Rosetta Radio Science Investigations (RSI)

Details Rosetta Radio Science Investigations (RSI) Rosetta Radio Science Investigations (RSI)

Sep 2006

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2006dps....38.4305t&link_type=abstract

American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #38, #43.05; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 38, p.563

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In March 2004 the ROSETTA spacecraft started its journey to the comet P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. The very ambitious mission will escort the comet for several months in 2015 as it heads towards the sun.
The ROSETTA Radio Science Experiment (RSI) uses the radio carrier links of the spacecraft Telemetry, Tracking and Command subsystem at X-band and S-band. The spacecraft is specially equipped with an Ultra-Stable Oscillator (USO) that stabilizes the radio links for a significant improvement of the sensitivity and accuracy of the measurement.
RSI is interested in dispersive frequency shifts due to the propagation of the radio signals through ionized media as well as non-dispersive frequency shifts caused by other perturbing forces acting on the spacecraft (gravity field, gas and dust mass flux from the comet). These observations will allow the investigation of the comet's nucleus, its size and shape and the lower harmonics of its gravity field, and the dielectric properties of its surface. In addition the electron content of the cometary coma and the abundance of large dust grains can be determined. The mass and bulk density of the asteroid will be determined during the flyby at asteroid Lutetia in 2010
First results from the commissioning phase and regularly performed measurements allow to assess the sensitivity of the experiment and the ageing of the USO quartz oscillator. These results are compared with the coherent two-way-measurements also recorded during commissioning.
Between March and May 2006 ROSETTA moved into superior conjunction with the Sun. This allowed the investigation of the solar corona to derive electron density profiles in the structured corona, solar wind speed and to detect, identify and describe the spatial and temporal evolution of the shockfronts of coronal mass ejections.

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