PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE JET PROPULSION LABORATORY CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION PASADENA, CALIF. 91109. TELEPHONE (818) 354-5011
MAGELLAN MISSION STATUS
August 1, 1994
Controllers of the Magellan mission at Venus have final plans for the end of mission strategy. Magellan will complete tracking activities through early October to fill out the high- resolution Venus gravity map. Then the project will begin a "windmill" experiment before beginning a termination experiment; both are designed to gain additional aerodynamic and atmospheric data for future mission designs.
The windmill experiments will be conducted September 6 through 9. The experiment will apply a torque to the spacecraft in the upper atmosphere to gather aerodynamic data as it spins slowly on its axis.
The termination experiment will be performed at three lower altitudes to gather data similar to the windmill experiment. In the final phase, the spacecraft's altitude will be lowered starting October 10 and it will crash to the surface by October 14.
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