Virtis: An Imaging Spectrometer for the Rosetta Mission
A. Coradini
(1)
,
F. Capaccioni
(2)
,
P. Drossart
(3)
,
G. Arnold
(4)
,
E. Ammannito
(1)
,
F. Angrilli
(5)
,
Maria Antonietta Barucci
(3)
,
G. Bellucci
(1)
,
J. Benkhoff
(6)
,
G. Bianchini
(5)
,
J.-P. Bibring
(7)
,
M. Blecka
(8)
,
D. Bockelee-Morvan
(3)
,
M. T. Capria
(2)
,
R. Carlson
(9)
,
U. Carsenty
(4)
,
P. Cerroni
(2)
,
L. Colangeli
(10)
,
M. Combes
(3)
,
M. Combi
(11)
,
J. Crovisier
(3)
,
M. C. Desanctis
(2)
,
T. Encrenaz
(3)
,
S. Erard
(3)
,
Costanzo Federico
(12)
,
G. Filacchione
(2)
,
U. Fink
(13)
,
S. Fonti
(14)
,
V. Formisano
(1)
,
W. H. Ip
(15)
,
R. Jaumann
(4)
,
E. Kuehrt
(4)
,
Y. Langevin
(7)
,
G. Magni
(2)
,
T. Mccord
(16)
,
V. Mennella
(10)
,
S. Mottola
(4)
,
G. Neukum
(4)
,
P. Palumbo
(10)
,
G. Piccioni
(2)
,
H. Rauer
(4)
,
B. Saggin
(5)
,
Bernard Schmitt
(17)
,
D. Tiphene
(3)
,
G. Tozzi
(18)
1
IFSI -
Istituto di Fisica dello Spazio Interplanetario
2 IASF-Roma - Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica cosmica - Roma
3 LESIA - Laboratoire d'études spatiales et d'instrumentation en astrophysique
4 DLR - German Aerospace Center
5 Dipartimento di Ingegneria Meccanica
6 ESTEC - European Space Research and Technology Centre
7 IAS - Institut d'astrophysique spatiale
8 PAN - Polska Akademia Nauk = Polish Academy of Sciences = Académie polonaise des sciences
9 JPL - Jet Propulsion Laboratory
10 OAC - INAF - Osservatorio Astronomico di Capodimonte
11 SPRL - Space Physics Research Laboratory [Ann Arbor]
12 UNIPG - Università degli Studi di Perugia = University of Perugia
13 LPL - Lunar and Planetary Laboratory [Tucson]
14 Dipartimento di Fisica
15 MPS - Max-Planck-Institut für Sonnensystemforschung = Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research
16 Department of Earth and Space Sciences [Seattle]
17 LPG - Laboratoire de Planétologie de Grenoble
18 OAA - INAF - Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri
2 IASF-Roma - Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica cosmica - Roma
3 LESIA - Laboratoire d'études spatiales et d'instrumentation en astrophysique
4 DLR - German Aerospace Center
5 Dipartimento di Ingegneria Meccanica
6 ESTEC - European Space Research and Technology Centre
7 IAS - Institut d'astrophysique spatiale
8 PAN - Polska Akademia Nauk = Polish Academy of Sciences = Académie polonaise des sciences
9 JPL - Jet Propulsion Laboratory
10 OAC - INAF - Osservatorio Astronomico di Capodimonte
11 SPRL - Space Physics Research Laboratory [Ann Arbor]
12 UNIPG - Università degli Studi di Perugia = University of Perugia
13 LPL - Lunar and Planetary Laboratory [Tucson]
14 Dipartimento di Fisica
15 MPS - Max-Planck-Institut für Sonnensystemforschung = Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research
16 Department of Earth and Space Sciences [Seattle]
17 LPG - Laboratoire de Planétologie de Grenoble
18 OAA - INAF - Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri
P. Drossart
- Fonction : Auteur
- PersonId : 738570
- IdHAL : pierre-drossart
- ORCID : 0000-0001-7261-0228
- IdRef : 089042514
S. Erard
- Fonction : Auteur
- PersonId : 183422
- IdHAL : stephane-erard
- ORCID : 0000-0002-9099-8366
- IdRef : 083612505
P. Palumbo
- Fonction : Auteur
- PersonId : 760855
- ORCID : 0000-0003-2323-9228
Bernard Schmitt
- Fonction : Auteur
- PersonId : 742476
- IdHAL : bernard-schmitt
- ORCID : 0000-0002-1230-6627
- IdRef : 060156570
Résumé
The VIRTIS (Visual IR Thermal Imaging Spectrometer) experiment has been one of the most successful experiments built in Europe for Planetary Exploration. VIRTIS, developed in cooperation among Italy, France and Germany, has been already selected as a key experiment for 3 planetary missions: the ESA-Rosetta and Venus Express and NASA-Dawn. VIRTIS on board Rosetta and Venus Express are already producing high quality data: as far as Rosetta is concerned, the Earth-Moon system has been successfully observed during the Earth Swing-By manouver (March 2005) and furthermore, VIRTIS will collect data when Rosetta flies by Mars in February 2007 at a distance of about 200 kilometres from the planet. Data from the Rosetta mission will result in a comparison – using the same combination of sophisticated experiments – of targets that are poorly differentiated and are representative of the composition of different environment of the primordial solar system. Comets and asteroids, in fact, are in close relationship with the planetesimals, which formed from the solar nebula 4.6 billion years ago. The Rosetta mission payload is designed to obtain this information combining in situ analysis of comet material, obtained by the small lander Philae, and by a long lasting and detailed remote sensing of the comet, obtained by instrument on board the orbiting Spacecraft. The combination of remote sensing and in situ measurements will increase the scientific return of the mission. In fact, the “in situ” measurements will provide “ground-truth” for the remote sensing information, and, in turn, the locally collected data will be interpreted in the appropriate context provided by the remote sensing investigation. VIRTIS is part of the scientific payload of the Rosetta Orbiter and will detect and characterise the evolution of specific signatures – such as the typical spectral bands of minerals and molecules – arising from surface components and from materials dispersed in the coma. The identification of spectral features is a primary goal of the Rosetta mission as it will allow identification of the nature of the main constituent of the comets. Moreover, the surface thermal evolution during comet approach to sun will be also studied.