Abstract
The paper describes the Rosetta Lander named Philae and introduces its complement of scientific instruments. Philae was launched aboard the European Space Agency Rosetta spacecraft on 02 March 2004 and is expected to land and operate on the nucleus of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko at a distance of about 3 AU from the Sun. Its overall mass is ~98 kg (plus the support systems remaining on the Orbiter), including its scientific payload of ~27 kg. It will operate autonomously, using the Rosetta Orbiter as a communication relay to Earth. The scientific goals of its experiments focus on elemental, isotopic, molecular and mineralogical composition of the cometary material, the characterization of physical properties of the surface and subsurface material, the large-scale structure and the magnetic and plasma environment of the nucleus. In particular, surface and sub-surface samples will be acquired and sequentially analyzed by a suite of instruments. Measurements will be performed primarily during descent and along the first five days following touch-down. Philae is designed to also operate on a long time-scale, to monitor the evolution of the nucleus properties. Philae is a very integrated project at system, science and management levels, provided by an international consortium. The Philae experiments have the potential of providing unique scientific outcomes, complementing by in situ ground truth the Rosetta Orbiter investigations.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Andrews, C.: 1981, The Rosetta Stone, The British Museum Press.
Baksa, A., Balázs, A., Pálos, Z., Szalai, S., and Várhalmi, L.: 2003, in: DASIA 2003 Data Systems In Aerospace, ESA-SP-532, p. 250.
Champollion: 1995, Proposal to ESA for a Comet Lander for the International Rosetta Mission.
Cluzel, B., Debus, A., and Sarthou, M.: 1998, in: 49th International Astronautical Congress, IAF-U.4.03, Melbourne.
Debus, A., Moura, D., Gave, G., Haza, J., Hancy, G., Luzaretta, E., et al.: 2003, Acta Astronautica 53, 623.
Gave, G.: 1997, in: 48th International Astronautical Congress, IAF-R.4.04, Torino.
Lamy, P., Toth, I., Weaver, H., Jorda, L., and Kaasalainen, M.: 2003, in: DPS 35th Meeting, Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society.
Obst, A., Block, J., Schütze, R., and Gschwilm, J.: 1998, in: Proceedings of the European Conference on Spacecraft Structures, Materials and Mechanical Testing, ESA-SP-428, Braunschweig, p. 103.
RoLand: 1995, Cometary Lander for the Rosetta Mission, Proposal to ESA.
Sánchez Pérez, J. M., and Rodríguez Canabal, J.: 2003, Rosetta: Consolidated Report on Mission Analysis. Churyumov-Gerasimenko 2004, RO-ESC-RP-5500, ESOC.
Sarthou, M.: 1998, in: 49th International Astronautical Congress, IAF-U.5.04, Melbourne.
Schmidt, H. P., and Maibaum, M.: 2000, Accepted for the 30th International Conference on Environmental Systems, ICES, Toulouse.
Strobl, G., and Friedrich, H.: 1993, in: Proceedings of the European Space Power Conference, ESA-WPP-054, p. 603.
Thiel, M., Stöcker, J., Rohe, C., Hillenmaier, O., Kömle, N.I., and Kargl, G.: in Kömle, N. I., Kargl, G., Ball, A. J., and Lorenz, R. D. (eds.), Penetrometry in the Solar System, Proc. of the Internat Work-shop in Graz, Verlag der Österr, Akademie der Wissenschaften.
Ulamec, S., Espinasse, S., Feuerbacher, B., Hilchenbach, M., Moura, D., Rosenbauer, H., et al.: 2006, Acta Astronautica 58, 435.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Consortia
Corresponding author
Additional information
Philae team members are listed in the acknowledgements
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bibring, JP., Rosenbauer, H., Boehnhardt, H. et al. The Rosetta Lander (“Philae”) Investigations. Space Sci Rev 128, 205–220 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-006-9138-2
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-006-9138-2