Venus Express Status Report for Period 2 to 8 December 2005

Report for Period 02 December to 08 December 2005

During the reporting period all the activities for the Near Earth Commissioning of the instruments have been conducted according to the plan. The multi-instrument pointing scenario activities have been successfully concluded and the PFS instrument has been switched on for the first time.

The ground behaviour has been nominal throughout the reporting period. The table below shows a chronology of the main activities in the reporting period:

PFS NEC Pass 5

At the end of the last Cebreros pass in the reporting period (DOY 342, 19:00) Venus Express was at 7.3 million km from the Earth, 142.4 million km from the Sun, and 54.3 million km from Venus. The one-way signal travel time was 24 seconds.

Payload Activities

ASPERA

The instrument is currently OFF and will be activated for the first time on DoY 343.

MAG

The instrument is permanently ON till the end of the NECP. During the pointing scenario some mode transitions have been successfully commanded.

PFS

The instrument has activated for the first time on DoY 338.

SPICAV

The instrument performed nominally also on DoY 336 (Stray Light test 2). Science data is being processed by the PI team.

VeRA

The USO is permanently kept powered since DoY 315 to allow VeRA commissioning activities on DoY 344.

VIRTIS

The instrument has been activated as part of the pointing scenario on DoY 336 (Stray Light test 2), 337 (Alignment raster), and 338 (Alignment off-pointing). Science data is being processed by the PI team.

VMC

The instrument has been activated as part of the pointing scenario on DoY 336 (Stray Light test 2) and 338 (Alignment off-pointing). Science data is being processed by the PI team.

Future Activities

Payload Commissioning will now continue with the functional test of ASPERA and then with the interference test. This will mark the end of the NECP.