A dataset provided by the European Space Agency

Name MEX-M-MRS-1-2-3-MCO-0047
Mission MARS-EXPRESS
URL ftp://psa.esac.esa.int/pub/mirror/pub/mirror/MARS-EXPRESS/MRS/MEX-M-MRS-1-2-3-MCO-0047-V1.0
DOI https://doi.org/10.5270/esa-sy5gkzn
Abstract This is a Bistatic Radar measurement covering the time 2004-05-20T22:11:00 to 2004-05-21T05:05:00.
Description Data Set Overview The Mars Express (MEX) Radio Science (MaRS) Data Archive is a time-ordered collection of raw and partially processed data collected during the MEX Mission to Mars. For more information on the investigations proposed see the MaRS User Manual [MARSUSERMANUAL2004] in the MaRS DOCUMENT/MRS_DOC folder. This is a Bistatic Radar measurement covering the time 2004-05-20T22:11:00 to 2004-05-21T05:05:00. BCAL 00:30 - 01:00 : Pre-Calibration SLEW 01:00 - 01:30 : Slew to position BSR 01:30 - 02:30 : Actual measurement SLEW 02:30 - 03:00 : Slew to position BCAL 02:30 - 03:30 : Post-Calibration This data set was collected during the MEX Mission Comissioning Phase (MCO) - during the first 6 months the spacecraft was in orbit around Mars. This is a Bistatic Radar measurement to determine surface properties of Mars. The measurement was done as the specific target was available under good observing conditions. The High Gain Antenna was pointed towards Mars. There were three types of scientific measurements conducted during MCO: Occultation, Bistatic Radar and Gravity where one has to distinguish between global gravity measurements which were conducted around apocenter and target gravity measurements which were conducted around pericenter over interesting geophysical structures. For more information see INST.CAT or the MaRS User Manual [MARSUSERMANUAL2004]. One exception are the data from the 2004-01-23 (DOY 23/2004). This was not really a science measurement but rather a pure comissioning measurement. The so called TWOD-X procedure was supposed to assess the influence of telemetry on the background frequency noise after arrival at mars. The activity was planned with an X-band uplink and a dual-frequency Xand S-band downlink for a length of three hours with -One hour TM and RNG ON; 1100 - 1200 UT -One hour TM and RNG OFF (pure carrier), 1200 - 1300 UT -One hour of TM and RNG ON; 1300 - 1400 UT Data we...
Instrument MRS
Temporal Coverage 2004-05-20T22:11:00Z/2004-05-21T05:05:00Z
Version V1.0
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 (Khazakstan) 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 cont...
Creator Contact MARTIN PAETZOLD
Date Published 2006-03-29
Publisher And Registrant European Space Agency
Credit Guidelines European Space Agency, 2006-03-29, MEX-M-MRS-1-2-3-MCO-0047, V1.0. https://doi.org/10.5270/esa-sy5gkzn