The Microwave Instrument for the Rosetta Orbiter (MIRO)

Rosetta's journey with comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko - the comet seen in microwave light

MIRO provides very highly resolved spectra of 3 water isotopologues, carbon monoxide, ammonia and methanol. MIRO’s capability to resolve these spectral lines enables it to derive their number density, outgassing velocity and the temperature of the gas.

Possible PhD projects include participation in the improvement of data analysis tools (radiative transfer and inversion calculations, retrieval of 3-d structures), in topics like gas-dust interaction, outgassing processes, evolution of activity, relation between jet formation and topography and analysis and interpretation of the water isotopic composition.