The particulate impact analyzer, an instrument to analyze small particles released by Halley's Comet
Abstract
The particulate impact analyzer, which is to provide time of flight mass spectra of individual dust particles released by Halley's Comet and the average composition and mass distribution of cometary matter, is described. The instrument is a redesign of the dust experiment flown on Helios 1 and 2, using commercial instrument developments (mass resolution m/Delta m = 200). It has a sensitivity as to measured particles from 3 x 10 to the minus 16 power to 5 x 10 to the minus 10 power g (0.1 to 10 microns diameter) with impact rates up to 100/sec. Depending on cometary activity, data on some 1000 to 50,000 cometary particles should be obtained.
- Publication:
-
ESA Scientific and Experimental Aspects of the Giotto Mission
- Pub Date:
- June 1981
- Bibcode:
- 1981esag.rept...53K
- Keywords:
-
- Cosmic Dust;
- Experiment Design;
- Flyby Missions;
- Halley'S Comet;
- Particle Size Distribution;
- Particulate Sampling;
- Chemical Composition;
- Mass Distribution;
- Mass Spectra;
- Particle Emission;
- Time Of Flight Spectrometers;
- Spacecraft Instrumentation