Cometary hydrogen observations are reviewed with emphasis on observations of comet Bennett. The results are theoretically interpreted and a brief summary of ultraviolet observations other than Lyman alpha is given.
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), COMETS, EMISSION SPECTRA, FAR ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION,...
An active comet like comet Halley loses by sublimation a surface layer of the order of 1 m thickness per perihelion passage. In situ measurements show that water ice is the main constituent which contributes to the gas emission although even more volatile species (CO, NH3, CH4, CO2 etc.) have been identified. Dust particles which were embedded in the ices are carried by the sublimating gases. Measurements of the chemical composition of cometary grains indicate that they are composed of...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), CHEMICAL COMPOSITION, COMETS, ICE, SIMULATION, SUBLIMATION,...
The commercial JPEG standard complies well with the specific requirements of exploratory space missions. Therefore, JPEG has been chosen to be the baseline for a series of spaceborne image data compressions (e.g. MARS94-HRSC, -WAOSS, HUYGENS-DISR, MESUR-IMP). One S/W-implementation (IMP) and one H/W-implementation (DISR) of image data compression are presented. Details of the modifications applied to standard JPEG are outlined. Finally, a performance comparison of the two implementations is...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), ASTRONOMICAL PHOTOGRAPHY, DATA COMPRESSION, SPACE...
The in-situ exploration of the low atmosphere and surface of Venus is clearly the next step of Venus exploration. Understanding the geochemistry of the low atmosphere, interacting with rocks, and the way the integrated Venus system evolved, under the combined effects of inner planet cooling and intense atmospheric greenhouse, is a major challenge of modern planetology. Due to the dense atmosphere (95 bars at the surface), balloon platforms offer an interesting means to transport and land...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), VENUS SURFACE, VENUS PROBES, IN SITU MEASUREMENT, VENUS...
The geologic objectives of the Dawn Mission [1] are to derive Vesta s shape, map the surface geology, understand the geological context and contribute to the determination of the asteroids origin and evolution. Geomorphology and distribution of surface features will provide evidence for impact cratering, tectonic activity, volcanism, and regolith processes. Spectral measurements of the surface will provide evidence of the compositional characteristics of geological units. Age information, as...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), VESTA ASTEROID, GEOMORPHOLOGY, SPECTRUM ANALYSIS, FREQUENCY...
Upon approach to asteroid 4 Vesta, the Dawn mission included a dedicated satellite search observation of the operational sphere of the spacecraft around Vesta. Discovery of moons of Vesta would constrain theories of satellite f()rmation. The sequence using the framing camera and clear filter includes three mosaics of six stations acquired on July 9-10. 2011. Each station consists of four sets with three different exposures, 1.5,20 and 270 s. We also processed and scanned the optical navigation...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), VESTA ASTEROID, ASTROMETRY, CELESTIAL GEODESY, SPACE...
The Dawn spacecraft has been in orbit around the asteroid Vesta since July, 2011. The on-board Framing Camera has acquired thousands of high-resolution images of the regolith-covered surface through one clear and seven narrow-band filters in the visible and near-IR wavelength range. It has observed bright and dark materials that have a range of reflectance that is unusually wide for an asteroid. Material brighter than average is predominantly found on crater walls, and in ejecta surrounding...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), VESTA ASTEROID, BRIGHTNESS, COLOR, FRAMING CAMERAS, SPACE...
The Dawn spacecraft started orbiting the second largest asteroid (4) Vesta in August 2011, revealing the details of its surface at an unprecedented pixel scale as small as approx.70 m in Framing Camera (FC) clear and color filter images and approx.180 m in the Visible and Infrared Spectrometer (VIR) data in its first two science orbits, the Survey Orbit and the High Altitude Mapping Orbit (HAMO) [1]. The surface of Vesta displays the greatest diversity in terms of geology and mineralogy of all...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), VESTA ASTEROID, BRIGHTNESS, FRAMING CAMERAS, INFRARED...
The Dawn Framing Camera (FC) collected images of the surface of Vesta at a pixel scale of ~70 m in the High Altitude Mapping Orbit (HAMO) phase through its clear and seven color filters spanning from 430 nm to 980 nm. The surface of Vesta displays a large diversity in its brightness and colors, evidently related to the diverse geology [1] and mineralogy [2]. Here we report a detailed investigation of the visible colors and photometric properties of the apparently bright materials on Vesta in...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), VESTA ASTEROID, FRAMING CAMERAS, BRIGHTNESS, MINERALOGY,...
The Triple F (Fresh From the Fridge) mission, a Comet Nucleus Sample Return, has been proposed to ESA's Cosmic Vision program. A sample return from a comet enables us to reach the ultimate goal of cometary research. Since comets are the least processed bodies in the solar system, the proposal goes far beyond cometary science topics (like the explanation of cometary activity) and delivers invaluable information about the formation of the solar system and the interstellar molecular cloud from...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), COMET NUCLEI, SAMPLE RETURN MISSIONS, SOLAR SYSTEM EVOLUTION,...
The objective of the Dawn topography investigation is to derive the detailed shapes of 4 Vesta and 1 Ceres in order to create orthorectified image mosaics for geologic interpretation, as well as to study the asteroids' landforms, interior structure, and the processes that have modified their surfaces over geologic time. In this paper we describe our approaches for producing shape models, plans for acquiring the needed image data for Vesta, and the results of a numerical simulation of the Vesta...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), VESTA ASTEROID, TOPOGRAPHY, CERES ASTEROID, GEOMORPHOLOGY,...
