ESA - Rosetta updates

[jacqmans]

Rosetta's OSIRIS imaging system spotted an anticyclone over the South Pacific on the morning of 13 November. The images show the scene roughly as a human eye would see it.

More at:
http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Rosetta/SEMWX5OC02G_0.html

[jacqmans]

Rosetta's blind date with asteroid Lutetia

15 June 2010
ESA's comet-chaser Rosetta is heading for a blind date with asteroid Lutetia. Rosetta does not yet know what Lutetia looks like but beautiful or otherwise the two will meet on 10 July.

http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEM9VRQVEAG_index_0.html

[jacqmans]

Swing by Asteroid Lutetia With the European Space Agency and JPL

This is a feature from the NASA/JPL Education Office.


 06.25.10 -- The Rosetta Orbiter, a European Space Agency spacecraft heading for a 2014 encounter with a comet, will be flying close to asteroid Lutetia on Saturday, July 10. Classes and clubs are invited to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory from 2 to 4 p.m. that day to see first-ever, close-up images of Lutetia, talk to a NASA/JPL Rosetta project manager and participate in educational activities.

Lutetia is a large metal-rich asteroid and part of the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Rosetta will make its closest approach to Lutetia at 9:10 a.m. (Pacific Time), flying within 3,200 kilometers (just under 2,000 miles) of the asteroid's surface. This encounter will be Rosetta's first observations of a metal asteroid. The suite of NASA instruments aboard Rosetta will record the first-ever ultraviolet view of such an asteroid, make measurements that will help scientists understand the properties of the asteroid's surface crust, record the solar wind in the vicinity and look for evidence of an atmosphere.

Beginning at 2 p.m. at JPL, NASA's project manager for U.S. instruments on Rosetta, Art Chmielewski, will review first images with students and discuss the asteroid encounter. There will also be educational activities about comets and asteroids. The JPL events will be geared to students in grades 3 - 8.

To sign up for this event, contact Andrea Angrum at 818-354-6775.

The European Space Agency will be webcasting events starting at 8 a.m. More information about the webcast and the Rosetta Mission's 2014 encounter with comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko can be found at http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Rosetta/ .


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[jacqmans]

The media are invited to ESA's Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt, Germany to follow Rosetta's encounter with asteroid Lutetia on 10 July, 18:00-23:00. The first images of the asteroid will be released before midnight, with experts available for interview.

ESA's Rosetta comet-chaser is en route to its main target, comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, arriving in 2014. On Saturday, 10 July it will fly past the previously unvisited asteroid Lutetia.

This is an important milestone in Rosetta's long voyage, which began in 2004, and marks a rare opportunity to observe a primitive body such as an asteroid.

After encountering Lutetia, Rosetta will not perform scientific activities until reaching Churyumov-Gerasimenko in May 2014. It will then observe the comet for 18 months, releasing a lander onto the comet in November 2014.

Lutetia will be the second asteroid studied during Rosetta's journey. The Steins flyby took place on 5 September 2008, approaching to within 800 km.

Lutetia is a much bigger asteroid, so the flyby will be no closer than about 3200 km. Any nearer and Rosetta would not be able to fit the whole asteroid into the camera’s field of view.

The close pass will allow around two hours of observational opportunities. The spacecraft will rapidly begin beaming its data to Earth and the first pictures will be released later that evening.

The Rosetta science and flight operations teams will be on hand to provide commentary, and to answer questions during the event.
Media Accreditation:
Journalists wishing to attend the event are requested to send an email with their full contact details to: [email protected] (Tel. +49 6151 90 25 16)

European Space Operations Centre ESA / ESOC
Robert-Bosch-Straße 5
D-64293 Darmstadt
Germany


 
Media Event Programme

16:30 Doors open to media and guests : interview opportunities
18:00 Welcome to ESOC, and the role of ESA Operations, Manfred Warhaut, Head of ESA's Operations Department
18:05 Preparing to visit an asteroid, Andrea Accomazzo, Rosetta Spacecraft Operations Manager
18:10 Closest Approach - Lutetia Flyby Manoeuvres LIVE
18:12 Rosetta mission overview, Gerhard Schwehm, Rosetta Mission Manager
18:16         Rosetta and the study of asteroids, Rita Schulz, Rosetta Project Scientist
18:20         Understanding asteroids for ESA's Space Situational Awareness programme, Manfred Warhaut, Head of ESA's Operations Department
18:23 Rosetta within the European Science Programme, Prof. David Southwood, ESA's Director for Science and Robotic Exploration
18:40 Waiting for the return of spacecraft data, Andrea Accomazzo, Rosetta Spacecraft Operations Manager
18:50 ESOC garden barbeque, including TV transmission of Soccer World Cup match for third place
23:00 The first images of Lutetia, comments from Rita Schulz, Rosetta Project Scientist, and Holger Sierks, MPI for Solar System Research, Katlenburg-Lindau (DE)
23:10 Q+A with Rosetta team
23:30 End of event (further interview opportunities)
23:45 ESA's Operations Centre closes to all external guests

Further updates including the Rosetta blog and live web-streaming of the entire event at:
www.esa.int/rosetta

[bolun]

Philae and Rosetta gear up for asteroid Lutetia

5 July 2010

The Rosetta orbiter, which carries the DLR lander Philae, has completed more than two thirds of its journey to the comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko. The most comprehensive cometary investigation ever, the mission will deliver DLR's Philae lander to the comet’s surface for in situ studies. The spacecraft and lander are due to close in on 21 Lutetia, a large Main Belt Asteroid on 10 July.

http://www.dlr.de/en/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-1/117_read-25474/

[jacqmans]

ESA Euronews: The Rosetta Odyssey
 
8 July 2010   In the 19th century, the discovery of the Rosetta Stone unlocked the secrets of Egyptian hieroglyphs. Today, 21st century scientists are hoping that the Rosetta mission will unlock the secrets of the oldest 'building blocks' of our Solar System - the comets - and their origins and influence on our planet.

http://www.esa.int/euronews

[jacqmans]

News release: 2010-228                                                                      July 9, 2010

Heavy Metal Rock Set to Take the Stage

The full version of this story with accompanying images is at:
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2010-228&cid=release_2010-228

PASADENA, Calif. - On its way to a 2014 rendezvous with comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, the European Space Agency's Rosetta spacecraft, with NASA instruments aboard, will fly past asteroid Lutetia this Saturday, July 10.

The instruments aboard Rosetta will record the first close-up image of a metal asteroid. They will also make measurements to help scientists derive the mass of the object, understand the properties of the asteroid's surface crust, record the solar wind in the vicinity and look for evidence of an atmosphere. The spacecraft will pass the asteroid at a minimum distance of 3,160 kilometers (1,950 miles) and at a velocity of 15 kilometers (9 miles) per second.

"Little is known about asteroid Lutetia other than it is about 100 kilometers (62 miles) wide," said Claudia Alexander, project scientist for the U.S. role in the Rosetta mission, from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "Allowing Rosetta's suite of science instruments to focus on this target of opportunity should greatly expand our knowledge of this huge space rock, while at the same time giving the mission's science instruments a real out-of-this-world workout."

Previous images of Lutetia were taken by ground-based telescopes and show only hints of the asteroid's shape. Lutetia will be the second asteroid to receive the full attention of Rosetta and its instruments. The spacecraft previously flew within 800 kilometers (500 miles) of asteroid Steins in September of 2008. The Lutetia flyby is the final scientific milestone for Rosetta before controllers put the spacecraft into hibernation early in 2011, only to wake up in early 2014 for approach to comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.

NASA has contributed an ultraviolet instrument (Alice); a plasma instrument (the Ion and Electron Sensor); a microwave instrument (Microwave Instrument for the Rosetta Orbiter); and portions of the electronics package for the double focusing mass spectrometer of the Rosetta orbiter sensor for ion and neutral analysis (ROSINA), among other contributions to this international mission. NASA's Deep Space Network, managed by JPL, will be providing support for tracking and science operations.

One hundred and fifteen elementary school students will be at JPL during the flyby. The students will view close-up images of Lutetia, talk to the U.S. Rosetta project manager and participate in educational activities. The U.S. Rosetta project leaders hope to use this event as a kickoff of more coordinated activities with selected schools around the United States.

JPL manages NASA's participation in the Rosetta mission. Learn more about NASA's contribution to Rosetta at: http://rosetta.jpl.nasa.gov .



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[mdo]

Here's a Rosetta Real-Time Simulation:

http://www.dmuller.net/spaceflight/realtime.php?mission=rosetta

150.000 km to go to the encounter with Lutetia...

[ugordan]

Fingers crossed for no safe modes or other anomalies this time...

[jacqmans]

Rosetta lines up for spectacular asteroid flyby
10 July 2010

Asteroid 21 Lutetia is growing larger in Rosetta's view as the ESA satellite zooms in for a spectacular flyby at 18:10 CEST today. Lutetia is the largest asteroid ever visited by a spacecraft.

http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMCMBZOFBG_index_0.html

[jacqmans]

Watch Rosetta webcast live 10 July starting 18:00 CEST (not 18:30 as previously published)

Live webcast of the media event from ESA's European Space Operations Centre covering Rosetta's 10 July flyby of asteroid 21 Lutetia. Two-part programme starts 18:00 CEST for closest approach and resumes at 23:00 CEST for presentation of first images. Includes interviews with mission scientists and live update from Rosetta control room.

http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Rosetta/index.html

[mdo]

passing the 10.000 km distance mark...

[mdo]

- 5000 km
- relative speed 53.982 km/h,
- apparent angular diameter of Lutetia as seen from Rosetta 1.1 deg
   (> 2x full moon)

[mdo]

closest approach: ~3162 km at 15:45 UT; apparent diameter 1.958 deg

(nominal values as per simulation)

[mdo]

- back at 10.000 km distance
- end of closed-loop tracking

In principal it is all over. The signals still have to arrive and the data pour in.

[ugordan]

Distant approach images: http://webservices.esa.int/blog/post/5/1246

[Ben the Space Brit]

Distant approach images: http://webservices.esa.int/blog/post/5/1246

Basically a flattened oval rock whose general shape makes me think of a plaster cast of a hand-print.  I wonder how typical 21 Lutetia is of main-belt objects of that size?

[Space Pete]

Here's a fantastic animation from the Planetary Society Blog showing sequential images of Rosetta approaching Lutetia!



www.planetary.org/blog/article/00002577

[mdo]

Lutetia and Saturn together in one shot!

[ugordan]

http://webservices.esa.int/blog/post/5/1247