Past, present and future KOSI comet simulation experiments

Abstract

Laboratory experiments for the study of cometary processes are conducted by the Kometensimulation (KOSI) project in the DLR (Deutsche Forschungsanstalt fur Luft- und Raumfahrt) space simulation chamber. The following processes have been studied in past experiments : energy balance of insolated ice-dust mixtures, structural and compositional modifications of the sample, emission of gases, ice and dust particles. Two dedicated KOSI experiments were conducted in late 1991. One experiment addressed the heat transport within, the sublimation of and the gas emission from a pure porous water ice sample during irradiation. The second experiment studied the formation and destruction of a dust mantle on top of a ice-dust mixture at varying insolation intensities. Other proposed KOSI experiments are mentioned. As a result of the KOSI experiments, cometary surface analogues can be defined and produced which allow development and verification tests of the ROSETTA (Comet Sample Return Mission of the ESA) anchor and drilling devices under realistic environmental conditions