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Venus Interior Structure and Dynamics
Sotin, Christophe; Smrekar, Suzanne E.; Davaille, Anne
No two rocky bodies offer a better laboratory for exploring the conditions controlling interior dynamics than Venus and Earth. Their similarities in size, density, distance from the sun, and young surfaces would suggest comparable interior dynamics. Although the two planets exhibit some of the same processes, Venus lacks Earth's dominant process f…
Kelvin-Helmholtz Instability: Lessons Learned and Ways Forward
Nykyri, K.; Masson, A.
The Kelvin-Helmholtz instability (KHI) is a ubiquitous phenomenon across the Universe, observed from 500 m deep in the oceans on Earth to the Orion molecular cloud. Over the past two decades, several space missions have enabled a leap forward in our understanding of this phenomenon at the Earth's magnetopause. Key results obtained by these mission…
Organic Ices in Titan's Stratosphere
Anderson, C. M.; Samuelson, R. E.; Nna-Mvondo, D.
Titan's stratospheric ice clouds are by far the most complex of any observed in the solar system, with over a dozen organic vapors condensing out to form a suite of pure and co-condensed ices, typically observed at high winter polar latitudes. Once these stratospheric ices are formed, they will diffuse throughout Titan's lower atmosphere and most …
Fine Resolution Epithermal Neutron Detector (FREND) Onboard the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter
Mitrofanov, I.; Zelenyi, L. M.; Malakhov, A. +23 more
ExoMars is a two-launch mission undertaken by Roscosmos and European Space Agency. Trace Gas Orbiter, a satellite part of the 2016 launch carries the Fine Resolution Neutron Detector instrument as part of its payload. The instrument aims at mapping hydrogen content in the upper meter of Martian soil with spatial resolution between 60 and 200 km di…
Image Simulation and Assessment of the Colour and Spatial Capabilities of the Colour and Stereo Surface Imaging System (CaSSIS) on the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter
Seelos, Frank P.; El-Maarry, M. R.; Tornabene, Livio L. +21 more
This study aims to assess the spatial and visible/near-infrared (VNIR) colour/spectral capabilities of the 4-band Colour and Stereo Surface Imaging System (CaSSIS) aboard the ExoMars 2016 Trace Grace Orbiter (TGO). The instrument response functions for the CaSSIS imager was used to resample spectral libraries, modelled spectra and to construct spe…
Origin of Molecular Oxygen in Comets: Current Knowledge and Perspectives
Mousis, Olivier; Bouquet, Alexis; Lunine, Jonathan I. +10 more
The Rosetta Orbiter Spectrometer for Ion and Neutral Analysis (ROSINA) instrument onboard the Rosetta spacecraft has measured molecular oxygen (O2) in the coma of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (67P/C-G) in surprisingly high abundances. These measurements mark the first unequivocal detection of O2 in a cometary environment. …
The DREAMS Experiment Onboard the Schiaparelli Module of the ExoMars 2016 Mission: Design, Performances and Expected Results
Schmidt, W.; Patel, M. R.; Bellucci, G. +65 more
The first of the two missions foreseen in the ExoMars program was successfully launched on 14th March 2016. It included the Trace Gas Orbiter and the Schiaparelli Entry descent and landing Demonstrator Module. Schiaparelli hosted the DREAMS instrument suite that was the only scientific payload designed to operate after the touchdown. DREAMS is a m…
Presolar Isotopic Signatures in Meteorites and Comets: New Insights from the Rosetta Mission to Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
Hoppe, Peter; Altwegg, Kathrin; Rubin, Martin
Comets are considered the most primitive planetary bodies in our Solar System, i.e., they should have best preserved the solid components of the matter from which our Solar System formed. ESA's recent Rosetta mission to Jupiter family comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (67P/CG) has provided a wealth of isotope data which expanded the existing data se…
Investigations of the Mars Upper Atmosphere with ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter
Montmessin, Franck; Clancy, R. T.; Korablev, Oleg +22 more
The Martian mesosphere and thermosphere, the region above about 60 km, is not the primary target of the ExoMars 2016 mission but its Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) can explore it and address many interesting issues, either in-situ during the aerobraking period or remotely during the regular mission. In the aerobraking phase TGO peeks into thermospheric d…
ExoMars 2016 Schiaparelli Module Trajectory and Atmospheric Profiles Reconstruction. Analysis of the On-board Inertial and Radar Measurements
Debei, S.; Karatekin, O.; Colombatti, G. +5 more
On 19th October 2016 Schiaparelli module of the ExoMars 2016 mission flew through the Mars atmosphere. After successful entry and descent under parachute, the module failed the last part of the descent and crashed on the Mars surface. Nevertheless the data transmitted in real-time by Schiaparelli during the entry and descent, together w…