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Analysis of MIRO/Rosetta Data
von David MarshallThe Rosetta mission to comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimneko was a flagship endeavour for the European Space Agency, and for two years, the spacecraft observed the comet in unprecedented detail.
This thesis uses data from one of the instruments on this ground-breaking mission: the Microwave Instrument for the Rosetta Orbiter. Using the spectroscopic observations from this instrument, the temporal and spatial evolution of the water production rate can be determined, as well as properties of the nucleus surface. In addition, it is possible to derive the behaviour of the gas in the inner coma.
Comets are thought to be pristine building blocks left over from the formation of the solar system but it is still uncertain to what extent comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenmko is primordial. The results of this thesis imply that the surface layer over a couple of metres must be processed by the sun during perihelion passage. Future sample return missions must go beyond the surface layer in order to reach any potentially pristine material.
This thesis uses data from one of the instruments on this ground-breaking mission: the Microwave Instrument for the Rosetta Orbiter. Using the spectroscopic observations from this instrument, the temporal and spatial evolution of the water production rate can be determined, as well as properties of the nucleus surface. In addition, it is possible to derive the behaviour of the gas in the inner coma.
Comets are thought to be pristine building blocks left over from the formation of the solar system but it is still uncertain to what extent comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenmko is primordial. The results of this thesis imply that the surface layer over a couple of metres must be processed by the sun during perihelion passage. Future sample return missions must go beyond the surface layer in order to reach any potentially pristine material.