Дата: 08 февраля 1998 (1998-02-08)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: New Insights Into Ancient Angkor By NASA Radar To Be Subject Of Press
Subject: New Insights Into Ancient Angkor By NASA Radar To Be Subject Of Press
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Douglas Isbell
Headquarters, Washington, DC February 5, 1998
(Phone: 202/358-1753)
Mary Hardin
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA
(Phone: 818/354-5011)
NOTE TO EDITORS: N98-11
NEW INSIGHTS INTO ANCIENT ANGKOR BY NASA RADAR
TO BE SUBJECT OF PRESS BRIEFING
Radar imagery that may revolutionize archaeological
understanding of the ancient Angkor complex of temples in
northern Cambodia will be the subject of a NASA press briefing
at 1 p.m. EST on Thursday, Feb. 12.
The briefing will originate from NASA's Jet Propulsion
Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, CA. The briefing, including
supporting video material, will be broadcast live on NASA
Television.
Angkor is a vast complex of some 1,000 temples covering
about 100 square miles of northern Cambodia, built between the
8th and 13th centuries AD. Today, much of Angkor is
inaccessible or hidden beneath a dense forest canopy. The
latest research findings were made possible by the Airborne
Synthetic Aperture Radar (AIRSAR) developed by JPL, an Earth
science instrument that can reveal features hidden from visual
systems.
Participants in the briefing will include:
- Dr. Elizabeth Moore, Head of the Art & Archaeology
Department at the School of Oriental and African Studies,
University of London
- JPL radar scientist Dr. Anthony Freeman
NASA Television is available through GE-2, transponder 9C
at 85 degrees West longitude, vertical polarization, with a
frequency of 3880 Mhz, and audio at 6.8 Mhz. Journalists may
ask questions in the briefing remotely at participating NASA
field centers.
-end-
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=SANA=
Дата: 08 февраля 1998 (1998-02-08)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: Space Researchers Gain Insight Into Deadly Virus
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Michael Braukus
Headquarters, Washington, DC February 5, 1998
(Phone: 202/358-1979)
Steve Roy
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL
(Phone: 205/544-0034)
RELEASE: 98-22
SPACE RESEARCHERS GAIN INSIGHT INTO DEADLY VIRUS
NASA and industry biotechnology researchers have taken an
important step toward developing a treatment for a life-
threatening virus that causes pneumonia and severe upper
respiratory infection in infants and young children.
The infection, called Respiratory Syncytial Virus, attacks
the respiratory airways and lungs. According to the National
Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medicine in Washington, DC,
nearly four million children ages one to five are infected
every year in the United States by the virus. Approximately
100,000 of these children require hospitalization and 4,000 die
annually from the resulting infection. The virus is considered
by physicians to be the most serious infectious disease for
infants in the United States.
"Through NASA funded research in space and on the ground,
and the application of space technology, we have determined the
three-dimensional atomic structure of a potentially very important
therapeutic antibody to this virus," said Dr. Daniel Carter,
president of New Century Pharmaceuticals in Huntsville, AL.
Antibodies aid the individual's immune system by neutralizing
toxins, such as viruses, as they attempt to invade healthy cells.
Knowledge of the molecular structure of the antibody will
permit scientists to understand key interactions between the
antibody and virus, facilitating development of
treatments for the disease.
"Currently, there is no vaccine against the virus," said
Simon McKenzie, chief executive officer of Intracel Corp. in
Issaquah, WA, which developed and produces the antibody.
"Since this antibody neutralizes all known variants of the
virus, therapeutics developed from it should have a major
impact on lowering the mortality rate caused by the
disease. And knowing its structure will provide key insight
into our future development activities."
The illness most frequently begins with a fever, up to 101
degrees Fahrenheit, along with runny nose, cough and sometimes
wheezing and trouble breathing. When his six-week old daughter
caught the respiratory infection, Carter saw the effects of the
virus first-hand. "There was nothing the hospital could do for
her," he said. "We brought her home, watched as the infection
ran its course and hoped for the best," he said. His daughter
recovered.
Carter's research team used the viral antibody to grow
antibody crystals aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia in June and
July of 1997. In the weightless environment of space known as
microgravity, the antibody crystals grew larger and were of
better quality than those previously grown on Earth.
Using highly specialized X-ray equipment and computers,
scientists at New Century Pharmaceuticals located the key
positions of individual atoms in the crystal structure and
constructed a model of the antibody. Because of the perfection
and increased size of the space-grown crystals, the researchers
were able to precisely determine the atomic structure of the
antibody.
Dr. Arnauld Nicogossian, Associate Administrator of NASA's
Office of Life and Microgravity Sciences, Washington, DC, which
sponsored the joint research effort by government and industry,
said, "This concrete benefit to human health is invaluable in
demonstrating the importance of space-based research in solving
Earth-based medical problems, as well as the need to have a
permanently orbiting research facility. The International
Space Station, to begin assembly later this year, will be at
the forefront of new medical discoveries while it opens the
space frontier to exploration."
- end -
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=SANA=
Дата: 08 февраля 1998 (1998-02-08)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: Galileo - Countdown to Europa
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GALILEO - COUNTDOWN TO EUROPA
February 5, 1998
It is now 4 days and 22 hours to the Galileo spacecraft's next encounter
with Europa.
A special Countdown to Europa home page is now available on the Galileo
Home Page:
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/countdown/
Launched in October 1989, Galileo entered orbit around Jupiter in December
1995, and recently completed its 2 year orbital tour around the
solar system's largest planet. Galileo has now embarked on a two-year extended
mission, called Galileo Europa Mission (GEM). During GEM, Galileo will make
8 close flybys of Europa, four flybys of Callisto, and two close encounters
with Io provided the spacecraft is still alive.
The second encounter for GEM is scheduled for Europa on February 10, 1998 at
17:57 UT. With a diameter of 3,138 km, Europa is slighty
smaller than our own Moon and is the smoothest object in the solar system.
On Galileo's previous encounters with Europa, evidence of a possible ocean on
were found, including the discovery of ice vocalnoes (non active),
probable icebergs, and salt deposits on the surface. Galileo will continue
its attempt to find additional evidence of a liquid ocean underneath Europa's
icy crust and look for signs of active volcanism on the moon's young surface.
On the upcoming encounter, alileo will pass by Europa at a distance of
3,562 km, which is 57 times closer than Voyager's closest approach. Since
this encounter occurs during solar conjunction (when the Sun is between
the Earth and the spacecraft), only gravity field measurements will be made.
Highlights of the Countdown to Europa home page:
o A virtual flyby of Europa with computer-generated approach images
displayed at the top of the home page. The page was recently expanded to
included simulated Galileo views of Jupiter, Europa, Io, Callisto and
Ganymede. These images are all updated every 5 minutes.
o Live Doppler plots of Galileo spacecraft radio signal as it received on
Earth. Watch the gravity of Europa change the frequency of the radio
signal in real-time. The Doppler plots will be updated every
minute on encounter day (Feb 10).
o Flyby animation of the Europa 13 flyby.
o The latest Galileo status reports reporting on the Europa 13 encounter.
o Fact sheets and Callisto, Ganymede, Europa, Io and Amalthea.
o A detailed timeline of events and sequences that the spacecraft will
perform for the Europa 13 encounter.
o Voyager 1 & 2 images of Callisto, Ganymede, Europa and Io.
o Hubble Space Telescope images of the Galilean satellites.
o Pioneer 10 & 11 images of Callisto, Ganymede, Europa and Io.
___ _____ ___
/_ /| /____/ \ /_ /| Ron Baalke | baalke@kelvin.jpl.nasa.gov
| | | | __ \ /| | | | Jet Propulsion Lab |
___| | | | |__) |/ | | |__ Pasadena, CA | The truth always turns out
/___| | | | ___/ | |/__ /| | to be simpler than you
|_____|/ |_|/ |_____|/ | thought. Richard Feynman
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=SANA=
Дата: 08 февраля 1998 (1998-02-08)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: Exotic glass shows promise in low-g experiments
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Thin fibers of an exotic glass called ZBLAN are clearer when made in
near weightlessness than on Earth under gravity's effects, according to
a researcher at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center.
ZBLAN glass fibers are valuable for advanced communications, medical,
and manufacturing technologies using lasers. Space-based processing
holds the promise of helping us understand how to make ZBLAN fibers
without crystallizing, the main roadblock in their wider use today.
The full story, with hi-res JPGs for print media, is at
http://science.msfc.nasa.gov/newhome/headlines/msad05feb98_1.htm
:)
Dave Dooling
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=SANA=
Дата: 08 февраля 1998 (1998-02-08)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: YES There is water on the moon!
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Article from today's BBC: http://bbc.news.co.uk I hope you find
interesting
Water on the moon
Conformation of the discovery should come within weeks.
The BBC has been told that data sent back from the Lunar Prospector space
probe suggests there is water on the moon.
If this is right, then the presence of water-ice on the moon will transform
the prospects for a manned lunar colony.
It would be more likely that a base on the moon would be established before
one on Mars.
Conformation of the discovery is expected from the Lunar Prospector team
within weeks.
For decades, scientists have speculated that there could be up to a billion
tonnes of ice buried deep in craters, where sunlight never reaches.
The data sent back from the probe seems to indicate that there is water and
water-ice in deep fissures near the South Pole.
Lunar Prospector was launched on January 7 from Florida on an Athena rocket.
The 12-month mission also involves mapping the lunar surface to determine
its composition and its gravitational and magnetic fields.
The total cost of the project is just under $63m, which includes the
spacecraft, the science instruments, integration and test, launch and all
mission operations.
Lockheed Martin Missiles & Space, in Sunnyvale, California built the
spacecraft. The project began as a private initiative to show that small,
inexpensive missions could be developed in a short time, and still do high
quality science.
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=SANA=
Дата: 08 февраля 1998 (1998-02-08)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: Additional Experiments Selected For Mars 2001 Missions
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Michael Braukus
Headquarters, Washington, DC January 22, 1998
(Phone: 202/358-1979)
Douglas Isbell
Headquarters, Washington, DC
(Phone: 202/358-1753)
RELEASE: 98-13
ADDITIONAL EXPERIMENTS SELECTED FOR MARS 2001 MISSIONS
NASA has selected additional instruments for the Mars
Surveyor 2001 missions, which will study Mars' environment.
The Mars Surveyor 2001 missions will follow two other robotic
Mars missions to be launched in late 1998 and early 1999. All are
part of NASA's long-term, systematic exploration of Mars in which
two missions are launched to the planet approximately every 26
months.
"In a sense, these missions allow virtual presence by humans
and provide precursor data and subsequent infrastructure for
possible human missions in the 21st century," said Arnauld
Nicogossian, Associate Administrator of NASA's Office of Life and
Microgravity Sciences and Applications. "By adding capability to
missions already planned, this near term effort will result in
cost effective, tangible progress in carrying out the Human
Exploration and Development of Space strategy and contribute to
the Origins program of NASA's Office of Space Science."
NASA's Office of Life and Microgravity Sciences and
Applications has selected the following investigations for the
Mars 2001 Orbiter, due for launch in March of that year, and the
Mars 2001 Lander/Rover, due for launch in April 2001:
* The Martian Radiation Environment Experiment will
characterize the radiation environment in the orbit and on the
surface of Mars simultaneously. This experiment will consist of
radiation spectrometers on both the Mars 2001 Orbiter and on the
Mars 2001 Lander. Dr. Guatam Badhwar from NASA's Johnson Space
Center, Houston, TX, is the principal investigator.
* The Mars Environmental Compatibility Assessment will
characterize Martian dust and soil to identify potential
undesirable and harmful interactions with human explorers and
associated hardware, and to evaluate properties of the soil
related to its use as a construction material. Dr. Thomas Meloy
from West Virginia State University is the principal investigator.
A team consisting of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL),
Pasadena, CA, and Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, CO, will
develop the missions, led by JPL.
The radiation and dust investigations were selected from 39
proposals submitted to NASA in August 1997.
Both of the 2001 missions are part of an ongoing NASA series
of robotic Mars exploration spacecraft that began with the
launches of the Mars Global Surveyor in November 1996. The 2001
missions represent the first step in a NASA initiative to
integrate the requirements for Space Science and the Human
Exploration and Development of Space program into a single robotic
exploration program.
- end -
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=SANA=
Дата: 08 февраля 1998 (1998-02-08)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: NASA Studying Space Weather From Puerto Rico
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Donald Savage
Headquarters, Washington, DC February 6, 1998
(Phone: 202/358-1547)
Keith Koehler
Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, VA
(Phone: 757/824-1579)
RELEASE: 98-23
NASA STUDYING SPACE WEATHER FROM PUERTO RICO
Starting Feb. 12, NASA will launch a two-month campaign in
Puerto Rico to study space weather using rockets and ground
instruments, including the world's largest radio telescope in
Arecibo, Puerto Rico. The project is expected to provide
information that ultimately will help improve the reliability of
radio and satellite communications.
Using a temporary range at Tortuguero on the north coast of
Puerto Rico, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Wallops Flight
Facility, Wallops Island, VA, is scheduled to launch 11 suborbital
rockets between Feb. 12 and Apr. 9, 1998, as part of a project
called Coqui Dos. The project is a continuation of a 1992 project
called El Coqui, named after a species of native frog which is an
ecological and cultural symbol of Puerto Rico.
"NASA, in association with several universities and other
organizations, will launch these rockets to make measurements of
electrical and turbulent layers that occur in the ionosphere,
approximately 62 miles above the surface of the Earth," said
Miguel Larson, campaign scientist from Clemson University, SC.
"People tend to think that space is a quiet place with no
activity. However, over the years we have come to realize that
the contrary is true," said Mike Kelley, a professor at Cornell
University, Ithica, NY, and principal investigator for two of the
rocket launches.
In fact, the layers that are the focus of the Coqui Dos
study are very active features that are responsible for
disruptions of radio, television, and satellite communications.
The activity is the result of the interaction between "space
weather" and the Earth's atmosphere, according to Kelley, who also
was the campaign scientist for NASA rocket launches from Puerto
Rico in 1992. Space weather refers to the complex interactions of
the Solar wind (the fast-moving stream of particles emanating from
the Sun), the Sun's magnetic field and the Earth's magnetic field
and atmosphere. The 1992 project had a 100 percent success rate
and ten scientific papers have been published based on the data
obtained, Kelley said.
Just as studies of the lower atmosphere in the 1960s led to
our current understanding of weather and improved weather
forecasts, the Coqui Dos studies are expected to lead to a better
understanding of the ionosphere so that we can predict activity in
this region in the future, Kelley said.
Puerto Rico was selected as the launch site due to the
availability of the National Science Foundation's National
Astronomy and Ionospheric Center. The Arecibo radio telescope
provides unique capabilities for detecting the activity within the
electrical layers. Such information is needed for both deciding
when to launch the rockets and for the interpretation of the
rocket measurements after the flight. The Arecibo radio telescope
is the largest in the world and is an essential part of the
scientific mission, Larsen said.
During the Coqui Dos campaign, a total of 11 launches will
be carried out as part of six separate sets of measurements. All
the launches will be during the nighttime hours when ionospheric
instabilities are present in the high altitude region above Puerto
Rico. In some cases, two or three rocket launches may occur in
one night.
Five of the rockets have payloads containing small amounts
of the chemical trimethyaluminum (TMA), which will be released in
the ionosphere at an altitude between 50 and 93 miles altitude.
When TMA is released it forms a cloud that is luminescent for 10
to 20 minutes. These clouds can be tracked visually and with
camera equipment to determine where the atmospheric turbulent
layers occur. The milky-white clouds should be visible within
several hundred miles of the launch site, across most of Puerto
Rico and perhaps on some of the neighboring islands. The harmless
by-products disperse for thousands of miles before settling into
the upper atmosphere.
Three payloads being launched are chemical only, two
payloads contain TMA and scientific instruments and six payloads
contain instruments only.
The rockets will be launched over the Atlantic Ocean to
altitudes of from 71 to 236 miles, and will fall in the ocean
beyond 30 miles off shore. The launches, which typically will
occur between 7 and 11 p.m., should be visible from most of Puerto
Rico, especially along the northern coast and San Juan. The
flights will last approximately 10 to 15 minutes each.
Further information on the Puerto Rico project, including a
schedule of the rocket launches, is available on the Coqui Dos
home page at:
http://www.wff.nasa.gov/~web/PRCampaign/CoquiDos.html
The Coqui Dos project is being conducted under the
suborbital Sounding Rocket Program, which is managed at Wallops
for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. The program
consists of approximately 25 sounding rockets launched each year
from various locations worldwide.
- end -
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=SANA=
Дата: 08 февраля 1998 (1998-02-08)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: Cassini Update - February 6, 1998
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CASSINI SIGNIFICANT EVENTS REPORT FOR WEEK ENDING 02/06/98
MSO Significant Events input for week of Friday 01/30 through Thursday
02/05:
Spacecraft Status:
The Cassini spacecraft is presently traveling at a speed of
approximately 124,000 kilometers/hour (~77,000 mph) with respect to the
Sun and has traveled approximately 281 million kilometers (~176 million
miles) since launch last October 15.
The most recent Spacecraft status is from the DSN tracking pass on
Thursday, 02/05, over Madrid. The Cassini spacecraft is in an
excellent state of health and is operating nominally, with the C6
sequence executing onboard.
Inertial attitude control is being maintained using the spacecraft's
hydrazine thrusters (RCS system). The spacecraft continues flying in a
High Gain Antenna-to-Sun attitude. It will maintain the HGA-to-Sun
attitude, except for planned trajectory correction maneuvers, for the
first 14 months of flight.
Communication with Earth during early cruise is via one of the
spacecraft's two low-gain antennas; the antenna selected depends on the
relative geometry of the Sun, Earth and the spacecraft. The downlink
telemetry rate is presently 40 bps.
Spacecraft Activity Summary:
From Friday, 01/30, through Sunday, 02/01, there were no changes in
spacecraft configuration.
On Monday, 02/02, and Tuesday, 02/03, a maintenance activity was
performed on the SSR Flight Software Partitions. This activity,
scheduled approximately every two weeks, repairs any SSR DBEs which have
occurred in the code-containing portions of the Flight Software
partitions during the preceding period. Monday's activity performed the
repair; Tuesday's activity read out the results of the repair and reset
DBE counters in the repaired partitions. Tuesday's telemetry indicated
that two DBEs were successfully repaired and one
DBE was located in an unused portion of a partition (such DBEs are
identified by this procedure and repaired by a different procedure).
Also on Tuesday, 02/03, the Solid State Recorder (SSR) record and
playback pointers were reset, according to plan. This housekeeping
activity, done approximately weekly, maximizes the amount of time that
recorded engineering data is available for playback to the ground should
an anomaly occur on the spacecraft.
On Wednesday, 02/04, and Thursday, 02/05, there were no changes in
spacecraft configuration.
Upcoming spacecraft events:
Events for the week of 02/06 through 02/12 include: a reset of the SSR
pointers (02/09), a Read-out of the Propulsion Module Subsystem (PMS)
Mass Properties (02/12), in preparation for TCM-2 which is scheduled for
February 25.
Two science activities are being considered for the Venus 1 flyby in
April. The first is a search for Venus lightning by the Radio and
Plasma Wave Science instrument; the second is a check of the RADAR
bounce capability. If these activities are approved, they will be added
to the sequence. No off-sun-line maneuver is required.
DSN Coverage:
For the next month or so, there will be an increase in DSN coverage for
Navigation purposes, as the second and third Trajectory Correction
Maneuvers (TCMs) approach. Over the past week Cassini had 8 track
periods (01/30, 01/31- 3 passes, 02/02, 02/03, 02/04, 02/05). In the
coming week there will be 7 DSN passes, Friday (02/06), Sunday and
Monday (02/08, 02/09), and 4 passes occurring from Tuesday through
Thursday (02/10 - 01/12).
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=SANA=
Дата: 08 февраля 1998 (1998-02-08)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: Celestis Announces First Launch of Human Cremated Remains Into Space
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CELESTIS
2444 Times Blvd., Suite 260
Houston, TX 77005-3253
Tel: 1 (800) 522-3217
Fax: (713) 522-7380
E-mail: Celestis@iah.com
Web: http://www.celestis.com/
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Celestis Announces First Launch of Human Cremated Remains
into Space from the United States
Interview opportunity for news media
VANDENBERG AFB, CA (Feb. 7) -- Celestis, Inc., -- the Houston company that
launched the cremated remains of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry and 1960's
pop icon Timothy Leary last April from the Canary Islands -- today announced
the first launch of human cremated remains from the United States is slated to
occur February 9 from Vandenberg Air Force base, Lompoc, Calif.
The cremated remains of 30 people will be launched aboard an Orbital Sciences
Corporation Taurus (tm) rocket from Vandenberg. The vehicle's primary
payloads are the U.S. Navy's Geosat Follow On (GFO) satellite, and two Orbcomm
(tm) communication satellites. The Celestis paylpad was integrated onto the
Taurus rocket November 20 at Orbital's facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base.
Among those who will be memorialized by the flight are:
-- The first woman to select the Celestis service;
-- A fifteen-year-old boy from the Netherlands;
-- A Japanese citizen;
-- An American couple whose cremated remains are in two flight capsules
located next to each other in the Celestis spacecraft, and:
-- Another American couple whose cremated remains were mixed together in a
single flight capsule.
Celestis offers a uniquely meaningful approach to honoring and remembering
family, friends, and loved ones, while simultaneously helping to open up the
space frontier. The privately-funded company launches a 7-gram (0.25 oz.)
sample of a person's cremated remains in a lipstick-size capsule. Each
capsule, inscribed with the deceased's name and personal message, is sealed
with an O-ring that securely contains the cremated remains. The company
places the capsules in a honeycomb-like arrangement inside a special carrier
attached to the top stage of a Taurus (tm) or Pegasus (tm) launch vehicle.
Once in space, the same stage and the rocket's primary payloads separate and
enter Earth orbit. Neither the capsules nor the ashes ever escape into space:
The capsules remain attached to the final stage. The cremated remains
launched on Celestis flights will stay on orbit between 18 months and 10 years
before they re-enter the atmosphere and harmlessly vaporize.
The launch is provided by Orbital Sciences Corporation of Dulles, VA., a
leading provider of commercial space launch services. At a cost of $4,800 per
person, Celestis services are comparrable to most conventional funeral
services.
The first Celestis spacecraft, launched April 21, 1997, continues to circle
the Earth on an orbit inclined 30 degrees to the equator. The next Celestis
spacecraft, Celestis-02, will be placed in a near-polar orbit, with an
inclination of 108 degrees.
"Because ours is a secondary payload on a typical commercial space mission, we
will not contribute to orbital pollution," Chan Tysor, president of Celestis,
said. "Eventually, the satellite will re-enter the atmosphere. . .blazing
like a shooting star in final tribute."
A portion of the proceeds goes to the Celestis Foundation which contributes to
entrepreneurial space enterprises, educational organizations, and other
charities which promote a positive future on Earth. The Foundation is
supporting an ongoing fundraising effort to insure the Duth youth's
participation in the flight. The teenager, an avid "Star Trek" fan, expressed
his wish that his ashes be launched into space and orbit Earth just as Gene
Roddenbery's had on Celestis' first flight. More information can be found on
the World Wide Web at:
http://utopia.knoware.nl/users/karlhh/english.htm
"Space remains the domain of a few, the dream of many," said Charles Chafer,
president of the Celestis Foundation. "With Celestis, the dream can finally
be realized. . .a final chance to become part of the universe, by being one
with the universe."
The launch also has an international dimension. In addition to the Japanese
and Dutch citizens on the launch, there is also a naturalized U.S. citizen who
was raised and educated in Argentina. The Celestis service is evolving into a
truly global service.
--30--
NOTE TO EDITORS: For news media interviews, please contact Celestis' Houston
office at (713) 522-7282.
For press clearance to enter Vandenberg Air Force Base, journalists should
call the 30th Space Wing Public Affairs Office at Vandenberg: Phone (805)
734-8232, ext. 63595, FAX (805) 734-8232, ext. 68303.
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=SANA=
Дата: 08 февраля 1998 (1998-02-08)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: Lunar Prospector Update - February 6, 1998
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Lunar Prospector Mission Status Report #17
February 06, 1998 - 6:00 pm EST (3:00 a.m. PST)
As discussed in previous status reports, Lunar
Prospector scientists require orbit ephemeris data
that describe the position of the spacecraft over
the moon in order to accurately map data collected
by their instruments onto the lunar surface. An
accurate history of the Lunar Prospector trajectory
over the moon is referred to as a "definitive"
orbit ephemeris. Predictions of the future path of
the spacecraft is referred to as a "predicted"
orbit ephemeris. For Lunar Prospector, engineers at
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center use Doppler data
collected by tracking stations from the Jet
Propulsion Laboratory's (JPL) Deep Space Network to
compute a definitive orbit ephemeris. Predicted
orbit ephemeredes are also generated for several
weeks into the future in order to enable mission
controllers to schedule station tracks, anticipate
shadow events and plan orbit maneuvers as
necessary. Long-term predictions of the path of low
altitude lunar orbiting missions is made difficult
by the moon's non-uniform gravity field that
results from an uneven distribution of the moon's
mass. The non-uniform mass distribution of the moon
makes it necessary to construct complicated models
of the lunar gravity in order to accurately predict
the evolution of the LP orbit over time. The figure
below shows predictions made shortly after entering
the mapping orbit of the periapsis (lowest) and
apoapsis (highest) altitude of Lunar Prospector
compared with actual values computed from a
definitive orbit. Such figures are used to assess
the accuracy of candidate lunar gravity models
The Doppler Gravity Experiment (see description
under the "Instrument" heading of the LP Web site's
Science section) conducted by Dr. Alexander
Konopliv of JPL, will among other things, help
construct an improved gravity model of the moon
which can be used by this and future missions to
compute accurate long-term orbit predictions. Until
now, very few missions have orbited the moon close
enough and long enough to allow a highly accurate
lunar gravity model to be constructed. Lunar
Prospector is unique, in that it will orbit the
moon in a low polar orbit (dropping as low as 10 km
during the extended mission) that will provide
gravity data over the entire lunar surface every
two weeks. Already, preliminary gravity models from
the Doppler Gravity Experiment are being generated
which appear to be tracking definitive solutions
much more closely than the sample pre-launch model
shown in the figure below.
Hа сегодня все, пока!
=SANA=
Дата: 08 февраля 1998 (1998-02-08)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: Mars Surveyor 98 Update - February 6, 1998
Привет всем!
Вот, свалилось из Internet...
1998 Mars Surveyor Project Status Report
February 6, 1998
John McNamee
Mars Surveyor 98 project Manager
Orbiter and lander integration and test activities are proceeding on
schedule with no significant problems. The Mars Volatile and Climate
Surveyor (MVACS) payload integration and functional checkout on the lander
spacecraft is complete. The flight Surface Stereo Imager (SSI),
Meteorology package (MET), Robotic Arm (RA), Robotic Arm Camera (RAC), and
engineering model Thermal and Evolved Gas Analyzer (TEGA) are installed on
the lander. A data transfer problem was found in the SSI instrument and
the lander Command and Data Handling Subsystem interface. The SSI
electronics card is being modified to resolve the discrepancy. The flight
Mars Descent Imager (MARDI) instrument will be installed on the lander on
February 10 completing the lander payload integration activities until the
flight
TEGA is available for installation.
For more informaton on the Mars Surveyor 98 mission, please visit the
Mars Surveyor 98 home page:
http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msp98/
Hа сегодня все, пока!
=SANA=
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