| Description |
Data Set Overview ================= MARSIS Level 1b data products consist of the data produced by the instrument reconstructed from the scientific telemetry, sorted by instrument state and data type, and provided with spacecraft position, velocity and attitude information. Parameters ========== MARSIS data are organized into groups of echoes called frames. A frame contains one or more echoes, with or without on-board processing. Each echo, depending on the kind of processing it underwent, is recorded either as a time series of signal samples, or as the complex spectrum of the signal itself produced by means of a FFT. Scientific data in a frame are complemented by a set of ancillary data, produced by the instrument and recording parameter values used in pulse transmission, echo reception and on-board processing. Processing ========== Level 1b processing starts by cleaning, merging and time-ordering the packets. Duplicate data are deleted, missing packets are padded out, and the data are organised by orbits. Data are then sorted by instrument data types and instrument modes, and provided with spacecraft position, velocity and attitude information. MARSIS Level 1b processing orders data in a useful way for the intended users (i.e. radar scientists) and applications (i.e. quick look to monitor hardware performance and higher-level processing), altering and manipulating them as little as possible to avoid the risk of introducing errors and, at the same time, including all necessary information from all r^ant sources. Level 1b data are in scientifically useful form, i.e. individual spectra, but they are uncalibrated. Data ==== The list of EDR data Products is: E_AIS Active Ionosphere Sounding data frames with geometry information E_CAL Data frames acquired in Calibration mode with geometry information E_RXO Data frames acquired in Receive Only mode with geometry information E_SSx_ACQ_CMP On-board-processed Subsurface Sounding data in Acquisition state, with geometry information E_SSx_TRK_CMP On-board-processed Subsurface Sounding data in Tracking state, with geometry information Where x stands for a number between 1 and 5. EDR Data Products consist of two binary files, each of which contains a PDS binary TABLE object, and a single detached PDS label describing their structure. The first file, called Frame file (FRM) contains the instrument data proper, exactly in the same format (bit by bit) as they were produced by the instrument. Each frame corresponds to a record in the file, which is also a row in the PDS binary TABLE object into which frames are organised. The second file constituting an EDR is called a Geometry file (GEO), and contains one record, corresponding to one line of the PDS binary TABLE object into which data are organised, for every frame in the corresponding FRM file. Columns of the table contains the values of parameters describing the geometry of observation for the corresponding frame. Ancillary Data ============== No Ancillary data are provided. Coordinate System ================= Locations on the surface of Mars are expressed in planetocentric coordinates. Longitude increases to the East and is comprised in the range 0 - 360 degrees. Software ======== MARSIS data products can be read by the PDS software NASAView, which reads a PDS label and displays the associated image or table. Media/Format ============ The standard distribution format for the data is transfer through Internet from the Planetary Science Archive of ESA, which can be accessed at the following URL: http://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/psa/psa-introduction Confidence Level Overview ========================= This data set contains all data for the Mars Express MARSIS for the interval described above. Every effort has been made to ensure that all data returned by the spacecraft is included and that processing is accurate. Review ====== The MARSIS EDR data have been reviewed internally by the Mars Express MARSIS team prior to release to the PDS. The data set has been also peer reviewed by the PSA. Data Coverage and Quality ========================= All data in the stated interval are included, to the best of our knowledge and attempts to determine completeness. The instrument was operated only briefly during cruise for periodic instrument health. The late deployment of the MARSIS antenna allowed the start of science operations only six months before the end of the nominal mission. Data quality in a data product label is indicated through the DATA_QUALITY_ID element, and measures the integrity of the telemetry stream from the instrument. The permitted values of DATA_QUALITY_ID are the following: -1: percentage of corrupted data not available 0: no corrupted data 1: less than 2% corrupted data 2: less than 5% corrupted data 3: less than 10% corrupted data 4: more than 10% corrupted data Limitations =========== There are no known limitations at this time. |
| Mission Description |
Mission Overview ================ Mars Express was the first flexible mission of the revised long-term ESA Science Programme Horizons 2000 and was launched to the planet Mars from Baikonur (Kazakhstan) on June 2nd 2003. A Soyuz-Fregat launcher injected the Mars Express total mass of about 1200 kg into Mars transfer orbit. Details about the mission launch sequence and profile can be obtained from the Mission Plan (MEX-MMT-RP-0221) and from the Consolidated Report on Mission Analysis (CREMA)(MEX-ESC-RP- 5500). The mission consisted of (i) a 3-axis stabilized orbiter with a fixed high-gain antenna and body-mounted instruments, and (ii) a lander named BEAGLE-2, and was dedicated to the orbital and in-situ study of the interior, subsurface, surface and atmosphere of the planet. After ejection of a small lander on 18 December 2003 and Mars orbit insertion (MOI) on 25 December 2003, the orbiter experiments began the acquisition of scientific data from Mars and its environment in a polar elliptical orbit. The nominal mission lifetime for the orbiter was 687 days following Mars orbit insertion, starting after a 5 months cruise. The nominal science phase was extended (tbc) for another Martian year in order to complement earlier observations and allow data relay communications for various potential Mars landers up to 2008, provided that the spacecraft resources permit it. The Mars Express spacecraft represented the core of the mission, being scientifically justified on its own by investigations such as high- resolution imaging and mineralogical mapping of the surface, radar sounding of the subsurface structure down to the permafrost, precise determination of the atmospheric circulation and composition, and study of the interaction of the atmosphere with the interplanetary medium. The broad scientific objectives of the orbiter payload are briefly listed thereafter and are given more extensively in the experiment publications contained in ESAs Special Publication Series. See NEUKUM&JAUMANN2004, BIBRINGETAL2004, PICARDIETAL2004, FORMISANOETAL2004, BERTAUXETAL2004, PAETZOLDETAL2004 and PULLANETAL2004. The Mars Express lander Beagle-2 was ejected towards the Mars surface on 19 December 2003, six days before the orbiters capture manoeuvre. The probe mass was limited to about 70 kg by the mission constraints, which led to a landed mass of 32 kg. The complete experimental package was weighed in approximately at 9kg. The landers highly integrated scientific payload was supposed to focus on finding whether there is convincing evidence for past life on Mars or assessing if the conditions were ever suitable. Following safe landing on Mars, this lander mission would have conducted dedicated studies of the geology, mineralogy, geochemistry, meteorology and exobiology of the immediate landing site located in Isidis Planitia (90.74?E, 11.6?N), as well as studies of the chemistry of the Martian atmosphere. Surface operations were planned to last about 180 sols or Martian days ( about 6 months on Earth), see SIMSETAL1999. As no communication could be established to the BEAGLE-2 lander, it was considered lost in February 2004 after an extensive search. A nominal launch of Mars Express allowed the modify the orbit to a G3-ubeq100 orbit. The G3-ubeq100 orbit is an elliptical orbit, starting with the sub-spacecraft point at pericentre at the equator and a sun ^ation of 60 degrees. At the beginning of the mission, the pericentre moves southward with a shift of 0.54 degree per day. At the same time the pericentre steps towards the terminator which will be reached after about 4 months, giving the optical instruments optimal observing conditions during this initial period. Throughout this initial phase lasting until mid- May 2004, the downlink rate will decrease from 114 kbit/s to 38 kbit/s. After an orbit change manoeuvre on 06 May 2004 the pericentre latitude motion is increased to guarantee a 50/50 balance between dayside and nightside operations. With this manoeuvre, the apocentre altitude is lowered from 14887 km to 13448 km, the orbital period lowered from ~7.6 hours to 6.645 hours, and the pericentre latitude drift slightly increased to 0.64 degree per day. After 150 days, at the beginning of June 2004, the South pole region was reached with the pericentre already behind the terminator. Following, the pericentre moves northward with the Sun ^ation increasing. Thus, the optical instruments covered the Northern Mars hemisphere under good illumination conditions from mid-September 2004 to March 2005. During the next mission phase, lasting until July 2005, the pericentre was again in the dark. It covered the North polar region and moves southward. Finally, throughout the last 4 months of the nominal mission, the pericentre was back to daylight and moves from the equator to the South pole, and the downlink rate reached its highest rate of 228 kbit/s. The osculating orbit elements for the eq100 orbit are listed below: Epoch 2004:1:13 - 15:56:0.096 Pericentre (rel. sphere of 3397.2 km) 279.29 km Apocentre (rel. sphere) 11634.48 km Semimajor axis 9354.09 km Eccentricity 0.60696 Inclination 86.583 Right ascension of ascending node 228.774 Argument of pericentre 357.981 True anomaly -0.001 Mission Phases ============== The mission phases are defined as: (i) Pre-launch, Launch and Early Operations activities, including (1) science observation planning; (2) payload assembly, integration and testing; (3) payload data processing software design, development and testing; (4) payload calibration; (5) data archive definition and planning; (6) launch campaign. (ii) Near-Earth verification (EV) phase, including (1) commissioning of the orbiter spacecraft; (2) verification of the payload status; (3) early commissioning of payload. (iii) Interplanetary cruise (IC) phase (1) payload checkouts (2) trajectory corrections (iv) Mars arrival and orbit insertion (MOI) (1) Mars arrival preparation; (2) lander ejection; (3) orbit insertion; (4) operational orbit reached and declared; (5) no payload activities. (v) Mars commissioning phase (1) final instrument commissioning, (2) first science results, (3) change of orbital plane. (vi) Routine phase; Opportunities for dawn/dusk observations, mostly spectroscopy and photometry. This phase continued into a low data rate phase (night time; favorable for radar and spectrometers). Then daylight time, and went into a higher data rate period (medium illumination, zenith, then decreasing illumination conditions). Observational conditions were most favorable for the optical imaging instruments at the end of the routine phase, when both data downlink rate and Sun ^ation are high. (vii) MARSIS Deployment The dates of the MARSIS antenna deployment is not known as of writing this catalogue file. (viii) Extended operations phase A mission extension will be proposed in early 2005 to the Science Programme Committee (SPC). (ix) Post-mission phase (final data archival). Science Subphases ================= For the purpose of structuring further the payload operations planning, the mission phases are further divided into science subphases. The science subphases are defined according to operational restrictions, the main operational restrictions being the downlink rate and the Sun ^ation. The Mars Commissioning Phase and the Mars Routine Phase are therefore divided into a number of science subphases using various combinations of Sun ^ations and available downlink bit rates. The discrete downlink rates available throughout the nominal mission are: - 28 kbits/seconds - 38 kbits/seconds - 45 kbits/seconds - 57 kbits/seconds - 76 kbits/seconds - 91 kbits/seconds - 114 kbits/seconds - 152 kbits/seconds - 182 kbits/seconds - 228 kbits/seconds The adopted Sun ^ation coding convention is as follows: - HSE for High Sun Elevation (> 60 degrees) - MSE for Medium Sun Elevation (between 20 and 60 degrees) - LSE for Low Sun Elevation (between -15 and 20 degrees) - NSE for Negative Sun Elevation (< -15 degrees) The science subphase naming convention is as follows: - Science Phase - Sun Elevation Code - Downlink Rate - Science Subphase Repetition Number The following tables gives the available Science Subphases: NAME START END ORBITS BIT SUN RATE ELE ---------------------------------------------------------- MC Phase 0 2003-12-30 - 2004-01-13 1 - 16 MC Phase 1 2004-01-13 - 2004-01-28 17 - 58 114 59 MC Phase 2 2004-01-28 - 2004-02-12 59 - 105 91 69 MC Phase 3 2004-02-12 - 2004-03-15 106 - 208 76 71 MC Phase 4 2004-03-15 - 2004-04-06 209 - 278 57 51 MC Phase 5 2004-04-06 - 2004-04-20 279 - 320 45 33 MC Phase 6 2004-04-20 - 2004-06-04 321 - 475 38 22 MR Phase 1 2004-06-05 - 2004-08-16 476 - 733 28 -13 MR Phase 2 2004-08-16 - 2004-10-16 734 - 951 28 -26 MR Phase 3 2004-10-16 - 2005-01-07 952 - 1250 28 16 MR Phase 4 2004-01-08 - 2005-03-05 1251 - 1454 45 63 MR Phase 5 2004-03-05 - 2005-03-24 1455 - 1522 76 16 MR Phase 6 2004-03-25 - 2005-07-15 1523 - 1915 91 0 The data rate is given in kbit per seconds and represents the minimal data rate during the subphase. The sun ^ation is given in degrees and represents the rate at the beginning of the subphase. Detailed information on the science subphases can be found in MEX-EST-PL-13128. |
