The only Russian member of the mission “Rosetta” told “Gazeta.ru” why the comet Churyumov – Gerasimenko no magnetic field, how many times have jumped on her landing probe and whether it is important for agriculture.
On Tuesday, scientists announced that the comet Churyumov – Gerasimenko magnetic field is found. Why is it so, “Times” found in co- Article in Science , the only Russian developer mission personnel IKI Anatoly Remizov.
– Anatoly Petrovich why scientists so important to know whether comets own magnetic field?
– It has long been proved that comets were born at the same time our solar system. And it is believed that they are the same as small as were at birth, and retained their substance and properties that were billions of years ago. Of course, agriculture is not affected, but the study of the composition and the magnetic field is very important for the understanding of our solar system.
Because comets were the bodies with which people realized that the sun radiates solar wind, when studying the tails of comets.
Their tails – is ionized particles that are blown away by the solar wind.
– What before we knew about the magnetic fields of comets?
– There is a magnetic field which is frozen in the solar wind and move with it. Study the same magnetic field comet is very difficult, because it is inversely proportional to the cube of the distance to it, and it is best to explore it during the flight of the spacecraft. All my life I was engaged in the development of plasma devices and, in particular, in 1986 he took part in the Soviet project “Vega” for the study of the two probes of Halley’s Comet. In the project we are studying the plasma environment of the comet. When approaching comet to the sun evaporates water from it more and more, and by the action of ultraviolet solar radiation having totally different ions. When we flew to the comet, the rate of convergence of the device it was 79 km / s – more than twice the speed of the Earth around the sun. We know what it consists of a comet, and that it has a small intrinsic magnetic field.
In general, the intrinsic magnetic field at small bodies and comets – something suspicious.
Because Earth’s magnetic field due to the magnetic dynamo in the bowels. In small bodies do not, therefore, can only be a residual magnetic field.
– How is it that only one of the instruments of the mission “Rosetta” was Russian?
– The device was not Russian, Russian was me, one of his developers. This European project Russia did not participate, I was there by accident. Back in 1997, I went to Germany for the project “Mars-96″ Russian project to explore Mars, which invited foreigners. For its plasma experiment, I was the technical performer. I was invited to process data, but the launch was unsuccessful, and the ship crashed into the ocean. But I was still invited to Germany, at the Institute of study of the solar system the Max Planck Society, I was asked to do a plasma device for “Rosetta”.
Device ROMAP weighs 120 grams and includes five sensors. This is a three-axis magnetometer, three ion spectrometer and one electron spectrometer. I personally own to develop, configure and calibrate these spectrometers and engaged in the analysis of their data. Measured in one place and the magnetic field and the plasma was pretty adventurous as these devices interfere with each other. But we made a tool, he flew to the comet and ten years, we have been waiting for. November 12 at the descent vehicle “Fila” he began the descent to the comet,
because of the failure of harpoons and pressure probe engine jumped 80 meters, again fell, jumped 120 meters and finally sat down.
– How do scientists know how many times and how high he jumped, if the probe has not been seen?
– We analyzed the ambient magnetic field. Going down the machine we have seen a change in the magnetic field. And when the probe was jumping, he changed the orientation, and we have seen this change, watching the magnetic field strength, and compared with the orientation of the magnetic field measured orbiter.
In the solar wind has a weak magnetic field, and we realized that measured the same magnetic field – the field of the solar wind – only two different devices.
Only on the third landing “Fila” calmed down, but soon discharged, because it was in the shade and it is not enough light. Prior to discharge the batteries he passed on information about three hours.
– Once you have measured the magnetic field of the wind, then the magnetic field there is a comet?
– The error of our device was 2 nanoteslas. We concluded that the comet Churyumov – Gerasimenko, which belongs to the family of Jupiter, there is no intrinsic magnetic field. This does not mean that others do not, even though it’s probably true. 
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