[33.20] Characterization and first measurements from space of the ROSINA Mass Spectrometers onboard ROSETTA

36th DPS Meeting, 8-12 November 2004
Session 33 Comets: Comae
Poster II, Thursday, November 11, 2004, 4:15-7:00pm, Exhibition Hall 1A

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[33.20] Characterization and first measurements from space of the ROSINA Mass Spectrometers onboard ROSETTA

A. Jäckel, K. Altwegg, H. Balsiger, S Graf, E. Kopp, T. Riesen, M. Rubin, S. Wüthrich, P. Wurz (Physikalisches Inst., Univ. Bern, Switzerland), J.J. Berthelier (Inst. P.S. Laplace, St. Maur des Fossés, France), S. Fuselier (Lockheed Martin Adv. Techn. Center, Palo Alto, USA), F. Gliem (Techn. Uni. Braunschweig, Germany), T. Gombosi (Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA), A. Korth (MPI Aeronomie, Katlenburg Lindau, Germany), D. Nevejans (Belg. Inst. Ruimte Aeronomie, Brussel, Belgium), H. Réme (Centre d'Etude Spatiale des Rayonnements, Toulouse, France)

On March 2, 2004 the European Space Agency (ESA) successfully launched the Rosetta spacecraft from Kourou in French-Guyana. Rosetta will rendezvous with comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (CG) in November 2014.

Onboard this spacecraft is, among others, the ROSINA (Rosetta Orbiter Spectrometer for Ion and Neutral Analysis) instrument package comprising the two mass spectrometers DFMS (Double Focusing Mass Spectrometer) and RTOF (Reflectron-type Time of Flight mass spectrometer), the cometary pressure sensor (COPS) and the data processing unit (DPU). DFMS and RTOF are designed to analyze the volatile material, i.e. the cometary neutral gas and ions in the vicinity of CG, and to measure the elemental, isotopic and molecular composition of this comet during the first encounter and during the conjoint journey towards the Sun and throughout the perihelion passage.

DFMS is a compact state of the art high-resolution mass spectrometer with a high dynamic range, a good sensitivity and a mass range from 12-140 amu/q. A mass resolution m/\Deltam > 3000 at 1% peak height allows the separation of e.g. ¹³C and ¹²CH. RTOF is characterized by an extended mass range from 1 to > 300 amu/q, a high sensitivity and a wide dynamic range. A full mass spectrum of the entire mass range is recorded within 100 \mus. The mass resolution is up to m/\Deltam > 4500 at the 50% peak height depending on the measurement mode. Combining the results of both ionization gauges of COPS and the known spacecraft orientation relative to the comet nucleus the gas velocity can be calculated.

In our presentation we will comment on the calibration results that we obtained with the reference models in our laboratory and we will present the first real spectra recorded in space during the commissioning phase in September/October 2004.

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