ROLIS (Rosetta Lander Imaging System) is one of the two imaging systems carried by the Rosetta’s Lander Philae. Consisting of a miniaturized CCD camera, ROLIS will operate as a descent imager, acquiring imagery of the landing site on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko with increasing spatial resolution. After touchdown ROLIS will focus at an object distance of 30 cm, taking pictures of the comet’s surface below the Lander. Multispectral imaging is achieved through an illumination device consisting of four arrays of monochromatic light emitting diodes working in the 470, 530, 640 and 870 nm spectral bands. The drill sample sites, as well as the Alpha X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) target locations will be imaged to provide context for the measurements performed by the in situ analyzers. After the drilling operation, the borehole will be inspected to study its morphology and to search for signs of stratification. Taking advantage of the Lander’s rotation capability, stereo image pairs will be acquired, which will facilitate the mapping and identification of surface structures.
The Asteroids and Comets section of the Institute of Planetary Research is represented in the ROLIS experiment through the Principal Investigator, Stefano Mottola. ROLIS has been designed and built in the Institute of Planetary Research-Section for Planetary Sensor Systems.