Kathleen Mandt, PhD
@mommascientist.bsky.social
Planetary scientist and Yorkie Mom. Exploring the solar system. Opinions are my own.
Robotic space science missions are also an adventure and are sometimes scary. The spacecraft used star trackers to check its pointing. When the comet was really active we flew too close. Ice-covered dust confused the spacecraft and made it shut down. We had to replan! #PlanetaryScience 🪐🧪🔭 🧵15/x
June 23, 2025 at 3:48 PM
Robotic space science missions are also an adventure and are sometimes scary. The spacecraft used star trackers to check its pointing. When the comet was really active we flew too close. Ice-covered dust confused the spacecraft and made it shut down. We had to replan! #PlanetaryScience 🪐🧪🔭 🧵15/x
Robotic space science missions are amazing!!! The second surprise Rosetta provided was to show that the activity is complicated. We expected to see gas sublimating from the surface lifting dust to make a coma but also found jets bursting out of the surface #PlanetaryScience #Astrobiology 🪐🧪🔭🦆 🧵14/x
June 23, 2025 at 3:43 PM
Robotic space science missions are amazing!!! The second surprise Rosetta provided was to show that the activity is complicated. We expected to see gas sublimating from the surface lifting dust to make a coma but also found jets bursting out of the surface #PlanetaryScience #Astrobiology 🪐🧪🔭🦆 🧵14/x
The first big surprise was what the comet actually looked like #PlanetaryScience #Astrobiology 🪐🧪🔭🦆 🧵13/x
June 23, 2025 at 3:40 PM
The first big surprise was what the comet actually looked like #PlanetaryScience #Astrobiology 🪐🧪🔭🦆 🧵13/x
Although they take a long time to get there, robotic space missions can go where humans aren't able to go and make surprising discoveries. Rosetta made many discoveries! Below is the image of what we expected to see based on #Hubble images of the comet #PlanetaryScience #Astrobiology 🪐🧪🔭 🧵12/x
June 23, 2025 at 3:38 PM
Although they take a long time to get there, robotic space missions can go where humans aren't able to go and make surprising discoveries. Rosetta made many discoveries! Below is the image of what we expected to see based on #Hubble images of the comet #PlanetaryScience #Astrobiology 🪐🧪🔭 🧵12/x
International cooperation is vital for space exploration. #Rosetta was a European-led mission that #NASA contributed three instruments to and provided components to the ROSINA instrument that would measure D/H in water. #PlanetaryScience #Astrobiology 🪐🧪🔭 🧵10/x
June 23, 2025 at 3:32 PM
International cooperation is vital for space exploration. #Rosetta was a European-led mission that #NASA contributed three instruments to and provided components to the ROSINA instrument that would measure D/H in water. #PlanetaryScience #Astrobiology 🪐🧪🔭 🧵10/x
Most of Earth's water came from the asteroids and comets that impacted Earth. This happened after the giant planets formed and then moved around to new locations. Giant planet migration caused leftover "debris" to scatter inward and hit the Earth. #PlanetaryScience #Astrobiology 🪐🧪🔭 🧵8/x
June 23, 2025 at 3:25 PM
Most of Earth's water came from the asteroids and comets that impacted Earth. This happened after the giant planets formed and then moved around to new locations. Giant planet migration caused leftover "debris" to scatter inward and hit the Earth. #PlanetaryScience #Astrobiology 🪐🧪🔭 🧵8/x
The D/H in Earth's water is the result of a combination of three sources: (1) water adsorbed by rocks when Earth formed inside the ice line, (2) water from asteroids and and (3) comets that impacted Earth. #PlanetaryScience #Astrobiology 🪐🧪🔭 🧵7/x
June 23, 2025 at 3:23 PM
The D/H in Earth's water is the result of a combination of three sources: (1) water adsorbed by rocks when Earth formed inside the ice line, (2) water from asteroids and and (3) comets that impacted Earth. #PlanetaryScience #Astrobiology 🪐🧪🔭 🧵7/x
We know that the temperature in the Protosolar Nebula became colder with increasing distance from the Sun. Inside of the water ice line, water was a vapor but formed solid ice outside of this line. Much farther out was a carbon monoxide (CO) ice line #PlanetaryScience #Astrobiology 🪐🧪🔭 🧵5/x
June 23, 2025 at 3:09 PM
We know that the temperature in the Protosolar Nebula became colder with increasing distance from the Sun. Inside of the water ice line, water was a vapor but formed solid ice outside of this line. Much farther out was a carbon monoxide (CO) ice line #PlanetaryScience #Astrobiology 🪐🧪🔭 🧵5/x
Of course we can't go back in time to when the solar system formed or watch Earth form in our planet-forming disk, the Protosolar Nebula. Instead we use telescopes to look at other disks and take measurements from "debris" left over when our planets formed #PlanetaryScience #Astrobiology 🪐🧪🔭 🧵4/x
June 23, 2025 at 3:05 PM
Of course we can't go back in time to when the solar system formed or watch Earth form in our planet-forming disk, the Protosolar Nebula. Instead we use telescopes to look at other disks and take measurements from "debris" left over when our planets formed #PlanetaryScience #Astrobiology 🪐🧪🔭 🧵4/x
After visiting #OceanWorlds in the outer solar system, #Mars, and #Venus, I got to bring everyone home to #Earth. Earth is very special because it's the only place, after decades of searching, where we know #life exists. We have life thanks to our #Oceans. #PlanetaryScience #Astrobiology 🪐🧪🔭
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June 23, 2025 at 2:58 PM
After visiting #OceanWorlds in the outer solar system, #Mars, and #Venus, I got to bring everyone home to #Earth. Earth is very special because it's the only place, after decades of searching, where we know #life exists. We have life thanks to our #Oceans. #PlanetaryScience #Astrobiology 🪐🧪🔭
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This is what our neighbor’s dog Sammie does every time he sees #BeauTheYorkie. I didn’t catch it here, but he has the best side eye for energetic young puppies. #DogsOfBlusky
January 29, 2025 at 1:00 PM
This is what our neighbor’s dog Sammie does every time he sees #BeauTheYorkie. I didn’t catch it here, but he has the best side eye for energetic young puppies. #DogsOfBlusky
#BeauTheYorkie is having a wonderful time over the Holidays with his “nephew” (my son’s puppy) Kayce. He’s taught Kayce about “Dog TV” and now they both love watching the world through the front window.
December 29, 2024 at 10:24 PM
#BeauTheYorkie is having a wonderful time over the Holidays with his “nephew” (my son’s puppy) Kayce. He’s taught Kayce about “Dog TV” and now they both love watching the world through the front window.
#AGU24 has been busy! Just chaired the #Titan🪐 session with Kendra and Conor this morning. 🔭🧪 #PlanetaryScience
December 12, 2024 at 7:54 PM
#AGU24 has been busy! Just chaired the #Titan🪐 session with Kendra and Conor this morning. 🔭🧪 #PlanetaryScience
November 28, 2024 at 1:07 AM
I feel this so much ❤️
#BeauTheYorkie 🐶
#BeauTheYorkie 🐶
November 22, 2024 at 11:43 PM
I feel this so much ❤️
#BeauTheYorkie 🐶
#BeauTheYorkie 🐶
Now it makes sense! We can consider Jupiter Family Comets as a potential source for Earth's water. We also understand why there isn't much N2 or CO in 67P.A big thank you to my co-authors Jake Lustig-Yaeger, Adrienn Luspay-Kuti, Olivier Mousis, Stephen Fuselier, Dennis Bodewits & others 🔭🧪🧵end
November 15, 2024 at 8:37 PM
Now it makes sense! We can consider Jupiter Family Comets as a potential source for Earth's water. We also understand why there isn't much N2 or CO in 67P.A big thank you to my co-authors Jake Lustig-Yaeger, Adrienn Luspay-Kuti, Olivier Mousis, Stephen Fuselier, Dennis Bodewits & others 🔭🧪🧵end
If the spacecraft moved far enough away from the comet, there wasn’t any more ice on the dust and we could isolate the gas coming from the comet itself. Our results was a lower D/H, more like what we expected and closer to Earth's water!🔭🧪🧵12/n
November 15, 2024 at 8:32 PM
If the spacecraft moved far enough away from the comet, there wasn’t any more ice on the dust and we could isolate the gas coming from the comet itself. Our results was a lower D/H, more like what we expected and closer to Earth's water!🔭🧪🧵12/n
Laboratory studies had discovered that HDO sticks to dust easily making the D/H of ice on dust much higher than the ice in the experiments. We made a simple model to explain how extended sources could make D/H higher near the spacecraft. 🧪🔭🧵11/n
November 15, 2024 at 8:29 PM
Laboratory studies had discovered that HDO sticks to dust easily making the D/H of ice on dust much higher than the ice in the experiments. We made a simple model to explain how extended sources could make D/H higher near the spacecraft. 🧪🔭🧵11/n
Other researchers discovered that 67P has a seasonal dust cycle. When the comet is at perihelion, a bunch of water comes out of the southern hemisphere which is in summer. This lifts a lot of icy dust from the nucleus into the coma which is heated and becomes an “extended source” of water.🧪🔭🧵9/n
November 15, 2024 at 8:20 PM
Other researchers discovered that 67P has a seasonal dust cycle. When the comet is at perihelion, a bunch of water comes out of the southern hemisphere which is in summer. This lifts a lot of icy dust from the nucleus into the coma which is heated and becomes an “extended source” of water.🧪🔭🧵9/n
Our results showed a huge amount of variability over the mission! We started to look at what caused this variability and found an interesting relationship with the amount of dust near the spacecraft and with the age of the dust. 🧪🔭🧵8/n
November 15, 2024 at 8:17 PM
Our results showed a huge amount of variability over the mission! We started to look at what caused this variability and found an interesting relationship with the amount of dust near the spacecraft and with the age of the dust. 🧪🔭🧵8/n
DFMS was a super powerful mass spectrometer. It could almost isolate water with deuterium (HDO) from other species that have the same mass. But, figuring out how much HDO was in each measurement was really hard. Most people could only evaluate a few measurements at a time by hand! 🔭🧪🧵6/n
November 15, 2024 at 8:09 PM
DFMS was a super powerful mass spectrometer. It could almost isolate water with deuterium (HDO) from other species that have the same mass. But, figuring out how much HDO was in each measurement was really hard. Most people could only evaluate a few measurements at a time by hand! 🔭🧪🧵6/n
Comets are made up of dust and water ice. One of the most valuable measurements we make in a comet is the amount of deuterium (D) compared to hydrogen (H) in the water, D/H. The D/H in water tells us at what temperature ice formed, and from that how far a comet formed from the Sun. 🔭🧪🧵4/n
November 15, 2024 at 7:58 PM
Comets are made up of dust and water ice. One of the most valuable measurements we make in a comet is the amount of deuterium (D) compared to hydrogen (H) in the water, D/H. The D/H in water tells us at what temperature ice formed, and from that how far a comet formed from the Sun. 🔭🧪🧵4/n
One of the instruments on Rosetta was a mass spectrometer – ROSINA DFMS. This mass spectrometer “tasted” a sample of gas in the coma of 67P and figured out what was in the gas based on the mass of each molecule. 🧪🔭🧵3/n
www.space.unibe.ch/research/res...
www.space.unibe.ch/research/res...
November 15, 2024 at 7:51 PM
One of the instruments on Rosetta was a mass spectrometer – ROSINA DFMS. This mass spectrometer “tasted” a sample of gas in the coma of 67P and figured out what was in the gas based on the mass of each molecule. 🧪🔭🧵3/n
www.space.unibe.ch/research/res...
www.space.unibe.ch/research/res...
On a more personal note, it’s been a rough year. My dad passed away in April. #BeauTheYorkie has been a ray of sunshine during this time. I’ve also found comfort in nature and the stages of grief playlists #TaylorSwift created for us fans. The “Depression” list has been playing a lot this week.
November 9, 2024 at 5:16 PM
On a more personal note, it’s been a rough year. My dad passed away in April. #BeauTheYorkie has been a ray of sunshine during this time. I’ve also found comfort in nature and the stages of grief playlists #TaylorSwift created for us fans. The “Depression” list has been playing a lot this week.
Belated #Halloween post. #BeauTheYorkie enjoyed meeting new kids from our neighborhood.
November 2, 2024 at 9:47 PM
Belated #Halloween post. #BeauTheYorkie enjoyed meeting new kids from our neighborhood.