No. 106 - Gravitational Microlensing Observations Completed
The spacecraft and ground segment performance during the reporting period have been nominal. Mission operations were conducted with the support of the ESA New Norcia (NNO) ground station.
| DOY | Date | Pass | Main Activity |
| 266 | 22/09/08 | NNO 1669 | Science data downlink |
| 269 | 25/09/08 | NNO 1672 |
Science data downlink |
| 273 | 29/09/08 | NNO 1676 |
Science data downlink |
| 276 | 02/10/08 | NNO 1679 |
Science data downlink |
| 279 | 05/10/08 | NNO 1682 |
Science data downlink |
At the end of the reporting period (DoY 279) Rosetta was at 414.2 million km from Earth (2.76 AU) and the one-way signal travel time was 1382 seconds. The distance to the Sun was 329 million km (2.19 AU).
Spacecraft
Payload
All instruments are now switched off except for the Standard Radiation Environment Monitor (SREM) that continues to run in the background.
ALICE
The instrument is OFF.
CONSERT
The instrument is OFF.
COSIMA
The instrument is OFF.
GIADA
The instrument is OFF.
MIDAS
The instrument is OFF.
MIRO
The instrument is OFF.
OSIRIS
The instrument completed the planned observations of gravitational microlensing events without problems and is now switched OFF.
ROSINA
The instrument is OFF.
RPC
The instrument is OFF.
RSI
The instrument is muted.
VIRTIS
The instrument is OFF.
LANDER Philae
The instrument is OFF.
SREM
Since DoY 184/2008 the accumulation settings are configured for active cruise mode.
Future Milestones
The spacecraft will be configured to low activity cruise and the attitude and orbit control system (AOCS) will be switched to attitude control on 3 wheels. The spacecraft will then continue its fourth orbit around the Sun reaching aphelion on 17 December 2008 at a distance of 2.26 AU. It then heads back to Earth for the mission's last gravity assist and third Earth swing-by on 13 November 2009.
The angular separation between the spacecraft and the Sun will stay below 3° (conjunction) between 17 December 2008 and 6 January 2009 with the minimum angular separation (1.6°) occurring on 28 December. No special activities are planned for this conjunction phase during which short weekly passes will be taken.
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Legal disclaimer
This report is based on the ESOC mission operations report, WOR #106. Please see the copyright section of the legal disclaimer (bottom of this page) for terms of use.