The Pioneer Anomaly Options

[remcook]

http://www.planetary.org/news/2005/pioneer_anomaly_faq.html

The planetary society may be checking it out...

The Planetary Society has committed to raise the funds to preserve the priceless Pioneer data from destruction.


After years of analysis, but without a final conclusion, NASA, astonishingly, gave up trying to solve the "Pioneer Anomaly" and provided no funds to analyze the data. The Pioneer data exists on a few hundred ancient 7- and 9-track magnetic tapes, which can only be read on "antique" outdated computers. The agency is going to scrap, literally demolish, the only computers able to access and process that data in the next few months!

[tasp]

I bet it is not as simple as this, but I will post an idea and watch it be shredded . . .



Any possibility either Voyager craft could be spun at a few revs per hour, with the thrusters turned off, and keep the dish pointed at earth for maybe a year or two?

My thought is if we could get a confirmation of the Pioneer anomaly with a Voyager craft it might help JPL design a more capable or sophisticated 'Pioneer Anomally Probe' someday.

With the 'nodding' motion compensation used at Triton, I am cautiously optimistic that there might still be a new trick for our favorite 'old dog' to learn.

Having a spin stabilised period of flight for a Voyager might yield enough high quality tracking data at what would have to be an attractive price compared to launching another probe designed for the task.

Besides, I'm getting old and would like this mystery cleared up while I am still around . . .