Philae sole of foot +X with CASSE accelerometer during integration
ESA's Rosetta mission is on its way to its target comet, 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko since 2004. The Comet Lander, Philae, built under DLR lead, is operated from the DLR Lander Contol Center (LCC) in Cologne.
CASSE: Time series (spinning-up)
During several flight events in 2009 and 2010 the Lander team has been asked by ESA to help with the characterisation of a Rosetta reaction wheel, which was relubricated in flight. The piezoelectric CASSE (Comet Acoustic Surface Sounding Experiment) sensors (integrated in the Lander's "feet soles") could listen to the microvibrations caused by the reaction wheels and transmitted via the structure.
Scientists at MUSC have translated these (acceleration) curves into audiofiles: at the real sampling frequency of 1220 Hz you can hear a sonorous hum, while in the 7-times accelerated playback of the audiofiles the changes in rotation speed are well audible.
CASSE: Time series (spinning-down)