Mars Polar Lander Approach Navigation
Mars Polar lander, launched on January 3, 1999, arrived at Mars on December 3, 1999.
Engineering topics
Publications and source records attributed to Pollmeier, V..
Mars Polar lander, launched on January 3, 1999, arrived at Mars on December 3, 1999.
ARTSN, the Automated Real-Time Spacecraft Navigation system is a real time system for the automated navigation of interplanetary spacecraft. The system processes the real time DSN radio metric data flow and generates updated spacecraft solutions and the associated covariance. ARTSN is designed modularly with the user interface input and output separated from the data analysis modules. Designed for distributed application, the system provided, for the first time, an automated method of processing radio metric navigation data for interplanetary spacecraft.
Unique requirements imposed on deep space telecommunications, such as operation at extreme ranges, have historically led to high cost, one-of-a-kind spacecraft telecommunications systems. Yet future deep space misssions must fit within severe cost, mass and power constraints. JPL recently completed a study to find ways of reducing telecommunicaitons cost for future deep space missions. They identified and evaluated alternative telecommunicaitons systems architectures capable of satisfying these needs and design constraints. Future missions are expected to occur more frequently than in the past. The study recommends that a standard deep space transponder be developed. It also recommends spacecraft power amplifier and antenna development efforts.
While Earth orbiting spacecraft navigation has routinely been able to use various sorts of range data at accuracies of 2 meters or better, interplanetary spacecraft navigation using long data arcs has had to artificially deweight range data to 1 kilometer or more, ....