Collecting cometary dust particles on metal blacks with the COSIMA instrument onboard ROSETTA

• Published in: Planetary and Space Science
• Main Authors: Hornung, K., Kissel, J., Fischer, H., Mellado, E.M., Kulikov, O., Hilchenbach, M., Kruger, H., Engrand, C., Langevin, Y., Rossi, M., Krueger, F.R.
• Other Authors: Centre de Spectrométrie Nucléaire et de Spectrométrie de Masse (CSNSM), Université Paris-Sud - Paris 11 (UP11)-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut d'astrophysique spatiale (IAS), Université Paris-Sud - Paris 11 (UP11)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National d’Études Spatiales Paris (CNES)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2014
• Subjects: ANTARCTIC SNOW; MICROMETEORITES; EVOLUTION; Cometary dust; Metal blacks; Collection efficiency; Rosetta mission; [PHYS]Physics [physics]; [PHYS.ASTR.EP]Physics [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Earth and Planetary Astrophysics [astro-ph.EP]; Antarctic; Antarc*
• Online Access: https://hal.in2p3.fr/in2p3-01101328; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pss.2014.08.011

International audience After a brief review of the instrument development and materials selection for collecting cometary dust in the vicinity of comet 67/P Churyumov-Gerasimenko we focus on laboratory verification for the capability of metal black targets to decelerate and capture dust particles (velocities in the order of 100 m/s; sizes of some 10 mu m). The results indicate that particles between 10 and 100 mu m size can be collected with high probability. Two basic mechanisms of energy dissipation upon impact could be identified: By internal friction within a highly structured dust and within the black's nanostructure. In addition to the actual ROSETTA mission the data presented here might have a more general relevance for future, similar in-situ investigations. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.