Vulcano Workshop 2010

Frontier Objects in Astrophysics and Particle Physics

Vulcano (Italy) 24-29 May 2010


http://www.lnf.infn.it/conference/vulc2010/

INTEGRAL IBIS

ESA's INTErnational Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory is the most sensitive gamma-ray observatory ever launched.

INTEGRAL is an ESA mission in cooperation with Russia and the United States.

ROSETTA VIRTIS

VIRTIS is an imaging spectrometer onboard of the Rosetta spacecraft. VIRTIS was being built by INAF, Galileo Avionica, DLR and Observatorie de Paris.

It combines three data channels in one compact instrument. Two of them are devoted to spectral mapping (Mapper optical subsystem: -M), the third channel is devoted to spectroscopy (High resolution optical subsystem:-H).

Venus Express Virtis

VIRTIS (Visible and Infrared Thermal Imaging Spectrometer) is a complex instrument initially devoted to the remote sensing study of comet Wirtanen on the Rosetta mission, at wavelengths between 0.3 and 5 mm.

The focal planes, with state of the art CCD and infrared detectors achieve high sensitivity for low emissivity sources. Due to the high flexibility of operational modes of VIRTIS, these performances are also ideally adapted for the study of Venus atmosphere, both on night and day side.

AGILE

AGILE is a space Scientific Mission devoted to gamma-ray astrophysics supported by the Italian Space Agency (ASI), with scientific participation of the Italian Institute of Astrophysics (INAF) and the Italian Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN).

AMIE - SMART1

SMART-1 is the first of ESA's Small Missions for Advanced Research in Technology thought with the purpouse of testing new technologies that will eventually be used on bigger projects.

Among SMART-1 on-board instruments there is the AMIE camera. AMIE (Advanced Moon micro-Imager Experiment) is an ultracompact electronic camera that will survey the terrain using visible and near-infrared light.

Dawn Mission VIR Instrument

Dawn is a NASA mission that will be launched in 2006. 

The VIR Spectrometer (Visual and Infrared Spectrometer) is an instrument by the italian that will fly on it. Dawn will be launched to study two asteroids, Vesta and Ceres.

GRI Gamma Ray Imager

The Gamma-Ray Imager is an initiative of the European Gamma-Ray Community aiming in the definition of the next European Gamma-Ray mission within ESA's Cosmic Vision 2015-2025 program.

Edge
Estremo/WFXRT
Xenia

Edge is a space mission under study aimed to address fundamental questions on the evolution of the Universe from the dark era to the present age and its violent manifestations of phenomena in extreme conditions.

Simbio-SYS on BepiColombo, a Mission to Mercury

BepiColombo is the planetary cornerstone mission of the European Space Agency to the planet Mercury. It is composed of a magnetospheric orbiter (MMO, provided by Jaxa) and a Planetary orbiter (MPO). It carries onboard the Italian led instrument Simbio-SYS (Spectrometer and IMagers for MPO BepiColombo Integrated Observatory SYStem), which is an integrated package for the imaging and spectroscopic investigation of the Hermean surface. It incorporates capabilities to perform medium space resolution global mapping in stereo and color imaging using two pan-chromatic and 3 broad-band filters, respectively as well as high space resolution imaging in a pan-chromatic and 3 broad-band filters and imaging spectroscopy in the spectral range 400 ÷2000 nm.

The science goals of SIMBIO-SYS are to examine the surface geology (stratigraphy, geomorphology), volcanism (lava plain emplacement, volcanoes identification), global tectonics (structural geology, mechanical properties of lithosphere), surface age (crater population and morphometry, degradation processes), surface composition (maturity and crustal differentiation, weathering, rock forming minerals abundance determination), and geophysics (libration measurements, internal planet dynamics) of Mercury.