Citation
Abstract
Communication between the Mars Pathfinder spacecraft and the ground stations during the critical period of entry, descent, and landing required the development of a technique for and utilization of radio science open-loop instrumentation at the Deep Space Network. The signal carrier at X-band (8.43 GHz) was recorded with minimal gaps throughout this period when a complex sequence of events was being performed by the spacecraft. The carrier information was reconstructed and delivered to the Project in order to assess the engineering performance as well as possibly characterize the Martian upper atmosphere for future Mars missions. This article describes the technique, instrumentation, operations strategy, and signal processing task.
Details
- Volume
- 42-131
- Published
- November 15, 1997
- Pages
- 1–19
- File Size
- 615.2 KB