Search Publications
Transits of Earth-like Planets
Kaltenegger, Lisa; Traub, Wesley A.
Transmission spectroscopy of Earth-like exoplanets is a potential tool for habitability screening. Transiting planets are present-day "Rosetta Stones" for understanding extrasolar planets because they offer the possibility to characterize giant planet atmospheres and should provide an access to biomarkers in the atmospheres of Earth-like exoplanet…
Plausible parent bodies for enstatite chondrites and mesosiderites: Implications for Lutetia's fly-by
Fulchignoni, M.; Vernazza, P.; Strazzulla, G. +4 more
We present new irradiation experiments performed on the enstatite chondrite Eagle (EL6) and the mesosiderite Vaca Muerta. These experiments were performed with the aims of (a) quantifying the spectral effect of the solar wind on their parent asteroid surfaces and (b) identifying their parent bodies within the asteroid belt. For Vaca Muerta we obse…
Spitzer Observations of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko at 5.5-4.3 AU from the Sun
Woodward, Charles E.; Tubiana, Cecilia; Kelley, Michael S. +3 more
We report Spitzer Space Telescope observations of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko at 5.5 and 4.3 AU from the Sun, post-aphelion. Comet 67P is the primary target of the European Space Agency's Rosetta mission. The Rosetta spacecraft will rendezvous with the nucleus at heliocentric distances similar to our observations. Rotationally resolved observa…
Cometary masses derived from non-gravitational forces
Sosa, Andrea; Fernández, Julio A.
We compute masses and densities for 10 periodic comets with known sizes: 1P/Halley, 2P/Encke, 6P/d'Arrest, 9P/Tempel 1, 10P/Tempel 2, 19P/Borrelly, 22P/Kopff, 46P/Wirtanen, 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko and 81P/Wild 2. The method follows the one developed by Rickman and colleagues, which is based on the gas production curve and on the change in the or…
Plasma environment of Jupiter family comets
Coates, A. J.; Jones, G. H.
As any comet nears the Sun, gas sublimes from the nucleus taking dust with it. Jupiter family comets are no exception. The neutral gas becomes ionized, and the interaction of a comet with the solar wind starts with ion pickup. This key process is also important in other solar system contexts wherever neutral particles become ionized and injected i…
Surface elements and landing strategies for small bodies missions - Philae and beyond
Ulamec, Stephan; Biele, Jens
The investigation of small bodies, comets and asteroids, can contribute substantially to our understanding of the formation and history of the Solar System. In-situ observations by Landers play a prominent role in this field. The Rosetta Lander - Philae - is currently on its way to comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. It will land in November 2014 and…
The putative mechanical strength of comet surface material applied to landing on a comet
Kührt, Ekkehard; Ulamec, Stephan; Biele, Jens +3 more
The comet lander PHILAE (part of the ESA mission ROSETTA) is going to touch down on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in 2014. Landing dynamics depend on the mechanical strength of the surface material: in an extremely soft material, the lander (100 kg, 1 m/s touch-down velocity) may sink in too deep for successful operation while on a very hard sur…
Rosetta—one comet rendezvous and two asteroid fly-bys
Schulz, R.
One of the two planetary cornerstone missions of the European Space Agency is the Rosetta mission to comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Rosetta is a rendezvous mission with a comet nucleus, which combines an Orbiter with a Lander. It will monitor the evolution of the comet nucleus and the coma as a function of increasing and decreasing solar flux in…
Fully 3-dimensional calculations of dust mantle formation for a model of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
Rosenberg, Eric D.; Prialnik, Dina
A fully 3-dimensional implicit numerical model for comet nucleus evolution is presented, emphasizing dust mantle formation. A spherical configuration is considered with an initial composition of amorphous H 2O ice and dust, taking into account a discrete dust-grain size distribution. The model is applied to Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimen…
New visible spectra and mineralogical assessment of (21) Lutetia, a target of the Rosetta mission
Lazzarin, M.; Marchi, S.; Magrin, S. +1 more
The Rosetta spacecraft, launched on March 2nd 2004, in the course of its journey to the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (encounter foreseen in 2014), will fly past two asteroids: (2867) Steins and (21) Lutetia. On September 5th 2008 (2867) Steins was encountered. In this paper, we present two visible spectra of (21) Lutetia of different spectral r…