No. 80 - Deep Space Manoeuvre 3
A recovery activity for the Lander instrument MUPUS (MUlti-PUrpose Sensors for Surface and Sub-Surface Science) failed and will be re-attempted before the Near Sun Hibernation phase. The Lander Radio Frequency (RF) test was conducted according to the plan.
The AOCS check-out number 6 has been conducted according to the plan. Data are being analysed.
A total of 20 New Norcia passes (8x4h tracking only) were taken during this period.
| DOY | Date | Pass | Main Activity |
| 114 | 24/04/07 | NNO 1151 | Uplink of TCs for DSM-3 |
| 115 | 25/04/07 | NNO 1152 | Uplink of TCs for Lander RF Test and MUPUS recovery |
| 116 | 26/04/07 | NNO 1153 | Deep Space Manoeuvre 3 (6.526 ms-1) |
| 122 | 02/05/07 | NNO 1159 | Monitoring |
| 123 | 03/05/07 | NNO 1160 | Lander RF Test - part 1 MUPUS AR recovery preparation |
| 124 | 04/05/07 | NNO 1161 | Lander RF Test - part 2 MUPUS AR recovery |
| 129 | 09/05/07 | NNO 1166 | AOCS Check-out - part 1 |
| 130 | 10/05/07 | NNO 1167 | AOCS Check-out - part 2 |
At the end of the reporting period (DOY 131) Rosetta was at 251.5 million km from Earth (1.68 AU; one-way signal travel time was 13 minutes 59 seconds). The distance to the Sun was 236.9 million km (1.58 AU).
Deep Space Manoeuvre 3
The Rosetta Deep Space Manoeuvre 3 was executed at 22:04 UT on 26 April with a fuel consumption of ~6.96 kg. It had a nominal magnitude of 6.526 ms-1.
Subsequent evaluation of the orbit determination results on 2 May show that the manoeuvre performance was very good, with a slight over-performance of 0.65% (+42 mms-1) estimated with a 1-sigma uncertainty of 0.18% (12 mms-1).
For the direction, the component along the body X-axis was extremely close to that predicted: this component of the direction error was only a tiny fraction of a degree with a 1-sigma uncertainty about the same as the error estimate itself. The estimate for the Y-component of the direction error is about 0.5° with a 1-sigma uncertainty of about 0.2°.
Spacecraft
Payload
The reporting period included the following activities:
- ALICE - Jupiter observation campaign
- LANDER RF Tests and MUPUS recovery
ALICE
Operations have been conducted according to the plan without problem and were completed on 9 May.
CONSERT
Nothing to report.
COSIMA
Nothing to report.
GIADA
Nothing to report.
MIDAS
Nothing to report.
MIRO
The memory dumps commanded as part of the previous test have been downlinked on DoY 075.
OSIRIS
Data retrieval operations for lost TM have been performed as requested by the PI on DoY 079.
ROSINA
Nothing to report.
RPC
Nothing to report.
RSI
Nothing to report.
VIRTIS
Nothing to report.
Lander Philae
On DoY 123 and 124 the Lander has been activated to perform Radio Frequency interference tests and to recover the MUPUS anomaly. The interference tests have been conducted nominally and with satisfactory results according to the Lander team. The MUPUS recovery failed and will be re-attempted in the next weeks.
SREM
The instrument has been operated according to the plan.
Future Milestones
The Mars Swing-by Phase will be formally completed on 29 May after the completion of the navigation campaign following the Deep Space Manoeuvre 3.
The Payload Check-out 5 (passive) will be completed by 23 May. This activity will be followed by a change of guidance reference and by the entry into Near Sun Hibernation Mode at the beginning of June.