2014 Fall Meeting
Section: Planetary Sciences
Session: Rosetta 2014 II
Title: First Results at 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko With the Rosetta Plasma Consortium
Authors:
Winterhalter, D, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, United States
Mokashi, P, Southwest Research Institute San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, United States
Glassmeier, K H, Technical University of Braunschweig, Braunschweig, Germany
Szego, K, Wigner Res. Inst. for Physics, Budapest, Hungary
Nemeth, Z, Wigner Research Center for Physics, Budapest, Hungary
Koenders, C, Technical University of Braunschweig, Braunschweig, Germany
Lebreton, J P, Laboratoire de Physique et Chimie de l'Environnement et de l'Espace, Orléans Cedex 2, France
Richter, I, Technical University of Braunschweig, Braunschweig, Germany
Vallat, C, ESAC, Villanueva, Spain
Carr, C, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
Broiles, T W, Southwest Research Institute San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, United States
Goldstein, R, Southwest Research Institute San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, United States
Cupido, E, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
Burch, J L, Southwest Research Institute San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, United States
Nilsson, H, IRF Swedish Institute of Space Physics Kiruna, Kiruna, Sweden
Eriksson, A I, IRF Swedish Institute of Space Physics Uppsala, Uppsala, Sweden
Mandt, K, Southwest Research Institute San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, United States
Pierre, H, Laboratoire de Physique et Chimie de l'Environnement et de l'Espace, Orléans Cedex 2, France
Abstract:
After more than ten years in space, in early August 2014, the Rosetta spacecraft is expected to be within 100 km of its target, comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Though the comet is still in a state of relatively low-activity, its interaction with the solar wind causes plasma conditions different from standard solar wind characteristics. While Rosetta is still in the solar wind, the five plasma sensors of the Rosetta Plasma Consortium are currently investigating these cometary activity driven perturbations and plan to investigate, within the next few months, the close plasma environment of the comet. In this presentation, we show first observations and results obtained during the cometary approach phase and during the first orbits around the comet. Among the possible first signs of cometary activity that we shall discuss are distributions of pick-up ions possibly detectable by the Ion Composition Analyzer (RPC-ICA) and the Ion and Electron Sensor (RPC-IES), as well as ion cyclotron waves, generated by the pick-up process, which may be measured by the Fluxgate Magnetometer (RPC-MAG). Electron density and temperature measurements, and electric-field and waves measurements in the range from DC up to 3.5 MHz obtained by the Langmuir probes (RPC-LAP) and the Mutual Impedance Probe (RPC-MIP) will also be discussed.
Cite as: Author(s) (2014), Title, Abstract P33F-06 presented at 2014 Fall Meeting, AGU, San Francisco, Calif., 15-19 Dec.
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