Title: The Rosetta mission orbiter Science overview the comet phase,
Abstract: The International Rosetta Mission was launched in 2004 and consists of the
orbiter spacecraft Rosetta and the lander Philae. The aim of the mission is to
map the comet 67P Churyumov Gerasimenko by remote sensing, to examine its
environment insitu and its evolution in the inner solar system.Rosetta was the
first spacecraft to rendezvous and orbit a comet, accompanying it as it passes
through the inner solar system, and to deploy a lander, Philae and perform in
situ science on the comet surface. The primary goals of the mission were to:
characterize the comets nucleus; examine the chemical, mineralogical and
isotopic composition of volatiles and refractories; examine the physical
properties and interrelation of volatiles and refractories in a cometary
nucleus; study the development of cometary activity and the processes in the
surface layer of the nucleus and in the coma; detail the origin of comets, the
relationship between cometary and interstellar material and the implications
for the origin of the solar system; characterize asteroids, 2867 Steins and 21
Lutetia. This paper presents a summary of mission operations and science,
focusing on the Rosetta orbiter component of the mission during its comet
phase, from early 2014 up to September 2016.