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Conversations on the Habitability of Worlds: The Importance of Volatiles
Bertaux, J. -L.; Carr, M.; Gaidos, E. +1 more
Our scientific forefathers discuss the interrelationships between water, climate, the atmosphere, and life on Earth and other terrestrial planets at a workshop in Nichtchâtel, Switzerland.
Isotopic Composition of the Solar Wind Inferred from In-Situ Spacecraft Measurements
Hilchenbach, M.; Kallenbach, R.; Bamert, K.
The Sun is the largest reservoir of matter in the solar system, which formed 4.6 Gyr ago from the protosolar nebula. Data from space missions and theoretical models indicate that the solar wind carries a nearly unfractionated sample of heavy isotopes at energies of about 1 keV/amu from the Sun into interplanetary space. In anticipation of results …
Determination of Sulfur Abundance in the Solar Wind
Wurz, P.; Bochsler, P.; Ipavich, F. M. +3 more
Solar chemical abundances are determined by comparing solar photospheric spectra with synthetic ones obtained for different sets of abundances and physical conditions. Although such inferred results are reliable, they are model dependent. Therefore, one compares them with the values for the local interstellar medium (LISM). The argument is that th…
Scientific Planning and Commanding of the Rosetta Payload
Koschny, D.; Davidsson, B.; Ho, T. -M. +7 more
ESA’s Rosetta mission was launched in March 2004 and is on its way to comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, where it is scheduled to arrive in summer 2014. It comprises a payload of 12 scientific instruments and a Lander. All instruments are provided by Principal Investigators, which are responsible for their operations. As for most ESA science mission…
Comets and Chemical Composition
de Keyser, J.; Delanoye, S. N.
It is commonly believed that comets are made of primordial material. As a consequence, they can reveal more information about the origin of our solar system. To interpret the coma composition measurements of comet Churyumov Gerasimenko that will be collected by the Rosetta mission, models of the coma chemistry have to be constructed. However, prog…