The Results of ISSI Team #547: Understanding the Activity of Comets Through 67P's Dynamics

Understanding cometary activity gives us an insight into the materials properties, and therefore formation and evolution processes of these relatively pristine protoplanetary objects. We will present the results of an International Space Science Institute project to investigate the phenomenon through the effects of the outgassing activity on the orbit and spin-state of comet 67P/Churymov-Gerasimenko, e.g. its non-gravitational dynamics. This International Team gathered experts in orbital dynamics and trajectory reconstruction together with thermophysical modellers and comet observationalists, in order to compare the available extractions of 67P’s non-gravitational acceleration (NGA) from its trajectory. The team then fitted a combination of the NGA, the non-gravitational torque (NGT), and the total water-outgassing rate with a thermophysical activity model. The results of this model will be presented. In particular, it was found that: non-gravitational forces and torques are driven by water sublimation from the nucleus; thermal inertia and self-heating have only minor effects; spatially uniform activity cannot explain 67P's non-gravitational dynamics; spatially uniform momentum transfer cannot explain 67P's non-gravitational dynamics; and different terrain types have different instantaneous responses to insolation. The implications of these findings for the modelling of cometary material and the variety of surface types seen on 67P will be discussed.