Astrometry of Comet 46P/Wirtanen at ESO: Preparation for ESA's ROSETTA Mission
Abstract
Comets play an important role in the studies of the solar system and its origin, because they are believed to contain matter in a primordial form. After the success of the GIOTTO flyby at comet 1P/Halley in 1986, ESA plans to send a second spacecraft named “ROSETTA” to another comet, 46P/Wirtanen, for a more thorough investigation of a cometary nucleus and its physico-chemical nature. After its launch in 2003 and two asteroid flybys during the cruise phase to the prime target, ROSETTA will rendez-vous with 46P/Wirtanen in 2011 and will orbit the comet in a distance of 10 to 50 km until at least its subsequent perihelion passage in 2013. During this orbiting phase it will perform in situ experiments of the coma, remote sensing of the nucleus and, most important, it will also place a lander called “RoLand” with several scientific experiments on the nucleus of the comet. The main scientific objectives of the mission are (see also [16]): global characterisation of the nucleus and its dynamic properties, chemical composition, physical properties and interrelation of volatiles and refractories in the nucleus.
- Publication:
-
The Messenger
- Pub Date:
- June 1998
- Bibcode:
- 1998Msngr..92...33S