No. 77 - First Jupiter Observations
During the reporting period the following activities have been conducted:
- Post Mars swing-by observations
- Jupiter observations in combination with New Horizons
- MIRO software (SW) patch test
All activities have been conducted according to the plan without problems. Jupiter observations with the ALICE instrument will continue until May.
The Flight Control Team has reconfigured the star trackers (STR) in response to a transient non-critical problem with STR-2.
The navigation campaign after the Mars swing-by is continuing with the preparation of the Deep Space Manoeuvre 3 planned for the end of April 2007.
| DOY | Date | Pass | Main Activity |
| 056 | 25/02/07 | NNO 1093 | Observations and science data downlink |
| 057 | 26/02/07 | NNO 1094 | Observations and science data downlink |
| 058 | 27/02/07 | NNO 1095 | Observations and science data downlink |
| 059 | 28/02/07 | NNO 1096 | Observations and science data downlink |
| 060 | 01/03/07 | NNO 1097 | Observations and science data downlink |
| 061 | 02/03/07 | NNO 1098 |
STR reconfiguration Observations and science data downlink |
| 064 | 05/03/07 | NNO 1101 | Observations and science data downlink MIRO SW patch test |
| 065 | 06/03/07 | NNO 1102 | Observations and science data downlink |
| 066 | 07/03/07 | NNO 1103 | Observations and science data downlink |
| 067 | 08/03/07 | NNO 1104 | Observations and science data downlink |
| 068 | 09/03/07 | NNO 1105 | Observations and science data downlink |
At the end of the reporting period (DOY 068) Rosetta was at 310.7 million km from Earth (2.07 AU; one-way signal travel time was 17 minutes 16 seconds). The distance to the Sun was 221.7 million km (1.48 AU).
Spacecraft
Payload
The reporting period included the following activities as part of the Mars swing-by:
- Post Mars swing-by observations (Mars and Phobos tracking)
- Jupiter observation with New Horizons
- ALICE - Jupiter observation campaign
All planned activities have been executed without major problems. The downlink of the science data acquired during the Mars swing-by was completed during the pass of DoY 068. The major operational events for the active payloads are reported hereafter.
ALICE
Operations have been conducted according to the plan without any major problem and will continue until end of May.
MIRO
The instrument was activated and exercised off-line on DoY 064 between 13:00 and 17:30 to test the updated patch sequence at switch ON. Preliminary data analysis seems to indicate a successful test.
OSIRIS
Operations have been conducted according to the plan.
RPC
Operations have been conducted according to the plan.
VIRTIS
Operations have been conducted according to the plan.
SREM
The instrument has been operated according to the plan.
Future Milestones
The Mars swing-by phase will be formally completed with the Deep Space Manoeuvre 3 to be executed on 26 April 2007 and the orbit determination following it. The spacecraft timeline is now characterised by ALICE observations of Jupiter and by a ROSINA commissioning activity planned for week 12.
