Visualization of Planetary Mission Data for Public Education: The Galileo Earth 2 Encounter Experience at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
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Engineering topics
Publications and source records attributed to Clarke, T. C..
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The Galileo Venus-Earth-Earth-Gravity-Assist trajectory to Jupiter is discussed. It includes two encounters from deep space with the Earth and the Earth-Moon system. Fortuitous and unique opportunities therefore exist to observe and study the Earth and Earth's moon during both of these encounters. Given the Galileo science payload, a candidate set of Earth and Moon science objectives is presented. The conditions and constraints of the Earth and Moon encounters, which define the observing opportunity, and which bound the objectives, are reviewed.
The derivation of a mission design strategy for the Galileo Jupiter Orbiter which best satisfies the requirements for remote sensing of the surfaces of the Galilean satellites during a 20-month orbital tour of the Jovian system is described. The celestial mechanics of a spacecraft orbiting about Jupiter and interacting with the Galilean satellites is discussed. A satellite tour strategy designed to optimize the accomplishment of remote sensing, field and particle science, and radio science objectives is developed. Finally, an assessment is made of how well these objectives can be met given the spacecraft, the capabilities of the scientific instruments, and the structure of the satellite tour.
The payloads, mission, and performance characteristics of the Galileo probe, to be launched by a Centaur boost from the Orbiter in 1985, are described. The Galileo is intended to determine the chemical compositions and physical states of the Jovian atmosphere and of the Jovian satellites, and to investigate the structure and dynamics of the Jovian magnetosphere. The orbiting part of the spacecraft will carry a near-IR mapping spectrometer, a photopolarimeter radiometer, a solid state imaging camera, a UV spectrometer, and five fields and particles instruments. A probe will be dropped for parachute descent into the Jovian atmosphere, carrying an atmospheric structure instrument, a neutral mass spectrometer, a He abundance interferometer, a nephelometer, and a radiometer. A retrorocket burn during the encounter with Jupiter will place the Galileo in an orbit calculated to pass close to all the Jovian moons over 12 orbits spanning 20 mos.
The simulation of radiation interference effects and the results of a radiation interference test on two Voyager Sun Sensor prototype detector assemblies are reported. The derivation of test levels and requirements are discussed and show that cobalt 60 gamma radiation is an effective and practical simulator of the ionization dose rate effects induced by high-energy electron flux incident on the spacecraft at a rate of 3.7 x 10 to the 8th e/sq cm-sec (10 rad(Si)/s) during closest approach to Jupiter. The test results provide information that is used to confirm an analytic correlation, and to predict satisfactory performance of a spacecraft sun sensing device having stringent angular resolution requirements. The measured detector response shows that at dose rates incident on the detector elements of 2 rad(Si)/sec, which is four times that expected during Jupiter encounter, the radiation-induced angle error is almost an order of magnitude less than that allowed by the acceptance criteria.
The science objectives, development history, functional description, and testing of the Mariner Venus/Mercury 1973 infrared radiometer are discussed. Included in the functional description section is a thorough discussion of the IRR optical system, electronic operation, and thermal control. Signal development and its conversion to engineering units is traced, starting with the radiant space object, passing through the IRR optics and electronics, and culminating with data number development and interpretation. The test program section includes discussion of IRR calibration and alignment verification. Finally, the problems and failures encountered by the IRR during the period of its development and testing are reviewed.