Spectrophotometric characterization of the Philae landing site and surroundings with the ROSETTA/OSIRIS cameras

TL;DR

This study provides a detailed spectrophotometric analysis of the Philae landing site Abydos on comet 67P, revealing its surface properties, seasonal changes, and localized volatile exposures using extensive OSIRIS imaging data.

Contribution

It offers the first comprehensive spectrophotometric characterization of Abydos, including surface composition, morphology, and activity, based on over 1000 high-resolution images from Rosetta/OSIRIS.

Findings

Abydos is as dark and spectrally red as the overall comet nucleus.

Seasonal variations and phase reddening are observed at Abydos.

Localized water ice exposures indicate recent volatile activity.

Abstract

We investigate Abydos, the final landing site of the Philae lander after its eventful landing from the Rosetta spacecraft on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko on 12 November 2014. Over 1000 OSIRIS level 3B images were analysed, which cover the August 2014 to September 2016 timeframe, with spatial resolution ranging from 7.6 m/px to approximately 0.06 m/px. We found that the Abydos site is as dark as the global 67P nucleus and spectrally red, with an average albedo of 6.5% at 649 nm and a spectral slope value of about 17%/(100 nm) at 50$^\circ$ phase angle. Similar to the whole nucleus, the Abydos site also shows phase reddening but with lower coefficients than other regions of the comet which may imply a thinner cover of microscopically rough regolith compared to other areas. Seasonal variations, as already noticed for the whole nucleus, were also observed. We identified some potential morphological changes near the landing site implying a total mass loss of 4.7-7.0$\times$10$^5$ kg. Small spots ranging from 0.1 m$^2$ to 27 m$^2$ were observed close to Abydos before and after perihelion. Their estimated water ice abundance reaches 30-40% locally, indicating fresh exposures of volatiles. Their lifetime ranges from a few hours up to three months for two pre-perihelion spots. The Abydos surroundings showed low level of cometary activity compared to other regions of the nucleus. Only a few jets are reported originating nearby Abydos, including a bright outburst that lasted for about one hour.