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The Rosetta Plasma Consortium (RPC) will make in-situ measurements of the plasma environment of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. The consortium will provide the complementary data sets necessary for an understanding of the plasma processes in the inner coma, and the structure and evolution of the coma with the increasing cometary activity. Five sensors have been selected to achieve this: the Ion and Electron Sensor (IES), the Ion Composition Analyser (ICA), the Langmuir Probe (LAP), the Mutual Impedance Probe (MIP) and the Magnetometer (MAG). The sensors interface to the spacecraft through the Plasma Interface Unit (PIU). The consortium approach allows for scientific, technical and operational coordination, and makes optimum use of the available mass and power resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The design, construction, and operating characteristics of SIPPI, a 2-mA, 3-keV krypton ion source, are described. This instrument will be part of a remote chemical analysis experiment of the surface of the Martian moon, Phobos. The composition of the surface will be evaluated at a distance of about 50 m by the mass analysis of ions ejected by the primary ion beam delivered by SIPPI. This long distance secondary ion mass spectrometry experiment is called DION and will be part of the Soviet space mission PHOBOS. The flight over Phobos is planned for the beginning of 1989. The ion source is based on a surface-wave-produced plasma from which the ions are extracted by means of a grid system. The ion beam is space-charge neutralized by the electrons emitted by heated tungsten filaments. SIPPI is composed of the ion source itself, its gas feed circuit, the power supplies for the discharge, the extraction system and neutralizing filaments, and the control and telemetry electronics. The dimensions of SIPPI are 45×32×13 cm; its mass is 10.7 kg. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]