Comet nucleus sounding experiment by radiowave transmission

W. Kofman (1) , Yves Barbin (2) , J. Klinger (3) , Anny Chantal Levasseur-Regourd (2) , J.-P. Barriot (4) , A. Herique (1) , T. Hagfors (5) , E. Nielsen (5) , E. Grün (6) , P. Edenhofer (7) , H. Kochan (8) , G. Picardi (9) , R. Seu (9) , J. van Zyl (10) , Ch. Elachi (10) , J. Melosh , J. Veverka (11) , P. Weissman (10) , L. H. Svedhem (12) , E. Hamran , P. Williams (13)

1 CEPHAG - Centre d'Études des Phénomènes Aléatoires et Géophysiques
2 SA - Service d'aéronomie
3 LGGE - Laboratoire de glaciologie et géophysique de l'environnement
4 GRGS - Groupement de Recherche en Géodésie Spatiale
5 MPI Aeronomie - Max-Planck-Institut für Aeronomie
6 MPIK - Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik
7 Institute for High-Frequency Technique [Bochum]
8 DLR Institut für Raumsimulation
9 Dipartimento INFOCOM [Roma]
10 JPL - Jet Propulsion Laboratory
11 Cornell University [New York]
12 ESTEC - European Space Research and Technology Centre
13 Queen Mary's College [Chennai]

We describe the radio science experiment proposed for the Rosetta cometary mission. The experiment consists in the transmission of electromagnetic waves between the landers and the orbiter through the comet to study its internal structure. In the paper, the electromagnetic model of the comet is presented and used to evaluate the potentiality of the experiment. Various modellings of the radio wave propagation are discussed. Finally, a description of the experiment and the instrument is made.

Domaines: Planète et Univers [physics]

W. Kofman, Yves Barbin, J. Klinger, Anny Chantal Levasseur-Regourd, J.-P. Barriot, et al.. Comet nucleus sounding experiment by radiowave transmission. Advances in Space Research, 1998, 21 (11), pp.1589-1598. ⟨10.1016/S0273-1177(97)00952-6⟩. ⟨insu-02263091⟩