Dust experiments for a rendezvous-cometary-mission.

A cometary dust collection and analysis experiment for comet rendezvous-type missions is proposed. In the experiment, submicron cometary grains would be collected in a thin film on exposed surfaces within the spacecraft and analyzed by a combination electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis and secondary ion mass spectroscopy instrument. Such a system would provide extensive information on the elemental abundances, chemical bonding states and isotopic ratios of cometary grains. A light-scattering optical analyzer for particles as they enter the instrument would allow the additional investigation of dust emission and dynamics.