Cassini Update - June 8, 2007
- From: baalke@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 08 Jun 2007 12:39:31 -0700
Cassini Significant Events
for 05/30/07 - 06/05/07
The most recent spacecraft telemetry was acquired on Tuesday, June 5,
from
the Madrid tracking complex. The Cassini spacecraft is in an excellent
state
of health and all subsystems are operating normally. Information on
the
present position and speed of the Cassini spacecraft may be found on
the
"Present Position" web page located at
http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/operations/present-position.cfm.
Wednesday, May 30 (DOY 150):
Science this week is dominated by apoapsis observations. The
Magnetospheric
and Plasma Science instrument teams will be performing Saturn
magnetospheric
studies, the Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS) will lead
a
rings mosaic observation with the Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph and
Composite Infrared Spectrometer taking part, and the Imaging Science
Subsystem continues a series of several observations of the smaller
satellites.
Thursday, May 31 (DOY 151):
Orbit Trim Maneuver (OTM) 113 was performed today. This is the cleanup
maneuver from the Titan 31 encounter on May 28. The main engine burn
began
at 7:00 PM PST. Telemetry immediately after the maneuver showed the
burn
duration was 4.3 seconds, giving a delta-V of 0.69 m/s. With the
slower
"hydrazine efficient" yaw turn rates, 50.3g of hydrazine were used.
All
subsystems reported nominal performance after the maneuver.
An electronic postcard, or e-postcard, using the VIMS image "Neon
Saturn",
was issued today. Flying over the unlit side of Saturn's rings, the
image
displays Saturn's glow, represented in brilliant shades of electric
blue,
sapphire and mint green, while the planet's shadow casts a wide net on
the
rings. To view the image and display the full text of the caption,
link to:
http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/images/image-details.cfm?imageID=2625
Friday, June 1 (DOY 152):
The European Space Agency put out six news releases today. The full
text of
each release is maintained on the Cassini Website and may be accessed
from:
http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/news/features/index.cfm
The subjects and descriptions of the releases are listed below:
Building Our New View of Titan -
Today, two and a half years after the historic landing of ESA's
Huygens
probe on Titan, a new set of results on Saturn's largest moon is ready
to be
presented.
Titan, as seen
through the eyes of Huygens, still holds exciting surprises,
scientists say.
Revealing Titan's Rugged Surface -
During its two and a half hour descent, the cameras on Huygens showed
eager
scientists on Earth spectacular regions of bright highlands with river
drainages and canyons, bounded by dark plains on Titan. New
information
about the composition of the landing region is now ready for the
public.
Titan's Mysterious Radio Wave -
Huygens scored a first in 2005 by measuring the electrical
conductivity of
Titan's atmosphere. The results hint at a new way to investigate the
subsurface layers of Titan and could provide insight into whether or
not
Titan has a subsurface ocean.
Dissecting the Dirt on Titan -
Planetary scientists are a step closer to understanding the
composition of
the dust in Titan's atmosphere. A decade-long program of laboratory
studies,
aiming to reproduce Titan's unique dust, or 'aerosol' population in
specially constructed reactors, has proved invaluable.
Huygens' Path to Titan -
Scientists now know exactly how Huygens made its way through the
atmosphere
to the surface of Titan. The reconstruction of the trajectory is
particularly valuable for a correct interpretation of the observations
from
all six scientific investigations on board.
The Way the Wind Blows on Titan -
A simulation of the winds encountered by Huygens has led planetary
scientists to believe that its entire atmosphere is circulating around
on a
conveyor belt. This huge system of moving gas transports warm air from
the
southern hemisphere to Titan's north pole and back again.
Monday, June 4 (DOY 155):
The S34 kick-off meeting for the Science Operations Plan Update
process was
held today. The S34 time period, September 22 to October 31, 2007, has
been
divided into four sequences: S34A which will contain nominal
spacecraft and
science operations, a window with no science in it carved out for the
uplink
and test of new flight software CDS Version 10, a mini-sequence to
observe
Hyperion that will execute if the flight software check-out completes
in
time, and S34B, back to nominal spacecraft and science operations.
Each of
the three science pieces of S34 will be developed in parallel as
complete,
independent sequences.
Tuesday, June 5 (DOY 156):
The final process for the development of the S33 sequence kicked off
today.
Merged Subsequence Generation products based on the second merge from
the
Science Operations Plan Update phase and stripped sequence files have
been
released to the team for review.
An encounter strategy meeting was held today to cover the period
between
June 13 and June 29, Titan flybys T32 and T33, and maneuvers 116-118.
Orbit Trim Maneuver (OTM) #114 was performed today. This is the
apoapsis
maneuver setting up for the Titan 32 encounter on June 13. The main
engine
burn began at 11:14 AM PDT. Telemetry immediately after the maneuver
showed
the burn duration was 75.6 seconds, giving a delta-V of 12.22 m/s.
OTM-114
was the largest burn in the last 19 months. The last time the flight
team
performed a maneuver in the double digits was OTM-41, on October 31,
2005,
at 12.4 m/sec. The team is continuing to use the slower "hydrazine
efficient" yaw turn rates. Hydrazine consumption for this maneuver
was 56.7
g. All subsystems reported nominal performance after the maneuver.
Cassini Outreach will be showing Saturn to members of the general
public at
the Grand Canyon National Park Star Party North Rim on June 12 and 13,
and
at the Bryce Canyon National Park on June 14-16. These annual events
are
sponsored by the National Parks with assistance from dozens of amateur
astronomer volunteers. If you're traveling to these great western US
national parks, drop in for free viewing of Saturn, and many other
objects.
Grand Canyon Star Party both North and South Rim dates are June 9 -
16,
Bryce Canyon Astronomy Festival is June 13 - 16.
Wrap up:
Check out the Cassini web site at http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov for the
latest
press releases and images.
The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the
European
Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion
Laboratory, a
division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena,
manages the
Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate,
Washington,
D.C. JPL designed, developed and assembled the Cassini orbiter.
.
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