🚀 go-pugleaf

Forwarded from:
PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
PASADENA, CALIF. 91109. TELEPHONE (818) 354-5011


                     MAGELLAN STATUS REPORT
                         January 5, 1993

     The Magellan spacecraft continues to operate normally,    
orbiting Venus 50 times each week and transmitting a carrier
radio signal which is precisely tracked by the Deep Space Network
stations to extract gravity data.

     By analyzing the subtle changes in the Magellan orbit,
scientists are able to map the variations in the interior of the
planet, and compare those variations with surface features.
Unlike Earth, there is a strong correlation between the internal
concentrations of mass at Venus and its surface topography.

     Magellan arrived at Venus August 10, 1990 and has completed
6,478 orbits; 842 orbits have been completed so far in this
fourth 243-day cycle which ends on May 25, 1993.
                              _____
     ___    _____     ___
    /_ /|  /____/ \  /_ /|     Ron Baalke         | baalke@kelvin.jpl.nasa.gov
    | | | |  __ \ /| | | |     Jet Propulsion Lab |
 ___| | | | |__) |/  | | |__   M/S 525-3684 Telos | Choose a job you love, and
/___| | | |  ___/    | |/__ /| Pasadena, CA 91109 | you'll never have to work
|_____|/  |_|/       |_____|/                     | a day in your life.