Andrew Yee[_1_]
May 28th 08, 05:32 PM
ESA News
http://www.esa.int
28 May 2008
Listen to Phoenix descend
With data recorded on board Mars Express, you can hear Phoenix descend on to
the surface of the Red Planet. After being processed by the Mars Express
Flight Control Team, the sounds of Phoenix descending are audible, loud and
clear.
The data from the Mars Express Lander Communication system (MELACOM) that
tracked Phoenix was received on Earth soon after the Phoenix landing.
As Mars Express flew over
This animation shows the signal of Phoenix's descent, recorded by MELACOM.
The spike in the animation, between frequencies of 7 and 8 kiloHertz, shows
the transmission from Phoenix itself.
The lander can be seen in the animation starting from about 342 s after the
start time and disappears at about 1085 s. This shows Mars Express picking
up on the Phoenix signal and tracking it while closing in on the lander; the
closest Mars Express got to Phoenix was 1550 km.
As Mars Express flew away, the lander deployed its parachute, separated from
it and landed, the signal from the lander was cut off.
The shift of the spike seen in the animation, is due to the so-called
Doppler effect, which is very similar to what we hear when listening to the
whistle of a passing train.
The signal was tracked successfully, even during the expected transmission
blackout window of the descent, until the lander was out of Mars Express's
view. The transmission blackout window is caused because of ionisation
around the probe, which builds up as the lander descends through the
atmosphere and only very weak signals come through.
The rest of the recording, the start and the end, contains background noise
generated by Mars Express itself.
Science observations
During the descent, all of the capabilities of Mars Express were focussed on
tracking Phoenix with MELACOM. Unfortunately, the science observations
carried out during the descent did not lead to the anticipated results.
Over the next few days, Mars Express will monitor Phoenix using MELACOM 15
more times; at least one of these will be used to demonstrate and confirm
that the ESA spacecraft can be used as a data relay station for NASA,
receiving data from the surface and transmitting test commands to the
lander.
Detailed information about the descent and landing will be available once
the data from all the fly-overs is processed and analysed over the next few
weeks.
Notes for editors:
The processing and interpretation of the data by the Mars Express Flight
Control Team is the result of the joint work of the signal processing team
of ESA's Ground Stations Systems division and with the Flight Dynamics team
at ESA's European Space Operations Centre.
[NOTE: Images and weblinks supporting this release are available at
http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Operations/SEMAWQ1YUFF_1.html ]
http://www.esa.int
28 May 2008
Listen to Phoenix descend
With data recorded on board Mars Express, you can hear Phoenix descend on to
the surface of the Red Planet. After being processed by the Mars Express
Flight Control Team, the sounds of Phoenix descending are audible, loud and
clear.
The data from the Mars Express Lander Communication system (MELACOM) that
tracked Phoenix was received on Earth soon after the Phoenix landing.
As Mars Express flew over
This animation shows the signal of Phoenix's descent, recorded by MELACOM.
The spike in the animation, between frequencies of 7 and 8 kiloHertz, shows
the transmission from Phoenix itself.
The lander can be seen in the animation starting from about 342 s after the
start time and disappears at about 1085 s. This shows Mars Express picking
up on the Phoenix signal and tracking it while closing in on the lander; the
closest Mars Express got to Phoenix was 1550 km.
As Mars Express flew away, the lander deployed its parachute, separated from
it and landed, the signal from the lander was cut off.
The shift of the spike seen in the animation, is due to the so-called
Doppler effect, which is very similar to what we hear when listening to the
whistle of a passing train.
The signal was tracked successfully, even during the expected transmission
blackout window of the descent, until the lander was out of Mars Express's
view. The transmission blackout window is caused because of ionisation
around the probe, which builds up as the lander descends through the
atmosphere and only very weak signals come through.
The rest of the recording, the start and the end, contains background noise
generated by Mars Express itself.
Science observations
During the descent, all of the capabilities of Mars Express were focussed on
tracking Phoenix with MELACOM. Unfortunately, the science observations
carried out during the descent did not lead to the anticipated results.
Over the next few days, Mars Express will monitor Phoenix using MELACOM 15
more times; at least one of these will be used to demonstrate and confirm
that the ESA spacecraft can be used as a data relay station for NASA,
receiving data from the surface and transmitting test commands to the
lander.
Detailed information about the descent and landing will be available once
the data from all the fly-overs is processed and analysed over the next few
weeks.
Notes for editors:
The processing and interpretation of the data by the Mars Express Flight
Control Team is the result of the joint work of the signal processing team
of ESA's Ground Stations Systems division and with the Flight Dynamics team
at ESA's European Space Operations Centre.
[NOTE: Images and weblinks supporting this release are available at
http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Operations/SEMAWQ1YUFF_1.html ]