Collection of cometary dust

Rendezvous Missions to Comets lead to low velocities at the nucleus of the comet. The resulting impact velocity of the cometary dust on a target will range between 10 and 400 m/s. The dust particle which impacts on a target can be collected for a subsequent in-situ analysis.

The collection efficiency of a target depends in addition to obvious geometrical conditions upon the surface of the target. The surface characteristics can be divided into two groups:

• “dirty” surfaces, covered with silicate or hydrocarbon compounds (for example vacuum grease),

• “clean” surfaces, like gold (with additional sputtering).

This paper deals with the experimental and theoretical investigation of the collection efficiency of “clean” targets. Laboratory experiments are described which were conducted at the Technische Universität München, Lehrstuhl für Raumfahrttechnik, and the Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik, Heidelberg. In both experiments an electromagnetic accelerator is used to accelerate different types of dust in vacuum to velocities between 10 and 400 m/s.

The target is then examined under the microscope and a secondary ion mass spectrometer (which is a model of the laboratory carried on board of the spacecraft for “in situ” analysis). The adhesion of the dust grains at the target is evaluated experimentally in an ultracentrifuge.     

Near infrared observations of comet Halley from Vega 2

Spatial distribution of the continuum radiation in the range of 0.95–1.9 μm presumes total dust production rate of the comet of 10ρ tonne s⁻¹ (ρ is the dust material density) and its angular distribution proportional cos . Observations of the water vapor band at 1.38 μ m reveal strong jets, their time shift from the dust jet measured in situ is consistent with gas velocity of 0.82±0.1 km s⁻¹ and dust velocity of 0.55±0.08 km s⁻¹. The OH vibrational-rotational bands observed are excided directly via photolysis of water vapor. Water vapor production rate deduced from the H₂O band and OH band intensities is 8×10²⁹ s⁻¹. Intensity of the CN(0,0) band result in the CN column density of 9×10¹² cm⁻², i.e. larger by a factor of 3 than given by the violet band.     

Cometary particle impact simulation using pulsed lasers

Calibration of the DIDSY experiment momentum sensors for the GIOTTO Mission to Comet Halley requires laboratory simulation of impacts at 68 km s⁻¹ for particle mass values in the range 10⁻⁶ g to 10⁻¹⁰ g. Existing techniques for particle acceleration cannot simultaneously attain these extreme values of velocity and particle mass, making it necessary to adopt some less direct method of impact simulation. This paper considers the application of high power pulsed lasers for laboratory simulation of the momentum impulse produced by a cometary dust particle impact on the GIOTTO spacecraft.     

Modeling of artificial plasma “bubble” in ionosphere

Results of a combination of radio-crossing and in situ measurements of plasma density in an artificial plasma “bubble” in the ionosphere are presented. Shaped — charge barium injection was made at short distance (≤50 m) to plasma diagnostics on the rocket. After injection the rocket passed through expanding plasma shell. Plasma density depletion inside was more than one order and plasma enhancements on the boundary about 3–5 times that of background. When the rocket passed the shell and went away by 2.1 km an abrupt drop of telemetry signal level (≤ 65 dB) was registered though plasma density was not more than 3×10³sm⁻³. An estimation of high frequency signal refraction on the plasma shell is in good accordance with refraction data of geostationary satellite signals on equatorial bubbles.     

Laboratory calibration measurements of a piezoelectric lead zirconate titanate cosmic dust detector at low velocities

A cosmic dust monitor for use onboard a spacecraft is currently being developed using a piezoelectric lead zirconate titanate element (PZT). Its characteristics of the PZT sensor is studied by ground-based laboratory impact experiments using hypervelocity particles supplied by a Van de Graaff accelerator. The output signals obtained from the sensor just after the impact appeared to have a waveform that was explicitly related to the particle’s impact velocity. For velocities less than ∼6 km/s, the signal showed an oscillation pattern and the amplitude was proportional to the momentum of the impacting particle. For higher velocities, the signal gradually changed to a single waveform. The rise time of this single waveform was proportional to the particle’s velocity for velocities above ∼6 km/s. The present paper reports on results for the low velocity case and especially discusses the effect of an outer coating of the sensor with a paint, which is used to reduce heating by solar radiation.     

Energetic neutron and gamma-ray spectra under the earth radiation belts according to “SALUTE-7”-“KOSMOS-1686” orbital complex and “CORONAS-i” satellite data

The spectra of neutrons >10 MeV and gamma-rays 1.5–100 MeV under the Earth Radiation Belts, restored from the data, obtained onboard orbital complex “SALUTE-7”-“KOSMOS-1686”, are presented. The spectra shapes are similar to those for albedo neutrons and gamma-rays, but absolute values of their fluxes (0.2 cm⁻² s⁻¹ for neutrons, 0.8 cm⁻² s⁻¹ for gamma-rays at the equator and 1.2 cm⁻² s⁻¹, 1.9 cm⁻² s⁻¹, accordingly, at L=1.9) are several times as large. It is possibly explained by the fact that most of the detected particles were produced by the cosmic ray interactions with the orbital complex matter. Neutron and gamma-ray fluxes obtained from “CORONAS-I” data are near those for albedo particles.     

High-velocity impact experiments needed to improve our understanding of the asteroids

The lifetime of almost all the asteroids against catastrophic impact events is less than the age of the solar system, implying that the asteroids can be considered as outcomes of catastrophic collisions. Therefore to understand their physical properties (structure, shape, rotation, regolith development) and their family memberships (since families are generated by the escape of breakup fragments), a systematic knowledge of the outcomes of catastrophic impacts under a variety of conditions seems needed. In particular, interesting fields to be explored by laboratory experiments are: the dependence of the critical energy densities associated with various degrees of fragmentation on the target's size and composition; the velocity distribution of the fragments and the inelasticity of the process in different cases; the shape of the fragments and its possible correlation with other quantities; the way a dust- or regolith-covered target affects the collisional outcomes; the angular momentum partitioning and the rotation of the fragments. On this latter problem very few experimental results are presently available; on the other hand, the rotation of small asteroids presents several intriguing “anomalies”.

A significant progress of our understanding of asteroid collisional evolution and related phenomena can be provided by new laboratory experiments of collisional breakup. The targets should have spherical and/or irregular shape (up to axial ratios of the order of 2), and should be made of (possibly different) geological materials. The interesting projectile velocities are of the order of the relative velocities commonly found among asteroids, i.e., in the range 1 to 10 Kms⁻¹. In order to get catastrophic collisions, the ratio of the projectile kinetic energy to the target mass (≡E/M) has to be chosen within a “critical” range (for basalt targets, from 10⁶ to 10⁸ erg/g). In some particular cases, this kind of experiments has been already performed in past (Gault and Wedekind [10]; Fujiwara et al. [7]; Fujiwara and Tsukamoto [9]); however the generalization of the results to a wide range of experimental conditions is lacking, and many problems of outstanding importance to model asteroid evolution are still completely open.     

Physical properties of cometary dust: Relation of DIDSY data to grain properties

The Dust Impact Detection System (DIDSY) for the Giotto Halley Mission consists of two types of sensors for the detection of cometary dust particles: two impact plasma sensors and five piezo-electric momentum sensors. One sensor of each type is covered by a penetration film. A 1 μm thick aluminum film covers an impact plasma sensor. One momentum sensor is mounted onto the rear shield behind the 1 mm front shield made from aluminum. The parameters measured are the total charge released upon impact and the amplitude of the acoustic signal generated by the impact. Both quantities depend on the mass and speed of the impacting particles. At the impact speed of 68 km/sec the mass of cometary dust particles can be determined in the mass range from 10⁻¹⁷ g to 10⁻³ g. From the difference in the countrates measured by the sensors with and without penetration film the average bulk density of dust particles of masses 10⁻¹⁴ g and 10⁻⁶ g can be determined. With appropriate calibration an accuracy of a factor of 2 for both the mass and density determination can be obtained.     

Geminga pulsar observations with gamma-telescope Gamma-1

The Geminga light curve obtained with the “Gamma-1” telescope features two peaks separated by 0.5 ± 0.03 period. The light curve is pronounced for γ-quanta energies higher than 400 MeV. The pulsed flux upper limit (1σ) in the energy interval 50 – 300 MeV is 6·10⁻⁷ cm⁻²sec⁻¹. For energies >300 MeV the pulsed component power law spectrum has an exponent 1.1 _−0.3^+1.1 and an integral flux (1.1±0.3)·10⁻⁶ cm⁻²sec⁻¹.     

Energy deposition in the upper atmosphere in the EXCEDE III experiment

The EXCEDE III sounding rocket flight of April 27, 1990 used a 18 Ampere 2.5 keV electron beam to produce an artificial aurora in the region 90 to 115 km. A “daughter” sensor payload remotely monitored the low-energy X-ray spectrum while scanning photometers measured the spatial profile of prompt emissions of N₂⁺ (1N) and N₂ (2P) transitions (3914Å and 3805Å, respectively). Two Ebert-Fastie spectrometers measured the spectral region from 1800 to 8000Å. On the “mother” accelerator payload, the return current electron differential energy spectra were monitored by an electrostatic analyzer (up to 10 keV) and by a retarding potential analyzer (0 eV to 100 eV). We present an overview of the results from this experiment.     

Interpretation of the measurements of secondary electron currents induced by impacts during the flyby of comet Halley

The Giotto, Vega-1 and Vega-2 spacecraft flew through the environment of comet Halley at a relatively close range with velocities of the order of 70–80 km/s. The fore sections of their surface were bombarded by neutral molecules and dust grains which caused the emission of secondary electrons and sputtered ions. This paper makes use of the secondary electron current measurements performed on Vega-1 to infer some characteristic features of the cometary atmosphere. The total gas production rate is estimated to be of the order of 10³⁰ molecules/s and is found to vary with time; the presence of a major jet is also detected at closest approach.     

Hydrogen coma of comet P/Halley

The main molecular processes to produce the hydrogen comae of comets are now well known: Water, the main constituent of cometary atmospheres, is photodissociated by the solar ultraviolet radiation to form the high (20 km s⁻¹) and low (8 km s⁻¹) velocity components of the atomic hydrogen. The hydrogen clouds of various fresh comets have been observed in 1216Å by a number of spacecrafts. Ultraviolet observations of short period comets are, however, rather rare. Consequently Comet P/Halley in this apparition is a good object to obtain new physics of the hydrogen coma. Strong breathing of the hydrogen coma of this comet found by “Suisei” provides just such an example. The rotational period of Comet Halley's nucleus, its activity in the form of outbursts alone, and the position of jet sources etc. are determined from the breathing phenomena. Atomic hydrogen from organic compounds with a velocity of 11 km s⁻¹ play an important role in that analysis. The time variations of the water production rate of Comet Halley during this apparition observed by various spacecrafts appear to be in agreement with each other and are about 1.5–2 times larger than the standard model. The difficulty of the calibration problem was emphasized.     

Numerical simulations of the radiance from the comet 46P/Wirtanen in the various configurations of the measurements during “Rosetta” mission

The work we present deals with the spectrometric measurements of VIRTIS instrument of the Comet P/Wirtanen planned for the Rosetta mission. This spectrometer can monitor (VIRTIS M channel: 0.250μm – 0.980μm; Δκ=20cm⁻¹; 0.980 – 5.0 μm; Δκ = 5cm⁻¹; VIRTIS H channel: 2.0 μm – 5.0 μm; Δκ=2cm⁻¹) the nucleus and the coma in order to provide a general picture of coma's composition, the production of gas and dust, the relationship of coma production to surface composition and the structure and variation of mineralogy of the nucleus surface. During the mission the observation conditions of the spectroscopic investigation change due to different relative positions spacecraft/comet, and to the different illumination conditions of the surface at various distances of the comet to the Sun. The nucleus surface is continuously modified by the ice sublimation accompanied by gas and dust emission. Consequently the surface also its spectrophotometric properties changes and their monitoring can give a new insight. The important role of simulations is to predict the results of measurements in various experimental condition what, in the future, can help in interpretation of the measured data.

In this paper the first results of our simulation the radiance from the comet in the 0.25–5.0μm spectral range at two distances from the Sun (1AU and 3AU) are shown. The distance between the Rosetta orbiter and the nucleus surface as well as the sun zenith angles are taken into account according to the Rosetta mission phases. In fact the surface and coma properties vary along the comet orbit, and should be taken into account in our calculations. The optical parameters of the dust on the surface (e.g. reflectance) and in the coma (e.g. Q_ext) were calculated from optical constants of possible comet analogues. The thermodynamic parameters of the comet are taken from the models of comet evolution. Through this kind of modelling it is possible to identify the surface characteristics in spectra of the radiation from the surface of nucleus transmitted through the coma loaded with dust and gases.

Even if the “Rosetta mission” is postponed, with the consequence of a target change, we think that our idea and the method used for the simulations can be useful also for the new Rosetta target - the comet 67P/Churyumov Gerasimenko.     

Results of cosmic radiation dose field measurements aboard the “Salyut-6” orbital station

During the 3rd main expedition on board the “Salyut-6” orbital station in 1979 the integral characteristics of cosmic radiation were measured in various positions inside the manned modules (experiment “Integral”). Measurements were performed with thermoluminescent dosimeters, photographic films and solid state plastic detectors supplied for the experiment by specialists of the USSR, Bulgaria, Hungary, GDR and Romania. The dose gradient inside the manned modules of the station amounted to 70 % for long intervals of time. During the experimental period the dose rate inside the station was 15 to 30 mrad per day. The mean flux of particles with z 6 and LET 200 keV/μm was found to be 0.22 cm⁻² day⁻¹.     

Earth encounter velocities for interplanetary meteoroids

The speed distribution of meteoroids encountering the Earth is shown to be similar for all meteoroid masses in the range 1 g to 10⁻¹² g. The speed distribution of interplanetary meteoroids encountering the Earth has usually been inferred from meteor observations. This paper reviews commonly quoted distributions and introduces more recent estimates. The influence quoted measurement uncertainties have on the distribution of Earth encounter velocities presented by Sekanina and Southworth (1975) and Erickson (1968) is presented. The Divine (1993) model of interplanetary meteoroids fits a set of orbital distributions to a wide range of spacecraft and ground based dust detector observations. By ‘flying’ the Earth through this model the distribution of geocentric encounter velocities has been obtained for typical particle masses, 10⁻⁹ and 10⁻¹² g while those at 10⁻⁴ and 10⁻⁵ g are shown to be in error.     

Investigation of magnetospheric processes with the use of a source of strong magnetic field in the ionosphere

More than 20 years ago V.P. Shabansky suggested that the magnetic system installed aboard the satellite, could be used as a physical instrument for studying the processes which occur in the near Earth space. The corresponding space scales of an artificial “magnetosphere”—“magnisphere”—are 10 m in the experiment with relatively small magnets in the ionosphere and 100 m in the solar wind. The corresponding similarity criteria are estimated. The possible scheme of the experiment with a superconducting magnet (magnetic moment 10⁵ A · m²) installed aboard the satellite is considered. The experimental complex includes a number of systems for measuring the fluxes of charged particles in a wide energy range, DC electric and magnetic fields, the electromagnetic fields in different frequency bands (from X-rays to radio). The scientific objectives are discussed in detail.     

First spatio-temporal results from the LDEF interplanetary dust experiment

The LDEF Interplanetary Dust Experiment was unique in providing a time history of impacts of micron-sized particles on six orthogonal faces of the vehicle over a span of nearly a full year. Over 15000 hits were recorded, representing a mix of zodiacal dust, meteor stream grains, orbital debris, perhaps beta-meteoroids, and possibly interstellar matter. Although the total number was higher than predicted, the relative panel activity distribution was near expectations. Detailed deconvolution of the impact record with orbital data is underway, to examine each of these populations. Very preliminary results of the fairly crude “first look” analysis suggest that debris is the major particle component at 500 km. The data show clear evidence of some known meteor streams as sharp, tightly-focused events, unlike their visible counterparts. Some apparent debris events show similar signatures. Data from the leading and trailing edges suggest a detection of beta-meteoroids, but the analysis is not yet conclusive. Absolute fluxes and flux ratios are not yet known, since the detector status analysis is yet incomplete.     

Interaction of artificially injected plasma flows with ionospheric plasma

Results of rocket experiments on study of plasma flows (PF) artificially injected by sources separated from vehicles and their effect on medium parameters in ionosphere at altitudes 160:230 km are presented.PF were injected comprising lithium ions with velocities 1,2 x 10⁴ m/sec. and cesium-potassium ions with velocities (1,4–1,5)x10³ m/sec. Mass flow rate in case of lithium PS is 2 mg/sec, and in case of cesium-potassium PS is 0,2 g/sec. During experiments mass-spectrometer measurements of ion medium content in ranges of different ion masses were held, disturbancies of electric fields with frequencies up to 20 kHz and electron flows with energies 0,7keV, 4,6keV and over 40 keV were controlled at distancies from 150m to (500–600)m between plasma source and scientific equipment.     

Ion formation by high- and medium-velocities dust impacts from laboratory measurements and Halley results

The ion formation processes by dust impacts have been studied qualitatively as well as quantitatively by dust accelerator laboratory measurements. Iron, carbon and metallized glass particles in the femto- to nano-gram mass range had been impacted on various metal targets in a velocity regime of v = 2 - 64 km/s. In the high velocity regime as relevant for the (retrograde) Halley encounter more than 99% of the ions produced are singly charged atomic, the rest molecular ones. The ion/atom ratios are apparently modified SIMS yields, the modification parameter being impact velocity dependent. A semiempirical formula was deduced for the determination of mass and density of the impacting particle from target and projectile ion yields. When evaluating the Halley encounter results, the elemental distribution of p/Halley dust appeared nearly to be solar; the organic fraction (CHON) could be characterized in a rough manner as fairly unsaturated. Oligomers of the monomers C₂H₂ (65%), CH₂O (25%), and HCN (10%) are probable.

With medium velocities (for prograde comet encounter), i.e. v = 15-30 km/s molecular ion types govern the mass spectra. Consequently, more chemical information of the projectile can be expected in this case, additional to the elemental distribution. Mass and density of the impinging dust particles can be determined as well.     

A preliminary consideration of the electron impact ionization effect in cometary comas

From an analysis of the electron number densities and velocity distributions as observed at comet Giacobini-Zinner and comet Halley, it appears that in the so-called “transition region” of the coma electron impact ionization can exceed the nominal photoionization rate of H₂O molecules but not by an order of magnitude. It is possible in localized regions where electron heating by ion acoustic waves and lower hybrid waves occurs, electron impact would become the dominant ionization (and dissociation) mechanism. The overall effect as limited by in-situ measurements of the neutral gas density distribution could be shown to be small, however.