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The Rolis Experiment on the Rosetta Lander
Bibring, Jean-Pierre; Neukum, Gerhard; Jaumann, Ralf +4 more
ROLIS (Rosetta Lander Imaging System) is one of the two imaging systems carried by Rosetta's Lander Philae, successfully launched to comet 67P/ Churyumov-Gerasimenko in March 2004. Consisting of a highly-miniaturized CCD camera, ROLIS will operate as a descent imager, acquiring imagery of the landing site with increasing spatial resolution. After …
Ionic Charge States of Solar Energetic Particles: A Clue to the Source
Klecker, B.; Möbius, E.; Popecki, M. A.
The ionic charge of solar energetic particles (SEP) as observed in interplanetary space is an important parameter for the diagnostic of the plasma conditions at the source region and provides fundamental information about the acceleration and propagation processes at the Sun and in interplanetary space. In this paper we review the new measurements…
D/H and Nearby Interstellar Cloud Structures
Linsky, J. L.
Analysis of UV spectra obtained with the HST, FUSE and other satellites provides a new understanding of the deuterium abundance in the local region of the galactic disk. The wide range of gas-phase D/H measurements obtained outside of the Local Bubble can now be explained as due to different amounts of deuterium depletion on carbonaceous grains. T…
Rosetta Asteroid Targets: 2867 Steins and 21 Lutetia
Barucci, M. A.; Rossi, A.; Fulchignoni, M.
In preparation for the flyby of the Rosetta spacecraft, the state of the knowledge of 21 Lutetia and 2867 Steins obtained by ground based observations is reported. Preliminary determination of shape and/or size, rotational properties and taxonomic types are presented for both asteroids. The dusty environment of the targets has been studied in orde…
The Rosetta Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS)
Klingelhöfer, G.; Brückner, J.; D'uston, C. +2 more
The Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) is a small instrument to determine the elemental composition of a given sample. For the ESA Rosetta mission, the periodical comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko was selected as the target comet, where the lander PHILAE (after landing) will carry out in-situ observations. One of the instruments onboard is the…
Creating Habitable Zones, at all Scales, from Planets to Mud Micro-Habitats, on Earth and on Mars
Jaumann, Ralf; Zahnle, Kevin; Westall, Frances +5 more
The factors that create a habitable planet are considered at all scales, from planetary inventories to micro-habitats in soft sediments and intangibles such as habitat linkage. The possibility of habitability first comes about during accretion, as a product of the processes of impact and volatile inventory history. To create habitability water is …
Filtration of Interstellar Atoms through the Heliospheric Interface
Izmodenov, V. V.
Interstellar atoms penetrate deep into the heliosphere after passing through the heliospheric interface—the region of the interaction of the solar wind with the interstellar medium. The heliospheric interface serves as a filter for the interstellar atoms of hydrogen and oxygen, and, to a lesser extent, nitrogen, due to their coupling with interste…
Pickup Ions and Cosmic Rays from Dust in the Heliosphere
Schwadron, N. A.; Gloeckler, G.
The combination of recent observational and theoretical work has completed the catalog of the sources of heliospheric Pickup Ions (PUIs). These PUIs are the seed population for Anomalous Cosmic Rays (ACRs), which are accelerated to high energies at or beyond the Termination Shock (TS). For elements with high First Ionization Potentials (high-FIP a…
Nickel Isotopic Composition and Nickel/Iron Ratio in the Solar Wind: Results from SOHO/CELIAS/MTOF
Wurz, P.; Bochsler, P.; Ipavich, F. M. +3 more
Using the Mass Time-of-Flight Spectrometer (MTOF)—part of the Charge, Elements, Isotope Analysis System (CELIAS)—onboard the Solar Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) spacecraft, we derive the nickel isotopic composition for the isotopes with mass 58, 60 and 62 in the solar wind. In addition we measure the elemental abundance ratio of nickel to iron. …
Rosetta Ground Segment and Mission Operations
Ferri, P.; Warhaut, M.; Montagnon, E.
At the European Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt (Germany) the activities for ground segment development and mission operations preparation for Rosetta started in 1997. Many of the characteristics of this mission were new to ESOC and have therefore required an early effort in identifying all the necessary facilities and functions. The ground s…