The Next Four Weeks on Galileo September 9 – October 6, 2002
The Galileo spacecraft is still healthy and active as it continues its long
trek back in towards Jupiter for its final planned science pass in
November. Galileo is now back within ranges that it has traversed before,
reaching 250 Jupiter radii from the planet (17.9 million kilometers, 11.1
million miles) on Saturday, September 14, and 200 Jupiter radii (14.3
million kilometers, 8.9 million miles) on Wednesday, October 2. The
spacecraft is still well outside the magnetosphere of Jupiter on the
sunward side of the planet, and data collection by the Magnetometer, the
Dust Detector, and the Extreme Ultraviolet Spectrometer instruments
continues to provide scientists with information about the interplanetary
medium.
Routine maintenance activities for the spacecraft in the coming weeks
include exercise of the propulsion system on Tuesday, September 10, and
Thursday, October 3, and a standard test of the on-board gyroscopes on
Friday, October 4.
On Saturday, September 21, Galileo executes a propulsive maneuver to alter
its trajectory for the Amalthea flyby on November 5. This maneuver will
establish the flyby altitude of 134 kilometers (83 miles) over the surface
of the irregularly-shaped moon, whose longest dimension is about 135
kilometers.
A series of weekly conditioning exercises for the on-board tape recorder
continues, with the latest activity starting on Monday, September 9. With
this test, we drive the recorder at high speed across the full length of
the tape ten times. At the end of the high-speed motion, we perform a short
series of small, slow-speed cool-down motions that will lessen the
possibility of the tape sticking to the heads. Following this, the tape is
put into a series of low-speed, full-track motions that will occupy the
remainder of the week.
Next on the recorder’s agenda is to play back some data acquired during two
previous Io flybys, one in October 2001, and the most recent in January
2002. These data will fill in gaps in a Near Infrared Mapping Spectrometer
(NIMS) October observation and provide enhanced visibility into spacecraft
attitude during a January NIMS observation.
With scarcely two months to go before the next encounter, the flight team
is busy refining strategies, identifying contingency actions, and polishing
the detailed sequence of activities to be followed by the spacecraft.
For more information on the Galileo spacecraft and its mission to Jupiter,
please visit the Galileo home page at one of the following URL’s:
