ROSETTA-ORBITER VIRTIS 2: Prelanding Telemetry Data for Comet 67P

From January 20, 2014, to May 7, 2014, this dataset contains digital numbers from the VIRTIS instrument telemetry packages aboard the Rosetta spacecraft during its prelanding commissioning phase near comet 67P. The data is version 2.0, produced by a fixed EGSE software to correct an issue in the prior version that produced incomplete products. It was released by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Use Cases

• Calibrate the VIRTIS instrument based on the prelanding commissioning phase telemetry data.
• Analyze the spectral properties of comet 67P's nucleus and coma based on the digital numbers from the instrument.
• Validate spacecraft instrument performance during the approach phase based on the fixed software version.
• Study temporal changes in comet activity during the 2014 observation window.

Strengths

• Data covers a defined prelanding commissioning phase from 2014-01-20 to 2014-05 07.
• Version 2.0 corrects a known software issue from the prior release that produced incomplete products.
• Originates from the authoritative Rosetta mission and NASA.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count and file size 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

Telemetry packages from the VIRTIS instrument aboard the Rosetta spacecraft.

Time Range

2014-01-20 to 2014-05-07

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 15:12:14.182849; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Vicinity of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko