ROSETTA-ORBITER 67P: Radio Science Gravity Measurements Pre-Landing

NASA's Rosetta orbiter collected this Radio Science data set during the PRELANDING phase from 2014-01 21 to 2014-11-18. It provides Global Gravity measurements at comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko, specifically covering a 3-hour observation window on 2014-09-13. The data was last updated on the datagov platform in March 2026.

Use Cases

• Model the internal mass distribution of comet 67P based on the global gravity measurements.
• Analyze temporal changes in the comet's gravity field during the pre-landing observation phase.
• Validate and refine radio science instrumentation and data processing methods for deep space missions.
• Study the relationship between a comet's gravity field and its observed surface features.

Strengths

• Data originates from NASA's authoritative Rosetta mission.
• Covers a specific 3-hour high-resolution observation window on 2014-09-13.
• Focuses on the scientifically significant pre-landing phase of the comet encounter.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count and file format are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Collected via Radio Science instrumentation on the Rosetta orbiter.

Time Range

2014-01-21 to 2014-11-18 (PRELANDING phase), with detailed measurements from 2014-09-13T22:12:03.000 to 2014-09-14T01:25:11.000.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 19:50:43.244746; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko.