NSSDCA ID: PSPG-00734
Availability: At NSSDC, Ready for Offline Distribution (or Staging if Digital)
Time span: 0001-01-02 to 2005-12-02
The 2001 Mars Odyssey Radio Science Raw Data Archive (ODY-RS-RDA) contains archival time-ordered raw, partially processed, and ancillary/supporting radio science data acquired during the final stages of the Aerobraking phase (from 1 January 2002 to early February) and the Mapping (MAP) phase (starting late Februrary 2002) of the 2001 Mars Odyssey (ODY) mission. The radio observations were carried out using the ODY spacecraft and Earth-based receiving stations of the NASA Deep Space Network (DSN). The observations were designed to provide information for the ODY Navigation Team to reconstruct and predict the spacecraft trajectory. The data may also have value in improving the model of the gravity field of Mars.
Two types of measurements were conducted; these are known as closed-loop and open-loop recordings. The closed-loop system used a phase-lock loop in the ground receiver to track the downlink signal, reporting both amplitude and frequency at rates typically of 1-10 times per second. In the open-loop system, the signal was simply converted to a baseband frequency range; the entire passband was sampled and recorded for later processing. Closed-loop data are efficient for characterizing slowly changing signals and are the input to operational navigation and orbit-determination processes. Open-loop data (because of their much higher rate and volume) are collected only when the signal is expected to be very dynamic.
The data set includes three primary data types. Archival Tracking Data Files (ATDFs of TDFs) are the most primitive (and most voluminous) product of the closed-loop system. Orbit Data Files (ODFs) are edited versions of ATDFs, specifically targeted to spacecraft navigators and scientists interested in gravity fields. Radio Science Receiver records (RSRs) are the primary data type from the open-loop system. Data are organized in approximate chronological order. The primary data files are accompanied by a number of ancillary files. Over a dozen ancillary file types are organized into directories of their own.
Questions and comments about this data collection can be directed to: Dr. David R. Williams
Name | Role | Original Affiliation | |
---|---|---|---|
Dr. Richard A. Simpson | General Contact | Stanford University | rsimpson@magellan.stanford.edu |