Abstract
The International Rosetta Mission is set for a rendezvous with Comet 67 P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in 2014. On its 10 year journey to the comet, the spacecraft will also perform a fly-by of the two asteroids Stein and Lutetia in 2008 and 2010, respectively. The mission goal is to study the origin of comets, the relationship between cometary and interstellar material and its implications with regard to the origin of the Solar System. Measurements will be performed that shed light into the development of cometary activity and the processes in the surface layer of the nucleus and the inner coma.
The Micro-Imaging Dust Analysis System (MIDAS) instrument is an essential element of Rosetta’s scientific payload. It will provide 3D images and statistical parameters of pristine cometary particles in the nm-μm range from Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. According to cometary dust models and experience gained from the Giotto and Vega missions to 1P/Halley, there appears to be an abundance of particles in this size range, which also covers the building blocks of pristine interplanetary dust particles. The dust collector of MIDAS will point at the comet and collect particles drifting outwards from the nucleus surface. MIDAS is based on an Atomic Force Microscope (AFM), a type of scanning microprobe able to image small structures in 3D. AFM images provide morphological and statistical information on the dust population, including texture, shape, size and flux. Although the AFM uses proven laboratory technology, MIDAS is its first such application in space. This paper describes the scientific objectives and background, the technical implementation and the capabilities of MIDAS as they stand after the commissioning of the flight instrument, and the implications for cometary measurements.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Agarwal, J., Müller, M., and Grün, E.: 2004, in: L. Colangeli et al. (eds.), The New ROSETTA Targets, Kluwer Academic Publishers, pp. 143–152.
A’Hearn, M. F., Belton, M. J. S., Delamere, et al.: 2005, Science 310, 258.
Bradley, J. P.: 1988, Geochem. Cosmochem. Acta 52, 889.
Bradley, J. P., Brownlee, D. E., and Veblen, D. R.: 1983, Nature 301, 473.
Bradley, J. P., Keller, L. P., Snow, T. P., Hanner, M. S., Flynn, G. J., Gezo, J. C., et al.: 1999, Science 285, 1716.
Clark, B. C., Green, S. F., Economou, T. E., Sandford, S. A., Zolensky, M. E., McBride, N., et al.: 2004, J. Geophys. Res. 109, E12S03, 1.
Colangeli, L., Bar-Nun, A., Brucato, J. R., Hudson, R.L., and Moore, M.: 2004, in: M. Festou, H. U. Keller, and H. A. Weaver (eds.), Comets II, University of Arizona Press, Tucson, pp. 695–717.
Crovisier, J., Leech, K., Bockel, D., Morvan, E., Brooke, T. Y., Hanner, M. S., et al.: 1997, Science 275, 1904.
Crovisier, J., Bockelée-Morvan, D., Colom, P., Biver, N., Despois, D., and Lis, D.C.: 2004, Astron. Astrophys. 418, 1141.
Di Sanctis, M. C., Capria, M. T., and Coradini, A.: 2005, Astron. Astrophys. 444, 605.
Ehrenfreund, P., Charnley, S. B., and Wooden, D. H.: 2004, in: M. Festou, H. U. Keller, and H. Weaver (eds.), Comets II, University Arizona Press, Tucson, pp. 115–133.
Fomenkova, M. N. and Chang, S.: 1993, LPS XXIV, 501.
Fomenkova, M. N. and Chang, S.: 1996, in: J. M. Greenberg (ed.), The Cosmic Dust Connection, Kluwer Academic Publishers, pp. 459–465.
Fomenkova, M. N. and Mendis, D. A.: 1992, Astrophys. Space Sci. 189, 327.
Fulle, M., Levasseur-Regourd, A. C., McBride, N., and Hadamcik, E.: 2000, Astron. J. 119, 1968.
Greenberg, J. M.: 1982, in: L. L. Wilkening (ed.), Comets, University of Arizona Press, pp. 131–163.
Greenberg, J. M.: 1998, Astron. Astrophys. 330, 375.
Grün, E. and 25 Co-authors: 1991, in: R. L. Newburn, et al. (eds.), Comets in the Post Halley Era, Vol. 1, Kluwer Academic Publishers, pp. 277–298.
Hallenbeck, S. L., Nuth, J. A. III, and Nelson, R. N.: 2000, Astrophys. J. 535, 247.
Hanner, M. S. and Bradley, J. P.: 2004, in: M. Festou, H. U. Keller, and H. A. Weaver (eds.), Comets II, University of Arizona Press, Tucson, pp. 555–564.
Harker, D. E. and Desch, S.: 2002, Astrophys. J. 565, L109.
Harker, D. E., Woodward, C. E., Wooden, D. H., Witteborn, F. C., and Butner, H. M.: 1998, Am. Astron. Soc. Meet. 193, 96.05.
Hong, S. S. and Greenberg, J. M.: 1980, Astron. Astrophys. 88(1–2), 194.
Irvine, W. M. and Lunine, J. I.: 2004, in: M. Festou, H. U. Keller, and H. A. Weaver (eds.), Comets II, University of Arizona Press, Tucson, pp. 25–31.
Jäger, C., Molster, F. J., Dorschner, J., Henning, T., Mutschke, H., and Waters, L. B. F. M.: 1998, Astron. Astrophys. 339, 904.
Jessberger, E. K.: 1999, Space Sci. Rev. 90, 91.
Jessberger, E. K., Christoforidis, A., and Kissel, J.: 1988, Nature 332, 691.
Kolokolova, L., Hanner, M. S., Levasseur-Regourd, A. C., and Gustafson, B.: 2004, in: M. Festou, H. U. Keller, and H. A. Weaver (eds.), Comets II, University Arizona Press, Tucson, pp. 577–604.
Kerr, R.: 2006, Science 311, 1536.
Lasue, J. and Levasseur-Regourd, A. C.: 2006, J. Quant. Spectros. Radiat. Transfer 100, 220.
Lawler, M. E. and Brownlee, D. E.: 1992, Nature 359, 810.
Levasseur-Regourd, A. C., Mukai, T., Lasue, J., and Okada, Y.: 2006, Plan. Space Sci., in press.
Maas, D., Krueger, F. R. and Kissel, J.: 1989, in: Asteroids, Comets, Meteors III, pp. 389–392.
Martin, Y. and Wickramasinghe, H. K.: 1987. Appl. Phys. Lett. 50, 1455.
McKeegan, K., Aleon, J., Alexander, C., Bradley, J., Brownlee, D., Burnard, P., et al.: 2006, Meteorit. Planet. Sci. 41, A119.
Meech, K. J.: 1991, in: R. L. Newburn, et al. (eds.), Comets in the Post Halley Era, Vol. 1, Kluwer Academic Publishers, pp. 629–669.
Messenger, S., Keller, L., Stadermann, F., Walker, R., and Zinner, E.: 2003, Science 300, 105.
Min, M., Hovenier, J. W., de Koter, A., Waters, L. B. F. M., and Dominik, C.: 2005, Icarus 179, 158.
Müller, M., Agarwal, J., and Grün, E.: 1998, An Engineering Model of the Dust Environment of the Inner Coma of Comet P/Wirtanen, RO–ESC–TA–5501, Issue 1.
Prialnik, D., Benkhoff, J., and Podolak, M.: 2004, in: M. Festou, H. U. Keller, and H. A. Weaver (eds.), Comets II, University of Arizona Press, Tucson, pp. 359–387.
Riedler, W., Torkar, K., Rüdenauer, F., Fehringer, M., Schmidt, R., Arends, H., et al.: 1998, Adv. Space Res. 21(11), 1547.
Rodgers, S. D. and Charnley, S. B.: 2004, in: M. Festou, H. U. Keller, and H. A. Weaver (eds.), Comets II, University of Arizona Press, Tucson, pp. 505–522.
Rüdenauer, F.: 1998, Exposure Strategies for MIDAS; Internal Report, Austrian Research Centres Seibersdorf.
Schleicher, D.: 2006, Icarus 181, 442.
Schulz, R., Stüwe, J. A., and Boehnhardt, H.: 2004, Astron. Astrophys. 422, L19.
Schulze, H., Kissel, J., and Jessberger, E. K.: 1997, in: Y. J. Pendelton and A. G. G. M. Thielens (eds.), From Stardust to Planetesimals. ASP Conference Series 122, pp. 397–414.
Weiler, M., Knollenberg, J., and Rauer, H., in: L. Colangeli et al. (eds.), The New ROSETTA Targets, Kluwer Academic Publishers, pp. 37–46.
Wooden, D.: 2002, Earth, Moon, and Planets 89(1), 247.
Zolensky, M., Bland, P., Bradley, J., Brearley, A., Brennan, S., Bridges, J., et al.: 2006, Meteorit. Planet. Sci. 41, A167.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Riedler, W., Torkar, K., Jeszenszky, H. et al. MIDAS – The Micro-Imaging Dust Analysis System for the Rosetta Mission. Space Sci Rev 128, 869–904 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-006-9040-y
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-006-9040-y