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- GALILEO IDA ENCOUNTER NOTEBOOK
- August 1993
-
-
- 1.0 INTRODUCTION
-
- The Galileo spacecraft's Venus-Earth-Earth gravity assist (VEEGA) trajectory
- provided two opportunities to make close observations of asteroids. On
- October 29, 1991, Galileo encountered the first of these asteroids, Gaspra, at
- a distance of 1,601 km. Most of the data gathered at Gaspra were recorded for
- playback in November 1992 when the spacecraft was again in the vicinity of
- Earth.
-
- The opportunity to visit Gaspra and Ida was not the result of celestial good
- fortune but was in fact the result of careful trajectory design. A NASA
- policy put into effect after the start of the Galileo program required that
- all missions which pass through the asteroid belt make a close observation of
- an asteroid if at all possible. This policy was applied retroactively to the
- Galileo program. The asteroid belt (defined here as that region lying between
- the orbits of Mars and Jupiter where the vast majority of discovered asteroids
- reside) extends from approximately 2 to 3.5 astronomical units (AU) from the
- Sun (one AU equals Earth's mean distance from the Sun). Galileo would pass
- through this region twice -- during the Earth-Earth leg when it encountered
- Gaspra, and during the Earth-Jupiter leg when it will encounter Ida.
-
- The orbits of more than 4,000 asteroids were checked for possible candidates
- which would allow for a successful VEEGA transfer to Jupiter with acceptable
- propellant consumption to achieve a close asteroid flyby. Few of these
- candidates survived the first look, however, due to the strict timing
- requirements for a successful VEEGA trajectory. Remaining candidate asteroids
- were then processed with trajectory optimization software to determine which
- would be the best targets. Gaspra and Ida were chosen due to their
- accessibility and the low propellant cost required to divert Galileo to them.
-
-
- 1.1 Organization of Document
-
- The basics of the Ida encounter, not including the details of experiment
- design and science objectives, are provided in Sections 1.0 through 3.0.
- Section 4.0 provides a summary of the science objectives and a comprehensive
- description of each instrument.
-
- 1.2 Background
-
- Galileo was launched from the Kennedy Space Center aboard the space shuttle
- Atlantis on October 18, 1989. Correct alignment of all the planets involved
- required that Galileo be launched between October 12 and November 21, 1989.
- In the sometimes backwards and upside-down world of orbital mechanics, it is
- often necessary to slow down in order to go faster. The Inertial Upper Stage
- (IUS) actually expended most of its energy to slow Galileo down from the
- Earth's orbital velocity which it shared so that it would fall in towards the
- Sun. The spacecraft made its closest approach to Venus on February 10, 1990
- at which time the planet's orbital energy provided a net increase in speed
- relative to the Sun of 2.2 km/sec or approximately 5,000 mph. This sent
- Galileo on a trajectory that carried it around the Sun and back to Earth.
- Galileo passed 960 km (596 mi) from Earth's surface on December 8, 1990.
- Earth provided an additional speed increase of 5.2 km/sec or approximately
- 11,600 mph. During its Earth-Earth leg, Galileo passed 1,601 km (995 mi) from
- the center of Gaspra on October 19, 1991. Galileo continued on its Earth-Earth
- trajectory and returned to Earth for the last time on December 8, 1992 passing
- 303 km (188 mi) over the South Atlantic. At that time, Galileo received an
- additional boost of 3.7 km/sec (8,300 mph), enough energy to reach Jupiter as
- planned on December 7th, 1995. Ida will be Galileo's final detour before
- reaching the veils of the largest planet in our solar system.
-
- 1.3 The Study of Asteroids
-
- Asteroids have fascinated astronomers since their discovery almost 200 years
- ago. There are many questions which scientists hope to answer through
- studying asteroids, questions which extend far beyond the esoteric realm of
- pure science and answers that may help us understand the forces that shaped
- the solar system and life on Earth.
-
- One of the most important reasons scientists are so interested in asteroids is
- that they are believed to represent "leftovers" from early planetary
- formation. Current theory holds that asteroids are, or are remnants of,
- planetesimals, the small accumulations of material from which the planets were
- formed. Four and a half billion years ago, processes of accretion led to
- fewer but larger planetesimals. In time, some of these became massive enough
- that their gravity began to draw other planetesimals to them. Once this point
- was reached, they quickly gathered up most of the remaining planetesimals and
- nebular material to become the planets we now know.
-
- In the region between Mars and Jupiter, however, the planetesimals never
- became large enough to form a planet. This is most likely due to the strong
- gravitational influence of Jupiter. Asteroids, therefore, are composed of
- some of the oldest material left in the solar system and can provide an
- invaluable tool for understanding the processes that went into planetary
- formation, as well as the composition and physical state of the young solar
- system. They are believed to be a major source of meteorites, from which we
- have received much of our knowledge about the age of the solar system and
- chemical composition of the early solar nebula.
-
- Scientists are interested in the question of why no planet formed between Mars
- and Jupiter, and how the asteroids and their region of the solar system have
- changed. Asteroids are continually being bombarded and in many cases broken
- up into smaller asteroids through collisions. Their surfaces have recorded
- aeons of this disruption and reaccretion. By analyzing this record,
- scientists can learn much about the distribution of asteroids and comets in
- the past.
-
- The study of asteroids has evolved rapidly in the last two centuries due
- largely to the advancement of observing techniques. The first ground-based
- observations of an asteroid were made in 1801 when Ceres, the largest
- asteroid, was discovered. (The following year, William Herschel, the
- discoverer of Uranus, christened this type of planetesimal an "asteroid.")
- Seventy-five years later, the first asteroid-sized satellites, Phobos and
- Deimos, were discovered orbiting Mars. This was followed in 1892 with the
- discovery of a third asteroid-sized satellite, Amalthea, orbiting Jupiter. In
- 1983, the study of asteroids made significant strides when the Infrared
- Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) was launched into Earth orbit. For the
- following year, the spacecraft measured nearly 2,000 asteroids as part of its
- asteroid-comet survey. In 1989, the first radar images of an asteroid, 4769
- Castalia, were made. (An asteroid is assigned a number as soon as its orbit
- is determined accurately enough for its position to be predicted and verified.
- Thus, Castalia was the 4,769th asteroid with a known orbit.) In December
- 1992, further advances were made when JPL scientists obtained the highest
- resolution images of an Earth-approaching asteroid by beaming a radio
- transmission from Goldstone's 70m antenna to the asteroid, 4179 Toutatis. At
- the time, the asteroid was 4 million kilometers (2.5 million miles) from
- Earth. Echoes reflected back to Goldstone's 34m antenna from Toutatis were
- relayed to the 70m station where they were decoded and processed into images.
- The images revealed that Toutatis is a "contact binary" asteroid consisting of
- two irregularly shaped objects with an average diameter of about 4 and 2.5
- kilometers (2.5 and 1.6 miles). Toutatis is the most irregularly-shaped solar
- system object yet seen.
-
- Interest in, and the study of, asteroids is no longer limited to astronomers
- and planetary geologists but now includes paleontologists and biologists.
- There is considerable geologic evidence that impacts by asteroids and comets
- played an important role in the evolution of life on Earth and may have had a
- hand in determining which species survived, and which perished. In the last
- two decades, geologists have discovered that our world has been struck by
- asteroids or comets many times over during its recent past (within the last
- 500 million years or so). These impacts have been recorded in layers of clay
- containing high concentrations of iridium, an element not commonly found on
- the Earth's surface but relatively abundant in asteroids and comets. The
- iridium layer coincides closely with the extinction approximately 65 million
- years ago of the dinosaurs and a large number (perhaps 75 percent) of other
- life forms. The catastrophe apparently indiscriminately affected all parts of
- Earth -- sparing no continent or climatic belt. Indeed, asteroids may have
- even played a role in the rise of the dinosaurs: Some scientists believe that
- another mass extinction of many of Earth's species occurred 215 million years
- ago due to the impact of a massive asteroid. Dinosaurs, somehow spared from
- this catastrophe, may have rapidly evolved to fill the resulting ecological
- void (only to suffer the same fate 150 million years later).
-
- Galileo may have the unique opportunity to actually witness a series of
- planetary impacts during its voyage to Jupiter. In July 1994, comet
- Shoemaker-Levy is expected to collide with the giant planet. The comet was
- shattered into a dozen or so chunks last year by Jupiter's gravitational tidal
- forces when it passed nearby the planet. The impact could be as powerful as
- the one scientists believe occurred 65 million years ago on Earth. The force
- of the impact could create an unbelievable light show for a few days as each
- remnant of the comet collides with Jupiter. Galileo will be in a fortuitous
- position to watch these fireworks -- the event is expected to happen on the
- limb of Jupiter as seen by Galileo (but on the far side as viewed from Earth)
- at that time. At this time, no firm plan exists to use Galileo to record this
- event.
-
- By teaching us about the orbital interactions and periodic bombardments which
- asteroids undergo, Galileo's experiments may be able to shed some light on
- many critical questions pertaining to the origin, evolution and extinction of
- life. Eventually, the study of asteroids may lead to the use of asteroidal
- materials in a variety of endeavors which may prove to be of economic benefit.
-
- 1.4 What we learned at Gaspra
-
- On October 29, 1991, a small and highly elongated asteroid 2.20 AU from the
- Sun made history. On that day, the asteroid known as Gaspra became the first
- to be imaged at close range by a spacecraft. Galileo shuttered a total of 16
- images of Gaspra during its encounter. By November 1992, all of the data
- acquired at Gaspra had been returned to Earth.
-
- Gaspra's highly irregular shape -- 19 by 12 by 11 kilometers (12 by 7.5 by 7
- mi) -- indicates that it is a fragment of a parent body (most likely a larger
- asteroid) which suffered a catastrophic collision. Its asymmetry is not
- surprising since small celestial bodies tend to be less symmetric than large
- ones. Until Toutatis was imaged by ground-based radar in December 1992,
- Gaspra held the distinction of being the most irregularly-shaped object yet
- observed. (Comparisons of shape are measured by how large the object's limb
- profile deviates from the best elliptical fit.)
-
- Gaspra's mean radius of about 7 km (4.2 mi) places its size between those of
- the Martian satellites, Deimos and Phobos. It has fewer craters per unit area
- than most planetary satellites and no intermediate or large craters (2 to 6 km
- in diameter). In addition to craters, linear features 200 to 400 m wide and
- up to several kilometers long were discovered. If similar to grooves as seen
- on Phobos, they are likely evidence of nearly catastrophic impacts. Other
- possibilities are that the linear features are trough-like or coalescing
- elongated depressions.
-
- Gaspra's age is estimated to be 200 million years based on the assumptions
- that it has a primarily rocky composition and that a certain number of
- projectiles, as evidenced by the number of visible craters, would have
- impacted it during its lifetime. Most celestial objects Gaspra's size have an
- expected lifetime of half a billion years; thus, Gaspra has not yet reached
- midlife if the assumptions used in calculating its age are correct. However,
- if the asteroid's interior is metallic rather than rocky, its age could be
- significantly greater -- several billions of years; or, if the projectile
- impact rate was underestimated, Gaspra could be younger.
-
- Measurements made by Galileo's magnetometer during the encounter revealed that
- the interplanetary magnetic field was distorted around Gaspra from 1 minute
- before the flyby until 2 minutes afterward. The readings support a surprising
- (although still speculative) conclusion -- Gaspra is magnetized! Two
- processes which may have enabled Gaspra to achieve this state are: (1) A
- molten core could have been created in Gaspra or its parent body by heat from
- the decay of radioactive isotopes within the parent body, and magnetization
- could have resulted from the creation of a dynamo due to convection within the
- core; or (2) a strong magnetic field (as existed early in the Sun's history)
- could have magnetized Gaspra or its parent body if either solidified or was
- abruptly shocked while within the field's reach.
-
- One of the primary objectives of the Gaspra and Ida encounters is to determine
- if S-class asteroids, the class to which both Gaspra and Ida belong, are the
- parent bodies of either the ordinary chondrite meteorites or the stony-iron
- meteorites. This is known as the "S-asteroid debate." Ordinary chondrite
- meteorites are considered primitive in comparison with the stony-iron
- meteorites because the stony-irons are rich in metal and other compounds due
- to the extensive melting and geochemical fractionation they underwent within
- their respective parent bodies. S-class asteroids are one of the most common
- type of asteroids. Their defining feature is their surface composition --
- varying proportions of olivine and pyroxene and iron-nickel metal.
- Unfortunately, a key source of data to resolve this debate -- the mass of
- Gaspra -- could not be determined because mission safety precluded the flyby
- distance at Gaspra being small enough to make accurate mass measurements.
- However, further study of data from Galileo's near-infrared mapping
- spectrometer taken at Gaspra may help resolve this debate since it will permit
- searches for marked compositional heterogeneity across the asteroid's surface.
- And, since Ida is also an S-class asteroid, the likelihood of resolving this
- debate grows as the Ida encounter approaches.
-
-
- 2.0 WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT IDA
-
- The asteroid 243 Ida was discovered on September 29, 1884 by J. Palisa in
- Vienna. The asteroid was named by a Viennese, Herr von Kuffner, presumably
- due to the mythological association between Ida and Jupiter -- Ida was a nymph
- who cared for the infant Jupiter while Jupiter was in hiding from his father,
- Saturn, who had threatened to eat him.
-
- Ida, like Gaspra, is an S-type asteroid. Approximately one-sixth of the
- asteroids fall within this classification. S-type asteroids are reddish
- objects with moderate albedos implying that they are composed of a mixture of
- pyroxene, olivine and iron. Ida is slightly pyroxene-dominated whereas Gaspra
- is richer in olivine. The significance of the pyroxene-olivine ratio is that
- olivine-rich asteroids are not ordinary chondrites. This is an important
- factor in the S-asteroid debate as discussed earlier. By mapping composition
- units on Ida with Galileo's cameras and its near-infrared mapping spectrometer
- and comparing them with similar data from Gaspra, the S-asteroid debate could
- be resolved.
-
- Ida is a member of the Koronis family of asteroids. This implies that some
- time ago a large asteroid, Koronis, suffered a catastrophic collision and
- broke into many remnants (children) of which Ida is one. Ida and the other
- members of this "family" share nearly identical orbital elements -- thus
- meeting the qualification of being an asteroid family. The benefit to
- studying families is that by studying the offspring one is provided with a
- glimpse of the interior of the parent body. Models of the Koronis family
- suggest that the collision giving rise to Ida happened only tens of millions
- of years ago.
-
- During the time of closest approach, Ida will appear from Earth to be located
- at right ascension 196.7 degrees, declination -8.0 degrees toward the
- constellation Virgo. Ida will be 3 to 4 degrees northwest of Spica, Virgo's
- brightest star.
-
- Ida's known characteristics are summarized in the following table (Gaspra's
- characteristics are provided as a comparison):
-
- IDA vs. GASPRA
- A Brief Comparison
-
- -- Ida is almost twice as large in diameter and eight times as large in volume
- (Ida can be represented as a triaxial ellipsoid with the following
- dimensions: 53 km by 23 km by 18 km with a mean diameter of 28 km (17.4
- mi) vs. 19 km by 12 km by 11 km with a mean diameter of 14 km (8.4 mi)) for
- Gaspra)
-
- -- Ida is in the middle of the asteroid belt (Gaspra is located in the inner
- edge)
-
- -- Ida has a more rapid spin rate (Ida's spin period = 4.63 hours; Gaspra's
- spin period = 7.04 hours)
-
- -- Ida is thought to have a more irregular shape
-
- -- Ida is a member of the Koronis family of asteroids (Gaspra is in the Flora
- family)
-
- -- Ida may be much younger than Gaspra (tens of millions of years as opposed
- to 200 million years for Gaspra)
-
- -- Ida is possibly an ordinary chondrite (most common meteorite) parent body
- (Gaspra is possibly a stony-iron meteorite parent body)
-
-
- 3.0 PREPARING FOR THE ENCOUNTER
-
- The three main challenges in planning for a successful encounter at Ida were
- (1) to identify Ida's position with respect to the Galileo spacecraft with as
- high a degree of certainty as possible; (2) to prepare the spacecraft to point
- the instruments on target; and (3) to develop a data return strategy which
- will optimize the science return. The first two objectives were especially
- challenging due to Ida's small size and ephemeris uncertainty. The third
- objective, an optimized data return strategy, was also challenging due to data
- rate limitations and constraints on the use of the non-redundant onboard tape
- recorder.
-
- 3.1 Navigating to Ida
-
- Precise knowledge of Ida's orbit only became of interest to astronomers after
- it was selected as a flyby target for Galileo. Thus, a long-term record of
- regular Ida observations which the navigation team could rely on to assist in
- the determination of Ida's orbit did not exist. Instead, ground-based
- observations of Ida combined with Doppler and range measurements of the
- spacecraft are being used to narrow the position uncertainty of both Ida and
- Galileo. Additionally, star-position data acquired by the Hipparcos
- spacecraft was used to update Ida's apriori ephemeris. The uncertainty in the
- position of Galileo relative to Ida can be represented by an ellipsoidal
- volume of space no larger than 530 km by 420 km by 210 km (330 by 260 by 130
- mi) (95-percent probability). Further reductions in Ida's position
- uncertainty will be made by the Galileo Navigation Team prior to closest
- approach through the use of optical navigation and a technique known as
- single-frame mosaicking which was first employed at Gaspra.
-
- Optical Navigation
-
- Optical navigation (OPNAV) consists of a series of photographs taken by the
- spacecraft's imaging system of a target body against a star background. OPNAV
- pictures give information on the apparent position of the target body when
- compared to the known positions of the background stars. OPNAV pictures were
- used by Galileo for orbit determination purposes for the first time at Gaspra.
-
- Prior to the encounter, Galileo will take a total of four optical navigation
- images of Ida on July 22, August 12, August 17 and August 21 (all dates UTC)
- beginning with OPNAV 2. (Originally, five OPNAV pictures were planned;
- however, OPNAV 1 was cancelled due to a spacecraft safing event.) After all
- of the data from the preceding OPNAV has been played back, the next OPNAV
- image will be shuttered. As of this document's deadline date, OPNAV 2 has
- already been processed.
-
- OPNAV 5 originally was scheduled to occur 5 days prior to encounter but was
- moved back 2 days (to -7 days) in order to accommodate the Mars Observer orbit
- insertion which required the Deep Space Network 70m antennas at the same time.
- As a result, OPNAV 5 will be executed and played back before the final Ida-
- encounter trajectory correction maneuver (TCM 21). Thus, data from OPNAV 5
- (and OPNAV 4) will be used to adjust Galileo's trajectory through design
- revisions of TCM 21.
-
- Single-Frame Mosaicking
-
- In order to ensure that adequate data would be returned in each OPNAV image to
- allow extraction of position measurements, the single-frame mosaic technique
- was conceived. This technique, first used at Gaspra, involves performing
- several small scan platform slews while the solid-state imaging instrument's
- camera shutter is open. It enables several sets of Ida and star images to be
- acquired in one frame. Single-frame mosaicking has 3 main advantages over the
- routine OPNAV method in that it (1) decreases the sensitivity to data outages
- because multiple sets of Ida and star images can be distributed over different
- lines of the same picture; (2) provides the capability to use different
- exposure times for each mosaic position since the stop times between the
- mosaic slews can be varied; and (3) allows an area larger than the size of the
- camera field-of-view to be covered by scan platform motions.
-
-
- 3.2 Instrument Pointing
-
- Galileo will fly by Ida in the southern hemisphere (75 degrees south ecliptic
- latitude) on the asteroid's dark side, passing approximately 2,400 km (1,500
- mi) from the center of the asteroid while traveling at a speed relative to the
- asteroid of 12.4 km/sec (27,700 mph). The volume of space corresponding to
- Ida's position uncertainty, when projected onto the plane normal to the
- pointing direction of the scan platform, represents an ellipse-shaped area
- within which the asteroid may be found at some level of probability. For
- science planning purposes, the elliptical region of sky searched was chosen so
- that there would be a 95-percent probability of capturing the asteroid within
- the boundaries of the ellipse. The scan platform instruments, which would
- normally be aimed directly at an object of interest, instead must scan the
- entire area of position uncertainty and record data for the entire region in
- order to be certain of capturing Ida. This is a difficult task given that the
- target is moving at such a high relative velocity.
-
- Without any further improvement on the apriori knowledge of Ida's position, it
- would be highly improbable to capture an image of the asteroid greater than
- several dozen pixels. Fortunately, position data obtained from OPNAV pictures
- can be used to decrease significantly the position uncertainty of Ida. As
- mentioned previously, the final two OPNAV pictures (OPNAV #4 and OPNAV #5)
- will be used to update the design of the final pre-Ida trajectory correction
- maneuver (TCM-21) in order to achieve the best possible trajectory delivery
- accuracy. TCM-21 will be executed two days prior to closest approach.
-
- 3.3 Data Return Strategy at Ida
-
- The data return strategy developed for the Ida encounter was designed so as to
- ultimately return the key science observations at Ida -- primarily solid-state
- imaging and near-infrared mapping spectrometer observations of Ida, the
- magnetometer search for Ida's interaction with the solar wind, and a minimal
- set of calibrations. The strategy reflects the key constraint of limiting the
- tape recorder start/stop cycles required to play back recorded data. The
- other Ida experiments have been designed to use only the data that will be
- embedded in the return of the solid-state imaging, near-infrared mapping
- spectrometer and magnetometer observations, including the ultraviolet
- spectrometer and the photopolarimeter-radiometer experiments.
-
- There are three ways to return data collected during the Ida encounter. The
- first two, unloading data which have been transferred to the command and data
- subsystem from the tape recorder (data memory subsystem memory readouts) and
- real-time memory readouts of certain instruments, have been used previously
- during the Galileo mission. The third method, known as the command and data
- subsystem buffering technique, will be used to acquire data from the
- magnetometer instrument only. This technique, conceived of for the Ida
- encounter, was first employed earlier this year for engineering purposes. It
- involves immediately transferring data acquired from 1 hour before to 1 hour
- after closest approach to the command and data subsystem buffer for later
- playback. Due to this technique, it will be possible to obtain the
- magnetometer data since otherwise it would have had to have been extracted
- from the solid-state imaging data stream -- a prohibitive task.
-
- Return of the Ida data must be apportioned between the month-long period
- beginning one day after closest approach and a four-month long period (March-
- June) in 1994 when the Earth is again between the Sun and Galileo. The
- challenge of the data return activity is in determining the location of data
- on the tape recorder primarily due to uncertainties in both Ida's location and
- in scan platform pointing. A special survey technique, known as the "jailbar
- search," has been developed for Ida which allows for sampling 2 camera lines
- out of every 330. Upon inspection, packets which contain Ida data, as opposed
- to "black sky" data, will be identified. Based upon the known tape recorder
- location of each packet, the spacecraft will be instructed to download the
- selected frames. This technique guarantees locating Ida in the highest
- resolution images; thus, it will greatly reduce the playback time needed to
- download the highest priority encounter data. The total science data return
- at Ida is expected to be comparable to that achieved at Gaspra.
-
-
- 4.0 SCIENCE OBJECTIVES AT IDA
-
- There are four primary science objectives for the Ida encounter. The first is
- to characterize global properties such as size and shape. The second
- objective is to characterize surface morphology and particle size, search for
- geologic and evolutionary processes and obtain crater frequency distributions
- for collisional history and relative ages. The third objective is to
- characterize compositional properties such as surface composition, chemical
- composition and surface mineralogy. The fourth objective is to characterize
- possible magnetic field effects by conducting a magnetometer search for field
- perturbations, especially solar wind whistler wing effects, such as apparently
- detected at Gaspra. Achievement of these objectives will give scientists a
- basis for comparative analyses of other asteroids and small bodies throughout
- the solar system.
-
- The following is a description of the Galileo instruments to be used during
- the Ida encounter.
-
- 4.1 SSI
-
- The solid-state imaging instrument (SSI) uses a 176.5mm aperture Cassegrain
- telescope to focus incident light from an object or body of interest onto a
- solid-state image-detector array known as a charge-coupled device (CCD). The
- focal array has a resolution of 800 lines by 800 elements. By comparison,
- this is approximately twice the resolution of conventional television.
-
- SSI will obtain many images during the encounter, including at least one high-
- resolution image of the asteroid. Galileo's closing speed and uncertainties
- remaining in the orbital parameters will make it necessary to mosaic an area
- that is significantly larger than Ida itself in order to capture the
- asteroid's image. While Galileo is still far enough away to capture the
- entire error ellipse (at 95-percent confidence) in one frame, SSI will take a
- series of 75 individual images covering 1.08 of Ida's rotation (known as Ida's
- "rotation movie"). The first 33 images will be comprised of 5 clear-filter
- images, three 6-filter sets, and two 5-filter sets that are spaced to record
- every 30 degrees of longitude. The remaining 42 images are contained in seven
- 6-filter sets shuttered every 15 degrees of longitude. These images will be
- most useful in characterizing Ida's size and shape. Following completion of
- the Ida rotation movie, SSI will take a series of four mosaics representing
- the highest priority observations. The first mosaic includes a 6-color single
- image and a 2x2 series through 4 filters. This will provide the highest
- resolution multispectral imaging of Ida and will abe used to study detailed
- compositional variations across the surface of the asteroid. The second
- mosaic is comprised of SSI clear-filter images shuttered while the near-
- infrared mapping spectrometer obtains a chemical map of Ida. This mosaic will
- be used in conjunction with the following high-resolution image to provide
- stereo coverage of Ida which will assist greatly in determining its shape and
- size. The third mosaic, also clear filter, will provide the highest
- resolution imagery of Ida for which capture of the entire asteroid is
- guaranteed. Its 30 frames will cover the entire 95-percent error ellipse and
- will be acquired between 5.5 and 1 minute(s) before closest approach.
- Depending upon which frames in the mosaic actually capture the asteroid, the
- resolution may lie anywhere between 26 and 48 m/pixel, with a most probable
- resolution of about 40 m/pixel. The highest resolution possible in this
- mosaic (26 m/pixel) is twice that achieved at Gaspra (54 m/pixel). The final
- mosaic, a 15-frame clear-filter, will cover only the center region of the
- error ellipse giving a 50-percent probability that the center of the asteroid
- will be captured. It will start at 1 minute prior to closest approach and
- finish at 1 minute after closest approach. If acquired, it will be the
- highest resolution SSI data obtained at Ida (24 to 26 m/pixel). Out of all 15
- images in this mosaic, Ida may appear in as many as six. At the range the
- final SSI mosaic is shuttered, approximately 2,400 km, Ida will stretch across
- almost three SSI fields of view. These final two mosaics were designed so
- that an additional coverage of the region of most probable capture occurs at
- closest approach. These images will reveal details of Ida's surface
- morphology, crater size and distribution, as well as any surface processes
- which may be at work. In all, SSI will record 150 frames from which 21
- individual views of Ida could be acquired. All of the mosaics will be taken
- in the last 15 minutes before closest approach.
-
- The imaging at Ida will provide great improvements in spatial resolution as
- well as spectral coverage as compared with the Gaspra encounter imaging. The
- highest possible multispectral resolution at Ida will be twice that achieved
- at Gaspra (87 m/pixel at Ida compared to 160 m/pixel at Gaspra). Even more
- impressive is the fact that at Ida it will be possible to achieve more than
- twice the highest clear-filter resolution obtained at Gaspra (24 m/pixel vs.
- 54 m/pixel). This is because at Ida imaging will continue through periapsis
- until 1 minute after closest approach; whereas the final image at Gaspra was
- taken 8 minutes before closest approach. Also, two additional filters have
- been included in the color sequences. There are many 6-color sets at Ida as
- compared to 4-color sequences at Gaspra. This will give additional insight
- into the understanding of the surface composition on Ida.
-
- 4.2 NIMS
-
- The near-infrared mapping spectrometer (NIMS) provides imaging and
- spectroscopic data for the infrared region of the spectrum (0.7 to 5.2
- micrometers wavelength). This portion of the spectrum is important because it
- provides information regarding composition, temperature and geology. The NIMS
- is a "push-broom imager" (so called for the way it scans images). Its
- principal components are a 9-inch Ritchey-Chretien telescope, a scanning
- mirror assembly, a diffraction spectrometer with a scanning grating, and a 17-
- detector focal plane array. It has wavelength resolution capabilities of
- 0.027 micrometers for wavelengths greater than 1 micrometer, and 0.014
- micrometers for 0.7 to 1.0 micrometers. The NIMS is a scanning-type
- instrument which creates an image by repeatedly sampling what amounts to a
- three-dimensional array in X, Y and wavelength. The combination of a
- diffraction grating, scan mirror and scan platform motion allow NIMS to
- measure and generate images in up to 408 separate wavelengths.
-
- NIMS will "sweep out" mosaics to ensure imaging of the asteroid near closest
- approach. During its closest approach and high resolution observations of
- Ida, NIMS will scan back and forth across the region where the asteroid is
- located to be certain to capture the asteroid. (During its other
- observations, NIMS will "stop and shoot.") NIMS will be performing several
- different types of measurements, all of which cover the spectral range of 0.7
- to 5.2 micrometers. During approach, NIMS will collect a spectral lightcurve
- of Ida. The instrument will sample the Ida surface every 90 degrees of
- rotation in 204 wavelengths, every 30 degrees in 102 wavelengths, and every 15
- degrees in 102 wavelengths. With the combined wavelength samples it is
- possible to compose a hemispherically-resolved chemical heterogeneity map for
- one full rotation of the asteroid. NIMS's highest-priority is to obtain the
- best possible spatial resolution of Ida's surface with 17 wavelength samples
- while the instrument is in its fixed grating mode. This is done during a
- collaborative SSI/NIMS mosaic occurring at 5 minutes prior to closest
- approach.
-
- NIMS data will provide information about what minerals are present on Ida's
- surface, one of the clues to the asteroid's origin. Infrared images are
- frequently able to discern features which have no contrast in pictures taken
- in the visible spectrum. NIMS will be able to provide more complete spectral
- information on the asteroid than possible from Earth because of the
- atmospheric absorption characteristics and limited spatial resolution
- available. NIMS will be able to extend the range of wavelengths sampled at
- Ida including measurements in the thermal region of the spectrum. All of this
- will provide a better understanding of the regolith characteristics, surface
- composition and chemical heterogeneity of Ida.
-
-
- 4.3 UVS and EUV
-
- The ultraviolet spectrometer (UVS) measures wavelengths between 113 and 432
- nanometers. The UVS is a narrow field-of-view scanning-type instrument like
- the NIMS and the photopolarimeter-radiometer (PPR) and is mounted on the scan
- platform. The instrument uses a 250-mm aperture Cassegrainian telescope
- coupled with an Ebert-Fastie monochromator using three photomultipliers as
- detectors. The instrument can operate in a single wavelength monitoring mode
- or can record the entire spectrum between 113 and 432 nanometers.
- The extreme-ultraviolet spectrometer (EUV) is a modification to the
- ultraviolet spectrometer instrument flown on the Voyager spacecraft. The
- modifications allow the instrument to gather spectral data in the 54 to 128
- nanometer range. The EUV is a concave objective grating spectrograph mounted
- on the spun section of the spacecraft. As Galileo spins, the EUV observes a
- narrow annular ribbon of space.
-
- During the encounter, the UVS will "piggyback" with the SSI and NIMS
- observations. Approximately five hours before closest approach, the UVS will
- begin obtaining ultraviolet spectra over the range 162-323 nanometers,
- piggybacked on fixed SSI pointing. Two additional measurement cycles with
- fixed pointing, when Ida is much smaller than the UVS field of view, follow at
- about -4 hours and -3 hours. The final four measurements made in the 1.5
- hours before closest approach piggyback on SSI and/or NIMS mosaics covering
- the Ida error ellipse. The last three of these measurements span 113-323
- nanometers. These UVS measurements obtain data on the asteroid and its near-
- space environment.
-
- The EUV will be recording data on the region near Ida as Galileo passes by it.
- It cannot be predicted that Ida itself will be captured within the field of
- view of the EUV. EUV will be looking at the hydrogen, helium and oxygen
- spectrum of the interplanetary background in the vicinity of Ida, while UVS
- will be looking at the asteroid and its vicinity.
-
- The UVS will attempt to measure more accurately the albedo, color and
- scattering properties of Ida. The EUV and UVS will be used to determine the
- presence and amount of atomic and ionic emission from the asteroid and any
- associated atmosphere. An atmosphere of a sort could be created on a body as
- small as Ida through interactions with the solar wind and cosmic rays which
- knock surface atoms free. Limited outgassing could also generate an extremely
- thin atmosphere.
-
- 4.4 PPR
-
- The photopolarimeter-radiometer (PPR) is a descendent of an instrument flown
- on the Pioneer Venus spacecraft. It uses a 10-cm Cassegrain Dall-Kirkham
- telescope to focus incident light from the object of interest through a filter
- wheel. The filter wheel determines which wavelengths are passed and which are
- blocked. For polarimetry, light must pass through both a half-wave retarder
- plate and a spectral filter, while for photometry the light is passed through
- only the spectral filter. A second optics path obtains background light.
- Light from this path is not passed unless the instrument is performing
- radiometry. When the instrument is performing photopolarimetry, the incident
- light passes through the filter to a prism which splits the light into its two
- separate polarization components and directs these separate beams to two
- silicon photodiodes. During radiometry, an optical chopper operating at 30 Hz
- alternately directs flux from the scene-view and the space-view telescopes
- onto a lithium-tantalate detector. Photometry is measured in bands centered
- at 618, 633, 646, 789, 830, 841 and 891 nanometers, while polarimetry measures
- 410, 679 and 945 nanometers. The lithium-tantalate radiometry detector
- measures incident (scene-view) and reference (space-view) infrared radiation
- at 17, 21, 27, 37 and greater than 42 micrometers.
-
- At Ida, the PPR will measure the intensity and polarization of reflected
- sunlight in the visible region of the spectrum. The PPR will also measure
- thermal infrared radiation. PPR will attempt to make observations very near
- closest approach (beginning at +1 minute). To do this, it will scan the
- center of the error ellipse at high resolution, then the whole ellipse at
- lower resolution. On the outbound side, heading away from Ida, PPR will map
- the entire 95-percent confidence ellipse as a polarimetry study in two filter
- wheel positions.
-
- Radiometric observations will result in brightness temperatures which can be
- converted into thermal inertias for the regolith. This, in turn, provides
- information on the size of the particles which make up this surface layer.
- Polarimetry analysis of how the particles which cover Ida polarize reflected
- light will provide further information on the physical properties of the
- regolith.
-
- 4.5 DDS
-
- The dust detection subsystem (DDS) is designed to measure the mass, electric
- charge and velocity of incoming particles ranging in size from 10^-16 to 10^-7
- grams (less than a ten-millionth of a pound) and speeds between 1 and 70
- km/sec. The instrument has a fairly wide field of view, approximately 140
- degrees, and is mounted on the spun portion of the orbiter to allow it to
- sample direction as well as density.
-
- Since the DDS is mounted on the spinning portion of Galileo, it has no
- specific pointing requirements for making observations during the encounter.
- While Galileo is in the vicinity of Ida, DDS will be recording impact rate,
- particle mass, velocity, charge and impact direction. This data will be used
- to determine particle orbits and distributions.
-
- Data obtained by the DDS will provide additional insight on the near-asteroid
- environment. Scientists hope to discover if asteroids are accompanied by
- accumulations of small particles, and whether these particles are captured by
- the asteroid, or are coming from the asteroid. Because data obtained by the
- DDS is stored in the instrument's memory, it will be much easier to return to
- Earth. Even at the transmission rate available at Ida's distance from Earth,
- return of DDS data by memory readout will be completed within 34 hours after
- the encounter, making it some of the first Ida data available for analysis.
-
- 4.6 MAG
-
- The magnetometer (MAG) is composed of two sets of sensors mounted on the 11-
- meter boom. One set is mounted at the end of the boom and the other about 6.9
- meters from the spacecraft spin axis. This boom is located on the spinning
- portion of the Galileo orbiter. The outer sensor will be used at Ida and will
- be operated in the approximately nano-Tesla range. It is capable of sensing
- changes in the magnetic field to hundredths of a nano-Tesla. By way of
- example, the Earth's magnetic field is approximately 50,000 nano-Teslas
- measured at sea level.
-
- The MAG need not be pointed at a particular target for its observations.
- Instead it sweeps through space sampling magnetic field strength and
- orientation as Galileo spins. Throughout Galileo's recent interplanetary
- cruise, the magnetometer has been sampling the magnetic fields at two-hour
- averages. As the Ida encounter approaches, the sampling rate will be
- increased. At approximately 16 hours before closest approach, the MAG will
- increase its sampling rate to sample at 1-minute averages. This data will be
- stored in the instrument's memory and returned to Earth via memory readout.
- For approximately 2 hours in the immediate vicinity of Ida, MAG will operate
- in a special mode with 1.33-second resolution. This data will be stored in a
- command and data subsystem buffer and will be returned by memory readouts
- starting 19 hours after the encounter. An additional 29 minutes of normal
- high-resolution data (0.22-sec resolution) will be recorded starting 1 minute
- after closest approach. This data will be played back in 1994.
-
- The MAG will provide data on how Ida interacts with the solar wind. The
- presence and strength of any magnetic field, as seen at Gaspra, would provide
- additional information on Ida's history and internal structure.
-
- 4.7 PLS
-
- The plasma science (PLS) instrument uses electrostatic analysis to measure the
- directional intensities of ions and electrons with energy per unit charge
- between 0.8 and 52 keV. The instrument employs two spherical section
- electrostatic analyzers to measure the energy per charge and three sets of
- miniature magnets provide the mass per unit charge of the plasma. The PLS is
- mounted on the spun section of the spacecraft near the base of the
- magnetometer boom. As with all fields and particles instruments such as the
- DDS and MAG, the PLS sweeps through space as the spacecraft spins, sampling in
- all directions successively. This provides almost complete coverage of
- charged particle velocity vectors at the spacecraft position.
-
- PLS measurements will start at about closest approach and will run until
- approximately 30 minutes past closest approach. The PLS will analyze the
- plasma for a range of radial distances from Ida.
-
- PLS will provide measurements of the solar wind and search for evidence of
- solar wind and asteroid interactions. This information, combined with that
- from the other fields and particles instruments, will provide additional
- understanding of the space physics of the solar environment around Ida. Also,
- the PLS will test and calibrate modes intended for the Jupiter mission.
-
- 4.8 EPD
-
- The energetic particle detector (EPD) can detect electrons and ions from
- hydrogen to iron. It can detect ions with energies between 20 keV and 55 MeV,
- electrons with energies between 15 KeV and 11 MeV, and can determine elemental
- species with energies between 10 keV and 15 MeV. The EPD consists of two
- separate, bi-directional telescopes, the composition measuring system and the
- low-energy magnetospheric measuring system. The instrument is mounted on a
- stepping platform which is in turn located on the spun portion of the
- spacecraft near the base of the magnetometer boom. This allows the EPD to
- view the entire region of space around Galileo.
-
- The EPD will be activated approximately 20 hours prior to Ida closest
- approach. The stepping platform will be activated approximately 30 minutes
- before closest approach. The EPD will scan until about 30 minutes after
- closest approach. The EPD will search for energetic particles produced in the
- interaction between the solar wind and the asteroid.
-
- 4.9. PWS
-
- The plasma-wave subsystem (PWS) is used to study electric and magnetic fields.
- It uses an electric dipole antenna mounted at the end of the magnetometer boom
- to measure electric fields and two search coil magnetic antennas mounted on
- Galileo's high-gain antenna central post to measure magnetic fields. Spectral
- characteristics of electric fields between 5 Hz and 5.6 MHz and magnetic
- fields between 5 Hz and 160 kHz can be measured. High time-resolution
- measurements are provided by a wideband receiver capable of waveform
- measurements over bandwidths of 1 kHz, 10 kHz and 80 kHz. Both portions of
- the PWS are mounted on the spun portion of the spacecraft to more effectively
- measure field strength and orientation.
-
- PWS measurements will begin approximately at closest approach and will
- continue until approximately 30 minutes after. The PWS, as with the MAG, PLS
- and EPD, will look for evidence of an Ida/solar wind interaction.
-
-
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-
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