Status Report

Stardust Status Report 03-17-2000

By SpaceRef Editor
March 17, 2000
Filed under

There were two Deep Space Network (DSN) tracking passes during the past
week. All subsystems onboard the spacecraft are performing normally.
Recorded engineering and Navigation Camera images were played backed.
The aerogel grid was moved toward the open direction approximately 9
degrees. The grid position is adjusted every two weeks to keep the
grid perpendicular to the interstellar dust stream.

A Navigation Camera meeting was held to discuss the next series of images to
provide additional data to monitor the flight performance of the
Navigation Camera. Bright star images and calibration lamp images will be
taken, some viewing a star through the periscope.

The science team members dealing with particles had a meeting at NASA
Ames Research Center to discuss the curation plans of the returned
particles with Johnson Space Center where the particles will be
stored.

For more information on the STARDUST mission – the first ever
comet sample return mission – please visit the STARDUST home page:

http://stardust.jpl.nasa.gov

SpaceRef staff editor.