The COSAC experiment on the Lander of the ROSETTA mission

H. Rosenbauer (1) , S. A. Fuselier (2) , A. Ghielmetti (2) , J.M. Greenberg (3) , F. Goesmann (1) , S. Ulamec (4) , Guy Israel (5) , S. Livi (1) , J. A. Macdermott (6) , T. Matsuo (7) , C. T. Pillinger (8) , F. Raulin (9) , R. Roll (1) , W. Thiemann (10)

1 MPI Aeronomie - Max-Planck-Institut für Aeronomie
2 Lockheed Martin Space Sciences Laboratory
3 Huygens Laboratory
4 MUSC - DLR Microgravity User Support Center
5 SA - Service d'aéronomie
6 Department of Chemistry [Cambridge, UK]
7 Department of Physics [Osaka]
8 OU - The Open University [Milton Keynes]
9 LISA (UMR_7583) - Laboratoire Interuniversitaire des Systèmes Atmosphériques
10 Universität Bremen

The COSAC experiment on the Lander of the ESA mission ROSETTA is aimed at the in situ investigation of matter of a cometary nucleus (P/Wirtanen) with respect to its chemical and isotopic composition. Special emphasis is put on the identification of complex organic molecules including their chirality. The instrument, presently under development, will employ for analysis a multi-column gas-chromatograph and a high-resolution TOF mass spectrometer. These instruments can be controlled from ground and used either separately or in the GC/MS coupling mode. They are suited for analysis of the natural cometary atmosphere or pyrolytically generated gas from surface or near-surface samples.

Domains: Sciences of the Universe [physics]

H. Rosenbauer, S. A. Fuselier, A. Ghielmetti, J.M. Greenberg, F. Goesmann, et al.. The COSAC experiment on the Lander of the ROSETTA mission. Advances in Space Research, 1999, 23 (2), pp.333-340. ⟨10.1016/S0273-1177(99)00054-X⟩. ⟨insu-02262501⟩