Stephan Ulamec ; Fred Goesmann ; Uwe Meierhenrich - Philae Landing on Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko – Planned Chirality Measurements and Ideas for the Future

jimis:4503 - Journal of Interdisciplinary Methodologies and Issues in Sciences, November 30, 2018, Vol. 4 - Asymmetry - https://doi.org/10.18713/JIMIS-230718-4-2
Philae Landing on Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko – Planned Chirality Measurements and Ideas for the FutureArticle

Authors: Stephan Ulamec ; Fred Goesmann ; Uwe Meierhenrich

    Philae is a comet Lander, part of the ESA Rosetta Mission to comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. After a ten year cruise through the solar system it successfully landed on the nucleus of the comet on November 12, 2014. Philae's payload consists of ten scientific instruments, including COSAC, an evolved gas analyser with the capability to differentiate chiral molecules. After the touchdown of Philae, the anchoring harpoons, which were expected to fix the lander to ground, did not work, Philae bounced in the low gravity environment, and only came to rest after a 2 hours " hop " in an unforeseen area on the comet surface. Although, the scientific instruments, including cameras, mass spectrometers (including the one of COSAC), a magnetometer and a radar instrument could be operated, and fascinating, unprecedented scientific results were obtained, it was not possible to collect a sample of the surface material and no gas chromatography measurement could be performed. Thus, the measurement of the chirality of molecules on comets is still to be done in the future. The paper gives an overview of the Philae mission and the attempts to measure chiral molecules with COSAC, and suggests future measurements with returned samples from the primitive asteroids (162173) Ryugu and (101955) Bennu with the spacecraft Hayabusa 2 (JAXA) and OSIRIS-REx (NASA), respectively. Both will reach their targets in 2018.


    Volume: Vol. 4 - Asymmetry
    Section: Outside predefined scientific fields
    Published on: November 30, 2018
    Accepted on: July 27, 2018
    Submitted on: May 15, 2018
    Keywords: Chirality,COSAC,Philae,Comets,Rosetta, [ SDU ] Sciences of the Universe [physics], [ SDU.OTHER ] Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Other

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