Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
Contents
GENERAL RELEASE..................................... 1-15
Mailed:
November 28, 1978
ii
For Release:
N i c h o l a s Panagakos
H e a d q u a r t e r s , Washington, D.C. IMMEDIATE
(Phone : 202/755-3680)
P e t e r Waller
Ames R e s e a r c h C e n t e r , Mountain V i e w , C a l i f .
(Phone: 415/965-5091)
n e x t month w i t h t h e a r r i v a l a t t h e p l a n e t of P i o n e e r Venus 1
and 2 .
On D e c . 9 , t h e f o u r p r o b e s and t r a n s p o r t e r b u s t h a t
c o m p r i s e P i o n e e r Venus 2 w i l l p l u n g e i n t o t h e Venusian
c l o u d s a t w i d e l y s e p a r a t e d p o i n t s f o r d e t a i l e d measurements
of t h e d e n s e a t m o s p h e r e from t o p t o bottom.
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P i o n e e r Venus 1 w i l l be t h e f i r s t U . S . spacecraft t o
enigma among p l a n e t s .
f o r t h e l a s t f o u r months.
24-hour o r b i t p l a n n e d so t h a t s p a c e c r a f t e v e n t s a r e timed
w i t h d a y s on E a r t h .
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-4-
t h e p r i m a r y m i s s i o n m o r e t h a n c o v e r s t h e t i m e needed t o
sister c r a f t , t r a v e l i n g 350 m i l l i o n km ( 2 2 0 m i l l i o n m i . ) .
s p h e r e on t h e p l a n e t ' s d a y s i d e : t h e N i g h t Probe, t h e n i g h t
s o u t h e r n hemisphere on t h e n i g h t s i d e : and t h e N o r t h P r o b e ,
t h e N o r t h P o l a r v o r t e x , a l s o on Venus' n i g h t s i d e . Bus e n t r y
i s i n t h e s o u t h e r n hemisphere on t h e d a y s i d e .
The Bus u s e s t w o i n s t r u m e n t s t o o b t a i n t h e d a t a on
t h e c o m p o s i t i o n o f t h e u p p e r a t m o s p h e r e , f r o m 1 5 0 km down t o
1 1 5 km ( 9 0 m i . down t o 7 0 m i . ) a l t i t u d e , b e f o k e b u r n i n g up
s h o r t l y a f t e r atmospheric entry.
C r i t i c a l o p e r a t i o n s a t t h e p l a n e t are i n j e c t i o n i n t o
o r b i t o f P i o n e e r Venus 1 w h i l e it i s o u t o f r a d i o c o n t a c t
The s e q u e n c e o f e v e n t s i s as f o l l o w s :
0 On S a t u r d a y , D e c . 2 , Ames c o n t r o l l e r s w i l l o r i e n t
t h e O r b i t e r f o r o r b i t i n s e r t i o n and t h e n e x t day w i l l l o a d
t h e O r b i t e r w i l l p a s s b e h i n d Venus and n i n e m i n u t e s l a t e r
30 s e c o n d s , r e d u c i n g v e l o c i t y by 3 , 7 8 0 km/hr ( 2 , 3 5 0 mph).
and f i v e m i n u t e s a f t e r t h i s , t e l e m e t r y c o n f i r m s r e t r o f i r e .
0 F i v e d a y s l a t e r , on D e c . 9 , t h e p r o b e s are i n p o s i t i o n
t o make t h e i r h o u r - l o n g d e s c e n t t h r o u g h Venus' a t m o s p h e r e .
(The f o u r p r o b e s and Bus which c o m p r i s e P i o n e e r Venus 2 w e r e
o r d e r t o c o n s e r v e b a t t e r y power. They w i l l n o t be h e a r d
0 Three h o u r s b e f o r e e n t r y , command s y s t e m s on b o a r d
N i g h t P r o b e s w i l l t u r n on heaters t o w a r m up b a t t e r i e s ,
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-7-
w i l l send i t s f i r s t r a d i o s i g n a l t o E a r t h i n 2 4 d a y s . Then
a t i n t e r v a l s of f i v e , three and f o u r m i n u t e s , t h e N o r t h ,
0 S e v e n t e e n m i n u t e s b e f o r e e n t r y , t h e Large P r o b e d a t a
s y s t e m w i l l b e g i n o p e r a t i n g a t 256 b i t s p e r second ( b p s ) ,
and i t s i n s t r u m e n t s w i l l b e w a r m e d up and c a l i b r a t e d .
0 L a r g e P r o b e e n t r y a t 4 2 , 0 0 0 km/hr ( 2 6 , 0 0 0 mph) o c c u r s
p r o b e w i l l r e t u r n a s t e a d y stream of d a t a on each l e v e l o f
w i l l o c c u r a t 11:40 a . m . PST.
0 A f t e r f i r s t r a d i o c o n t a c t w i t h t h e i d e n t i c a l North,
Day a n d . N i g h t P r o b e s , d a t a b e g i n t o a r r i v e a t 6 4 b p s . I n s t r u -
m e n t s a r e warmed up and c a l i b r a t e d . The p r o b e s e n t e r t h e
e x p o s e s e n s o r s r e l a t e d t o a t m o s p h e r i c s t r u c t u r e and n e t f l u x
three p r o b e s w i l l g a t h e r a t m o s p h e r i c d a t a .
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-8-
0 A t 1 6 . 4 m i n u t e s a f t e r e n t r y , a s Venus' atmosphere
t h e i r m i s s i o n s w i l l be o v e r , t h e y may c o n t i n u e b r i e f l y t o
A major o p e r a t i o n s problem i s r e t r i e v a l of p r o b e d a t a .
o p e r a t i o n s a t Venus a l l P i o n e e r s p a c e c r a f t w i l l be t r a n s -
e n s u r e t h i s , s p e c i a l equipment h a s been i n s t a l l e d i n t h e
DSN s t a t i o n s a t Goldstone, C a l i f . , and C a n b e r r a , A u s t r a l i a .
Radio f r e q u e n c i e s of t h e p r o b e s i g n a l s w i l l s h i f t
r a p i d l y d u e t o huge e n t r y d e c e l e r a t i o n s -- f r o m 4 2 , 0 0 0 km/hr
i s t h a t a f t e r t h e 1 0 - t o 15-second communications b l a c k o u t
d u r i n g e n t r y , s i g n a l s w i l l r e a p p e a r a g a i n a t new f r e q u e n c i e s .
T o a v o i d l o s s of d a t a , b o t h D S N s t a t i o n s w i l l u s e newly-
wide enough t o be c e r t a i n o f g e t t i n g t h e f o u r s h i f t i n g s i g -
w i l l lose s o m e d a t a .
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-10-
(62 lb.). The smaller North, Day and Night Probes each
weigh 9 3 kg (206 lb.) . They are 0.8 m (30 in.) in diameter,
and their three experiments weigh 3 . 5 kg (7.7 lb.).
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l i k e t e r r e s t r i a l smog. D a t a f r o m S o v i e t Venera l a n d e r s
t o be composed m a i n l y of s u l f u r i c a c i d d r o p l e t s . Somewhere
t h e t e m p e r a t u r e becomes g r e a t enough f o r t h e s u l f u r i c a c i d
d r o p l e t s t o e v a p o r a t e i n t o w a t e r v a p o r and s u l f u r i c a c i d
as on a n o v e r c a s t d a y on E a r t h .
From t h e M a r i n e r c l o u d p h o t o g r a p h s i n u l t r a v i o l e t l i g h t ,
it a p p e a r s t h a t t h e c l o u d t o p s a r e i n c o n t i n u o u s m o t i o n ,
p l a c e a b o u t 56 km ( 3 6 m i . ) a l t i t u d e between t h e b a s e of t h e
c l o u d s and t h e c l e a r a t m o s p h e r e below.
may be growing b e c a u s e of i n c r e a s e s i n c a r b o n d i o x i d e i n
o u r atmosphere -- due t o l a r g e - s c a l e b u r n i n g o f f o s s i l f u e l
s i n c e 1850.
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( A l l t i m e s are P a c i f i c Standard)
Dec. 2
Midday Maneuver t o o r i e n t O r b i t e r f o r i n s e r t i o n . Bit
r a t e lowered (1,024 t o 64 b p s ) ; s w i t c h t o omni
antenna; spin-up high-gain antenna; i n c r e a s e s p i n
r a t e t o 30 rpm; d e s p i n h i g h - g a i n a n t e n n a ; r a i s e
b i t r a t e (64 t o 1,024 b p s ) .
Dec. 3
11:OO p.m. Load b o t h O r b i t e r command m e m o r i e s w i t h sequence
t o f i r e o r b i t i n s e r t i o n motor.
Dec. 4
8:15 a . m . Confirm O r b i t e r r e t r o f i r e .
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Dec. 7
a.m. UVS measures of composition and thermal structure
of hot outermost atmospheric layer: Ion Mass
Spectrometer (IMS) data on distribution and con-
centration of ions in upper atmosphere; NMS read-
ings of upper atmosphere: IR readings of: temperature
profiles in upper atmosphere, total reflected sun-
light, correlation with ultraviolet markings, water
vapor abundance and distribution (Orbiter).*
p.m. Second black and white picture received from CPP
(color five hours later) .*
Dec. a
Early a.m. Data on cloud tops and upper atmosphere from
.
Orbiter UVS *
a.m. Data on temperature profiles of upper atmosphere,
total reflected sunlight, correlation with ultra-
violet markings, water vapor abundance and distri-
bution from IR, IR maps: NMS readings of upper
atmosphere: IMS readings of ion distribution and
concentration in upper atmosphere; UVS measures of
composition and thermal structure of hot outermost
atmosphere layer (Orbiter).*
Gravity anomalies from Orbiter radio science
(effects of gravity on orbital path).*
p.m. Third planet picture received from CPP.*
Daytime Calibrations made: NMS cap released (Bus).
Dec. 9
7:50 a.m. Multiprobe atmosphere entry operations begin.
Stable oscillator in radio transmitters of North,
Day and Night probes warmed up by onboard commands.
8 : 1 5 a.m. Command unit on Large Probe initiates warm-up of
battery and radio receiver.
a.m. Final adjustments to Bus' entry angle.
Dec. 9 (cont'd.)
a.m. Orbiter experiment data continuing daily:
IR maps, IR readings of temperature profiles of
upper atmosphere, total reflected sunlight, cor-
relation with ultraviolet markings, water vapor
abundance and distribution; NMS readings of upper
atmosphere; I M S readings of ion distribution and
concentration in upper atmosphere; UVS measures
of composition and thermal structure of hot outer-
most atmospheric layer (Orbiter).*
p.m. Two planet pictures per day (Orbiter).*
First transmissions from probes:
First Radio First Signal First Data
Signal Received First Data Received
Transmission On Earth Probe Transmission On Earth
10:23 a.m. 10:26 a.m. Large 10:28 a.m. 10:31 a.m.
10:28 a.m. 10:31 a.m. North 10:33 a.m. 10:36 a.m.
10:31 a.m. 10:34 a.m. Day 10:36 a.m. 10:39 a.m.
10:34 a.m. 10:37 a.m. Night 10:39 a.m. 10:42 a.m.
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Dec. 9 (cont'd.)
Entry and impact times for probes and Bus.
(Entry is at 200 km (125 mi.) altitude,
42,000 km/hr (26,000 mph) .)
Entry Probe Impact
10:45 a.m. Large 11:40 a.m.
10:50 a.m. North 11:47 a.m.
10:53 a.m. Day 11:50 a.m.
1 0 : 5 6 a.m. Night 11:53 a.m.
12:21 p.m. Bus Burns up at 12:23 p.m.
Dec. 12
a.m. Preliminary data on solar energy deposition from
Solar Flux Radiometer; cloud-layer particle size
from Cloud Particle Size Spectrometer; atmosphere
and cloud components from Atmospheric Composition
Mass Spectrometer (Large Probe).*
a.m. Data reduction of Mass Spectrometer measurements
of number density of upper atmosphere; Ion Mass
Spectrometer measurements of upper atmosphere (Bus).*
p.m. Reduction of data on Day, Night and North Probe
measurements of heat trapping on Venus from net
flux radiometers.*
p.m. Thermal structure of ionosphere from Electron
Temperature Probe; Magnetometer readings of iono-
sphere and solar wind fields; Electric Field
Detector readings of solar wind-ionosphere inter-
action (Orbiter).*
Dec. 13
a.m. Further data reduction on: heat sources and sinks
in atmosphere from Large Probe IR; cloud density
of lower atmosphere from all four probe nephelometers.*
p.m. Preliminary data on atmospheric components from
Gas Chromatograph; cloud particle characteristics
from 'Solar Radiometer; Solar Radiometer readings
of solar heating in Venus atmosphere (Large Probe) .*
p.m. Reduction of upper atmosphere thermal structure
data from four probes.
Dec. 14
a.m. Cloud characteristic data from Large Probe Solar
Flux Radiometer.*
Dec. 19 Solar corona turbulence and solar wind velocity
near the Sun from effects on Orbiter radio signal.*
Dec. 2 2 Line-of-sight wind speeds from Multiprobe Doppler
experiment; small-scale turbulence characteristics
of atmosphere from Multiprobe radio science.*
"Experiment result dates and times are estimates and are
tentative.
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M I S S I O N PROFILE
The t w o P i o n e e r f l i g h t s t o Venus w i l l e x p l o r e t h e
atmosphere o f t h e p l a n e t , s t u d y i t s s u r f a c e u s i n g r a d a r
and d e t e r m i n e i t s g l o b a l s h a p e and d e n s i t y d e s t r i b u t i o n .
The f i r s t s p a c e c r a f t , P i o n e e r Venus 1, t h e O r b i t e r , w i l l
make e i g h t months o r more o f r e m o t e - s e n s i n g and d i r e c t
measurement. P i o n e e r Venus 2 , t h e M u l t i p r o b e , s e p a r a t e d
i n t o f i v e atmospheric e n t r y c r a f t , e i g h t m i l l i o n m i l e s
o u t from t h e p l a n e t , w i l l measure t h e atmosphere from t o p t o
bottom i n a b o u t two h o u r s a t p o i n t s s p r e a d o v e r t h e e n t i r e
E a r t h - f a c i n g h e m i s p h e r e of Venus.
O R B I T E R OPERATIONS
On D e c . 2 , 1978, t w o d a y s b e f o r e a r r i v a l a t Venus, t h e
O r b i t e r s p a c e c r a f t s p i n r a t e w i l l be i n c r e a s e d t o 30 rpm
and t h e O r b i t e r w i l l be o r i e n t e d w i t h i t s 18,000-N ( 4 , 0 0 0 - l b . )
t h r u s t , s o l i d - f u e l e d r o c k e t engine p o i n t i n g forward, i n t h e
d i r e c t i o n of t r a v e l .
Within h o u r s a f t e r t h e o r b i t i n s e r t i o n r o c k e t b u r n ,
m e m b e r s of t h e O r b i t e r n a v i g a t i o n team will have measured
t h e a c t u a l s i z e and s h a p e o f t h e o r b i t . A f t e r s l o w i n g t h e
s p i n r a t e and a d j u s t i n g o r i e n t a t i o n , t h e y w i l l command
f i r i n g o f t h r u s t e r s t o t r i m up t h e o r b i t t o a c c e p t a b l e
dimensions.
During t h e 243-day p r i m a r y O r b i t e r m i s s i o n , t h e o r b i t
w i l l have a p e r i o d close t o 2 4 h o u r s . T h i s means t h a t most
a c t i v i t i e s w i l l o c c u r o v e r t h e same D S N s t a t i o n e v e r y day.
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T H E PIONEER VENUS MISSIONS
I
h)
b P
REVERSE I
'
I
NIGHT
BUS PROBE
ORBITER
-25-
PERSPECTIVE V I E W OF PIONEER V E N U S O R B I T
PIONEER VENUS ORBITER
TYPICAL ORBITAL OPERATIONS
- LOAD RADAR
MAPPER MEMORY
I
h,
cn
1 ORBIT = 24 HOURS I
GAMMA BURST DETECTOR, MAGNETOMETER &
ELECTRIC FIELD DETECTOR OPERATE
CONTINUOUSLY DURING ORBIT
9 / /
PHOTOPOLARIMETER
OBSERVATIONS AND PLASMA
ANALYZER SEQUENCES
I
/ SEQUENCES
/
READ-oUT
RPA & PA
SEQUENCES
D A T A STORAGE
UNITS
PIONEER VENUS ORBITER
ORBIT INSERTION (EXPERIMENT OPERATIONS)
/
/
SPACECRAFT BEHIND
PLANET - NO RADIO
COMMUNICATION
>
\,/ l8 MAGNETOMETER &
17 R ETAR DING POTENTI A L
ANALYZER ON
23
TRIM TO 5 rpm I
t
u
INFRARED RADIOMETER ON; 4
UNLOCK RADAR ANTENNA; I
RELEASE NEUTRAL MASS
1 ORBIT = 24 HOURS SPECTROMETER (NMS) HAT;
DEPLOY ELECTRON TEMPERATURE
PROBE (ETP) BOOM; NMS &
ETP ON
/ TELEMETRY TO HIGH-GAIN
ANTENNA
REOR IENT TO SOUTH
6 CELESTIAL POLE
DESPIN 15 TO 6 rpm
MOTOR BURNS
I
30 secs, CHANGES
VELOCITY 3780 kph
(2349 mph)
DESPIN
HIGH-GAIN
ANTENNA
\
LOAD RADAR MAPPER MEMORY
FOR FIRST ORBIT
PIONEER VENUS ORBITER
ORBIT INSERTION (SPACECRAFT OPERATIONS)
>/'
FOR ORBIT INSERTION & 0
0
SPIN-UP TO 30 rpm
11 P.M. DEC. 3:
LOAD COMMAND MEMORIES ,*:
L&d
op
TO FIRE ORBIT INSERTION ,5p
MOTOR
/ p+
START
1 A.M.
COMMAND
DEC. 4: /\++
MEMORIES TO FIRE 0
ORBIT INSERTION MOTOR
0
k0
22 21
/ I
23 h,
SPACECRAFT BEHIND a,
I
PLANET - NO RADIO
COMMUNICATION
\
1 ORBIT = 24 HOURS
BEGINS
ORBIT INSERTION:
SOLID ROCKET
MOTOR BURNS TELEMETRY TO
30 secs, CHANGES HIGH-GAIN ANTENNA
VELOCITY 3780 kph REORIENT TO SOUTH
(2349mph) CELESTIAL POLE
1
DESPIN c \
- 3 TO 6 rpm
-29-
Mission o p e r a t i o n s w i l l u s e f i v e d a t a formats d u r i n g
t h e 4-hour p e r i a p s i s p e r i o d . Thesz f o r m a t s a r e d e s i g n e d t o
p e r m i t s emphasis i n c e r t a i n i n s t r u m e n t s when d e s i r a b l e ; f o r
example, one p r o v i d e s i n t e n s i v e aeronomy c o v e r a g e a t p e r i a p -
s i s , a n o t h e r stresses o p t i c a l c o v e r a g e .
The mapping f o r m a t g i v e s 4 4 p e r c e n t of t h e d a t a f l o w
t o t h e r a d a r mapper f o r Venus s u r f a c e s t u d y , and d i v i d e s t h e
r e s t between t h e u l t r a v i o l e t s p e c t r o m e t e r and t h e i n f r a r e d
radiometer.
Normally, c o n t r o l l e r s w i l l u s e o n l y two d a t a f o r m a t s
i n t h e 20-hour a p o a p s i s segment. The f i r s t of t h e s e w i l l
b e f o r t a k i n g p i c t u r e s o f t h e whole p l a n e t i n u l t r a v i o l e t
l i g h t , which w i l l show t h e f o u r - d a y r o t a t i o n o f Venus'
c l o u d s i n s e q u e n c e . Known as t h e imaging f o r m a t , i t a l l o -
c a t e s 6 7 p e r c e n t o f t h e d a t a s t r e a m t o t h e imaging and
c l o u d p h o t o p o l a r i m e t e r i n s t r u m e n t , and d i v i d e s t h e rest amonq
t h r e e s o l a r w i n d - p l a n e t i n s t r u m e n t s and t h e a s t r o n o m i c a l ex-
p e r i m e n t ' s gamma b u r s t d e t e c t o r . The o t h e r f o r m a t , known
as t h e g e n e r a l f o r m a t , a l l o c a t e s d a t a r e t u r n among a l l O r -
b i t e r e x p e r i m e n t s e x c e p t t h e p i c t u r e - t a k i n g c l o u d photo-
p o l a r i m e t e r and t h e i n f r a r e d r a d i o m e t e r . A s much a s t h r e e -
q u a r t e r s of t h e t o t a l a p o a p s i s p e r i o d w i l l be devoted t o
imaging, which h a s v e r y l a r g e d a t a r e q u i r e m e n t s .
A l s o , d u r i n g o c c u l t a t i o n s , when communications a r e c u t
o f f , t h e Venus O r b i t e r w i l l s t o r e d a t a i n i t s m i l l i o n - b i t
memory. A f t e r emergence of t h e O r b i t e r , t h e d a t a memory
r e a d o u t w i l l be u s e d f o r r e t u r n o f s t o r e d d a t a . A second
o c c u l t a t i o n p e r i o d o c c u r s from May 7 - 1 6 , 1 9 7 9 , a l l o w i n g
a d d i t i o n a l r a d i o measurements o f t h e u p p e r atmosphere.
During t h e e i g h t months on o r b i t , h e a l t h o f t h e s p a c e -
c r a f t w i l l be m o n i t o r e d t h r o u g h t h e c o n t i n u o u s f l o w of en-
g i n e e r i n g d a t a . Redundant s y s t e m s f o r t h e most c r i t i c a l
f u n c t i o n s ( s u c h as command and d a t a r e t u r n ) w i l l be u s e d i f
needed.
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ORBIT CHANGES SHOW VENUS'
INTERIOR DENSITY DISTR IBUTlON
/
/
/
/
GRAVITY ,'
SIGNATURE
r
----_-
I
\
\
\
\ BETA
1' VOLCAN
I
,: FEATUR
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I I
I w
I 0
I I
-31-
Mission O p e r a t i o n s e n g i n e e r s a l s o w i l l t r i m t h e o r b i t
a b o u t every 1 0 d a y s e i t h e r t o l o w e r p e r i a p s i s a l t i t u d e
which i s g r a d u a l l y r a i s e d by s o l a r g r a v i t y p e r t u r b a t i o n s
o r t o a d j u s t t h e o r b i t a l p e r i o d when it d r i f t s from the
desired value.
The p r i m a r y m i s s i o n e n d s a f t e r 2 4 3 d a y s . S h o r t l y a f t e r -
w a r d s , t h e O r b i t e r and Venus w i l l be b e h i n d t h e Sun and
communications w i l l b e g a r b l e d o r c u t o f f for s e v e r a l d a y s .
A f t e r emergence from s o l a r b l a c k o u t , t h e o p p o r t u n i t y w i l l
be a v a i l a b l e f o r extended mission operations.
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MULTIPROBE OPERATIONS
Large P r o b e E n t r y E v e n t s
A t 2.5 h o u r s b e f o r e e n t r y ( t i m e o f e n t r y i s d e f i n e d a s
t i m e a t 2 0 0 km ( 1 2 0 m i . ) a l t i t u d e ) , t h e Large P r o b e ' s command
u n i t w i l l o r d e r warmup o f t h e b a t t e r y and r a d i o r e c e i v e r .
Twenty-two m i n u t e s b e f o r e e n t r y , t h e p r o b e w i l l b e g i n t r a n s m i s s i o n
o f r a d i o s i g n a l s t o E a r t h . A t e n t r y minus 1 7 m i n u t e s , t h e
p r o b e b e g i n s t r a n s m i t t i n g d a t a a t 256 b p s . The command u n i t
i n i t i a t e s warmup o f t h e s e v e n s c i e n t i f i c i n s t r u m e n t s a b o a r d ,
plus instrument calibration. F i v e m i n u t e s b e f o r e t h e peak
e n t r y d e c e l e r a t i o n p u l s e o f 320 G , t h e p r o b e w i l l be t r a v e l i n g
4 1 , 6 0 0 km/hr ( 2 6 , 0 0 0 mph).
The t i m e r w i l l command d a t a s t o r a g e f o r t h e a t m o s p h e r i c
s t r u c t u r e e x p e r i m e n t d u r i n g e n t r y communications b l a c k o u t .
T h i r t y - e i g h t s e c o n d s a f t e r e n t r y , t h e 316-kg ( 7 0 0 - l b . )
p r o b e b e g i n s t h e d e s c e n t p h a s e , d e p l o y s i t s p a r a c h u t e and
j e t t i s o n s i t s forward a e r o s h e l l - h e a t s h i e l d . F o r t y - t h r e e
s e c o n d s a f t e r e n t r y , a t a n a l t i t u d e of 6 6 km ( 4 0 m i . ) , a l l
instruments should be o p e r a t i n g . Seventeen minutes l a t e r ,
a t a n a l t i t u d e of 4 7 km ( 2 8 m i . ) , t h e p a r a c h u t e i s j e t t i s o n e d ,
and t h e a e r o d y n a m i c a l l y s t a b l e p r e s s u r e vessel d e s c e n d s t o
t h e s u r f a c e i n 39 m i n u t e s , i m p a c t i n g 55 m i n u t e s a f t e r e n t r y .
The p r o b e j e t t i s o n s i t s p a r a c h u t e t o s p e e d i t s d e s c e n t t h r o u g h
Venus' v e r y d e n s e a t m o s p h e r e , so t h a t i t r e a c h e s t h e s u r f a c e
before h e a t d e s t r o y s it.
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PIONEER V E N U S ATMOSPHERE
PROBES SEPARATION
.......... .
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I .
SOUND E R ~
PROBE
DAY
PROBE
The transporter Bus releases the Sounder Probe 11.1 million km (6.9 million mi) from Venus on Nov. 15.
Four days later, the Bus releases the three identical North, Day, and Night Probes, 9.3 million km (5.8
million mi) from Venus.
L A R G E PROBE DESCENT SEQUENCE
e
ENTRY
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F r e q u e n c i e s of t h e p r o b e s i g n a l s w i l l s h i f t w i d e l y
b e c a u s e of t h e a b r u p t s p a c e c r a f t v e l o c i t y c h a n g e s a t e n t r y - -
from 4 1 , 6 0 0 km/hr ( 2 6 , 0 0 0 m p h ) down t o a b o u t 6 5 km/hr
( 4 0 mph)-- and s i g n a l d i s t o r t i o n s by Venus' d e n s e a t m o s p h e r e .
To f u r t h e r c o m p l i c a t e s i g n a l r e c e p t i o n s , t h e r e i s a 10-to-15
second communications b l a c k o u t a t peak e n t r y d e c e l e r a t i o n .
For a s h o r t t i m e there i s no s i g n a l a t a l l , and when t h e
s i g n a l d o e s resume i t s f r e q u e n c y h a s s h i f t e d . T o a s s u r e
g e t t i n g d a t a streams from t h e f i v e e n t r y c r a f t , ground
r e c e i v e r s w i t h bandwidths s u f f i c i e n t t o cover a l l p o s s i b l e
f r e q u e n c y s h i f t s w i l l r e c e i v e and record t h e incoming
signals.
S c i e n t i s t s w i l l c a l c u l a t e a t m o s p h e r i c wind v e l o c i t i e s
and d i r e c t i o n s f r o m measurements of c h a n g e s i n p r o b e
t r a j e c t o r i e s ( v e l o c i t i e s ) , t h r o u g h t r i a n g u l a t i o n measurements
involving four stations. Two STDN s t a t i o n s a t Guam and
S a n t i a g o , C h i l e , w i l l r e c o r d Bus and p r o b e d a t a , a l o n g w i t h
t h e D S N s t a t i o n s a t C a n b e r r a and G o l d s t o n e .
PROBE DATA RETURN
During flight through the atmosphere of the Sounder, North, Day and Night probes and the Bus, NASA's
Deep Space Network must handle data from six spacecraft at once. All Pioneer Venus spacecraft transmit
directly to Earth from the planet.
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5
0
%
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O r b i t and R o t a t i o n of Venus
Some s c i e n t i s t s b e l i e v e t h a t Venus' p e r i o d o f r o t a t i o n
i s t i e d t o t h e r e v o l u t i o n o f t h e E a r t h and Venus a r o u n d t h e
Sun. Venus p r e s e n t s t h e same h e m i s p h e r e toward E a r t h a t each
c l o s e s t a p p r o a c h ; t h a t i s , e a c h t i m e t h e p l a n e t p a s s e s between
Sun and E a r t h . I f t h e r o t a t i o n of Venus i s l o c k e d t o t h e close
a p p r o a c h e s o f E a r t h and Venus, t h e n t h e i n t e r n a l d i s t r i b u t i o n of
mass w i t h i n Venus s h o u l d be s l i g h t l y asymmetric.
Why does Venus r o t a t e s o s l o w l y when m o s t o t h e r p l a n e t s
r o t a t e i n p e r i o d s of h o u r s r a t h e r t h a n months? One s p e c u l a t i o n
i s t h a t a l a r g e body h i t Venus a n d s t o p p e d i t s r o t a t i o n . T h i s
l a r g e body m i g h t have been c a p t u r e d as a s a t e l l i t e i n t o a
r e t r o g r a d e o r b i t and l a t e r impacted w i t h Venus t o s t o p i t s
normal r o t a t i o n and r o t a t e it s l o w l y i n a n o p p o s i t e d i r e c t i o n .
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VENUS' CLOUD CIRCULATION
Ultraviolet picture of Venus' clouds taken at 720,000 km (450,000 mi) by Mariner 10. This
photo consists of a mosaic of several T V frames. The dark markings of the clouds appear to
rotate in about four days in a retrograde direction.
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U n l i k e t h e E a r t h , Venus h a s no s i g n i f i c a n t m a g n e t i c f i e l d .
T h e g e n e r a t i o n of E a r t h ' s f i e l d i s a t t r i b u t e d t o a s e l f - s u s t a i n i n g
dynamo i n t h e f l u i d core o f t h e p l a n e t . C o n v e c t i o n c u r r e n t s i n
t h e core g i v e r i s e t o e l e c t r i c c u r r e n t s t h a t p r o d u c e t h e e x t e r n a l
m a g n e t i c f i e l d . T h i s t h e o r y , which a l s o seems t o a p p l y t o
J u p i t e r , p r e d i c t s t h a t s l o w - s p i n n i n g p l a n e t s l i k e Venus s h o u l d
n o t have m a g n e t i c f i e l d s .
Venus i s a p l a n e t whose s h a p e c o u l d be v e r y c l o s e t o a
s p h e r e a c c o r d i n g t o r a d a r measurements. They show i t s e q u a t o r
t o be a l m o s t a p e r f e c t c i r c l e . Because t h e p o l e s do n o t r o t a t e
i n t o view a s do p o i n t s on t h e e q u a t o r , c i r c u l a r i t y around t h e
p o l e s c a n n o t b e measured. The l a c k o f i r r e g u l a r i t i e s i n
s h a p e , and of a s a t e l l i t e makes it d i f f i c u l t t o d e t e r m i n e t h e
i n t e r n a l d e n s i t y d i s t r i b u t i o n of t h e p l a n e t . Most models of
t h e i n t e r i o r a r e based on i t s s i m i l a r i t y t o E a r t h , c o n s i s t i n g
of a l i q u i d c o r e , a s o l i d m a n t l e and a s o l i d c r u s t . But t h e
t r u e n a t u r e of t h e i n t e r i o r of t h e p l a n e t i s v e r y much i n
d o u b t b e c a u s e s c i e n t i s t s do n o t know Venus' thermal s t r u c t u r e
o r t h e n a t u r e of t h e m a t e r i a l s which make up i t s mass.
T h e c l o u d s which o b s c u r e t h e s u r f a c e of Venus c o n s i s t of
t h i c k h a z e s o f d r o p l e t s b e l i e v e d t o be made o f s u l f u r i c a c i d .
Venus' c l o u d s are p a l e y e l l o w and v e r y r e f l e c t i v e , r e t u r n i n g
i n t o s p a c e some 75 p e r c e n t o f t h e s u n l i g h t f a l l i n g on them.
Space p r o b e measurements have shown t h a t t h e r e a r e d i s t i n c t
c l o u d l a y e r s much h i g h e r t h a n t e r r e s t r i a l c l o u d s . P h o t o g r a p h s
t a k e n i n u l t r a v i o l e t l i g h t reveal a f o u r - d a y r o t a t i o n of t h e
markings i n t h e s e c l o u d s . T h i s r o t a t i o n i s l i k e t h a t o f t h e
p l a n e t , i n a retrograde d i r e c t i o n . Unusual dynamics o f t h e
a t m o s p h e r e a r e r e q u i r e d t o a c c o u n t f o r t h i s high-speed c l o u d
motion.
The g e n e r a l l y a c c e p t e d f i g u r e f o r a t m o s p h e r i c c a r b o n
d i o x i d e on Venus i s 9 7 p e r c e n t . However, measurements made
by e a r l y Venera spacecraft (USSR) d i f f e r from r a d i o o c c u l a t i o n
measurements s u g g e s t i n g t h e p r e s e n c e o f a b o u t 7 0 p e r c e n t
c a r b o n d i o x i d e i n t h e Venusian a t m o s p h e r e . And, i f t h e r e
i s much a r g o n i n t h e a t m o s p h e r e , t h e amount of c a r b o n d i o x i d e
c o u l d be as l o w a s 2 5 p e r c e n t .
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-51-
Upper Atmosphere
The upper atmosphere of Venus has an ionosphere which is
different from that of Earth. Because Venus does not have a
significant magnetic field, the solar wind interacts directly
with the upper atmosphere and the ionosphere of the planet.
Among the atmospheric regions of Venus, the upper atmosphere
above the cloud tops is best understood. It has been investigated
from Earth and from flyby and orbiting spacecraft. Above 150 km
( 9 0 mi.) it is more rarefied than the atmosphere of Earth at the
same height. Like Earth's atmosphere, it is ionized by incoming
solar radiation to produce positively-charged ions and free
electrons of an ionosphere, which is thinner and closer to the
surface of the planet than Earth's ionosphere. Like Earth's
ionosphere, the ionosphere of Venus has layers at which the
number of electrons per cubic centimeter (electron density)
peaks. In Earth's ionospheric layers, the peak electron density
is about 100,000 to 1,000,000 electrons per cubic centimeter, and
occurs at an altitude of about 250 to 300 km (150 to 180 mi.).
The major ion is singly-charged carbon dioxide.
Mariner 10 found two clearly defined layers in the nighttime
ionosphere: a main layer at 142 km ( 8 7 mi.) altitude and a
lesser layer at 124 km ( 7 6 mi.). The peak intensity of the latter
was about 7 8 per cent of the higher layer. On the dayside there
was one main layer at 142 km ( 8 7 mi.) and several minor layers,
including one at 128 km ( 7 8 mi.) and another at about 1 8 0 km
(110 mi.). The Venera 9 and 10 orbiters obtained similar results,
but single layers seem to be the most common.
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BOW SHOCK
TRANSITION
REG ION
_ -
/ .--- /- -- RAREFACTION
$J
SOLAR
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Haze Layers
At least two tenuous layers of haze can be seen in high
resolution pictures of the limb (edge of the disc) of Venus.
They extend from equatorial regions to higher latitudes. They
may be associated with temperature inversions in the high
atmosphere, and may result from processes similar to those in
Earth's atmosphere which produce layers of aerosols in the
stratosphere. Aerosols are solid or liquid particles suspended
in an atmosphere. The stratified layers of haze are in the
region 8 0 to 90 km (50 to 5 6 mi.) above the surface of Venus
where the atmospheric pressure is between 50 and 0.5 millibars.
(Pressure at Earth's surface is 1000 millibars). These haze
layers are extremely tenuous. At the topmost haze layer, if
the atmosphere is mainly carbon dioxide, the temperature should
be -75 degrees C. However, temperatures determined from
occultations differ appreciably above 60 km ( 3 7 mi.)t suggesting
temperature inversions that separate the haze layers from the
topmost convective cloud deck as well as the upper from the
lower haze layers. In the region above 50 km (30 mi.), the
daytime atmosphere is about 15 degrees C ( 5 9 degrees F)
warmer than the temperature at night.
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VENUS ATMOSPHERE
140 MAIN
IONIZATION UPPER
WEAKLY ATMOSPHERE
IONIZED
. . . .. . . LAYERS
E
Y
I-
I
2
Lu
I
TROPOPAUSE
60 CLOUDS CLOUDS
I WIND
SHEAR
LOW HAZES
A € ROSOLS
DUST
LOWER
20 ATMOSPHERE
CLEAR
V I ATMOSPHERE
o - & w l SURFACE
CRUST
25 50 75 100
WIND SPEED m/s
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Lower Atmosphere
The penetration of Veneras 9 and 10 into the lower atmosphere
produced new information about this region. At about 50 km (30 mi.)
altitude, the wind velocity appears to be about 130 kph (80 mph).
At the landing site of Venera 9, the local wind velocity varied
from 1.2 to 2.5 kph (.9 to 1.4 mph); at the Venera 10 site, it
varied from 2.9 to 4.7 kph (1.8 to 9.2 mph). The two landers
thus confirmed a low wind velocity close to the surface, as well
as little dust content in the low atmosphere.
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T h e r e are s t i l l many u n r e s o l v e d q u e s t i o n s a b o u t t h e
a t m o s p h e r e of Venus t h a t need t o b e a n s w e r e d , s u c h a s :
0 I t i s r e a l l y a g r e e n h o u s e e f f e c t t h a t makes Venus
so h o t compared w i t h t h e E a r t h ? O r i s there a
dynamic c a u s e ?
T h e S u r f a c e o f Venus
The r a d a r o b s e r v a t i o n s r e v e a l a l a r g e - s c a l e g r a n u l a r
s t r u c t u r e , s u g g e s t i v e of a r o c k - s t r e w n d e s e r t . Large b u t
s h a l l o w c i r c u l a r f e a t u r e s , m o s t l i k e l y c r a t e r s , a r e found i n
e q u a t o r i a l r e g i o n s . Some areas o f h i g h r a d a r r e f l e c t i v i t y a r e
i n t e r p r e t e d as e x t e n s i v e l a v a f l o w s and mountainous areas. A
major chasm stretches 1 4 0 0 k m ( 8 7 0 m i . ) n o r t h and s o u t h a c r o s s
the equator.
A t f i v e d e g r e e s s o u t h l a t i t u d e and 320 d e g r e e s l o n g i t u d e
i s t h e h i g h mountain B e t a w i t h a cratered t o p l i k e t h e l a r g e
M a r t i a n v o l c a n o e s . T h e r e a r e a l s o a r c u a t e r i d g e s . One is a t
l e a s t 8 0 0 k m ( 4 8 0 m i . ) l o n g . T h e r e a r e mountainous areas which
may be v o l c a n i c o r a r e s u l t o f c r u s t a l p l a t e movements.
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P h o t o g r a p h s from one S o v i e t l a n d e r s p a c e c r a f t c o n f i r m a
d r y r o c k y s u r f a c e t h a t h a s been f r a c t u r e d and moved a b o u t by
unknown p r o c e s s e s . The s e c o n d l a n d e r produced a p i c t u r e of
r o c k s w i t h rounded e d g e s and p i t t e d s u r f a c e s . The forms of
t h e s e r o c k s may be e x p l a i n e d by v o l c a n i c a c t i v i t i e s h a v i n g
t a k e n p l a c e on the s u r f a c e .
T h e e x i s t e n c e o f c r a t e r s on Venus s u g g e s t s t h a t i t s s u r f a c e
h a s n o t been s u b j e c t e d t o t h e m a j o r t e c t o n i c c h a n g e s e x p e r i e n c e d
on E a r t h , b u t t h a t i t has p r o b a b l y e v o l v e d s o m e w h a t a l o n g t h e
same l i n e s as Mars. Some o l d c r a t e r e d t e r r a i n i s p r e s e r v e d
w h i l e o t h e r p a r t s have been m o d i f i e d by t e c t o n i c s and v o l c a n i s m .
Venus m i g h t , i n d e e d , have e v o l v e d t o a s t a g e between t h a t of
Mars and t h a t o f t h e E a r t h .
Venera 9 l a n d e d a t 3 3 degrees n o r t h l a t i t u d e . Its p i c t u r e
shows h e a p s o f r o c k s , m o s t l y a b o u t 30 c m ( 1 2 i n . ) o r more i n
s i z e , and w i t h r a t h e r s h a r p edges. The f o r m a t i o n o f t h e s e rocks
i s b e l i e v e d t o be a s s o c i a t e d w i t h t e c t o n i c p r o c e s s e s . T h e l a n d e r
i s b e l i e v e d t o b e on t h e s i d e of a h i l l i n which t h e r e i s some
downward movement of t h e rocks. The s h a r p e d g e s and l a c k of
r o u n d i n g of t h e rocks a t t h i s s i t e s u g g e s t t h a t t h e y w e r e
formed from breakage of h a r d , l a y e r e d rocks, p o s s i b l y a l a v a
flow.
Venera 1 0 l a n d e d a t 1 5 d e g r e e s n o r t h l a t i t u d e , i n a n area
w i t h a much smoother s u r f a c e . T h i s i s b e l i e v e d t o be a p l a t e a u
o r p l a i n o f g r e a t e r r e l a t i v e a g e t h a n t h e s i t e o f Venera 9 .
There a r e s o m e r o c k y e l e v a t i o n s which a r e c o v e r e d w i t h a
r e l a t i v e l y dark, fine-grained soil. This implies t h a t the
r o c k s have been weathered, p o s s i b l y by c h e m i c a l a c t i o n w i t h
t h e a t m o s p h e r e . I t i s u n l i k e l y t h a t t h e g e n t l e winds a t t h e
s u r f a c e c o u l d have been r e s p o n s i b l e for t h e w e a t h e r i n g .
G e n e r a l l y a t t h i s s i t e t h e m a t e r i a l of t h e Venusian s o i l i s
d a r k , b u t t h e r e are o u t c r o p s of l i g h t e r - c o l o r e d rock p e n e t r a t i n g
t h e s o i l . Some o f t h e d a r k s o i l f i l l s d e p r e s s i o n s o f t h e
o u t c r o p s . T h i s s u r f a c e i s i n t e r p r e t e d as b e i n g much o l d e r and
more weathered t h a n t h e s u r f a c e s e e n a t t h e Venera 9 s i t e . T h e
w e a t h e r i n g p r o c e s s may be a c h e m i c a l i n t e r a c t i o n between t h e
h o t r o c k s and t h e a t m o s p h e r e , p o s s i b l y by m i n e r a l a c i d s and
water v a p o r .
Measurements made by t h e s p a c e c r a f t i n d i c a t e t h a t t h e
s u r f a c e rocks have a d e n s i t y between 2 . 7 and 2 . 9 grams p e r
c u b i c c e n t i m e t e r , which i s t y p i c a l of t e r r e s t r i a l b a s a l t i c
rocks.
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Venus p r o b a b l y h a s l e s s t h a n s e v e n p e r c e n t o f g a s e s
o t h e r t h a n c a r b o n d i o x i d e i n i t s lower a t m o s p h e r e . Most
l i k e l y c a n d i d a t e s f o r o t h e r m a j o r g a s e s a r e a r g o n and
n i t r o g e n . T h e r e a r e no measurements of l o w e r a t m o s p h e r e
g a s e s o t h e r t h a n t h e S o v i e t measurements o f c a r b o n
d i o x i d e and water v a p o r .
The v i s i b l e c l o u d s p r o b a b l y c o n s i s t of s u l p h u r i c a c i d
d r o p l e t s , p e r h a p s formed by s u l f u r compounds from t h e
surface.
0 What o t h e r c l o u d l a y e r s a r e t h e r e ?
Some k i n d s o f c l o u d p a r t i c l e s a b s o r b s o l a r u l t r a v i o l e t
r a d i a t i o n . T h i s i s needed t o e x p l a i n t h e u l t r a v i o l e t
p h o t o g r a p h s which show d a r k r e g i o n s . T h e s e d i f f e r e n t
k i n d s of c l o u d p a r t i c l e s c o u l d be m e t a l h a l i d e s o r s u l f u r .
0 What c a n t h e lowermost a t m o s p h e r e t e l l u s a b o u t t h e
p l a n e t ' s s u r f a c e and i n t e r i o r ?
S u r f a c e c o n s t i t u e n t s ( p o s s i b l y hydrogen f l u o r i d e and
mercury and s u l f u r compounds) may be d e t e c t a b l e i n t h e
bottom 20 km ( 1 2 m i . ) of t h e h o t , d e n s e a t m o s p h e r e .
0 How d o e s t e m p e r a t u r e , p r e s s u r e and d e n s i t y v a r y g l o b a l l y
about t h e planet?
T h i s i s p r o b a b l y d u e t o a runaway g r e e n h o u s e e f f e c t i n
which h e a t from t h e Sun i s more e a s i l y a b s o r b e d t h a n
reradiated.
0 What r o l e do v a p o r i z a t i o n - c o n d e n s a t i o n c y c l e s p l a y i n t h e
a t m o s p h e r e , and how do t h e s e p r o c e s s e s a f f e c t Venus'
weather?
0 What a r e t h e c o m p o s i t i o n and t e m p e r a t u r e p r o f i l e s of t h e
u p p e r atmosphere?
0 How d o e s t e m p e r a t u r e v a r y i n s p a c e and t i m e i n t h e u p p e r
atmosphere?
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0 What a r e t h e r o l e s of g l o b a l c i r c u l a t i o n and l o c a l
t u r b u l e n c e i n s t a b i l i z i n g t h e u p p e r atmosphere?
0 What a r e t h e e f f e c t s of t h e n e u t r a l p a r t i c l e s on iono-
s p h e r e composition?
0 How h i g h d o e s s u p e r r o t a t i o n ( f o u r - d a y r o t a t i o n ) of t h e
cloud tops extend?
0 S i n c e Venus h a s no m a g n e t i c f i e l d , t h e s o l a r wind i n t e r -
a c t s d i r e c t l y w i t h t h e u p p e r a t m o s p h e r e . What mechanisms
d o e s t h i s c r e a t e , and do t h e y a f f e c t t h e lower a t m o s p h e r e ?
0 Is Venus a s c l o s e t o a p e r f e c t s p h e r e as t h e e q u a t o r i a l
measurements s u g g e s t ?
0 Does Venus' i n t e r i o r c o n t a i n l a r g e c o n c e n t r a t i o n s o f h i g h
density material.
0 What i s t h e s u r f a c e topography?
0 What i s t h e c o m p o s i t i o n of t h e s u r f a c e ?
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1890 S c h i a p a r e l l i c o n c l u d e s from h i s o b s e r v a t i o n s t h a t
Venus r o t a t e s i n 225 d a y s .
1 9 20 Edward S t . J o h n ( U . S . ) and S e t h B . N i c h o l s o n
(U.S.) s u g g e s t t h a t Venus i s a d r y , d u s t y w o r l d
b e c a u s e t h e y c a n n o t d e t e c t any water v a p o r i n i t s
atmosphere.
1922 L y o t m e a s u r e s t h e p o l a r i z a t i o n o f s u n l i g h t re-
f l e c t e d from t h e c l o u d s o f Venus and i n t r o d u c e s
a new method o f i n v e s t i g a t i n g t h e s i z e and n a t u r e
of p a r t i c l e s i n i t s clouds.
1 9 55 F r e d Hoyle ( U n i t e d Kingdom) s u g g e s t s t h a t t h e
Venus c l o u d s a r e a p h o t o c h e m i c a l h y d r o c a r b o n smog.
1 9 57 C h a r l e s Boyer ( F r a n c e ) d i s c o v e r s a f o u r - d a y r o t a -
t i o n p e r i o d of t h e u l t r a v i o l e t m a r k i n g s i n t h e
c l o u d s o f Venus.
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1960 Adouin D o l l f u s ( F r a n c e ) d e t e r m i n e s p r e s s u r e a t
c l o u d t o p s as 9 0 m i l l i b a r s , u s i n g p o l a r i m e t r y .
1962 R a d a r o b s e r v a t i o n of Venus e s t a b l i s h e s r o t a t i o n
a s r e t r o g r a d e i n a p e r i o d of a p p r o x i m a t e l y 2 4 0
days.
1967 M a r i n e r 5 f l y b y u s e s r a d i o o c c u l t a t i o n t o measure
s t r u c t u r e of u p p e r a t m o s p h e r e and l o c a t e h e i g h t
of c l o u d s above s u r f a c e ; d i s c o v e r s i o n o s p h e r e and
f i n d s t h a t c a r b o n d i o x i d e i s major compound of
atmosphere.
1968 S u r f a c e t e m p e r a t u r e s and p r e s s u r e s a r e e s t i m a t e d
from r a d i o and r a d a r d a t a as 4 7 7 d e g r e e s C (890
d e g r e e s F . ) and 9 0 a t m o s p h e r e s .
1 9 69 U.S.S.R. p r o b e s , V e n e r a 5 and 6, s u c c e s s f u l l y l a n d
on s u r f a c e , d e t e r m i n e a c c u r a t e t e m p e r a t u r e (750
d e g r e e s K) and p r e s s u r e ( 9 0 a t m o s p h e r e s ) , a l s o
s t r u c t u r e of l o w e r atmosphere.
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1 974 R i c h a r d G o l d s t e i n (U .S .) p r o d u c e s h i u k ? s o l u -
t i o n r a d a r images of s m a l l areas of t h e p l a n e t ' s
s u r f a c e showing many t o p o g r a p h i c f e a t u r e s .
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Venus h a s b e e n e x p l o r e d by 1 3 s p a c e c r a f t of which t h r e e
w e r e American and 1 0 w e r e R u s s i a n . F i v e o f t h e s e s p a c e c r a f t
w e r e f l y b y s and e i g h t w e r e l a n d e r s . S e v e r a l o f t h e R u s s i a n
s p a c e c r a f t c o n s i s t e d o f b o t h o r b i t e r s a n d l a n d e r s which s e p a -
r a t e d on a r r i v a l a t Venus. The r e c o r d i s a s f o l l o w s :
Venera 1 ( U . S . S . R . ) A f l y b y s p a c e c r a f t ; p a s s e d Venus
May 1 9 6 1 . No science d a t a were
returned, according t o r e p o r t s .
Mariner 2 ( U . S . ) A f l y b y s p a c e c r a f t : p a s s e d Venus
December 1 9 6 2 . Discovered t h a t t h e
temperature averages 426 degrees C
( 7 9 9 d e g r e e s F . ) on b o t h n i g h t and
day h e m i s p h e r e s , and t h a t t h e p l a n e t
h a s v i r t u a l l y no m a g n e t i c f i e l d and
no r a d i a t i o n b e l t s .
Mariner 5 ( U . S . ) A f l y b y s p a c e c r a f t ; p a s s e d October
1 9 6 7 . P r o v i d e d t e m p e r a t u r e and
p r e s s u r e p r o f i l e s t o 527 d e g r e e s C
( 9 8 1 d e g r e e s F . ) and 1 0 0 a t m o s p h e r e s
a t t h e s u r f a c e . Determined t h e de-
t a i l e d s t r u c t u r e of t h e i o n o s p h e r e ,
and d i s c o v e r e d t h e a t o m i c hydrogen
corona.
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Venera 8 ( U . S . S . R . ) A l a n d e r s p a c e c r a f t : c a p s u l e landed
J u l y 1 9 7 2 , and t r a n s m i t t e d s u r f a c e
data f o r 1 0 7 minutes. Determined
amounts o f uranium, t h o r i u m and p o t a s -
sium i n s u r f a c e m a t e r i a l s and showed
t h e y w e r e s i m i l a r t o amounts i n t e r -
r e s t r i a l r o c k s . Measured a s u r f a c e
t e m p e r a t u r e o f 530 d e g r e e s C (986
degrees F.) .
M a r i n e r 1 0 (U.S.) Mercury-bound s p a c e c r a f t : p a s s e d Venus
February 1 9 7 4 . Obtained f i r s t p i c -
t u r e s from s p a c e c r a f t . Revealed t h e
s t r u c t u r a l d e t a i l s of t h e c l o u d s i n
u l t r a v i o l e t l i g h t . Confirmed t h e c-,
y- and ? s i - s h a p e d c l o u d m a r k i n g s ,
and f o u r - d a y r o t a t i o n of t h e s e mark-
i n g s . Found s i g n i f i c a n t amounts of
h e l i u m and c o n f i r m e d t h e p r e s e n c e o f
hydrogen i n t h e u p p e r a t m o s p h e r e .
Photographed h i g h - a l t i t u d e h a z e l a y e r s .
Venera 1 0 ( U S . .S .R . ) A l a n d e r s p a c e c r a f t ; c a p s u l e reached
s u r f a c e O c t o b e r 1975 a t 1 5 d e g r e e s N .
l a t i t u d e , 295 d e g r e e s l o n g i t u d e . R e -
t u r n e d second s u r f a c e p i c t u r e . O r b i t e r
s u r v e y e d p l a n e t and l o o k e d a t s u r f a c e
w i t h b i s t a t i c r a d a r . Determined s u r f a c e
e l e v a t i o n s d i f f e r e d b o n l y a few k i l o -
meters a l o n g o r b i t e r T r a c k .
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The M u l t i p r o b e w i l l d i v i d e i n t o f i v e atmosphere e n t r y
c r a f t as i t a p p r o a c h e s Venus from E a r t h . These a r e t h e
t r a n s p o r t e r Bus, t h e Large and t h r e e Small P r o b e s . The
f o u r p r o b e s w i l l measure Venus' atmosphere from i t s t e n u o u s
b e g i n n i n g s down t o t h e d e n s e s u p e r h e a t e d r e g i o n s a t t h e s u r -
f a c e . A f t e r l a u n c h i n g t h e p r o b e s , t h e Bus, t o o , w i l l e n t e r
and measure c o m p o s i t i o n o f Venus' u p p e r atmosphere.
Together t h e f i v e atmospheric e n t r y c r a f t w i l l c a r r y
1 8 s c i e n t i f i c instruments. The Large Probe c a r r i e s s e v e n
i n s t r u m e n t s ; t h e S m a l l P r o b e s , t h r e e e a c h , and t h e Bus, two.
T o m e e t t h e P i o n e e r Venus r e q u i r e m e n t f o r two r e l a t i v e l y
s i m p l e and low c o s t s p a c e c r a f t , d e s i g n e r s c h o s e s p i n n i n g ve-
hicles. Spinning c y l i n d r i c a l s p a c e c r a f t provide s t a b i l i t y
w i t h minimum w e i g h t , good s o l a r c e l l deployment, v i e w i n g
f o r e x p e r i m e n t s i n a f u l l c i r c l e and s p i n s c a n f o r t h e
imaging s y s t e m .
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Structure
T h e b a s i c b u s p o r t i o n s o f b o t h s p a c e c r a f t are t h e i r
main b o d i e s , f l a t c y l i n d e r s , 2.5 m ( 8 . 3 f t ) i n d i a m e t e r and
1 . 2 m (4 f t . ) h i g h .
The b u s e s p r o v i d e a s p i n - s t a b i l i z e d p l a t f o r m f o r
s c i e n t i f i c i n s t r u m e n t s , s p a c e c r h f t s y s t e m s and i n t h e case
of t h e Multiprobe, t h e f o u r probe c r a f t . A c i r c u l a r equip-
ment s h e l f w i t h a n area o f 4 . 3 7 sq. m ( 5 0 sq. f t . ) i s l o c a t e d
i n t h e u p p e r o r foward end of t h e b u s c y l i n d e r . The s h e l f
i s mounted on t h e f o r w a r d end of t h e t h r u s t t u b e , t h e r i g i d
s t r u c t u r e which c o n n e c t s t h e s p a c e c r a f t t o t h e l a u n c h ve-
hicle. T w e l v e e q u a l l y s p a c e d s t r u t s s u p p o r t t h e equipment
s h e l f p e r i m e t e r from t h e b a s e o f t h e t h r u s t t u b e . The
c y l i n d r i c a l s o l a r a r r a y i s , i n t u r n , a t t a c h e d t o t h e equip-
ment s h e l f w i t h 2 4 b r a c k e t s .
Thermal l o u v e r s ( f i f t e e n on t h e O r b i t e r and e l e v e n on
t h e M u l t i p r o b e ) a t t a c h e d t o t h e l o w e r s u r f a c e of t h e e q u i p -
ment s h e l f , open and c l o s e ( w i t h h e a t - s e n s i t i v e - b i m e t a l l i c
s p r i n g s ) t o c o n t r o l h e a t r a d i a t i o n from t h e equipment
compartment. Large h e a t p r o d u c e r s , s u c h as r a d i o ampli-
f i e r s , are l o c a t e d over several of t h e s e louvers.
Maneuver System
The maneuvering s y s t e m o f t h e b a s i c b u s c o n t r o l s s p i n
r a t e s , makes c o u r s e and o r b i t c o r r e c t i o n s , and m a i n t a i n s
spin a x i s position--usually perpendicular t o t h e e c l i p t i c
for b o t h s p a c e c r a f t .
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The s y s t e m ' s t w o a x i a l t h r u s t e r n o z z l e s a r e a l i g n e d
w i t h t h e s p i n a x i s , and a r e l o c a t e d a t t o p and bottom o f
t h e bus c y l i n d e r , d i a g o n a l l y o p p o s i t e e a c h o t h e r . They p o i n t
i n o p p o s i t e d i r e c t i o n s , and t o t u r n t h e bus s p i n a x i s ,
b o t h f i r e i n p u l s e s i n o p p o s i t e d i r e c t i o n s . T o s p e e d up o r
slow down t h e bus a l o n g t h e d i r e c t i o n of i t s s p i n a x i s , o n l y
one t h r u s t e r i s p u l s e f i r e d a t t w o p o i n t s 1 8 0 d e g r e e s a p a r t
around t h e c i r c l e of b u s r o t a t i o n . Either the top or
b o t t o m t h r u s t e r can be p u l s e d d e p e n d i n g on d e s i r e d d i r e c -
t i o n o f v e l o c i t y change.
Power System
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A s w i t c h p r o t e c t s t h e m a i n power b u s from c u r r e n t
o v e r l o a d s o r u n d e r v o l t a q e by a u t o m a t i c a l l y t u r n i n g
o f f i n s t r u m e n t s , s w i t c h e d l o a d s , and t r a n s m i t t e r b u s e s .
The s y s t e m ' s a r r a y of s o l a r c e l l s i s s l i g h t l y s m a l l e r f o r
t h e M u l t i p r o b e b u s t h a n f o r t h e O r b i t e r bus b e c a u s e o f t h e
- i.g h e r power demands of O r b i t e r ' s 1 2 e x p e r i m e n t s . -The O r b i t e r
h
s o l a r a r r a y h a s 7 . 2 sq. m ( 7 7 . 8 sq. f t . ) of 2 x 2 cm ( . 8 x . 8 i n
c e l l s . When a t r i q h t a n g l e s t o t h e Sun l i n e , these p r o v i d e 2 2 6
w a t t s n e a r E a r t h and 3 1 2 w a t t s a t Venus. The M u l t i p r o b e s o l a r
a r r a y h a s 6 . 9 sq. m ( 6 5 . 7 sq. f t . ) of c e l l s and p r o v i d e s 2 1 4
w a t t s n e a r E a r t h and 2 4 1 w a t t s a t Venus.
The power s y s t e m ' s two 7.5 ampere-hour nickel-cadmium
b a t t e r i e s p r o v i d e a t o t a l o f 252 w a t t h o u r s of e l e c t r i c a l
e n e r g y . Power i s p r o v i d e d t o i n s t r u m e n t s from t h e s c i e n c e
power bus t h r o u g h r e d u n d a n t b u s e s i n t h e power i n t e r f a c e
unit. On-off power s w i t c h i n g i s performed i n t h e i n d i v i -
d u a l i n s t r u m e n t s f o r f l e x i b i l i t y i n s t e a d of c e n t r a l i z e d
s w i t c h i n g i n t h e power i n t e r f a c e u n i t . The power
i n t e r f a c e u n i t p r o v i d e s on-off s w i t c h i n g f o r p r o p u l s i o n
heaters.
Communications System
The receiver p o r t i o n of e a c h t r a n s p o n d e r i s f r e q u e n c y -
a d d r e s s a b l e ( r e s p o n d s o n l y t o c e r t a i n f r e q u e n c i e s , and
t h e r e c e i v e r s are a u t o m a t i c a l l y r e v e r s e d by t h e command p r o -
c e s s o r l o g i c i f no command i s r e c e i v e d f o r 3 6 h o u r s . Hence,
i f one f a i l s t h e o t h e r t a k e s over. T h e two r e c e i v e r o u t -
p u t s are c r o s s - c o n n e c t e d t o r e d u n d a n t e x c i t e r s , e i t h e r of
w h i c h c a n b e selected by ground command, T h e t r a n s p o n d e r
p r o v i d e s e i t h e r a f i x e d - r a t i o incoming t o o u t g o i n g c a r r i e r
f r e q u e n c y , o r a f i x e d - f r e q u e n c y c a r r i e r s i g n a l i n case of
f a i l u r e o f t h e two-way s y s t e m .
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The s p a c e c r a f t - t o - E a r t h r a d i o l i n k i s p r o v i d e d by an
S-band t r a n s m i t t e r , which c a n r a d i a t e a t 10 o r 20 w a t t s , w i t h
r e d u n c a n t power a m p l i f i e r s o p e r a t i n g t h r o u g h e i t h e r t h e
f o r e o r a f t I'omni" a n t e n n a s . The omnis c o v e r a hemisphere
l o o k i n g f o r w a r d o r a f t . Both O r b i t e r and M u l t i p r o b e s p a c e -
c r a f t h a v e , i n a d d i t i o n t o t h e two Bus omnis, s p e c i a l i z e d
a n t e n n a s which w i l l be d e s c r i b e d i n s e c t i o n s on t h i e r com-
munications. E i t h e r omni a n t e n n a can be s e l e c t e d by ground
command. One omni a n t e n n a i s c o n n e c t e d t o one of t h e two
r e d u n d a n t r e c e i v e r s , and t h e o t h e r omni ( o r o t h e r s p a c e c r a f t
a n t e n n a d e s i g n a t e d by command) i s c o n n e c t e d t o t h e o t h e r
r e c e i v e r . T h i s a r r a n g e m e n t c a n b e r e v e r s e d by commarid.
Command Sys t e m
Data H a n d l i n a Svstem
The t e l e m e t r y p r o c e s s o r f o r t h e b u s d a t a h a n d l i n g system
samples s c i e n t i f i c and e n g i n e e r i n g measurement s o u r c e s i n
s e q u e n c e . I t t r a n s m i t s an i n s t r u c t i o n word t o t h e P i o n e e r
Command Module (CM) e n c o d e r which a d d r e s s e s a d a t a module
t o r e a d o u t t h e selected channel.
The i n t e r r o g a t e d c h a n n e l can be e i t h e r a n a l o g , i e r i a l
d i g i t a l o r b i n a r y o n e - b i t ( y e s - n o ) i n f o r m a t i o n . The PCM
e n c o d e r s h i p s t h e encoded measurement t o t h e t e l e m e t r y p r o -
c e s s o r , where it i s f r a m e - f o r m a t t e d , c o n v o l u t i o n a l l y coded
and u s e d t o b i p h a s e m o d u l a t e a s u b c a r r i e r . The s u b c a r r i e r
t h e n phase modulates t h e outgoing c a r r i e r s i g n a l .
T h e t e l e m e t r y p r o c e s s o r s and PCM e n c o d e r s a r e c r o s s -
c o n n e c t e d and f u l l y r e d u n d a n t .
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C r i t i c a l t e l e m e t r y measurements a r e a s s i g n e d d a t a chan-
n e l s on two d i f f e r e n t d a t a modules. The d a t a h a n d l i n g
s y s t e m s can a c c e p t up t o 256 c h a n n e l s of d a t a .
A l l P i o n e e r Venus t e l e m e t r y d a t a a r e b i n a r y ( a s e r i e s
o f ones and z e r o e s ) , and a l l d a t a "words" c o n s i s t o f e i g h t
o n e s and z e r o e s a r r a n g e d i n t h e o r d e r d e t e r m i n e d by t h e i n -
f o r m a t i o n t h e y c a r r y . Analog d a t a a r e c o n v e r t e d t o e i g h t -
b i t words. Data i n p u t s a r e m u l t i p l e x e d and f o r m a t t e d i n t o
f r a m e s o f 6 4 e i g h t - b i t s words. Of t h e 6 4 words, t h r e e a r e re-
q u i r e d f o r s y n c h r o n i z a t i o n and i d e n t i f i c a t i o n , and t h r e e
a r e subcommutated f o r s p a c e c r a f t h o u s e k e e p i n g d a t a .
The o u t p u t of t h e d a t a s y s t e m i s an 8 t o 2048 b i t p e r
s e c o n d PCM/PSK c o n v o l u t i o n a l l y coded d a t a s t r e a m , b i p h a s e
modulated on a 16384 Hz s u b c a r r i e r .
The O r b i t e r S p a c e c r a f t
The Venus O r b i t e r s p a c e c r a f t i n c o r p o r a t e s t h e b a s i c P i o n e e r
Bus. I t a l s o c o n s i s t s o f a despun, h i g h - g a i n d i s h a n t e n n a o n a
3-m ( 1 0 - f t . ) m a s t t o r e t u r n t h e l a r g e volume of
O r b i t e r e x p e r i m e n t s and imaging d a t a t o E a r t h . The O r b i t e r
carries 1 2 s c i e n t i f i c instruments, a m i l l i o n - b i t d a t a
memory t o s t o r e o b s e r v a t i o n s (when t h e s p a c e c r a f t i s b e h i n d
Venus, o r t h e y c a n n o t be t r a n s m i t t e d t o E a r t h f o r o t h e r
r e a s o n s ) , and a s o l i d - f u e l r o c k e t motor f o r i n s e r t i o n i n t o
o r b i t a t the planet.
The Q r b i t e r , i n c l u d i n g a n t e n n a m a s t , i s n e a r l y 4.5 m
(15 f t . ) high. The b a s i c b u s c y l i n d e r making up i t s
main body i s a b o u t 2.5 m ( 8 . 3 f t . ) i n d i a m e t e r , and 1 . 2 m
(4 f t . ) h i g h . Launch w e i g h t o f t h e O r b i t e r i s a b o u t 582 kg
( 1 2 8 0 l b s . ) w i t h 45 kg ( 1 0 0 I b s . ) of s c i e n t i f i c i n s t r u m e n t s .
Weight a f t e r o r b i t a l i n s e r t i o n i s 368 kg ( 8 1 0 l b s . ) .
T h r e e i n s t r u m e n t s ( t h e magnetometer e l e c t r o n t e m p e r a t u r e
p r o b e and e l e c t r i c f i e l d d e t e c t o r ) have s e n s o r e l e m e n t s
mounted on booms. The magnetometer s e n s o r s a r e mounted on
t h e t h r e e - s e c t i o n , d e p l o y a b l e 4 . 7 m ( 1 5 . 5 f t . ) boom. A
s i n g l e s e n s o r i s mounted a b o u t t w o - t h i r d s of t h e way o u t
from t h e bus c y l i n d e r , and a p e r p e n d i c u l a r p a i r are mounted
a t t h e boom's e n d . The boom is d e p l o y e d a f t e r l a u n c h by
f i r i n g p y r o t e c h n i c d e v i c e s , and e x t e n d s r a d i a l l y from t h e
u p p e r r i m o f t h e c y l i n d e r . T h e boom p o s i t i o n s t h e sensors
a t a p o i n t o f m i n i m u m m a g n e t i c i n t e r f e r e n c e from t h e s p a c e -
craft.
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ORBITER SPACECRAFT
MAGNETOMETER
BOOM
\ II
BACKUP HIGH GAIN
ANTENNA
MECHANICALLY DESPUN
ANTENNA ASSEMBLY
SUN SENSOR
STAR SENSOR
The b a l l - l i k e s e n s o r s ( a n t e n n a s ) f o r t h e e l e c t r i c f i e l d
detector spring o u t 0.6 m (26 i n . ) a f t e r j e t t i s o n of t h e
l a u n c h f a i r i n g . The e l e c t r o n t e m p e r a t u r e p r o b e u s e s t w o
s en sor e l e m e n t s mounted a t r i g h t a n g l e s t o one a n o t h e r .
The a x i a l s e n s o r i s mounted p a r a l l e l t o t h e s p i n a x i s and
extends through t h e thermal t o p cover. The r a d i a l s e n s o r
i s on a 1 . 0 m ( 4 0 i n . ) boom, d e p l o y e d a f t e r o r b i t i n s e r t i o n .
Orbiter S c i e n t i f i c Instruments
A l l 1 2 s c i e n t i f i c i n s t r u m e n t s a r e mounted d i r e c t l y on
t h e t o p s i d e o f t h e equipment s h e l f . E i g h t o f t h e i n s t r u -
ments view t h e p l a n e t t h r o u g h e i t h e r t h e s i d e o r t o p o f
t h e b u s c y l i n d e r . Of t h e e i g h t , two ( t h e c l o u d Photo-
p o l a r i m e t e r and t h e r a d a r mapper) employ s c a n n i n g s e n s o r s
which move t h r o u g h a r a n g e o f 1 4 0 d e q r e e s i n a p l a n e p e r -
p e n d i c u l a r t o t h e bus e x p e r i m e n t s h e l f .
O r b i t e r Antenna Svstems
A b a s i c p a r t of t h e O r b i t e r system, n o t p a r t of t h e
b a s i c b u s , i s t h e despun, high-gain p a r a b o l i c - r e f l e c t o r
a n t e n n a , which f o c u s e s a 7 . 6 degree-wide r a d i o beam on t h e
E a r t h throughout t h e mission. The a n t e n n a d i s h i s 1 0 9 c m
( 4 3 i n . ) i n d i a m e t e r , and a m p l i f i e s t h e O r b i t e r r a d i o s i g -
n a l 316 t i m e s . Venus and t h e O r b i t e r w i l l be 2 0 3 m i l l i o n k m
( 1 2 6 m i l l i o n m i . ) f a r t h e r from E a r t h a t t h e e n d o f t h e
243-day O r b i t e r p r i m a r y m i s s i o n t h a n a t P l a n e t - a r r i v a l .
The a n t e n n a i s needed t o r e t u r n d a t a a t h i g h r a t e s o v e r
t h e s e d i s t a n c e s . The h i g h - g a i n a n t e n n a d i s h , a sleeve
d i p o l e a n t e n n a , and t h e f o r w a r d rromni" a n t e n n a a r e a l l
mounted on t h e despun 2.9-m ( 9 . 8 - f t . ) m a s t F r o j e c t i n g up
a l o n g t h e s p i n - a x i s from t h e t o p of t h e O r b i t e r c y l i n d e r .
The sleeve d i p o l e a n t e n n a b r o a d c a s t s a r a d i o beam which
forms a p a n c a k e - l i k e p a t t e r n a r o u n d t h e s p a c e c r a f t , p e r -
p e n d i c u l a r t o i t s s p i n a x i s . T h i s p r o v i d e s a backup f o r
t h e narrow-beam d i s h a n t e n n a i n c a s e of f a i l u r e o f t h e d e s p i n
system. The bus a f t omni a n t e n n a p r o v i d e s t h e f o u r t h O r -
b i t e r a n t e n n a . The omnis b r o a d c a s t i n a h e m i s p h e r i c p a t -
t e r n , forward o r a f t .
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S i n c e t h e O r b i t e r d i s h a n t e n n a d o e s n o t s p i n , as d o e s
t h e s p a c e c r a f t below i t , it c o n s t a n t l y f a c e s E a r t h , b o t h on
c r u i s e and o r b i t . The despun c o n d i t i o n of t h e a n t e n n a and
i t s m a s t i s m a i n t a i n e d by b e a r i n g , e l e c t r i c m o t o r , and
s l i p - r i n g arrangement.
The c o n t r o l s y s t e m p r o v i d e s r e d u n d a n t d e s p i n c o n t r o l
e l e c t r o n i c s t o d r i v e one G f two r e d u n d a n t BAPTA m o t o r s t o
d e s p i n and p o i n t t h e h i g h - g a i n a n t e n n a toward t h e E a r t h .
The d e s p i n c o n t r o l s y s t e m f u n c t i o n s as a c l o s e d l o o p ,
autonomously o p e r a t i n g t h e s y s t e m t o m a i n t a i n a n t e n n a
pointing .
Motor t o r q u e commands a r e g e n e r a t e d by t h e d e s p i n con-
t r o l e l e c t r o n i c s b a s e d upon Sun o r s t a r s e n s o r and BAPTA
m a s t e r i n d e x p u l s e s . An e l e v a t i o n d r i v e m a i n t a i n s a n t e n n a
pointing during occultations.
For t h e o c c u l t a t i o n e x p e r i m e n t s , t h e O r b i t e r c a r r i e s an
e x t r a 750 m i l l i w a t t X-band t r a n s m i t t e r , whose s i g n a l f r e -
quency i s always m a i n t a i n e d a t a r a t i o o f 1 1 . 3 t o t h a t o f
t h e main S-band t r a n s m i t t e r . B o t h S and X-Band s i g n a l s a r e
t r a n s m i t t e d by t h e d i s h a n t e n n a , which can b e moved 1 5 de-
grees from t h e E a r t h l i n e a s t h e O r b i t e r p a s s e s behind. Venus.
T h i s p e r m i t s k e e p i n g t h e r a d i o beam t o b e a i m e d ' a t Venus'
jupper a t m o s p h e r e f o r a l o n g e r t i m e . R e f r a c t i o n by t h e a t -
mosphere bends t h e narrow-beam s i q n a l around t h e p l a n e t so
i t r e a c h e s E a r t h d e s p i t e these p o i n t i n g a n g l e s .
The X-band s i g n a l c a n n o t b e m o d u l a t e d , and i s o n l y f o r
s t u d y o f atmosphere e f f e c t s on r a d i o s i g n a l s a t two,wave-
l e n g t h s . The X-band beam w i d t h i s 2 . 2 d e g r e e s compared w i t h
t h e S-band 7 . 6 d e g r e e s .
Ground commands c o n t r o l t h e a n t e n n a p o i n t i n g a n g l e .
The e l e v a t i o n d r i v e f o r t h e a n t e n n a d i s h c o n s i s t s of a
m o t o r - d r i v e n j a c k s c r e w . E l e c t r o n i c s c o n v e r t commands i n t o
d i s c r e t e p u l s e s t o c o n t r o l t h e motor.
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Orbiter D a t a Storaqe
O r b i t e r Data-Handling System
The O r b i t e r s p a c e c r a f t d a t a - h a n d l i n g s y s t e m u s e s t h e
bus d a t a s y s t e m components, p l u s i t s m i l l i o n - b i t memory. It
a c c e p t s i n f o r m a t i o n from s p a c e c r a f t s y s t e m s and t h e 1 2
s c i e n t i f i c i n s t r u m e n t s i n s e r i a l d i g i t a l , a n a l o g and one-
b i t b i n a r y (yes-no) form. I t c o n v e r t s a n a l o g and yes-no
i n f o r m a t i o n t o s e r i a l d i g i t a l form, and a r r a n g e s a l l i n f o r -
m a t i o n i n f o r m a t s f o r t r a n s m i s s i o n . T h i s c o n s i s t s of a
c o n t i n u o u s sequence o f major t e l e m e t r y f r a m e s , e a c h composed
o f 6 4 minor frames. Each minor frame c o n t a i n s 6 4 e i g h t -
b i t words ( 5 1 2 b i t s p e r minor f r a m e ) . The words i n a minor
f r a m e a r e a r r a n g e d i n t o one o f 1 3 preprogrammed f o r m a t s ,
s e l e c t a b l e by command. Each minor frame c o n t a i n s w i t h i n
it:
e H i g h - r a t e s c i e n c e o r e n g i n e e r i n g d a t a ( i n one
of t h e 13 f o r m a t s ) ;
Sub-commutated d a t a f o r m a t s :
0 S p a c e c r a f t d a t a ; and
e Frame s y n c h r o n i z a t i o n d a t a .
The t h r e e sub-commutated d a t a f o r m a t s i n e a c h minor
frame c a r r y d a t a which can b e r e p o r t e d a t low r a t e s . One
i s f o r l o w - r a t e s c i e n c e and s c i e n c e h o u s e k e e p i n g d a t a , and
t h e two o t h e r s a r e f o r l o w - r a t e s p a c e c r a f t e n g i n e e r i n g d a t a .
The O r b i t e r ' s 1 3 h i g h - r a t e d a t a f o r m a t s i n c l u d e s e v e n
s c i e n c e f o r m a t s f o r u s e on o r b i t . The o t h e r h i g h - r a t e f o r -
m a t s a r e D a t a memory p l a y b a c k ( c o n t a i n i n g some r e a l - t i m e
s c i e n c e ) , Data memory r e a d o u t ( s t o r e d d a t a o n l y ) , Launch-
c r u i s e , Engineering-only format, A t t i t u d e c o n t r o l system
f o r m a t ( f o r m a n e u v e r s ) , and Command memory r e a d o u t f o r m a t .
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The d a t a s y s t e m o p e r a t e s i n r e a l - t i m e f o r t e l e m e t r y
s t o r a g e mode. I t s memory s t o r e s b o t h s c i e n c e and e n g i n e e r i n g
d a t a . Twelve t e l e m e t r y s t o r a g e p l a y b a c k and real-time d a t a
r a t e s between 8 and 2048 b p s a r e a v a i l a b l e . A r a t e o f
1 0 2 4 bps i s u s e d d u r i n g i n t e r p l a n e t a r y c r u i s e .
Of t h e s e v e n s c i e n c e f o r m a t s u s e d on o r b i t , f i v e are f o r
t h e c l o s e - i n p e r i a p s i s s e c t i o n of t h e o r b i t . Two are f o r
t h e far-out apoapsis p o r t i o n of t h e o r b i t .
Of t h e f i v e c l o s e - i n f o r m a t s , t w o emphasize a c q u i s i -
t i o n o f aeronomy d a t a . A t h i r d g e n e r a l f o r m a t a l l o w s d a t a
t a k i n g by v i r t u a l l y a l l e x p e r i m e n t s .
The f o u r t h c l o s e - i n f o r m a t , t h e O p t i c a l , i s f o r j u s t
two i n s t r u m e n t s . I t a l l o c a t e s 73 p e r c e n t o f t h e d a t a
stream t o t h e i n f r a r e d r a d i o m e t e r , t h e r e s t of t h e p h o t o -
p o l a r i m e t e r . The l a s t f o r m a t , t h e Mapping f o r m a t , g i v e s
4 4 p e r c e n t o f t h e d a t a s t r e a m t o t h e r a d a r mapper, and t h e
rest i s d i v i d e d among f o u r o t h e r "mapping" t y p e i n s t r u m e n t s .
Of t h e two s c i e n c e f o r m a t s f o r t h e f a r - o u t a p o a p s i s
o r b i t a l segment, t h e Imaging f o r m a t p r o v i d e s 6 7 p e r c e n t of
t h e d a t a stream f o r c l o u d p h o t o p o l a r i m e t e r p i c t u r e s o f
Venus' c l o u d s , and t h e r e s t f o r f o u r s p a c e e n v i r o n m e n t i n -
s t r u m e n t s . The G e n e r a l f o r m a t f o r a p o a p s i s c a r r i e s d a t a f o r
a l l i n s t r u m e n t s e x c e p t t h e i n f r a f e d and imaging i n s t r u m e n t s ,
b u t makes b i g a l l o c a t i o n s t o t h e s p a c e e n v i r o n m e n t measure-
ments o f t h e magnetometer, s o l a r wind i n s t r u m e n t and t h e
gamma r a y b u r s t d e t e c t o r .
O r b i t a l I n s e r t i o n Rocket
The o r b i t a l i n s e r t i o n motor r e d u c e s O r b i t e r v e l o c i t y
by 3,816 kph (2,366 mph) f o r o r b i t a l c a p t u r e by Venus.
I t i s a s o l i d p r o p e l l a n t e n g i n e , a t t a c h e d t o t h e bus t h r u s t
t u b e below t h e equipment compartment. The e n g i n e h a s
1 8 , 0 0 0 Newtons ( 4 0 0 0 l b s . ) of t h r u s t , and t h e i n s e r t i o n r o -
c k e t b u r n r e d u c e s O r b i t e r w e i g h t by 1 8 1 kg ( 3 9 8 l b . ) .
The M u l t i p r o b e S p a c e c r a f t
The f i r s t s i m u l t a n e o u s m u l t i p l e - e n t r y c r a f t measure-
ments of t h e atmosphere of a n o t h e r p l a n e t w i l l be accomplished
by t h e Venus M u l t i p r o b e .
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I-
LL
a
cc
0
W
0
a
e
v>
-80-
The f o u r p r o b e s w i l l b e l a u n c h e d from t h e M u l t i p r o h e
Bus 1 3 m i l l i o n km ( 7 . 8 m i l l i o n m i . ) from t h e p l a n e t and
w i l l t h e n f l y t o t h e i r e n t r y p o i n t s , two on t h e day s i d e
and two on t h e n i g h t s i d e o f Venus.
The M u l t i p r o b e s p a c e c r a f t weighs 9 0 4 kg ( 1 , 9 9 0 l b . )
and c a r r i e s 5 1 kg ( 1 1 2 l b s . ) o f s c i e n t i f i c i n s t r u m e n t s . The
s p a c e c r a f t c o n s i s t s o f t h e P i o n e e r Venus b a s i c bus m o d i f i e d
t o c a r r y t h e f o u r atmosphere p r o b e s . I t s diameter i s t h a t
o f t h e Bus, 2.5 m ( 8 . 3 f t . ) . From t h e bottom o f t h e Bus t o
t h e t i p o f t h e main p r o b e , i t i s 2 . 9 m ( 9 . 5 f t . ) h i q h .
During t h e f l i g h t t o Venus, t h e f o u r p r o b e s a r e c a r r i e d
on t h e Bus by a l a r g e i n v e r t e d cone s t r u c t u r e and t h r e e
e q u a l l y - s p a c e d c i r c u l a r clamps s u r r o u n d i n g t h e cone. These
a t t a c h m e n t s t r u c t u r e s a r e b o l t e d t o t h e Bus t h r u s t t u b e ,
t h e s t r u c t u r a l l i n k t o t h e l a u n c h v e h i c l e . The Large Probe
i s c e n t e r e d on t h e Bus s p i n a x i s , and i s l a u n c h e d toward
Venus by a p y r o t e c h n i c - s p r i n g s e p a r a t i o n s y s t e m . The r i n g
s u p p o r t clamps a t t a c h i n g t h e S m a l l P r o b e s are h i n g e d . F o r
l a u n c h o f t h e S a r n l l P r o b e s , t h e clamps open by t h e f i r i n g
o f e x p l o s i v e n u t s . When o p e n , t h e y a l l o w t h e p r o b e s t o
s p i n o f f t h e Bus i n a t a n g e n t i a l d i r e c t i o n due t o Bus ro-
tation. C o n t r o l l e r s i n c r e a s e Bus s p i n from 1 5 t o 4 8 rpm
f o r Small Probe launch.
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M u l t i p r o b e Data System
The d a t a s y s t e m f o r t h e M u l t i p r o b e s p a c e c r a f t u s e s t h e
s t a n d a r d b u s components. However, d a t a f o r m a t s a r e o r -
ganized t o m e e t requirements of t h e Multiprobe mission.
The M u l t i p r o b e d a t a s y s t e m h a n d l e s d a t a from b o t h Bus and
probes b e f o r e probe launch. A f t e r probe launch, i t handles
Bus d a t a o n l y . The p r o b e s have t h e i r own d a t a s y s t e m s .
(See s e c t i o n s d e s c r i b i n g t h e s e . )
The M u l t i p r o b e d a t a s y s t e m a c c e p t s e n g i n e e r i n g and
m i s s i o n o p e r a t i o n s i n f o r m a t i o n from t h e f o u r p r o b e s a b o a r d
t h e s p a c e c r a f t , u n t i l p r o b e l a u n c h , a s w e l l as from t h e
Multiprobe bus i t s e l f . I t a l s o h a n d l e s d a t a from t h e two
e x p e r i m e n t s c a r r i e d on t h e M u l t i p r o b e b u s . A s on t h e O r -
b i t e r , t h e system a c c e p t s d a t a i n s e r i a l d i g i t a l , analog
and o n e - b i t b i n a r y s t a t u s ( y e s - n o ) form. I t c o n v e r t s t h e
a n a l o g d a t a t o s e r i a l d i g i t a l b i n a r y from a n d a r r a n g e s a l l
information f o r transmission t o Earth i n the standard P i -
o n e e r Venus s e r i e s o f major t e l e m e t r y f r a m e s , e a c h composed
o f 6 4 minor f r a m e s .
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Multiprobe Bus Experiments
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LARGE PROBE
RADIO
TRANSPARENT WINDOW
PR ESSUR E
V ESSEL/D ECEL MOD
UMBl LlCAL
CABLE CUTTER CLOUD PARTICLE
SPECTROMETER
PARACHUTE TOWER WINDOW
NEUTRAL PYROTECHNIC
MASS SPEC. INLET CONNECTOR
PRESSURE VESSEL
AERO FAIRING SEPARAT ION ASSE MB LY
UA
ATMOSPHERE
STRUCTURE
PILOT CHUTE
AND MORTAR
D EC E LE RAT ION PROBE/BUS I N FLIGHT
MODULE D ISCONN ECT
LARGE PROBE PRESSURE VESSEL
ACCESS HATCH
PRESSURE VESSEL
I
DER 03
cn
I
ACCELEROMETER
PYROTECHNIC
CONTROL UNITS
AERO FAIRING
PRESSURE VESSEL
-86-
Flight Sequence
About 20 minutes before atmospheric entry, with the probe
traveling at speeds of about 41,600 kph (26,000 mph), timer
commands turn on and warm up the Large Probe instruments and
systems. The craft establishes its radio link with Earth.
At an altitude of about 120 km ( 7 5 mi.), significant
atmospheric braking has begun, and three-axis accelera-
tions and heat shield temperature data are being stored
for later playback (providing spacecraft flight data for
use by the atmospheric structure experiment). Entry
occurs with peak deceleration of 3 2 0 G at about 78 km (49
mi.). As deceleration forces slack off, a G-switch starts
a timer, ending data storage and starting a timing sequence
for aeroshell and heat shield jettison.
Just below 68 km ( 4 2 mi.), when the Large Probe has slowed to
about 680 kph (420 mph), the pilot chute is mortar-fired
from a small compartment in the side of the aeroshell. This
small parachute is attached by lines to the aft cover which
is separated by an explosive nut and pulled free. The cover,
in turn, is attached to the main parachute. The pilot chute
then extracts the main chute from its compartment within the
conical aeroshell. The main chute then opens. After vehicle
stabilization, mechanical and electrical ties to the aeroshell
are severed by explosive nuts, or by cable cutters, and the
main chute pulls the spherical pressure vessel out of its
surrounding aeroshell. The aeroshell falls away.
Once the pressure vessel is freed of the aeroshell and aft
cover, the scientific instruments have full access to Venus'
atmosphere, and the parachute has slowed its descent rate to
2 7 0 kph (165 mph). Seventeen minutes later, at 47 km (28 mi.)
altitude, the main chute is jettisoned, and the aerodynamically
stable pressure vessel descends to the surface in 39 minutes.
Flight Systems
Thermal protection during atmosphere entry is provided
by the carbon phenolic heat shield covering the forward facing
conical aeroshell, and by coating all other surfaces of the
aeroshell and aft cover with a low density elastomeric material.
The conical aeroshell is a one-piece aluminum structure with
integrally-machined stiffening rings. The ablative carbon
phenolic heat shield is bonded to this structure. The aeroshell
cone has a base diameter of 142 cm (4.7 ft.) .
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Heat P r o t e c t i o n
S c i e n t i f i c Instruments
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-88-
Communications System
S c i e n t i f i c i n s t r u m e n t and s p a c e c r a f t s y s t e m s d a t a a r e
r e t u r n e d by t h e communications s y s t e m . S p a c e c r a f t d a t a i n -
c l u d e i n t e r n a l t e m p e r a t u r e and p r e s s u r e measurements, elec-
t r i c a l c u r r e n t f l o w and v o l t a g e and o n - o r - o f f s t a t u s o f
s y s t e m s and i n s t r u m e n t s .
The p r o b e ’ s s o l i d s t a t e t r a n s m i t t e r and h e m i s p h e r i c a l
c o v e r a g e a n t e n n a r e t u r n a 256-bps d a t a s t r e a m t o E a r t h . T h e
system u s e s f o u r 1 0 - w a t t s o l i d s t a t e a m p l i f i e r s p r o v i d i n g a
t r a n s m i t t e r power of 4 0 w a t t s .
A t r a n s p o n d e r receives an S-band c a r r i e r wave a t 2 . 1 GHz,
and sets t h e p r o b e t r a n s m i t t e r t o s e n d a t 2 . 3 GHz. The t r a n s -
ponder r e c e i v e r i s u s e d o n l y f o r two-way Doppler t r a c k i n g .
The incoming s i g n a l c a r r i e s no i n f o r m a t i o n , and t h e p r o b e d o e s
n o t r e c e i v e commands.
Command System
The L a r g e P r o b e d a t a h a n d l i n g u n i t can a c c e p t 36 a n a l o g ,
1 2 s e r i a l d i g i t a l , and 2 4 o n e - b i t (yes-no) s t a t u s c h a n n e l s ’ f r o m
s c i e n t i f i c i n s t r u m e n t s and p r o b e s y s t e m s . The u n i t c o n v e r t s
t h e a n a l o g and yes-no d a t a t o s e r i a l d i g i t a l form and a r r a n g e s
a l l d a t a i n major t e l e m e t r y frames composed of 1 6 minor frames
f o r time-multiplexed t r a n s m i s s i o n t o Earth. Each minor frame
i s composed o f a s e r i e s of 6 4 e i g h t - b i t words ( 5 1 2 d a t a b i t s
p e r minor frame).
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Power Svstem
The power system uses a silver-zinc battery, providing
40 ampere hours of energy at 2 8 volts. The system consists
of a battery, a power interface unit and a current sensor.
The power interface unit controls power and contains fuses
and power switching relays for vehicle systems. Power for
probe checkout and heating is provided by the Bus prior to
probe to probe separation. During this time, the batteries
are open-circuited by switches in the power interface unit.
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SMALL PROBE
NET F L U X ATMOSPHERE
RADIOMETER STRUCTURE DOOR
ATMOSPHERE
STRUCTURE
TEMPERATURE
INLET A N D
/u
SPIN CONTROL VANE
Y 0 - Y0
NEPHELOMETER /CABLE
(SI
CABLE
CARBON PHENOLIC
RING FOR SEPARATION HEAT SHIELD
CLAMP
DECELERATION MODULE
-92-
Flight Sequence
For the three Small Probes, atmospheric entry speeds
are about 4 2 , 0 0 0 kph (26,000 mph), and peak decelerations vary
in entry flight path angles.
Twenty minutes before entry, all systems and instruments
are activated and communications with Earth are established.
Just before entry, spin rates are cut about three times from
48 to 14 rpm, The 48-rPm spin rate imparted by spin-off
launch from the Bus disperses the probes over the planet to
desired entry points. But it also means that the probes
enter the upper atmosphere somewhat tilted to their entry
flight paths. With the slower 15-rpm rotation, aerodynamic
forces quickly line up the axes of the probes with their entry
heating damage could occur on the edges of the probes conical
heat shields.
A yo-yo system spins down the probes. Two weights are
cut loose by a pyrotechnic cable cutter, and probe spin
swings the weights out on 2.4 m (8-ft.) cables. With this
weight moved radially outward, rotation rate must slow to
maintain the same rotational momentum. Weights and cables
are then jettisoned.
In order to save weight and also because a longer stay-
time at upper altitudes is not needed, the small probes do
not use parachutes. On the large probe, more time is needed
for measurements of atmosphere and cloud composition. The
small probes do not carry atmospheric composition instruments.
As with the Large Probe, heat shield temperature and
probe acceleration data are stored for the atmospberic struc-
ture experiment during the entry communications blackout. A
G-switch ends data storage after blackout.
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I .
-93-
Flight Systems
Thermal protection during entry is provided by ablative
carbon phenolic heat shields, which are 45-degree cones with
the same geometry as the Large Probe heat shield. For fur-
ther heat protection, the entire afterbody is coated with
a low-density elastomeric material. The heat shield material
is bonded to the Small Probe titanium aeroshell. Base diameter
of the aeroshell heat shield cone is 76 cm (30 in.).
The conical aeroshell provides aerodynamic braking and flight
stability, as does location of the probe center of gravity well
forward in the vehicle. Designers chose the aeroshell cone
structure primarily for flight through the searing heat and
extreme deceleration of atmosphere entry. However, the cone
also provides stable flight and substantially slows descent
rate in Venus' thick lower atmosphere.
Heat Protection
A s with the Large Probe, heat protection for the small
probes is provided by a kapton blanket completely lining the
interior of an 45 cm (18-in.) diameter spherical titanium pressure
vessel. It, too, has two shelves which carry all equipment
and scientific instruments, and are made of beryllium to
serve as heat sinks. Since the aeroshell descends to
the surface with the pressure vessel, it, too, is made of
light-weight, heat-resistant titanium.
Scientific Instruments
The three scientific instruments on the small probes
measure atmospheric structure (pressure, temperature and
acceleration from which altitude and density are determined),
cloud particles and layers, and heat distribution in the
atmosphere. These measurements, and claculations based
on them, will allow characterization of Venus' atmosphere.
For the atmospheric structure experiment, the outside
inlet for the pressure sensor, and the arm carrying the harp-
like temperature sensor both extend from the experiment housing.
The pressure sensor itself and temperature-sensor electronics
are internal, as are the accelerometers used for density cal-
culations.
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Communications
Communications s y s t e m s f o r t h e S m a l l probes c o n s i s t o f
s o l i d s t a t e t r a n s m i t t e r s and h e m i s p h e r i c a l c o v e r a g e a n t e n n a s ,
i d e n t i c a l w i t h those f o r t h e L a r g e Probe. Each t r a n s m i t t e r
h a s one 1 0 - W a t t , s o l i d s t a t e a m p l i f i e r . T h i s compares w i t h
40 w a t t s f o r t h e Large Probe. T h i s system can t r a n s m i t d a t a
t o t h e D S N ' s 64-m (210-foot) a n t e n n a s a t a r a t e of 6 4 b p s above
30 km ( 1 9 m i . ) a l t i t u d e and 1 6 b p s below t h a t t o i m p a c t . The
S m a l l P r o b e s do n o t c a r r y a r e c e i v e r f o r two-way Doppler t r a c k -
i n g as d o e s t h e L a r g e Probe, and Doppler t r a c k i n g i s done u s i n g
an o s c i l l a t o r ( s t a b l e t o a p p r o x i m a t e l y one p a r t i n a b i l l i o n )
on t h e p r o b e s as a r e f e r e n c e f r e q u e n c y f o r ground t r a c k i n g
comDutations.
D a t a r e t u r n e d i n c l u d e s c i e n t i f i c and e n g i n e e r i n g i n f o r -
m a t i o n . T h i s i n c l u d e s i n t e r n a l t e m p e r a t u r e and p r e s s u r e measure-
m e n t s , e l e c t r i c a l c u r r e n t f l o w and v o l t a g e s , and on-off s t a t u s
of i n s t r u m e n t s and p r o b e s y s t e m s .
Command System
The command s y s t e m on t h e S m a l l P r o b e s i s i d e n t i c a l t o
t h a t on t h e L a r g e P r o b e . I t p r o v i d e s 6 4 commands, a l l o r i g i -
n a t e d on b o a r d t h e p r o b e s by t i m e r s , programmers, G-switches
and o t h e r l o g i c s and d e v i c e s .
D a t a H a n d l i n g System
Components o f t h e d a t a h a n d l i n g s y s t e m on t h e S m a l l
P r o b e s are i d e n t i c a l t o t h o s e f o r t h e L a r g e P r o b e . The d a t a -
h a n d l i n g u n i t c a n a c c e p t 36 a n a l o g , 1 2 d i g i t a l and 2 4 one-
b i t c h a n n e l s from i n s t r u m e n t s and s y s t e m s . L o g i c of d a t a
formats also i s i d e n t i c a l .
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-95-
The s y s t e m f o r e a c h S m a l l Probe p r o v i d e s f o r t h r e e
high-rate d a t a formats: u p p e r d e s c e n t , l o w e r d e s c e n t and
e n t r y b l a c k o u t . As w i t h t h e L a r g e P r o b e , a s t o r a g e c a p a c i t y
of 3072 b i t s i s p r o v i d e d by t h e d a t a memory. F o l l o w i n g t h e
e n t r y communications b l a c k o u t , s t o r e d d a t a w i l l b e p l a y e d
back and t e l e m e t e r e d i n t h e u p p e r d e s c e n t f o r m a t a t 6 4 b p s .
R e a l t i m e t r a n s m i s s i o n w i l l o c c u r i n i t i a l l y a t 6 4 bps i n t h e
upper d e s c e n t format, c h a n g i n g t o 1 6 b p s a t 30 km ( 1 9 m i . )
a l t i t u d e (lower d e s c e n t f o r m a t ) . Data r a t e a l l o c a t i o n among
t h e three S m a l l Probe i n s t r u m e n t s r a n g e s f r o m 6 t o 2 0 bps i n
t h e upper f o r m a t and 1 . 5 t o 7.25 bps i n t h e lower f o r m a t .
Power S y s t e m s
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-96-
SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATIONS
Orbiter
Cloud P h o t o p o l a r i m e t e r -- T h i s i n s t r u m e n t m e a s u r e s t h e
v e r t i c a l d i s t r i b u t i o n o f c l o u d and h a z e p a r t i c l e s and ob-
s e r v e s u l t r a v i o l e t a t m o s p h e r i c m a r k i n g s and c l o u d c i r c u l a -
t i o n s . U l t r a v i o l e t images p r o v i d e t h e v i s u a l r e f e r e n c e f o r
d a t a from o t h e r O r b i t e r e x p e r i m e n t s and f o r t h i s i n s t r u m e n t ' s
polarization readings.
A 3.7-cm ( 1 . 5 - i n . ) t e l e s c o p e w i t h a r o t a t i n g f i l t e r
wheel o b s e r v e s t h e p l a n e t a t f i x e d a n g l e s , u s i n g t h e O r b i t e r
r o t a t i o n f o r s c a n s across t h e p l a n e t and motion a l o n g t h e
s p a c e c r a f t t r a j e c t o r y a r o u n d Venus f o r c o m p l e t e p l a n e t a r y
mapping. The a n g l e o f t h e t e l e s c o p e may b e v a r i e d by ground
command f o r s e l e c t o b s e r v a t i o n s from any p o i n t i n o r b i t .
The i n s t r u m e n t u s e s a n u l t r a v i o l e t (UV) f i l t e r ( f o r
maximum c o n t r a s t ) t o t r a c k t h e p u z z l i n g fast-moving UV
a b s o r b i n g m a r k i n g s . F i v e p l a n e t a r y images c a n b e made i n
e a c h s p a c e c r a f t o r b i t . The f i e l d o f view i s a b o u t o n e - h a l f
m i l l i r a d i a n , c o r r e s p o n d i n g t o a r e s o l u t i o n of a b o u t 30 km
(19 m i . ) d i r e c t l y below t h e O r b i t e r .
The i n s t r u m e n t m e a s u r e s s c a t t e r e d s u n l i g h t p o l a r i z a t i o n
b a s e d on c l o u d and h a z e p a r t i c l e s i z e , s h a p e and d e n s i t y .
V e r t i c a l d i s t r i b u t i o n of c l o u d and h a z e p a r t i c l e s i n r e l a -
t i o n t o a t m o s p h e r i c p r e s s u r e i s e x t r a c t e d from t h i s d a t a .
While t h e O r b i t e r i s a t p e r i a p s i s t h e i n s t r u m e n t o b s e r v e s
i n v i s i b l e l i g h t t h e high-haze l a y e r s of t h e atmosphere.
T h e s e " l i m b s c a n s ' ' h a v e a r e s o l u t i o n as s m a l l a s . 5 km ( . 3 m i . ) .
The i n s t r u m e n t weighs 5 kg (11 l b . ) and u s e s 5.4 w a t t s .
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ORBITER EXPERIMENTS
MAGNETOMETER MAGNETOMETER
SENSOR BOOM
\/
RETARDING niJ ELECTRIC FIELD
I
W
SPECTROMETER 4
I
ULTRAVIOLET
SPECTROMETER
TEMPERATURE
NEUTRAL MASS
SPECTROMETER GAMMA BURST
DETECTOR ON
SHELF NOT
VISIBLE
T e a m s c i e n t i s t s s u b t r a c t t h e o b s e r v e d d i s t a n c e between
t h e O r b i t e r and t h e s u r f a c e from t h e s p a c e c r a f t ' s o r b i t a l
r a d i u s ( o b t a i n e d from DSN t r a c k i n g ) t o f i n d a b s o l u t e topo-
g r a p h i c a l measurements. S u r f a c e r e s o l u t i o n i s b e s t a t a p e r i a p s i s
a l t i t u d e of 2 0 0 km ( 1 7 4 m i . ) : 2 0 km ( 1 2 m i . ) l o n g and 1 6
km ( 9 . 6 m i . ) a c r o s s t h e s u b o r b i t a l t r a c k . Data g a t h e r e d
by t h e i n s t r u m e n t and telemetered t o E a r t h w i l l b e computer-
a s s e m b l e d i n t o r a d a r maps o f t h e p l a n e t .
R e s o l u t i o n i s comparable t o t h e E a r t h - b a s e d r a d a r
s t u d i e s ; enough t o d i s c e r n m a j o r s u r f a c e f e a t u r e s .
The i n s t r u m e n t f e a t u r e s e i g h t d e t e c t o r s , e a c h s e n s i t i v e
t o a d i f f e r e n t f r a c t i o n of t h e i n f r a r e d s p e c t r u m . F i v e
d e t e c t o r s measure t h e i n f r a r e d e m i s s i o n s a t f i v e s e l e c t e d
w a v e l e n g t h s of t h e p n ( m i c r o m e t e r s ) , a b s o r p t i o n band o f
c a r b o n d i o x i d e . Each w a v e l e n g t h samples a s p e c i f i c d e p t h
i n t h e a t m o s p h e r e , depending on h e a t a b s o r b i n g c h a r a c t e r -
i s t i c s o f t h e C 0 2 m o l e c u l e and t h e v a r i a t i o n o f t e m p e r a t u r e
w i t h a l t i t u d e . One d e t e c t o r e x c l u s i v e l y d e t e c t s and maps
t h e d i s t r i b u t i o n of water v a p o r ( i f i t e x i s t s ) i n t h e
u p p e r a t m o s p h e r e . A n o t h e r d e t e c t o r m e a s u r e s t h e s i z e and
s h a p e o f c l o u d l a y e r s , and t h e l a s t d e t e c t o r m e a s u r e s t h e
t o t a l solar reflectance.
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VENUS ORBITER IMAGING SYSTEM
PER IAPSIS
CLOSEST
I
W
u)
I
' PERlAPSlS
The Cloud Photopolarimeter uses motion along the Orbiter's flight path around Venus, and spacecraft
rotation for picture scanning of the planet in ultraviolet light. The .instrument can make five planetary
images in each spacecraft orbit. It has a resolution of about 30 km (19 miles). It also measures cloud
particle characteristics, and will make pictures of haze layers a t the planet edge with a resolution of 15 km
(0.3 mile).
-100-
A 48-mm-aperture t e l e s c o p e m i r r o r feeds a l l e i g h t
c h a n n e l s . The t e l e s c o p e i s set a t 45 d e g r e e s t o t h e
O r b i t e r s p i n a x i s so t h a t s c a n s are made by s p a c e c r a f t
r o t a t i o n . When l o o k i n g a t o n e p l a n e t ' s limb t h e narrow
f i e l d of view g i v e s v e r t i c a l r e s o l u t i o n of 5 km ( 3 m i . )
a t p e r i a p s i s . When t h e O r b i t e r i s i n b e s t p o s i t i o n f o r
l i m b s c a n n i n g o f t h e p l a n e t ' s a t m o s p h e r i c " e d g e , I' t h e
i n s t r u m e n t o b t a i n s a d d i t i o n a l d a t a on c l o u d l a y e r s and
t h e v e r t i c a l d i s t r i b u t i o n of w a t e r v a p o r .
The i n s t r u m e n t weighs 5.9 kg ( 1 3 l b . ) and u s e s 5.2
watts.
Airglow U l t r a v i o l e t S p e c t r o m e t e r -- The u l t r a v i o l e t
s p e c t r o m e t e r o b s e r v e s t h e numerous a t m o s p h e r i c m a r k i n g s
which c a n b e s e e n o n l y t h r o u g h u l t r a v i o l e t (UV) f i l t e r s .
The i n s t r u m e n t t r a c k s t h e UV a b s o r b i n g masses which r o t a t e
i n f o u r d a y s , m e a s u r e s t h e e s c a p e r a t e of atomic hydrogen
from t h e o u t e r a t m o s p h e r e and m e a s u r e s t h e u l t r a v i o l e t
s c a t t e r i n g p r o p e r t i e s of t h e c l o u d t o p s and h a z e s a t a b o u t
80 km (50 m i . ) a l t i t u d e .
A b s o r p t i o n of UV r a d i a t i o n i n t h e u p p e r a t m o s p h e r e
p r o d u c e s o p t i c a l UV e m i s s i o n s known as t h e " a i r g l o w " .
V a r i o u s a i r g l o w e m i s s i o n s a r e c a u s e d by d i f f e r e n t p h y s i c a l
p r o c e s s e s ( e . g . , s p l i t - u p of molecules i n t o e l e c t r o n i c a l l y
e x c i t e d atoms). By v i e w i n g day and n i g h t a i r g l o w a t wave-
l e n g t h s between 1 , 1 0 0 Angstroms and 3,400 Angstroms, t h e
s p e c t r o m e t e r c a n t h u s i d e n t i f y t h e mechanism which e x c i t e s
t h e g a s e s o f t h e u p p e r a t m o s p h e r e . The t e m p e r a t u r e s of
t h e upper atmosphere a t v a r i o u s a l t i t u d e s c a n also b e
i n f e r r e d from d a t a from limb s c a n s a t t h e a t m o s p h e r e ' s
e d g e , a t selected w a v e l e n g t h s .
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N e u t r a l Mass S p e c t r o m e t e r -- T h i s i n s t r u m e n t m e a s u r e s
t h e d e n s i t i e s o f n e u t r a l i o n i z e d a t o m s and m o l e c u l e s i n
Venus' u p p e r a t m o s p h e r e between 1 5 0 km ( 9 0 m i . ) a t p e r i -
a p s i s and 2 0 0 km ( 1 2 0 m i . ) . F i n d i n g t h e v e r t i c a l and h o r i -
z o n t a l v a r i a t i o n s i n t h e n e u t r a l g a s molecules w i l l h e l p
d e f i n e t h e c h e m i c a l s t a t e of t h e u p p e r a t m o s p h e r e . V a r i a -
t i o n s o f hydrogen and helium c o n c e n t r a t i o n s w i l l t e l l t h e
e x t e n t of g a s e s c a p e from t h e a t m o s p h e r e . R e s e a r c h e r s w i l l
f i n d t h e h e i g h t of t h e homopause (above which a t m o s p h e r e
mixing s t o p s ) by comparing t h e d e n s i t i e s o f i n e r t g a s e s a t
t h e O r b i t e r a l t i t u d e s w i t h measurements made by t h e L a r g e
P r o b e and Bus n e u t r a l mass s p e c t r o m e t e r s below 1 5 0 km ( 9 3 m i . ) .
Noble g a s e s , o t h e r n o n - r e a c t i v e g a s e s and c h e m i c a l l y
a c t i v e g a s e s up t o 4 6 atomic mass u n i t s a r e i d e n t i f i e d and
measured. Gas m o l e c u l e s are f i r s t i o n i z e d and t h e n d e f l e c t e d
by a m a g n e t i c f i e l d a c c o r d i n g t o t h e i r m a s s . The a v e r a g e
v e r t i c a l s p a c i n g of sample p o i n t s i s a p p r o x i m a t e l y 4 0 0 m
( 2 4 0 f t . ) a t 5 0 0 km ( 3 0 0 m i . ) a l t i t u d e w h i l e t h e h o r i z o n t a l
s p a c i n g f o r sampling a l o n g t h e O r b i t e r p a t h i s a b o u t 2 km
(1.2 m i . ) .
I n f l i g h t , a s e n s o r i s exposed t o a s t r e a m of atmos-
p h e r i c i o n s , which f l o w i n t o a n aluminum c y l i n d e r e n c l o s i n g
a series of p a r a l l e l w i r e g r i d s . Each i o n s p e c i e s i s a c c e l -
e r a t e d by a s p e c i f i c v o l t a g e a p p l i e d t o t h e g r i d s so t h a t
t h e i o n s impinge o n a c o l l e c t o r a t t h e rear of t h e s e n s o r
c y l i n d e r . The i o n stream's a c c e l e r a t i n g v o l t a g e w i l l y i e l d
i t s i d e n t i t y and i t s a m p l i t u d e w i l l r e v e a l i t s c o n c e n t r a t i o n .
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S o l a r Wind P l a s m a A n a l y z e r -- T h i s i n s t r u m e n t measures
p r o p e r t i e s of t h e s o l a r wind and i t s i n t e r a c t i o n s w i t h
Venus' i o n o s p h e r e and u p p e r a t m o s p h e r e . The i n s t r u m e n t
m e a s u r e s v e l o c i t y , f l o w d i r e c t i o n and t e m p e r a t u r e of t h e
s o l a r wind. Such f i n d i n g s s h o u l d h e l p e x p l a i n h o w t h e
i o n o s p h e r e r e a c t s w i t h t h e s o l a r wind and p o s s i b l y t h e
r o l e t h e s o l a r wind p l a y s i n Venus' weather p a t t e r n s .
The r e g i o n around Venus, t h e c a v i t y "shadowed" by t h e
s o l a r wind, i s d e t e r m i n e d t o t h e e x t e n t a l l o w e d by t h e
s p a c e c r a f t o r b i t . The i n s t r u m e n t s e a r c h e s f o r streams of
solar p a r t i c l e s i n t h i s region.
The plasma a n a l y z e r i s a n electrostatic/energy-per-
u n i t c h a r g e s p e c t r o m e t e r . The s o l a r wind f l u x ( r a t e o f
f l o w of t h e s o l a r wind) i s measured by t h e d e f l e c t i o n o f
i n - r u s h i n g p a r t i c l e s by a n e l e c t r o s t a t i c f i e l d between
two metal p l a t e s . I f t h e p a r t i c l e s are w i t h i n t h e energy
r a n g e d e t e r m i n e d by t h e p l a t e s ' v o l t a g e d i f f e r e n c e s , t h e y
e x i t between t h e p l a t e s , h i t t i n g o n e o f f i v e d e t e c t o r s .
Which t a r g e t the p a r t i c l e s h i t d e t e r m i n e s t h e s o l a r wind
d i r e c t i o n . By v a r y i n g t h e v o l t a g e between t h e p l a t e s , t h e
i n s t r u m e n t y i e l d s a c o m p l e t e p a r t i c l e s p e c t r u m of t h e s o l a r
wind.
T h e i n s t r u m e n t weighs 3 . 9 kg ( 8 . 6 l b . ) and u s e s 5 . 2
watts.
I t a p p e a r s Venus h a s a v e r y weak m a g n e t i c f i e l d ; y e t ,
i t may p l a y a n i m p o r t a n t r o l e i n t h e i o n o s p h e r e - s o l a r wind
interaction. T h e magnetometer s h o u l d f i n d whether i t i s
t h e weak i n t r i n s i c m a g n e t i c f i e l d , a n i n d u c e d m a g n e t i c
f i e l d o r t h e i o n o s p h e r e i t s e l f which d e f l e c t s t h e s o l a r
wind.
The i n s t r u m e n t c o n s i s t s of t h r e e s e n s o r s on 4.7-m
( 1 5 . 5 - f t . ) booms, l o n g enough t o i s o l a t e t h e m from much
o f t h e s p a c e c r a f t ' s own m a g n e t i c f i e l d . The inboard s e n s o r ,
t i l t e d 45 d e g r e e s t o t h e s p i n a x i s e x c l u s i v e l y measures
t h e O r b i t e r ' s m a g n e t i c f i e l d , which w i l l be s u b t r a c t e d from
t h e outboard sensors' readings.
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T h e i n s t r u m e n t weighs 2 kg ( 4 . 4 l b . ) and u s e s 2 . 2
w a t t s power.
E l e c t r i c F i e l d Detector=-- T h i s i n s t r u m e n t w i l l h e l p
answer q u e s t i o n s c o n c e r n i n g the c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f t h e i n t e r -
a c t i o n s between Venus and t h e s o l a r wind, t h e m i l l i o n - m i l e -
an-hour i o n i z e d g a s t h a t c o n t i n u a l l y streams outward from
t h e Sun t o t h e s o l a r s y s t e m .
T h e d e t e c t o r w i l l determine t h e k i n d s of i n t e r a c t i o n s
between the plasma ( t h e mass of i o n s and e l e c t r o n s ) of
Venus' i o n o s p h e r e and t h e s o l a r wind, t h e e x t e n t t o which
the s o l a r wind i s deflected a r o u n d Venus, t h e e x t e n t t o
which t h e s o l a r wind h e a t s t h e i o n o s p h e r e , t h e e x t e n t of
i o n i z a t i o n c a u s e d by e x o s p h e r e - s o l a r wind i n t e r a c t i o n and
s o l a r wind t u r b u l e n c e . The i n s t r u m e n t a l s o searches f o r
"whistlers" -- e l e c t r o m a g n e t i c d i s t u r b a n c e s which t r a v e l
along a p l a n e t ' s magnetic f i e l d l i n e s .
T h e i n s t r u m e n t m e a s u r e s e l e c t r i c components of plasma
waves and r a d i o e m i s s i o n s i n the f r e q u e n c y r e g i o n from
1 0 0 t o 1 0 0 , 0 0 0 H e r t z which induce a c u r r e n t i n t h e i n s t r u -
m e n t ' s V-type e l e c t r i c d i p o l e a n t e n n a . T h e c u r r e n t i s
a m p l i f i e d and t h e i n f o r m a t i o n p r o c e s s e d and r e l a y e d back
t o E a r t h . Four 30 p e r c e n t bandwidth c h a n n e l s are employed;
each i s u s e f u l a t d i f f e r e n t p o i n t s a l o n g t h e O r b i t e r t r a -
j e c t o r y , as i t p a s s e s t h r o u g h v a r y i n g d e n s i t i e s of t h e
s o l a r wind. The 0.6-m ( 2 6 - i n . ) - l o n g a n t e n n a i s d e s i g n e d
t o l e a n on t h e O r b i t e r s h r o u d and d e p l o y a u t o m a t i c a l l y
when the s h r o u d i s ejected.
Two c y l i n d r i c a l probes 7 c m ( 3 i n . ) by 0 . 2 5 c m ( 0 . 5
i n . ) a r e u s e d . One p r o b e i s mounted p a r a l l e l t o t h e s p a c e -
c r a f t s p i n a x i s on a 0.4-m ( 1 6 - i n . ) boom, and t h e o t h e r
p r o b e i s mounted p e r p e n d i c u l a r t o t h e s p i n a x i s on a 1-m
( 4 0 - i n . ) boom. (The booms a r e l o n g enough t o p l a c e t h e
s e n s o r s beyond much of t h e p h o t o e l e c t r o n c l o u d and i o n
s h e a t h s u r r o u n d i n g t h e s p a c e c r a f t w h i c h m i g h t d i s t o r t read-
ings.) T h e l o n g e r boom a l l o w s measurement of e l e c t r o n con-
t e n t a n d t e m p e r a t u r e f o r c o n d i t i o n s of v e r y l o w e l e c t r o n
concentrations.
Charqed P a r t i c l e R e t a r d i n g P o t e n t i a l A n a l y z e r -- This
i n s t r u m e n t m e a s u r e s t h e t e m p e r a t u r e , c o n c e n t r a t i o n and v e l o -
c i t y of t h e m o s t a b u n d a n t i o n s i n t h e i o n o s p h e r e ( p r e s u m a b l y
c a r b o n d i o x i d e and oxygen i o n s . ) I t a l s o m e a s u r e s t h e con-
c e n t r a t i o n , t e m p e r a t u r e and e n e r g y of s u r r o u n d i n g photo-
e l e c t r o n s i n the ionosphere.
T h e instrument i s designed s p e c i f i c a l l y f o r d e t e c t i n g
t h e l o w e n e r g y plasma p a r t i c l e s i n Venus' i o n o s p h e r e , a s
opposed t o t h e much more h i g h l y e n e r g i z e d s o l a r wind p a r -
t i c l e s . However, t h e a n a l y z e r s h o u l d p r o v i d e d a t a c o n c e r n -
i n g t h e solar wind-ionosphere i n t e r a c t i o n a t an a l t i t u d e of
4 0 0 t o 5 0 0 km ( 2 4 0 t o 300 m i . ) a t t h e p o i n t where t h e s o l a r
wind streams i n t o t h e i o n o s p h e r e .
By v a r y i n g e l e c t r i c a l p o t e n t i a l s , c o l l e c t o r g r i d s of
6 c m ( 2 . 5 i n . ) d i a m e t e r s e l e c t i v e l y allow v a r i o u s i o n o s p h e r i c
p a r t i c l e s t o s t r i k e a d e t e c t o r . C u r r e n t i n d u c e d i n t h e de-
t e c t o r i s a m p l i f i e d by a n e l e c t r o m e t e r .
Measurements a r e t a k e n a t i n t e r v a l s a 1 o n g . a 120-km ( 7 2 -
m i . ) o r b i t segment t h r o u g h t h e i o n o s p h e r i c plasma r e g i o n .
Onboard a n a l y s i s s e l e c t s t h e optimum p o i n t i n t h e spacecraft
r o t a t i o n a t which t o sample t h e i o n o s p h e r i c plasma, s o t h a t
each s c a n i s completed i n a small f r a c t i o n of a s p i n p e r i o d .
The i n s t r u m e n t a c h i e v e s a 20-km ( 1 2 - m i . ) r e s o l u t i o n f o r
total ion concentration.
The i n s t r u m e n t weighs 2 . 8 kg ( 6 . 3 l b . ) and u s e s 2 . 4
w a t t s of power.
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G a m m a R a y B u r s t D e t e c t o r -- T h e gamma r a y b u r s t d e t e c t o r
o b s e r v e s t h e i n t e n s e s h o r t d u r a t i o n ( o n e - t e n t h second t o a
f e w t e n t h s o f s e c o n d s ) " b u r s t s " of h i g h e n e r q y p r o t o n s from
o u t e r s p a c e . T h i s phenomenon w a s n ' t d i s c o v e r e d u n t i l 1973,
and t h e n a t u r e a n d o r i g i n o f t h e s o u r c e s a r e s t i l l unknown.
T h e gamma r a y b u r s t s o c c u r randomly i n t i m e ( r o u g h l y 1 0 p e r
y e a r ) a n d a p p e a r t o o r i g i n a t e from random p o i n t s i n t h e u n i -
v e r s e . The gamma r a y b u r s t d e t e c t o r i s t h e o n l y e x p e r i m e n t
on P i o n e e r Venus which i s n o t i n v o l v e d i n t h e d i r e c t s t u d y
of Venus and i t s e n v i r o n s .
I n t e r n a l D e n s i t y D i s t r i b u t i o n Experiment -- T h i s e x p e r i -
ment d e t e r m i n e s V e n u s ' s i n t e r n a l m a s s d i s t r i b u t i o n , t h e p r o -
cesses which have produced t h a t d i s t r i b u t i o n , t h e p l a n e t ' s
g l o b a l s h a p e a n d t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p between Venus' surface
f e a t u r e s and t h e i r c o r r e s p o n d i n g i n t e r n a l d e n s i t i e s . R e -
s e a r c h e r s hope t o c o n s t r u c t a model o f t h e p h y s i c a l p r o c e s s e s
which g o v e r n e d Venus' p l a n e t a r y e v o l u t i o n w i t h t h e h e l p o f
t h i s experiment's data.
S c i e n t i s t s u s e t h e two-way Doppler t r a c k i n g o f t h e
O r b i t e r , which i s also u s e d f o r n a v i g a t i o n , t o f i n d v e r y
s m a l l changes i n i t s o r b i t . They u s e t h e s e o r b i t c h a n g e s
t o c h a r t Venus' g r a v i t y f i e l d . T h i s g r a v i t y i n f o r m a t i o n
c a n t h e n b e used t o c a l c u l a t e v a r i a t i o n s i n p l a n e t d e n s i t y .
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An S-band s i g n a l of 2 . 2 G H z i s t r a n s m i t t e d f r o m a D S N
a n t e n n a , r e c e i v e d by t h e O r b i t e r s p a c e c r a f t and r e t r a n s -
m i t t e d b a c k t o t h e DSN a n t e n n a . Doppler s h i f t s i n f r e q u e n c y
of these s i g n a l s mean c h a n g e s i n s p a c e c r a f t v e l o c i t y . Most
of the v e l o c i t y c h a n g e s a r e d u e t o t h e r e l a t i v e o r b i t a l
m o t i o n s of E a r t h , Venus and t h e P i o n e e r Venus O r b i t e r . How-
e v e r , l o c a l a n o m a l i e s i n t h e i n t e r n a l mass d i s t r i b u t i o n of
Venus i n d u c e a d d i t i o n a l v e l o c i t y c h a n g e s . A n a l y s i s of t h e
v e l o c i t y c h a n g e s t h e r e f o r e p r o v i d e s i n f o r m a t i o n on t h e i n -
t e r n a l m a s s d i s t r i b u t i o n of Venus.
Comparison of t h i s d a t a w i t h t h e r a d a r mapping d a t a
may s u p p o r t t h e e x i s t e n c e of b a s i c on-going p h y s i c a l p r o -
cesses, s u c h a s E a r t h - l i k e p l a t e t e c t o n i c s ( t h e movement
of m a s s i v e c r u s t a l p l a t e s s l o w l y p a s t one a n o t h e r ) . The
d a t a a l s o w i l l i n f e r t h e l i k e l y c o m p o s i t i o n and t e m p e r a t u r e
of Venus' i n t e r i o r .
C e l e s t i a l Mechanics E x p e r i m e n t -- T h e c e l e s t i a l mechanics
e x p e r i m e n t s t u d i e s Venus' g r a v i t y f i e l d , l e a d i n g t o c a l c u -
l a t i o n s of i t s g l o b a l s h a p e and i n f e r e n c e s a b o u t t h e dynamics
of t h e p l a n e t ' s u p p e r a t m o s p h e r e and i o n o s p h e r e . The e x p e r i -
ment a l s o m e a s u r e s t h e d i r e c t i o n of Venus' s p i n a x i s , rota-
t i o n o f t h e p l a n e t ' s p o l e s , d e n s i t y of t h e u p p e r a t m o s p h e r e ,
r e l a t i v i s t i c e f f e c t s of s o l a r g r a v i t y on t h e O r b i t e r t r a c k i n g
s i g n a l and improves o u r knowledge of t h e e x a c t p l a n e t a r y t r a -
j e c t o r i e s of Venus and E a r t h .
S c i e n t i s t s u s e Doppler t r a c k i n g t o c h a r t t h e p l a n e t ' s
g r a v i t y f i e l d . A DSN a n t e n n a on E a r t h t r a n s m i t s a r a d i o
s i g n a l of 2 . 2 G H z t o t h e O r b i t e r , which r e t r a n s m i t s t h a t
s i g n a l , m u l t i p l i e d by 2 4 0 / 2 2 1 ( t o d i s c r i m i n a t e o u t g o i n g from
incoming s i g n a l s ) . Unexpected f r e q u e n c y s h i f t s i n t h e s e
s i g n a l s mean c h a n g e s i n s p a c e c r a f t p o s i t i o n . T h e s e c h a n g e s
are c a u s e d by t h e m a s s and g r a v i t a t i o n a l f i e l d of Venus,
g r a v i t y f i e l d of the Sun and Venus' own a t m o s p h e r e , w h i c h
e x e r t s a d r a g on t h e O r b i t e r . More d e t a i l e d s t u d i e s of t h e
a t m o s p h e r e a r e p o s s i b l e j u s t b e f o r e and a f t e r t h e o c c u l t a -
t i o n s of t h e O r b i t e r by Venus, when t h e r a d i o s i g n a l must
p a s s q u i t e close t o t h e p l a n e t s u r f a c e on i t s way t o E a r t h .
D i s t o r t i o n s ( s c i n t i l l a t i o n s ) of t h e O r b i t e r s i g n a l d u r i n g
these p e r i o d s r e v e a l v a r i a t i o n s i n u p p e r a t m o s p h e r e d e n s i t y .
S i m u l t a n e o u s r a d i o t r a c k i n g of the O r b i t e r w i t h e x t r a -
g a l a c t i c radio sources w i l l a l l o w very precise determination
of t h e o r b i t s of E a r t h and Venus w i t h r e s p e c t t o t h e s e e x t r a -
galactic objects.
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By a n a l y z i n g t h e s c i n t i l l a t i o n s i n r a d i o s i g n a l s c a u s e d
by v a r i o u s a t m o s p h e r i c l a y e r s , i n v e s t i g a t o r s c a n i n f e r t h e
r e f r a c t i o n , t e m p e r a t u r e , p r e s s u r e and d e n s i t i e s of t h e atmos-
p h e r e f r o m 3 4 k m ( 2 0 m i . ) a l t i t u d e up t h r o u g h t h e i o n o s p h e r e .
A s t h e radio s i g n a l s p i e r c e t h e ionosphere, i n v e s t i g a t o r s
c a n measure s i g n a l d i s t o r t i o n due t o v a r y i n g e l e c t r o n den-
s i t i e s i n t h i s barely-known r e g i o n . S i n c e most of these
measurements a r e made on V e n u s t : n i g h t s i d e , d a t a i s p r o v i d e d
on t h e r e p o r t e d l y v a r i a b l e Venusian n i g h t t i m e i o n o s p h e r e .
T h e O r b i t e r h i g h - g a i n a n t e n n a i s s p e c i a l l y aimed d u r i n g
o c c u l t a t i o n s so t h a t t h e refracted radio s i g n a l i s o p t i m a l l y
aimed a t E a r t h . D S N s t a t i o n s on E a r t h a r e e q u i p p e d w i t h
s p e c i a l r e c e i v e r s t o t r a c k t h e incoming s i g n a l s a s t h e i r
p h a s e and f r e q u e n c i e s a r e m o d i f i e d d u r i n g t r a n s m i s s i o n
t h r o u g h Venus I s atmosphere.
Atmospheric and S o l a r Wind T u r b u l e n c e E x p e r i m e n t -- T h e
e x p e r i m e n t o b s e r v e s t h e s m a l l scale t u r b u l e n c e ( l e s s t h a n 1 0
km o r 6 m i . ) i n t h e Venusian a t m o s p h e r e above 3 5 km ( 2 2 m i . )
a l t i t u d e . I t w i l l r e v e a l t h e v a r i a t i o n of a t m o s p h e r i c t u r -
b u l e n c e w i t h l a t i t u d e , l o n g i t u d e and a l t i t u d e c h a n g e s d u r i n g
t h e 4 0 o c c u l t a t i o n s when O r b i t e r s p a c e c r a f t s i g n a l s must
p a s s t h r o u g h Venus' a t m o s p h e r e on t h e i r way t o E a r t h t r a c k -
i n g s t a t i o n s . Because t h e s i g n a l s t r a v e l t h r o u g h t h e i o n o -
s p h e r e as w e l l , f l u c t u a t i o n s i n e l e c t r o n d e n s i t y c a n a l s o b e
i n f e r r e d from t h e d a t a .
F o l l o w i n g c o n c l u s i o n of t h e normal m i s s i o n l i f e t i m e
( a r o u n d August 19791, t h e O r b i t e r w i l l p r o v i d e d e n s i t y and
v e l o c i t y measurements of t h e s o l a r wind n e a r t h e Sun. Venus
w i l l t h e n a p p r o a c h s u p e r i o r c o n j u n c t i o n ( E a r t h and Venus
w i l l b e on o p p o s i t e s i d e s of t h e S u n ) . T h i s i s a n i d e a l
t i m e t o i n v e s t i g a t e t h e s o l a r wind, t h e stream of i o n i z e d
p a r t i c l e s c o n s t a n t l y s w i r l i n g o f f t h e Sun. Because t h e s o l a r
wind i s s o c h a n g e a b l e , r e p e a t e d O r b i t e r o b s e r v a t i o n s of t h e
s o l a r wind n e a r t o and f a r from t h e Sun w i l l p r o v i d e needed
i n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t s o l a r wind d e n s i t y , t u r b u l e n c e and v e l o c i t y
u n i f o r m i t y . Two DSN s t a t i o n s w i l l a n a l y z e t h e f l u c t u a t i o n s
( s c i n t i l l a t i o n s ) i n the O r b i t e r S- and X-band s i g n a l s a s t h e y
p a s s t h e s o l a r wind o n t h e i r way t o E a r t h .
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Atmospheric Drag E x p e r i m e n t -- T h i s i n v e s t i g a t i o n t a k e s
d r a g measurement f o r t h e f i r s t t i m e of a n o t h e r p l a n e t ' s atmos-
p h e r e , as t h e a t m o s p h e r e " f r i c t i o n " o f Venus s l o w s t h e O r b i -
t e r . E x p e r i m e n t e r s w i l l u s e d r a g measurements t h r o u g h o u t
t h e O r b i t e r m i s s i o n t o s e a r c h f o r any v a r i a t i o n s i n atmos-
p h e r i c d e n s i t y t h a t c o r r e l a t e w i t h s o l a r wind a c t i v i t y c h a n g e s
i n s o l a r u l t r a v i o l e t r a d i a t i o n and d i f f e r e n c e s i n d e n s i t y on
t h e p l a n e t ' s n i g h t side. I n a d d i t i o n , p r o j e c t s c i e n t i s t s are
l o o k i n g f o r e v i d e n c e t h a t t h e seeming f o u r - d a y r o t a t i o n of t h e
lower a t m o s p h e r e e x t e n d s i n t o t h e u p p e r a t m o s p h e r e .
D S N s t a t i o n s a n a l y z e t h e Doppler e f f e c t on t h e s p a c e -
c r a f t ' s X- and S-band r a d i o s i g n a l , c a u s e d by a t m o s p h e r i c
d r a g - i n d u c e d change i n t h e O r b i t e r ' s d i r e c t i o n and s p e e d .
The e n t i r e s p a c e c r a f t , e s s e n t i a l l y t h e s h a p e of a c y l i n -
d e r , a c t s a s t h e t e s t i n s t r u m e n t . Atmospheric d e n s i t y i s
d e t e r m i n e d b e s t i n t h e v i c i n i t y o f p e r i a p s i s (between 1 5 0
and 2 5 0 km o r 9 3 and 1 5 5 m i . ) , where t h e d r a g e f f e c t i s much
g r e a t e r than elsewhere along t h e O r b i t e r t r a j e c t o r y . A s t h e
p e r i a p s i s a l t i t u d e c h a n g e s , v a r i a t i o n s of a t m o s p h e r i c d e n s i t y
with a l t i t u d e can b e p l o t t e d .
Knowledge of a t m o s p h e r i c d e n s i t y a i d s i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f
m a s s s p e c t r o m e t e r f i n d i n g s , i n f e r s t h e c o m p o s i t i o n and t e m -
p e r a t u r e of t h e u p p e r a t m o s p h e r e and a i d s i n c o n s t r u c t i n g a
model of Venus' upper atmosphere.
The i n s t r u m e n t i s mounted i n s i d e t h e L a r g e P r o b e p r e s -
s u r e v e s s e l . I t r e c e i v e s a c o n t i n u o u s f l o w of a t m o s p h e r i c
g a s t h r o u g h t w o u n i q u e ceramic i n l e t t u b e s t h a t p r o t r u d e
through t h e p r e s s u r e v e s s e l w a l l . The i n l e t t u b e s are c a l l e d
C e r a m i c Micro Leaks (CMLS) and a r e made t o g r e a t l y l i m i t t h e
amount of g a s e n t e r i n g t h e i n s t r u m e n t , w i t h o u t c h e m i c a l l y
a l t e r i n g it.
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G a s Chromatograph -- T h e g a s chromatograph m e a s u r e s t h e
g a s e o u s c o m p o s i t i o n of Venus' l o w e r atmosphere. B y f i n d i n q
t h e m a j o r s o u r c e s of i n f r a r e d o p a c i t y ( t h o s e gases t h a t t r a p
h e a t ) , s c i e n t i s t s s h o u l d b e t t e r u n d e r s t a n d why Venus h a s 480-
d e g r e e C (900-degree F . ) s u r f a c e t e m p e r a t u r e s . From t h e
measurement of g a s e s produced by r a d i o a c t i v e d e c a y , s c i e n -
t i s t s c a n i n f e r t h e d e g r e e of d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n w i t h i n Venus'
i n t e r i o r . E x p e r i m e n t e r s w i l l a l s o b e a b l e t o deduce t h e
s i m i l a r i t y of t h e c o m p o s i t i o n o f t h e s o l i d p a r t s of Venus
a n d E a r t h by t h e i d e n t i f i c a t i o n of v a r i o u s s u l f u r i c gases.
T h e i n s t r u m e n t s a m p l e s t h e lower a t m o s p h e r e t h r e e t i m e s
d u r i n g t h e Large P r o b e ' s d e s c e n t . T h e atmosphere f l o w s i n t o
a t u b e p e n e t r a t i n g t h e e x t e r i o r of t h e L a r g e P r o b e and i n t o
a helium g a s stream, w h i c h sweeps t h e s a m p l e i n t o t w o chroma-
t o g r a p h columns. Atmospheric g a s e s a r e i d e n t i f i e d by t h e
t i m e i t t a k e s them t o f l o w t h r o u g h t h e columns. As a c a l i -
b r a t i o n check, t w o samples of f r e o n ( a gas n o t l i k e l y t o be
e n c o u n t e r e d i n t h e a t m o s p h e r e ) a r e added t o t h e t h i r d sample,
and t h e i r r e s o l u t i o n n o t e d .
T h e i n s t r u m e n t w e i g h s 6 . 3 kg ( 1 3 . 8 l b .) and u s e s 4 2
w a t t s , t h e most of any P i o n e e r Venus i n s t r u m e n t .
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The i n s t r u m e n t c o n t i n u a l l y m e a s u r e s t h e d i f f e r e n c e i n
s u n l i g h t i n t e n s i t y d i r e c t l y above and below t h e Large P r o b e
h o r i z o n as t h e p r o b e d r i f t s t o t h e p l a n e t s u r f a c e . F i v e
q u a r t z l e n s e s of 3 mm ( 1 / 8 i n . ) d i a m e t e r i n s i d e f i v e f l a t
s a p p h i r e windows c o l l e c t t h e l i g h t a n d t r a n s m i t i t by q u a r t z
rods t o an e l e c t r o n i c l i g h t detector. Sunlight i n t e n s i t y i s
d e t e c t e d i n t h e s p e c t r a l r a n g e of 0 . 4 t o 1 . 8 p m ( m i c r o m e t e r s ) ,
t h e w a v e l e n g t h r a n g e f o r most s o l a r e n e r g y . V e r t i c a l r e s o -
l u t i o n i s 700 t o 1 , 0 0 0 m ( 2 , 3 0 0 t o 3 , 3 0 0 f t . ) . L e n s e s a r e
p o s i t i o n e d b o t h up and down t o f i n d t h e amount of s o l a r
e n e r g y absorbed i n l a y e r s of t h e a t m o s p h e r e . T o a v o i d h a v i n g
t h e p r o b e o r i t s p a r a c h u t e i n t h e f i e l d o f view, t h e r a d i o -
m e t e r s a m p l e s s u n l i g h t i n narrow 5-degree f i e l d s of view.
I n f r a r e d Radiometer -- The i n f r a r e d r a d i o m e t e r m e a s u r e s
t h e v e r t i c a l d i s t r i b u t i o n o f i n f r a r e d r a d i a t i o n i n t h e atmos-
p h e r e from L a r g e P r o b e p a r a c h u t e deployment a t 6 7 km ( 4 0 m i . )
down t o t h e s u r f a c e . I t a l s o d e t e c t s c l o u d l a y e r s and w a t e r
v a p o r , b o t h o f which may w e l l be t r a p p i n g enormous amounts
of h e a t and p r e v e n t i n g t h e i r r e r a d i a t i o n back i n t o s p a c e .
F i n d i n g major h e a t s o u r c e s ( a n d t r a p s ) i s e s s e n t i a l t o p r o v i n g
Venus h a s a g r e e n h o u s e h e a t i n g mechanism.
S i x p y r o e l e c t r i c i n f r a r e d d e t e c t o r s were c h o s e n b e c a u s e
t h e y do n o t need s p e c i a l c o o l i n g equipment f o r t h e i r u s e i n
t h e extreme atmospheric h e a t . Each d e t e c t o r views t h e atmos-
phere v i a r o t a t i n g l i g h t p i p e s through a d i f f e r e n t i n f r a r e d
f i l t e r between 3 and 50 m i c r o n s . The views of t h e d e t e c t o r s
i s d i r e c t e d a t 4 5 d e g r e e s above and below t h e p r o b e h o r i z o n
t h r o u g h a diamond window h e a t e d t o p r e v e n t p a r t i c l e contami-
n a t i o n d u r i n g p a s s a g e through c l o u d s . The d i f f e r e n c e i n i n f r a -
r e d r a d i a t i o n , c l o u d o p a c i t y and water v a p o r between t h e t w o
viewing a n g l e s i s t e l e m e t e r e d t o E a r t h every 6 seconds, g i v i n g
a v e r t i c a l i n f r a r e d s p a t i a l r e s o l u t i o n of 250 m ( 8 2 5 f t . ) o r
better.
Two of t h e s i x d e t e c t o r s m o n i t o r t h e t e m p e r a t u r e and
o p t i c a l u n i f o r m i t y of t h e diamond v i e w i n g window, t w o d e t e c -
t o r s d e t e c t and measure w a t e r v a p o r , o n e d e t e c t o r m e a s u r e s
c l o u d o p a c i t y and t h e r e m a i n i n g d e t e c t o r measures t h e i n f r a r e d
i n t e n s i t i e s o f t h e a t m o s p h e r i c l a y e r s t h e L a r g e Probe p a s s e s
through.
The i n s t r u m e n t weighs 2 . 6 kg ( 5 . 8 l b . ) and u s e s 5 . 5 w a t t s .
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L a r q e and S m a l l P r o b e I n s t r u m e n t s
Atmospheric S t r u c t u r e E x p e r i m e n t s -- These i n v e s t i g a t i o n s
d e t e r m i n e Venus' a t m o s p h e r i c s t r u c t u r e from 200 km ( 1 2 0 m i . )
t o i m p a c t a t f o u r e n t r y s i t e s w e l l s e p a r a t e d from o n e a n o t h e r .
T e m p e r a t u r e , p r e s s u r e and a c c e l e r a t i o n s e n s o r s on a l l f o u r
p r o b e s y i e l d d a t a on t h e l o c a t i o n and i n t e n s i t i e s of atmos-
p h e r i c t u r b u l e n c e , t h e v a r i a t i o n of t e m p e r a t u r e s w i t h pres-
s u r e and a l t i t u d e , the a v e r a g e a t m o s p h e r i c m o l e c u l a r w e i g h t
and the r a d i a l d i s t a n c e t o t h e c e n t e r o f Venus. If t h e
P r o b e s s u r v i v e i m p a c t ( a remote p o s s i b i l i t y ) , t h e y w i l l re-
v e a l any seismic a c t i v i t y i n t h e c r u s t of t h e p l a n e t .
T h e t e m p e r a t u r e s e n s o r s are d u a l resistance.thermometers.
Each has o n e f r e e w i r e e l e m e n t p r o t r u d i n g i n t o t h e a t m o s p h e r e
f o r maximum s e n s i t i v i t y and o n e e l e m e n t bonded t o t h e s u p p o r t
frame f o r maximum s u r v i v a b i l i t y . I t s extreme temperature
r a n g e p e r m i t s i t t o r e c o r d t e m p e r a t u r e s f r o m below f r e e z i n g
t o 4 7 0 d e g r e e s C ( 9 0 0 d e g r e e s F.).
P r e s s u r e s e n s o r s are m u l t i p l e range, m i n i a t u r e s i l i c o n
diaphragm s e n s o r s . The w i d e r a n g e needed f r o m 3 0 m i l l i b a r s
t o 1 0 0 b a r s p r e s s u r e i s a c h i e v e d by 1 2 s e n s o r s of o v e r l a p p i n g
s e n s i t i v i t y . T h i s a l s o p r o v i d e s redundancy i n case of a
sensor malfunction.
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A c c e l e r a t i o n s e n s o r s ( f o u r on t h e l a r g e r p r o b e , o n e
on e c h of t h e s m a l l p r o b e s ) h a v e p e n d u l o u s mass, main-
t a i n e d i n n u l l ( z e r o ) p o s i t i o n by t h e i n t e r a c t i o n of a
c u r r e n t i n a c o i l i n s i d e t h e m a s s with a magnetic f i e l d .
The n u l l i n g c u r r e n t i s t h e measure of a c c e l e r a t i o n .
An e l e c t r o n i c s package d i s t r i b u t e s power t o a l l s e n -
s o r s , samples t h e i r o u t p u t , c h a n g e s t h e i r r a n g e s and stores
data.
Nephelometer -- The n e p h e l o m e t e r s e a r c h e s f o r c l o u d
p a r t i c l e s ( s o l i d o r l i q u i d ) i n t h e l o w e r a t m o s p h e r e from
6 7 km ( 4 0 m i . ) t o t h e s u r f a c e . By p r o v i d i n g a l l f o u r p r o b e s
w i t h n e p h e l o m e t e r s , i n v e s t i g a t o r s can d e t e r m i n e w h e t h e r
c l o u d l a y e r s v a r y from l o c a t i o n t o l o c a t i o n o r are u n i f o r m l y
d i s t r i b u t e d across t h e p l a n e t .
A l i g h t e m i t t i n g d i o d e (LED) of 9 , 0 0 0 Angstroms t o g e t h e r
with a p l a s t i c Fresnel lens f o r focusing t h e l i g h t illuminate
t h e a t m o s p h e r e t h r o u g h a window mounted i n t h e p r o b e p r e s s u r e
vessel. The t r a n s m i t t e d l i g h t beam i s p r o j e c t e d a d i s t a n c e
beyond t h e t u r b u l e n t a t m o s p h e r e s u r r o u n d i n g t h e p r o b e s a s
t h e y d e s c e n d . Through a second window, a receiver m e a s u r e s
t h e i n t e n s i t y of l i g h t b a c k s c a t t e r e d ( a b o u t 1 7 5 d e g r e e s ) by
atmospheric p a r t i c l e s . Both windows a r e p r o t e c t e d from t h e
s e a r i n g t e m p e r a t u r e s of t h e Venusian atmosphere and from
stray light.
I n v e s t i g a t o r s w i l l u s e t h e backward l i g h t s c a t t e r i n g
p r o p e r t y of c l o u d s and h a z e s t o c o n s t r u c t a v e r t i c a l p r o -
f i l e o f p a r t i c l e d i s t r i b u t i o n i n t h e lower a t m o s p h e r e . I n
a d d i t i o n , t h e t w o s m a l l probes descending i n t h e s u n l i t
s i d e w i l l b e m e a s u r i n g t h e v e r t i c a l d i s t r i b u t i o n of s o l a r
s c a t t e r e d l i g h t a t 3,500 Angstroms and 5,300 Angstroms.
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S m a l l Probe ExDeriments
N e t F l u x Radiometer -- T h i s i n s t r u m e n t maps t h e p l a n e -
t a r y p o s i t i o n s of s o u r c e s and absorbers of r a d i a t i v e e n e r g y
and t h e i r v e r t i c a l d i s t r i b u t i o n . T h e d i s t r i b u t i o n of r a d i a -
t i v e e n e r g y ( h e a t and s u n l i g h t ) powers t h e a t m o s p h e r i c c i r -
c u l a t i o n on Venus as w e l l a s E a r t h . T h e i n s t r u m e n t d a t a w i l l
b e r e l a t e d t o t h e observed atmospheric motions, temperature
s t r u c t u r e and c l o u d c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s f r o m o t h e r P i o n e e r Venus
e x p e r i m e n t s t o g a i n a more a c c u r a t e p i c t u r e of Venus' w e a -
t h e r machine.
The i n s t r u m e n t ' s f l u x p l a t e i s o r i e n t e d p a r a l l e l t o t h e
p l a n e t ' s s u r f a c e . A d i f f e r e n c e between upward and downward
r a d i a n t e n e r g y f a l l i n g on t h e two s i d e s of t h e p l a t e p r o d u c e s
a t e m p e r a t u r e g r a d i e n t t h r o u g h i t , which i n d u c e s a n e l e c t r i c a l
c u r r e n t . The p l a t e i s f l i p p e d 1 8 0 d e g r e e s e v e r y s e c o n d t o
a s s u r e even d a t a c o l l e c t i o n .
The i n s t r u m e n t weighs 1.1 kg ( 2 . 4 l b . ) and u s e s 3 . 8 w a t t s .
MultiDrobe Bus ExDeriments
N e u t r a l Mass S p e c t r o m e t e r -- T h e n e u t r a l m a s s s p e c t r o -
m e t e r m e a s u r e s t h e v a r i o u s components (atoms and m o l e c u l e s )
of t h e a t m o s p h e r e s and t h e i r v e r t i c a l d i s t r i b u t i o n f r o m
a b o u t 1 , 0 0 0 km ( 6 0 0 m i . ) t o 1 3 0 km ( 8 0 m i . ) , e m p h a s i z i n g
t h e a l t i t u d e r a n g e 1 5 0 t o 1 2 0 km (90 t o 7 5 m i . ) which n e i t h e r
t h e O r b i t e r n o r t h e f o u r p r o b e s reach. (The Bus i s e x p e c t e d
t o b u r n up a t a n a l t i t u d e of a b o u t 1 2 0 km ( 7 5 m i . ) .
From t h e i n s t r u m e n t d a t a , i n v e s t i g a t o r s c a n d e r i v e t h e
h e i g h t o f the t u r b o p a u s e ( t h e r e g i o n above w h i c h a t m o s p h e r i c
g a s e s do n o t m i x ) , f i n d t h e r a t i o s of a t m o s p h e r i c i s o t o p e s
and d e r i v e eddy d i f f u s i o n c o e f f i c i e n t s (mathematical e x p r e s -
s i o n s d e s c r i b i n g how r a p i d l y t h e a t m o s p h e r e i s m i x e d ) . T h e
c o m p o s i t i o n of t h e i o n o s p h e r e ' s maximum d e n s i t y c a n a l s o b e
d e t e r m i n e d , as w e l l a s t h e t e m p e r a t u r e o f t h e e x o s p h e r e , t h e
o u t e r m o s t f r i n g e of Venus ' a t m o s p h e r e .
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The i n s t r u m e n t i o n i z e s a t m o s p h e r i c components up t o 4 6
a t o m i c mass (hydrogen t o i r o n ) by e l e c t r o n bombardment. It
t h e n s e p a r a t e s them a c c o r d i n g t o their masses by how f a r
t h e y a r e d e f l e c t e d by a m a g n e t i c f i e l d . The i n s t r u m e n t f e a -
t u r e s a f a s t d a t a s a m p l i n g and t e l e m e t e r i n g c a p a c i - t y t o cope
w i t h t h e 3 km-per-second ( 1 1 0 mph) Bus d e s c e n t s p e e d . One
day b e f o r e Venus e n c o u n t e r , a known amount of g a s i s r e l e a s e d
i n t o t h e i n s t r u m e n t f o r i d e n t i f i c a t i o n and measurement, t o b e
used as a r e f e r e n c e f o r t h e s p e c t r o m e t e r ' s s e n s i t i v i t y .
(See O r b i t e r I o n Mass S p e c t r o m e t e r f o r i n s t r u m e n t
description.)
M u l t i p r o b e Radio S c i e n c e E x p e r i m e n t s
--
D i f f e r e n t i a l Long B a s e l i n e I n t e r f e r o m e t r y This
i n s t r u m e n t m e a s u r e s t h e v e l o c i t y and d i r e c t i o n o f Venus'
winds a s t h e f o u r p r o b e s d e s c e n d t h r o u g h t h e a t m o s p h e r e .
By comparing t h e d e s c e n t p a t h s o f t h e p r o b e s w i t h s i m u l -
t a n e o u s measurements o f a t m o s p h e r i c t e m p e r a t u r e and p r e s -
s u r e from p r o b e s e n s o r s , i n v e s t i g a t o r s c a n a s s e m b l e a b e t t e r
model of Venus' atmospheric c i r c u l a t i o n , p a r t i c u l a r l y i n
r e g a r d t o wind s p e e d s .
While t h e f o u r p r o b e s d e s c e n d t o t h e s u r f a c e , t h e Bus
f o l l o w s a b a l l i s t i c t r a j e c t o r y i n t h e upper atmosphere.
T h i s t r a j e c t o r y serves as a reference. Probe v e l o c i t i e s
c a n b e r e c o n s t r u c t e d and measured v e r y a c c u r a t e l y r e l a t i v e
t h e b u s , and a b s o l u t e p r o b e v e l o c i t i e s c a n b e r e c o n s t r u c t e d
from t h e known b u s v e l o c i t y . I n v e s t i g a t o r s assume d e v i a -
t i o n s of t h e p r o b e t r a j e c t o r i e s from a n a t m o s p h e r e l e s s
m a t h e m a t i c a l model a r e c a u s e d by a t m o s p h e r i c w i n d s .
Two w i d e l y s e p a r a t e d D S N s t a t i o n s s i m u l t a n e o u s l y t r a c k i n g
a l l s p a c e c r a f t determine t h a t p a r t of t h e v e l o c i t y v e c t o r
a l o n g t h e Earth-Venus l i n e of s i g h t . D i f f e r e n t i a l l o n g - b a s e d
i n t e r f e r o m e t r y u s e s t h r e e DSN s t a t i o n s t o f i n d t h e o t h e r two
components o f t h e v e l o c i t y v e c t o r t o t r i a n g u l a t e o r g e t a
" f i x 1 ' i n t h r e e d i m e n s i o n s on t h e c o n s t a n t l y c h a n g i n g p a t h s
of t h e f a l l i n g p r o b e s .
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The d e s c e n d i n g p r o b e s a l s o r e v e a l i n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t
t h e a t m o s p h e r e . P r o b e r a d i o s i g n a l s weaken w i t h d e c r e a s i n g
a l t i t u d e due t o C 0 2 a b s o r p t i o n , a t m o s p h e r e r e f r a c t i o n and
a d d i t i o n a l a b s o r p t i o n from c l o u d l a y e r s o r some o t h e r ab-
s o r b e r . The s t r e n g t h o f t h e p r o b e s i g n a l s s h o u l d r e v e a l
t h e unknown a b s o r b e r : i f i t i s a c l o u d l a y e r , i n v e s t i g a t o r s
c a n measure t h e h e i g h t and t h i c k n e s s of t h e l a y e r .
A t m o s p h e r i c T u r b u l e n c e E x p e r i m e n t s -- T h i s i n v e s t i g a -
t i o n s t u d i e s t h e t u r b u l e n c e i n t h e Venusian a t m o s p h e r e , t h u s
a i d i n g i n t h e u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f t h e dynamics of Venus' atmos-
phere circulation. A s a l l f o u r probes descend t o t h e s u r f a c e ,
t h e i r t r a n s m i t t i n g s i g n a l s w i l l l i k e l y be d i s t o r t e d by s m a l l
r e g i o n s of t u r b u l e n c e c a u s e d by t e m p e r a t u r e , p r e s s u r e and
v e l o c i t y f l u c t u a t i o n s . D S N r e c e i v i n g s t a t i o n s on E a r t h w i l l
a n a l y z e t h e s i g n a l s f o r d i s t o r t i o n c a u s e d by a t m o s p h e r i c t u r -
b u l e n c e . The p r o b e d a t a complements a t m o s p h e r i c t u r b u l e n c e
d a t a above 35 km ( 2 1 m i . ) t a k e n by t h e O r b i t e r .
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P R I N C I P A L I N V E S T I G A T O R S AND S C I E N T I F I C INSTRUMENTS
Orbiter Spacecraft
Harry T a y l o r I o n Mass S p e c t r o m e t e r
Goddard S p a c e F l i g h t C e n t e r
D r . J o h n Wolfe S o l a r Wind/Plasma A n a l y z e r
A m e s Research C e n t e r
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O r b i t e r Radio S c i e n c e
Radio s c i e n c e e x p e r i m e n t s measure i n t e r a c t i o n of
s p a c e c r a f t r a d i o s i g n a l s w i t h Venus and i t s a t m o s p h e r e ,
u s i n g t h e O r b i t e r and f i v e p r o b e c r a f t a s i n s t r u m e n t s .
D r . Gordon P e t t e n g i l l , M a s s a c h u s e t t s I n s t i t u t e of Tech-
nology, i s team l e a d e r .
D r . Arvydas K l i o r e Radio O c c u l t a t i o n
J e t Propulsion Laboratory
D r . Thomas C r o f t Radio O c c u l t a t i o n
S t a n f o r d Research I n s t i t u t e
.
D r J o h n Hoffman
U n i v e r s i t y of T e x a s , D a l l a s
Mass S p e c t r o m e t e r
R o b e r t B o e se I n f r a r e d Radiometer
Ames R e s e a r c h C e n t e r
M u l t i p r o b e S p a c e c r a f t (Three S m a l l P r o b e s )
Alvin S e i f f Atmosphere S t r u c t u r e
Ames Research C e n t e r
D r . B o r i s Ragent Nephelometer
A m e s Research C e n t e r
M u l t i p r o b e S p a c e c r a f t (Bus)
Dr. Ulf von Zahn Mass S p e c t r o m e t e r
U n i v e r s i t y of Bonn,
W e s t Germany
Harry Taylor Ion M a s s Spectrometer
Goddard S p a c e F l i g h t C e n t e r
M u l t i p r o b e Radio S c i e n c e ( A l l Probes)
D r . C h a r l e s C . Counselman D i f f e r e n t i a l Long-Baseline
M a s s a c h u s e t t s I n s t i t u t e of I n t e f erometry
Technology
Dr. Thomas C r o f t Atmospheric A t t e n u a t i o n
S t a n f o r d Research I n s t i t u t e
D r . R i c h a r d Woo Atmospheric T u r b u l e n c e
J e t Propulsion Laboratory
Interdisciplinary Scientists
I n t e r d i s c i p l i n a r y s c i e n t i s t s h a v e b e e n selected f o r
b o t h t h e M u l t i p r o b e and O r b i t e r M i s s i o n s t o p r o v i d e a s s i s -
t a n c e i n a n a l y s e s of t h e Venusian a t m o s p h e r e . They are:
Dr. S i e g f r i e d Bauer
Goddard S p a c e F l i g h t C e n t e r
D r . Thomas Donahue
U n i v e r s i t y of Michigan
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D r . R i c h a r d Goody
Harvard U n i v e r s i t y
D r . Donald Hunten
U n i v e r s i t y of A r i z o n a
D r . James P o l l a c k
A m e s Research C e n t e r
Nelson S p e n c e r
Goddard S p a c e F l i g h t C e n t e r
H a r o l d Masursky
U.S. G e o l o g i c a l S u r v e y
D r . George M c G i l l
U n i v e r s i t y of M a s s a c h u s e t t s
D r . Andrew Nagy
U n i v e r s i t y of Michigan
D r . Gerald Schubert
U n i v e r s i t y of C a l i f o r n i a , L o s A n g e l e s
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M I S S I O N OPERATIONS
F o r Pioneer Venus, m i s s i o n c o n t r o l l e r s w i l l be o p e r a t -
i n g s i m u l t a n e o u s l y t w o d i f f e r e n t s p a c e c r a f t on t w o d i f f e r e n t
m i s s i o n s . The O r b i t e r and M u l t i p r o b e w e r e l a u n c h e d w i t h i n
t h r e e months of e a c h o t h e r to a r r i v e a t t h e p l a n e t less
t h a n a week a p a r t .
During t h e Venus e n c o u n t e r p e r i o d , l a u n c h o f t h e
f o u r p r o b e s from t h e t r a n s p o r t e r Bus t o t h e i r a t m o s p h e r i c
e n t r y p o i n t s w i l l be a c c o m p l i s h e d ; t h e Bus w i l l be r e t a r -
g e t e d f o r i t s e n t r y : t h e O r b i t e r w i l l be p l a c e d on i t s
24-hour, h i g h - i n c l i n a t i o n , h i g h l y e l l i p t i c a l o r b i t . Five
d a y s a f t e r O r b i t e r e n c o u n t e r , p r o b e e n t r y w i l l be moni-
t o r e d , and t h e c r i t i c a l p r o b e d a t a r e c e i v e d and s t o r e d
for later analysis.
With c o m p l e t i o n o f t h e M u l t i p r o b e m i s s i o n - - a f t e r i m -
p a c t o f t h e p r o b e s on t h e s u r f a c e and burn-up of t h e Bus
controllers w i l l continue t o operate the Orbiter f o r t h e
e i g h t months of i t s p r i m a r y m i s s i o n . C o n t r o l l e r s may make
s i g n i f i c a n t changes i n t h e o r b i t d u r i n g t h i s e x t e n d e d
mission period.
S i n c e a l l P i o n e e r s a r e r e l a t i v e l y unautomated s p a c e -
c r a f t , m i s s i o n o p e r a t i o n s o f t e n r e q u i r e 24-hour-a-day
c o n t r o l and c a r e f u l a n a l y s i s and p l a n n i n g i n s h o r t t i m e
spans. Ground-controlled s p a c e c r a f t provide f l e x i b i l i t y
f o r c h a n g i n g p l a n s and o b j e c t i v e s . They a l s o o f f e r econ-
omies i n s p a c e c r a f t d e s i g n and c o n s t r u c t i o n .
P i o n e e r Venus c o n t r o l and s p a c e c r a f t o p e r a t i o n s w i l l
be a t t h e P i o n e e r M i s s i o n O p e r a t i o n s C e n t e r ( P M O C ) , Ames
R e s e a r c h C e n t e r , Mountain V i e w , C a l i f . , from t h e t i m e b o t h
s p a c e c r a f t s e p a r a t e from t h e i r l a u n c h v e h i c l e s t h r o u g h
t h e end o f t h e O r b i t e r m i s s i o n .
The PMOC i s t h e c e n t r a l m i s s i o n c o n t r o l c e n t e r . It
i s u n d e r o p e r a t i o n a l d i r e c t i o n of t h e F l i g h t D i r e c t o r .
T h i s area will o r i g i n a t e a l l command i n f o r m a t i o n and re-
ceive and d i s p l a y t e l e m e t r y d a t a r e q u i r e d f o r m i s s i o n con-
t r o l . Although a l l commands are o r i g i n a t e d i n t h e PMOC,
emergency p r o c e d u r e s i n c l u d e backup command g e n e r a t i o n a t
t h e DSN s t a t i o n s , i f necessary.
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S e v e r a l g r o u p s o f s p e c i a l i s t s d i r e c t and s u p p o r t l a u n c h
i n t e r p l a n e t a r y , o r b i t a l and a t m o s p h e r i c e n t r y o p e r a t i o n s .
T h e P i o n e e r M i s s i o n O p e r a t i o n s team c o n s i s t s o f p e r -
s o n n e l from government and c o n t r a c t o r o r g a n i z a t i o n s , and
o p e r a t e s u n d e r c o n t r o l of t h e P r o j e c t Manager and M i s s i o n
O p e r a t i o n s System Manager.
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T r a c k i n g w i l l b e by t h e DSN's g l o b a l network o f 2 6 - m
( 8 5 - f t . ) and h i g h l y s e n s i t i v e 64-m ( 2 1 0 - f t . ) a n t e n n a s . The 6 4 s
w i l l be used d u r i n g c r i t i c a l p h a s e s of t h e m i s s i o n s u c h a s
r e o r i e n t a t i o n , v e l o c i t y c o r r e c t i o n s , o r b i t i n s e r t i o n , and
e n t r y of t h e f o u r p r o b e s i n t o Venus' atmosphere -- as w e l l
a s f o r s p e c i a l s c i e n c e e v e n t s such a s o c c u l t a t i o n . A t t h e
end o f t h e O r b i t e r p r i m a r y m i s s i o n , Venus w i l l be 2 0 3
m i l l i o n km ( 1 2 6 m i l l i o n m i . ) f a r t h e r from E a r t h t h a n a t
Orbiter arrival.
During t h e c r i t i c a l two-hour p e r i o d o f a t m o s p h e r i c
e n t r y by t h e Bus and f l i g h t s down t o t h e s u r f a c e by t h e
f o u r p r o b e s , b o t h t h e 64-m ( 2 1 0 - f t . ) a n t e n n a s a t G o l d s t o n e ,
C a l i f . , and a t C a n b e r r a , A u s t r a l i a , w i l l be u s e d t o re-
c e i v e and r e c o r d Venus atmosphere d a t a , coming i n s i m u l -
t a n e o u s l y from a l l f i v e p r o b e c r a f t .
The Deep Space N e t w o r k w i t h f a c i l i t i e s l o c a t e d a t
a p p r o x i m a t e l y 120-degree i n t e r v a l s a r o u n d t h e E a r t h , w i l l
s u p p o r t t h e P i o n e e r Venus s p a c e c r a f t . The p r i m a r y m i s s i o n
o f t h e O r b i t e r i s 1 5 , m o n t h s : s i x months i n t r a n s i t and e i g h t
months i n o r b i t . A s t h e O r b i t e r and M u l t i p r o b e " s e t " a t
one s t a t i o n due t o t h e E a r t h ' s r o t a t i o n , t h e y w i l l r i s e
a t t h e n e x t one.
The D S N , o p e r a t e d by t h e J e t P r o p u l s i o n L a b o r a t o r y
( J P L ) , P a s a d e n a , C a l i f . , h a s s i x 26-ml ( 8 5 - f t . ) p a r a b o l i c - r e -
f l e c t o r d i s h antennas, t w o a t Goldstone, i n C a l i f o r n i a ' s
Mojave D e s e r t ; two a t Madrid, S p a i n and t w o a t C a n b e r r a .
T h e r e are a l s o t h r e e 64-m ( 2 1 0 - f t . ) a n t e n n a s , one e a c h a t Gold-
s t o n e , Madrid and C a n b e r r a .
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PIONEER VENUS COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK
GOLDSTONE,
DEEP SPACE MADRID,
NETWORK (DSN)
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NASA H e a d q u a r t e r s
D r . W i l l i a m C. Schneider Associate A d m i n i s t r a t o r f o r
S p a c e T r a c k i n g and D a t a
Systems
Arnold C . B e l c h e r Network O p e r a t i o n s
Maurice E . B i n k l e y Network S u p p o r t
A m e s Research C e n t e r
C . A. Syvertson Director
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Ames R e s e a r c h C e n t e r ( c o n t ' d . )
Dr. Lawrence C o l i n P i o n e e r Venus P r o j e c t
Scientist
Ralph W . H o l t z c l a w S p a c e c r a f t Systems Manager
Robert U . H o f s t e t t e r M i s s i o n O p e r a t i o n s Manager
J e t Propulsion Laboratory
L e w i s Research C e n t e r
C a r l B . Wentworth C h i e f , Program I n t e g r a t i o n
Division
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Kennedy S p a c e C e n t e r
Barry O l t o n KSC P r o j e c t E n g i n e e r f o r
P i o n e e r Venus
Hughes A i r c r a f t C o .
CONTRACTORS
Hughes A i r c r a f t C o . ( P r i m e contractor) S p a c e c r a f t
S p a c e and Communications Group and Radar Mapper
E l Segundo, C a l i f .
Hughes A i r c r a f t C o . D a t a Storage U n i t
D a t a Systems D i v i s i o n
Culver City, C a l i f .
General E l e c t r i c C o . Deceleration Modules
Philadelphia, Pa.
Motorola, I n c . Transponders
Phoenix, A r i z .
T h i o k o l Chemical C o . O r b i t I n s e r t i o n Motor
E l k t o n , Md.
B a l l B r o t h e r s R e s e a r c h Corp. S t a r Sensors
B o u l d e r , Colo.
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U n i v e r s i t y of Texas a t L a r g e P r o b e N e u t r a l Mass
Dallas Spectrometer
M a r t i n M a r i e t t a Corp. L a r g e Probe S o l a r F l u x
Denver, Colo. Radiometer E l e c t r o n i c s
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U n i v e r s i t y of W i s c o n s i n S m a l l P r o b e N e t Flux
Madison, W i s . Radiometer
Aiken I n d u s t r i e s , I n c . M u l t i p r o b e Bus and O r b i t e r
C o l l e g e P a r k , Md. I o n Mass S p e c t r o m e t e r s
U n i v e r s i t y of C o l o r a d o O r b i t e r Ultraviolet Spectrometer
Boulder, C o l o .
U n i v e r s i t y of C a l i f o r n i a a t O r b i t e r Magnetometer
L o s Angeles
Westinghouse, I n c . O r b i t e r Magnetometer
B a l t i m o r e , Md.
M a s s a c h u s e t t s I n s ti t u t e M u l t i p r o b e and O r b i t e r Ground
o f Techno l o g y Based R a d i o S c i e n c e
Cambridge, Mass. Experiments
P a r t i c l e Measuring S y s t e m s , I n c . L a r g e P r o b e Cloud P a r t i c l e
Boulder, C o l o . S i z e Spectrometer
DCA R e l i a b i l i t y L a b o r a t o r y E l e c t r o n i c P a r t s Procurement
Mountain V i e w , C a l i f . and S c r e e n i n g
Bendix F i e l d E n g i n e e r i n g Corp. Missions O p e r a t i o n s and
Sunnyvale, C a l i f . S o f t w a r e Development
G e n e r a l Dynamics Launch V e h i c l e s
Convair D i v i s i o n
San Diego, C a l i f .
L o s Alamos S c i e n t i f i c O r b i t e r G a m m a Ray B u r s t
Laboratory Detector
L o s A l a m o s , N .M.
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VENUS STATISTICS
Orbital
I n c l i n a t i o n of o r b i t t o
p l a n e of e c l i p t i c : 3 . 3 degrees
Mean o r b i t a l v e l o c i t y : 1 2 6 , 1 8 0 km/hr
78,408 mph
C l o s e s t approach t o E a r t h : 4 2 m i l l i o n km
26 m i l l i o n m i .
Planetary
D i a m e t e r (solid surface) : 1 2 , 1 0 0 km
7,519 m i .
D i a m e t e r ( t o p of c l o u d s ) : 1 2 , 2 4 0 km
7,606 m i .
I n c l i n a t i o n of r o t a t i o n a x i s : 6.0 degrees
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