In 2014, Rosetta became the first mission to orbit a comet and to deploy a lander onto its surface. This is the story of ESA’s pioneering comet explorer, following the mission from its initial inception to its historic touchdown.
Read along as the Rosetta orbiter and its lander, Philae, evolve over the years, overcoming early mission hurdles before embarking on their one-way, decade-long voyage to a comet. See how the saga then culminates with Rosetta and Philae at last unveiling their icy target and achieving an unprecedented touchdown on its surface.
Award-winning space writer Peter Bond takes us behind the scenes of this historic endeavor, sharing insights from the international team of scientists and engineers who made the mission possible, describing the remarkable technology that they created, and delving into the treasure trove of scientific discoveries that followed.
Recounting in vivid detail the inner workings of Rosetta, this book is a celebration of the mission that has left a lasting impact on planetary science and space exploration.
Author(s): Peter Bond
Series: Springer Praxis Books
Publisher: Springer
Year: 2021
Language: English
Pages: 398
City: Cham
Contents
Foreword
Acknowledgments
Preface
1: Comets and Asteroids
1.1 COSMIC DEBRIS
1.2 LONG-HAIRED STARS
1.3 HALLEY AND PERIODIC COMETS
1.4 DIRTY SNOWBALLS?
1.5 TRANSIENT TAILS
1.6 BREAKING UP IS EASY TO DO
1.7 VERMIN OF THE SKIES
1.8 ASTEROIDS
1.9 METEORITES
1.10 THE IMPACT THREAT
1.11 WHY STUDY COSMIC DEBRIS?
REFERENCES
2: Beginnings
2.1 EARLY PLANS
2.2 THE FIRST COMET ENCOUNTERS
2.3 GIOTTO
REFERENCES
3: The Birth of Rosetta
3.1 DEFINING THE FUTURE
3.2 HORIZON 2000
3.3 WHY ROSETTA?
3.4 COMET RENDEZVOUS OR SAMPLE RETURN?
3.5 CRAF – COMET RENDEZVOUS AND ASTEROID FLY-BY
3.6 ROSETTA COMET NUCLEUS SAMPLE RETURN
3.7 SURFACE SAMPLING
3.8 CANCELLATION
REFERENCES
4: Creating A Comet Chaser
4.1 COMET RENDEZVOUS
4.2 THE BASELINE MISSION
4.3 SURFACE LANDERS: CHAMPOLLION AND ROLAND
4.4 STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT
4.5 AN INTERNATIONAL ENTERPRISE
4.6 ALL SYSTEMS GO
4.7 PROBLEM SOLVING
4.8 FINAL TESTING AT ESTEC
4.9 FAREWELL EUROPE, HELLO SOUTH AMERICA
4.10 LAUNCH PREPARATIONS
REFERENCES
5: Anatomy of a Mission
5.1 THE ROSETTA ORBITER
5.2 MISSION CONTROL
5.3 DOWN TO EARTH
5.4 STAFF TURNOVER
5.5 PLANETARY PROTECTION
5.6 ROSETTA’S SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS
5.7 THE ROSETTA LANDER (PHILAE)
5.8 ROSETTA’S DISK
5.9 THE ARIANE 5 LAUNCHER
REFERENCES
6: Switching Comets
6.1 COMET 46P/WIRTANEN
6.2 ASTEROID FLY-BY OPPORTUNITIES
6.3 A DRASTIC CHANGE OF PLAN
6.4 THE PROJECT MANAGER’S VIEW
6.5 A NEW DESTINATION
6.6 COMET 67P/CHURYUMOV-GERASIMENKO
6.7 LANDING ON A LARGER COMET
6.8 THE NEW FLIGHT PLAN
6.9 PREPARING FOR LAUNCH, ROUND 2
REFERENCES
7: The Long Trek
7.1 EARLY COMMISSIONING
7.2 INITIAL PAYLOAD TESTING
7.3 ASTEROID SELECTION
7.4 COMMISSIONING, PHASE 2
7.5 EARTH FLY-BY #1
7.6 ACTIVE CRUISE AND DEEP IMPACT
7.7 MARS FLY-BY
7.8 EARTH FLY-BY #2
7.9 STEINS
7.10 BACK TO EARTH
7.11 EARTH FLY-BY #3
7.12 BACK TO THE ASTEROID BELT
7.13 LUTETIA
7.14 DEEP SPACE HIBERNATION
REFERENCES
8: Unveiling A Cosmic Iceberg
8.1 THE AWAKENING
8.2 COMMISSIONING PROBLEMS
8.3 NAVIGATING TOWARDS A COMET
8.4 ARRIVAL!
8.5 GLOBAL MAPPING
8.6 LANDER RELEASE
8.7 ESCORTING A COMET
8.8 FLY-BY OPERATIONS
8.9 THE COMET COMES ALIVE
8.10 SWAMPED BY FALSE STARS
8.11 PERIHELION AND BEYOND
8.12 ANOTHER DRAMATIC SAFE MODE
8.13 THE GRAND FINALE
REFERENCES
9: Landing on a Comet
9.1 THE PLANNED LANDING SEQUENCE
9.2 SITE SELECTION
9.3 ‘GO OR NO GO’
9.4 THE DESCENT
9.5 A TRIPLE BOUNCE
9.6 THE SEARCH FOR PHILAE
9.7 PHILAE CALLS HOME
9.8 FINDING PHILAE
9.9 SCIENCE FROM PHILAE
REFERENCES
10: A Scientific Bonanza
10.1 THE “RUBBER DUCK”
10.2 COMET OVERVIEW
10.3 COMET MAPPING
10.4 CHANGES UPON CHANGES
10.5 COMPACT AND FLUFFY DUST
10.6 JETS AND ERUPTIONS
10.7 PITS AND GOOSE BUMPS
10.8 COLLAPSING CLIFFS
10.9 BOUNCING BOULDERS
10.10 A CRACKING COMET
10.11 SMOOTH TERRAIN
10.12 THE CHAMELEON COMET
10.13 THE WATER CYCLE
10.14 THE MYSTERY OF EARTH’S OCEANS
10.15 HIDDEN ICES
10.16 THE CHEMICAL ZOO
10.17 INTERIOR
10.18 PARTICLE ENVIRONMENT AND MAGNETIC FIELD
10.19 A PLANETARY BUILDING BLOCK
REFERENCES
Appendix 1
Comet Missions Past and Future
International Cometary Explorer (ICE) (NASA)
Vega 1 and Vega 2 (USSR)
Sakigake and Suisei (JAXA/ISAS)
Giotto (ESA)
Deep Space 1 (NASA)
Stardust (NASA)
Comet Nucleus Tour (Contour) (NASA)
Deep Impact (NASA)
Gallery: Comparing Comets
The Future: ESA’s Comet Interceptor
Appendix 2
The Rosetta Team
Project Managers
Selected Biographies
Appendix 3
Fast Facts
Acronyms
About the Author
Index
