MUPUS
60 square meters of Juno’s solar panels. Yet Rosetta’s
orbit took it so far away from the Sun (out to the orbit
of Jupiter), and the power to run such a large spacecraft
and suite of instruments is so demanding, that mission
planners knew even this solar array wouldn’t be able to
generate enough power to keep the craft awake. That’s
why Rosetta had to be put into hibernation for so long.
The lander, Philae, itself bristles with instruments
packed into a space the size of a washing machine, about
1 meter on a side. More than a half-dozen countries
have contributed to the lander and its instrument suite.
Although the lander mass is about 100 kg (220 pounds),
its eff ective weight on the comet will only be about the
weight of a sheet of paper on Earth. So the lander has
a combination of ice screws on its feet and harpoons
that will shoot out on contact to secure the lander to the
comet’s surface. The lander instruments will spend a
busy several days of lab work drilling into the surface, tak-
ing samples, testing the surface’s physical properties, and
analyzing nearby gases.
One instrument shares a spot on both the orbiter and
the lander: the Comet Nucleus Sounding Experiment by
Radiowave Transmission (CONSERT) instrument. When
the lander and orbiter are on opposite sides of the comet,
the orbiter’s CONSERT instrument will send radio signals
to its counterpart on the lander. By analyzing the returned
signal and how the radio waves are refl ected and scattered
back as they travel through the comet, scientists will be
able to study the interior of C-G’s nucleus.
A Long-term Relationship
One thing you learn working on Rosetta is patience, and
not just the patience of waiting for the post-hibernation
Engineers check the deployment of one of Rosetta’s wings. Each
wing is made up of fi ve hinged panels, and together the two
wings span 32 meters.
ESA / ANNEKE LE FLOC’H
Death-defying Comet Catch
24 August 2014 sky & telescope
MUPUS
Death-defying Comet Catch
24 August 20 14 sky & telescope
SD2
SD2
APXS
ROLIS
SESAME
MUPUS
CIVA
ROMAP
SESAME
SESAME
SESAME
CIVA
COSAC
Ptolemy
CONSERT
ESA / ATG MEDIALAB
Instruments on Philae Lander
Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS)
Studies surface composition by detecting helium nuclei and X-rays
Comet Infrared and Visible Analyzer (CIVA)
Takes surface panoramas with six microcameras; spectrometer
studies the composition, texture, and albedo of surface samples
Comet Nucleus Sounding Experiment
by Radiowave Transmission (CONSERT)
Probes the nucleus’s internal structure
Cometary Sampling and Composition experiment (COSAC)
Gas analyzer that identifi es complex organic molecules
Ptolemy
Gas analyzer that measures isotopic ratios of light elements
Multipurpose Sensors for Surface and Subsurface Science (MUPUS)
Measures the surface’s density and thermal and mechanical proper-
ties using sensors on the lander’s anchor, probe, and exterior
Rosetta Lander Imaging System (ROLIS)
CCD camera, will take high-resolution images during descent and
stereo panoramas of sample areas
Rosetta Lander Magnetometer and Plasma Monitor (ROMAP)
Magnetometer and plasma monitor for the local magnetic fi eld and
interaction of the comet and solar wind
Sample and Distribution Device (SD2)
Drills more than 20 cm into the surface, collects samples, and deliv-
ers them to ovens for microscope inspection
Surface Electrical, Seismic, and Acoustic Monitoring Experiments
(SESAME)
Three instruments; measure the surface’s electrical characteristics,
the way sound travels through it, and dust falling back to the surface