The Rosetta fly-by at (21) Lutetia

Details The Rosetta fly-by at (21) Lutetia The Rosetta fly-by at (21) Lutetia

Sep 2009

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2009dps....41.5906s&link_type=abstract

American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #41, #59.06

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

Scientific paper

ESA's Planetary Cornerstone Mission Rosetta is on its way to rendezvous with comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in 2014 to accompany the comet into the inner solar system, and land on the nucleus. On cruise to the main target the spacecraft has been scheduled for close fly-bys at two main belt asteroids. After the successful fly-by at asteroid (2867) Steins in September 2008, Rosetta is now on its way to encounter (21) Lutetia, an asteroid discovered from Paris by H.M.S. Goldschmidt on 15 November 1852 and named in honor of the city. (21) Lutetia is a large asteroid with an estimated diameter of about 95 km. It has been classified to be either of C-type or of M-type, meaning that remote-sensing observations have shown features that hint to characteristics of carbonaceous chondrites, but also to a metallic surface composition. This contradiction makes (21) Lutetia an extraordinarily interesting object for close inspection. Rosetta will have a close fly-by in mid-2010 with closest approach (minimum distance: 3055 km) on 10 July 2010, when the asteroid is at a heliocentric distance of 2.7 AU. The fly-by will take place with a relative velocity of 15 km/s on the Sun side of the asteroid. Most of the scientific instruments on board Rosetta will be switched on for investigations. Imaging and spectral observations will be obtained covering wavelengths from the UV to sub-mm. In addition a number of in-situ measurements will be performed of the asteroid as well as its direct environment. A detailed overview of the planned Rosetta fly-by at (21) Lutetia will be given.

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