Mercury Orbit Insertion, Events and Discussion leading up to MOI |
Mercury Orbit Insertion, Events and Discussion leading up to MOI |
Nov 25 2009, 05:30 AM
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 1018 Joined: 29-November 05 From: Seattle, WA, USA Member No.: 590 |
Excerpts from a new press release from the Messenger Team:
QUOTE Deep-Space Maneuver Positions MESSENGER for Mercury Orbit Insertion The Mercury-bound MESSENGER spacecraft completed its fifth and final deep-space maneuver of the mission today, providing the expected velocity change needed to place the spacecraft on course to enter into orbit about Mercury in March 2011. . . . today's maneuver began at 4:45 p.m. EST. Mission controllers at The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Md., verified the start of the maneuver about 12 minutes, 49 seconds later, when the first signals indicating spacecraft thruster activity reached NASA's Deep Space Network tracking station outside Goldstone, Calif. "The team was well-prepared for the maneuver," said MESSENGER Mission Systems Engineer Eric Finnegan, of APL. "Initial data analysis indicates an extremely accurate maneuver execution. After sifting through all the post-burn data I expect we will find ourselves right on target." --Greg |
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Mar 10 2011, 02:41 AM
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Merciless Robot Group: Admin Posts: 8785 Joined: 8-December 05 From: Los Angeles Member No.: 602 |
I'd hardly call that a "morbid" interest, kwp. Phil has been diligently mapping space hardware/man-made crash sites on the Moon, and high-speed impacts are obviously of scientific interest since they frequently expose fresh subsurface material. Knowing Messenger's final impact region would greatly facilitate spotting the nice fresh crater it will make from some future Mercury orbiter (Bepi-Columbo?)
-------------------- A few will take this knowledge and use this power of a dream realized as a force for change, an impetus for further discovery to make less ancient dreams real.
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Mar 11 2011, 12:59 AM
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Member Group: Members Posts: 166 Joined: 20-September 05 From: North Texas Member No.: 503 |
Knowing Messenger's final impact region would greatly facilitate spotting the nice fresh crater it will make from some future Mercury orbiter (Bepi-Columbo?) I wonder if Messenger can survive in orbit long enough to wait until Bepi-Columbo's arrival, before taking that plunge to the surface. We could get a lot more science out of Messenger's demise, if it could remain in orbit that long, and allow Bepi to watch from orbit as the new crater forms. |
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Mar 13 2011, 08:43 AM
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Member Group: Members Posts: 117 Joined: 7-December 06 From: Sheffield UK Member No.: 1462 |
I wonder if Messenger can survive in orbit long enough to wait until Bepi-Columbo's arrival, before taking that plunge to the surface. We could get a lot more science out of Messenger's demise, if it could remain in orbit that long, and allow Bepi to watch from orbit as the new crater forms. About 5 years ago I proposed to Paul Helfenstein (Cassini science team member) that at the end of its useful life Cassini could use its remaining fuel to leave Saturn orbit and drop Sunwards to impact on Mercury; the impact to then be observed by Bepi-Columbo. He was interested but I doubt it'll happen. -------------------- It's a funny old world - A man's lucky if he gets out of it alive. - W.C. Fields.
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