The landing(s) of Philae and inferences about comet surface mechanical properties-Reference-Cited by-同舟云学术

The landing(s) of Philae and inferences about comet surface mechanical properties

Published:2015-07-31 Issue:6247 Volume:349 Page:
ISSN:0036-8075
Container-title:Science
language:en
Short-container-title:Science

Author:

Biele Jens¹,Ulamec Stephan¹,Maibaum Michael¹,Roll Reinhard²,Witte Lars³,Jurado Eric⁴,Muñoz Pablo⁵⁶,Arnold Walter⁷,Auster Hans-Ulrich⁸,Casas Carlos⁵⁶,Faber Claudia⁹,Fantinati Cinzia¹,Finke Felix¹,Fischer Hans-Herbert¹,Geurts Koen¹,Güttler Carsten²,Heinisch Philip⁸,Herique Alain¹⁰,Hviid Stubbe⁹,Kargl Günter¹¹,Knapmeyer Martin⁹,Knollenberg Jörg⁹,Kofman Wlodek¹⁰,Kömle Norbert¹¹,Kührt Ekkehard⁹,Lommatsch Valentina¹,Mottola Stefano⁹,Pardo de Santayana Ramon⁵⁶,Remetean Emile⁴,Scholten Frank⁹,Seidensticker Klaus J.⁹,Sierks Holger²,Spohn Tilman⁹

Affiliation:

1. Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR)/Raumflugbetrieb und Astronautentraining, Microgravity User Support Center (MUSC), Linder Höhe 1, 51147 Cologne, Germany.

2. Max-Planck-Institut für Sonnensystemforschung (MPS), Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 3, 37077 Göttingen, Germany.

3. DLR/Institut für Raumfahrtsysteme, Robert Hooke-Straße 7, 28359 Bremen, Germany.

4. Centre National d'Études Spatiales, 18 Avenue Édouard Belin, 31400 Toulouse, France.

5. European Space Agency/European Space Operations Centre (ESA/ESOC), Robert-Bosch-Straße 5, 64293 Darmstadt, Germany.

6. Grupo Mecánica de Vuelo at ESA/ESOC - GMV Robert-Bosch-Straße 5, 64293 Darmstadt, Germany.

7. 1. Physikalisches Institut, Georg August Universität, 37077 Göttingen, Germany; permanent address: Department of Materials Science, Saarland University, 66123 Saarbrücken, Germany.

8. Institut für Geophysik und Extraterrestrische Physik, Technische Universität Braunschweig Mendelssohnstrasse 3, 38106 Braunschweig, Germany.

9. DLR/Institut für Planetenforschung Rutherfordstraße 2, 12489 Berlin, Germany.

10. Université Grenoble Alpes and CNRS, Institut de Planétologie et d’Astrophysique de Grenoble, F-38000 Grenoble, France.

11. Institut für Weltraumforschung (IWF) Graz, Austria Austrian Academy of Sciences, Space Research Institute, Schmiedlstraße 6, 8042 Graz, Austria.

Abstract

The Philae lander, part of the Rosetta mission to investigate comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, was delivered to the cometary surface in November 2014. Here we report the precise circumstances of the multiple landings of Philae, including the bouncing trajectory and rebound parameters, based on engineering data in conjunction with operational instrument data. These data also provide information on the mechanical properties (strength and layering) of the comet surface. The first touchdown site, Agilkia, appears to have a granular soft surface (with a compressive strength of 1 kilopascal) at least ~20 cm thick, possibly on top of a more rigid layer. The final landing site, Abydos, has a hard surface.

Funder

CNES

CNRS

Université Joseph Fourier, Grenoble

Publisher

American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

Subject

Multidisciplinary

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