
Altwegg, K.; Balsiger, H.; Berthelier, J. J. +7 more
The likelihood that comets may have delivered part of the water to Earth has been reinforced by the recent observation of the earth-like D/H ratio in Jupiter-family comet 103P/Hartley 2 by Hartogh et al. (2012). Prior to this observation, results from several Oort cloud comets indicated a factor of 2 enrichment of deuterium relative to the abundan…
Evidence of extensive glaciation in Deuteronilus Mensae, Mars: Inferences towards multiple glacial events in the past epochs
Sinha, Rishitosh K.; Murty, S. V. S.
In this study, we examine the existence of multiple episodes of glacial activities in Deuteronilus Mensae region on Mars from the analysis of high-resolution remote sensing images acquired by Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) ConText Camera (CTX) and High resolution imaging science experiment (HiRISE). The investigated portion from northern mid-la…
Timescale for oceans in the past of Titan
McKay, Christopher P.; Larsson, Richard
We estimate the past extent of liquid on the surface of Titan as a function of time assuming the current rate of destruction of methane and no sources or subsurface sinks. As methane increases for increasing past time the polar lakes expand equatorward. We use a spherical harmonics model for the surface topography to compute the fraction of the su…
Recent improvements of the Saturnian satellites atlases: Mimas, Enceladus, and Dione
Matz, K. -D.; Roatsch, Th.; Wählisch, M. +3 more
The Cassini Imaging Science Subsystem (ISS) acquired many high-resolution images (<1 km/pixel) of the Icy Saturnian satellites during the nominal mission of the Cassini spacecraft between 2004 and 2008. These images were used to create high-resolution mosaics of these satellites. The Cassini mission is expected to continue till 2017 and high-re…
Frozen Martian lahars? Evaluation of morphology, degradation and geologic development in the Utopia-Elysium transition zone
Pedersen, G. B. M.
Regional coverage of high-resolution data from the CTX camera has permitted new, detailed morphologic analysis of the enigmatic Utopia-Elysium flows which dominate the transition zone between Elysium volcanic province and Utopia Planitia. Based on topographic and morphologic analysis of the Galaxias region, this study supports the lahar hypothesis…
A geological characterization of Ligeia Mare in the northern polar region of Titan
Chevrier, V. F.; Wasiak, F. C.; Androes, D. +3 more
Ligeia Mare, the second largest sea on Titan, resides in an endorheic basin dominated by seas in the northeastern polar region. Ligeia's shoreline morphology resembles terrestrial man-made reservoirs where water is dammed and valleys are flooded. Here we describe the mare and surrounding geologically diverse terrain including rugged highlands and …
Probing the flyby anomaly with the future STE-QUEST mission
Hechenblaikner, G.; Páramos, Jorge
In this study, we demonstrate that the flyby anomaly, an unexpected acceleration detected in some of the gravitational assists of the Galileo, NEAR, Cassini and Rosetta spacecraft, could be probed by accurate orbital tracking available in the proposed Space-Time Explorer and Quantum Equivalence Principle Space Test (STE-QUEST); following a recent …
A model of variability in Titan's atmospheric structure
Flasar, F. M.; Waite, J. H.; Lorenz, R. +2 more
Titan's atmosphere has been extensively studied during the Cassini-Huygens Mission. The polar environment undergoes considerable seasonal variation and is distinct from the more quiescent equatorial environment experienced by the Huygens probe in 2005. The thermal structure of the upper atmosphere is affected by interaction of Titan's atmosphere w…
The two-micron spectral characteristics of the Titanian haze derived from Cassini/VIMS solar occultation spectra
Kim, Sang Joon; Courtin, Régis; Sim, Chae Kyung +2 more
Vertically-resolved spectral characteristics of the Titanian haze in the 2-µm wavelength range were derived from solar occultation spectra measured by Cassini/VIMS on January 15, 2006. At the various altitudes probed by the solar occultation measurements, we reproduced the observed spectra using a radiative transfer program including absorpt…
Validation of methodology to derive elemental abundances from X-ray observations on Chandrayaan-1
Babu, B. R. S.; Narendranath, S.; Sreekumar, P. +2 more
The Chandrayaan-1 X-ray Spectrometer (C1XS) observed characteristic X-ray fluorescence (XRF) lines of major rock forming elements from the lunar surface during different solar flare conditions. As the Sun was undergoing an unusually low activity cycle during the observing period of C1XS (28th Nov. 2008-29th Aug. 2009), most observations were made …