The Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer within the Rosetta mission: last adjustments before landing
Abstract
Rosetta's main objective is to rendezvous with comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. It will study the nucleus of the comet and its environment. These investigations will help to better understand comets and hence, the origin of the solar system. Rosetta consists of an orbiter and, a lander (Philae) with 11 and 9 scientific experiments respectively. It is supposed to do what has never been attempted before, orbiting and landing on a comet. After orbit insertion in 2014, the main spacecraft will follow the comet for several months to investigate its surface and subsequently, Philae will be deployed for a safe landing. The Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS) is part of the payload of the lander (Philae). Its scientific goal is the determination of the chemical composition of the landing site and its potential alteration when the comet approaches the Sun. Most theories assume that comets are pristine objects that have been formed from primordial material of the early solar nebular preserving chemical evidence for the fractionations that occurred in the solar nebula [5-6]. The data obtained with the APXS will be used to characterize the surface of the comet, to determine the chemical composition of the dust component, and to compare the dust with known meteorite types.
- Publication:
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European Planetary Science Congress 2008
- Pub Date:
- September 2008
- Bibcode:
- 2008epsc.conf..808G