Post on 29-Aug-2014
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ROSETTA’s LAST EARTH SWINGBY
ESA Control Centre, DarmstadtFriday, 13 November 2009
The Rosetta Mission
Dr Gerhard SchwehmRosetta Mission Manager &
Head of Solar System Science Operations Division, ESA
Rosetta - a brief overview
• Rosetta is an ESA scientific cornerstone mission• Initially studied as an ESA/NASA comet-nucleus sample return mission, it later became a European-only mission (with 3 NASA instruments) to perform in-situ measurements at the comet• Rosetta was endorsed by ESA in 1993 and launched in 2004• 67/P Churyumov-Gerasimenko is the final target comet, to be reached in 2014• A very precise injection into interplanetary orbit by Ariane 5 allowed Rosetta to have enough fuel for two asteroid encounters on the way:
- (2867) Steins, 5 September 2008- (21) Lutetia, 10 July 2010
Rosetta firsts
• Rosetta will be the first mission to rendezvous with a comet nucleus and orbit it for an extended period• Rosetta will be the first mission to deploy a Lander (Philae) onto the surface of a comet nucleus.
Rosetta’s objectives
• Bringing a lab to a comet!– determine the physical properties and the
chemical composition of a comet by in-situ investigations
• Study the evolution of the cometary phenomena (coma and tail) while the comet approaches the Sun • Observe at least one asteroid from close by, so to study another class of primitive members of the solar system to understand better how it was formed
Rosetta’s journey to 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
• Basically it is half-time for the mission • A little more than 5 years after launch and a little less than 5 years
to reach the comet• The spacecraft has been performing extremely well and so have the
teams here at ESOC, who are at the controls, at ESAC and the experiment teams
Rosetta’s journey to 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
All major milestones to bring Rosetta to the comet are completed…
Launch 2 March 2004, from Kourou, French Guyana
First Earth swingby, 4 March 2005
Mars swingby, 25 February 2007
Second Earth swingby 13 November 2007
Steins flyby at a distance of 800 km, 5 September 2008
Today final planetary swingby to bring Rosetta on its way to comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in 2014.
Rosetta Earth swingby 3Scientific Observations
Dr Rita SchulzRosetta Project Scientist, ESA
• Last planetary swingby of Rosetta• Closest approach: 13 November 07:45 UT, 2,480 km above Earth surface• Moon closest approach: 13 November 15:41 UT at 220,000 km• Remote sensing instruments will perform science and calibration measurements• Limited visibility of Rosetta from Earth (observations from ESA/OGS on Tenerife)• Closest approach over day side• Over night side until shortly before the closest approach over the Pacific Ocean
ROSETTA EARTH SWINGBY 3Scientific Observations
ROSETTA EARTH SWING BY 3Scientific Observations
Participating instruments and science measurements (6-19 November)
RPC All sensors active (9-16 November)Earth-Moon system, plasma & magnetospheric studies
OSIRIS Imaging of Earth (e.g. Berlin, NYC, Atlantic, islands in south pacific) and Moon
ALICE Star occultation by Moon
VIRTIS Earth night-side observations
MIRO Moon studies (search for water)
OSIRIS/VIRTIS/ALICE Auroral search and study, upper atmosphere, oxygen night glow
RosettaCritical swingby events
Andrea AccomazzoRosetta Spacecraft Operations Manager, ESA
Interplanetary Trajectory
Heliocentric speeds:• Earth 30 km/s @ 150 Mkm from the Sun• Comet 33 km/s @ 186 Mkm from the Sun
Rosetta heliocentric speeds:• After launch 30.0 km/s• After 1st Earth swingby 33.8 km/s• After 2nd Earth swingby 35.1 km/s• After 3rd Earth swingby 38.7 km/s
Earth swingby 3
Navigation Towards the Earth
OSIRIS image 12 Nov 2009
Credit: ESA ©2009 MPS for OSIRIS Team MPS/UPD/LAM/IAA/RSSD/INTA/UPM/DASP/IDA
The swingby as seen from the Earth
Closest approach (or perigee):- Time 07:45:40 UTC- Altitude 2481 km- Geocentric speed 13.34 km/s or 48,024 km/h
RosettaFuture Mission Milestones
Dr Paolo FerriHead of Solar and Planetary Missions Division
Mission Profile
Future Mission Milestones
• Asteroid Lutetia flyby: 10th July 2010;
• Deep Space Hibernation: July 2011-January 2014;
• Comet arrival: May 2014;
• Landing: November 2014;
• Perihelion: August 2015;
• End of mission: December 2015.