Genesis Mission Status Update May 23, 2003
The Genesis spacecraft continues its mission collecting solar wind
material expelled from the Sun. Telemetry from the Genesis spacecraft
indicates the spacecraft is in overall good health and as of the
morning of May 23, the spacecraft was about 1.25 million kilometers
(.77 million miles) from Earth.
Recent solar activity has called for the “high solar speed” collector
array to be deployed 53% of the time and the “low solar speed” array
deployed for the remaining 47%. There are three collector arrays
aboard Genesis that are exposed to, or hidden from, the solar wind.
One collector array for each of the three solar wind regimes. Which
collector array is exposed is determined by the data received by
sensitive ion and electron monitors located on the spacecraft’s
equipment deck. These monitors scrutinize the solar wind passing by
the spacecraft and relay this information to the onboard computer,
which in turn commands the collector arrays to deploy and retract as
needed.
The Genesis team completed an in-flight test of the spacecraft’s
battery. The team’s battery experts will be analyzing the data over
the next few weeks. Preliminary indications are that the battery has
not “aged” as much as was expected.
The latest series of computer commands for Genesis were uplinked on
Friday, May 16th, and went active last Tuesday, May 20.
Genesis Vital Statistics:
- – 654 days since launch.
- – 316 days to planned completion of solar particle collection.
- – 473 days to Genesis return to Earth.
