The Cometary Secondary Ion Mass Analyzer (COSIMA) on Rosetta is designed to trap dust particles and analyze them with a mass spectrometer. The primary scientific objectives are to: 1) determine the elemental and isotopic composition of key elements in solid cometary particles and the chemical states of the particles; 2) characterize the variation of the chemical and isotopic composition between individual particles; 3) investigate the variability of the composition of different comets by comparing to the results obtained from comet Halley; 4) look for the presence of an organic component that is not associated with a rocky phase; and 4) examine the molecular composition of the organic and inorganic phase of the solid cometary particles.
urn:nasa:pds:context:instrument:cosima.ro
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