Cassini/Huygens Mission Update Thread

[jimblewit]

I hope that what's happening is more natural and rational...<br /><br />Probably the Ta flyby does max out the memory - who wouldn't want to collect as much data as possible? Some of it will be essential data and this will be protected even if conditions delay download; some will be redundant/incidental data which will certainly be downlinked if possible but if the periapse science data needs a home, it'll get overwritten.

 

[thechemist]

In a powerpoint presentation by Dr Conor Nixon in Spring 2004 I dug out that: "The Cassini SSR can store 2 billions bits of data, or about 256 Megabytes".<br /><br /> link to powerpoint file (Cassini towards the end of the file). <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <em>I feel better than James Brown.</em> </div>

 

[thechemist]

But on the ESA site :<br /><br />"The Solid State Recorder has a capacity of four gigabits."<br /><br />Engineering - Data Handling <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <em>I feel better than James Brown.</em> </div>

 

[peteb]

There are 2 SSRs, each with a capacity of 2Gb. According to the mission flyby pdf there will be 3.5 Gb of data from Titan to play back. <br /><br />And I understand that there won't be any more raw images posted until the playback this evening , ~9:40 EDT.

 

[thechemist]

Those damned europeans, they never know when to use the plural <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <em>I feel better than James Brown.</em> </div>

 

[spacechump]

<i> Heck, the MER's have quite a bit of memory and have been storing GIGS of data before downloading parts of it. </i><br /><br />Nice try. Try MEGS of data. The onboard computer itself has 128 MB of dynamic ram used for various system processes. It also has 256 MB of flash ram for data storage. How can it appear to hold so much: numerous uplink sessions and excellent compression.

 

[fortytwo]

TA DATA RECORDING AND PLAYBACK<br /><br />http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/products/pdfs/taFlyby20041022.pdf<br /><br />The Titan-A data recording and playback strategy is the same as the nominal tour strategy,<br />with one notable exception. INMS and AACS data collected at closest approach will be<br />rerouted to partition 5 and saved until near the end of the downlink pass, so that it may be<br />played back over two complexes. This was done to further ensure successful playback as<br />these data sets contribute to the minimum Titan altitude and Huygens mission.<br /><br />Goldstone’s 70m station is down for nearly the entire latter half of 2004 for preventitive<br />maintenance and upgrades, so the high priority science is played back over Madrid’s 70m<br />dish. Goldstone’s 34m HEF station comes up near the end of the pass as the redundant<br />station for INMS and AACS data playback.<br /><br />A detailed time ordered description of the data playback is shown on the following pages.<br />The SSR is nearly filled during the flyby with a total of 3.5 Gbit of data. Playback begins on<br />DOY 301 at 00:16 (spacecraft time) and completes at 09:16. Dual playback to both Madrid<br />and Goldstone takes place during the last hour of the downlink (08:16-09:16 SCET).<br /><br />One-way light time at the time of the encounter is 1 hour and 14 minutes.

 

[toymaker]

A silly question-is their a possiblity of seeing those amazing pictures in colour(coloured) ?

 

[Leovinus]

When NASA releases color photos, I'll post them. Meanwhile, just enjoy what we get. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[remcook]

trouble with the colour picture is...you won't see much. If you would construct an image which represents what you would see with the human eye, you would just see an orange haze. These pictures are made with a special filter that looks at a wavelength where you can actually see the surface.

 

[toymaker]

"If you would construct an image which represents what you would see with the human eye, you would just see an orange haze"<br />From what I know the same applies to nebulae.Still they are coloured in a way that produces pieces...well of beauty (besides science)<img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /><br />EOT and waiting anxious for the flyby.

 

[volcanopele2]

The problem is, we only have one filter that shows the surface really well. So all of our C/A images will be taken in that one filter (see http://ciclops.lpl.arizona.edu/view.php?id=511 for an example). This doesn't bode well for making color images. We experimented with merging true color info with the surface detail shown in CB3, but it didn't turn out too well. So the ISS surface images will be in greyscale.

 

[trockner]

Well...JPL's server is getting overloaded. <br /><br />So's my brain. These latest partial disk views of Titan are somewhat well balanced.<br /><br />It's just weird to imagine surface conditions down there, with the atmospheric pressure at OR ABOVE 1 BAR !

 

[yurkin]

I’m really looking forward to the radar maps. Any idea when they will be first compiled and presented? <br /><br />It’s the radar maps not the infrared pictures that are really good to show the surface of Titan in greatest detail. Perhaps we’ll know by tomorrow if there are oceans on Titan or not. Anybody want to place bets?<br />

 

[decepticon]

I bet you a cookie NO Oceans! Maybe a skating rink but thats it.<br /><br />Crater wise the keck images show alot of them. <Now this is my opinion. I'll let the images from cassini prove me wrong.

 

[volcanopele2]

Radar, maybe tomorrow at the press conference but much more likely on Thursday.

 

[nesoft]

The other Cassini thread wouldn't even show up on my browser until this morning. I don't know why.<br />

 

[nesoft]

Post deleted by nesoft

 

[thechemist]

<br />I have absolutely no idea on what this is :<br /><br />W00002396.jpg was taken on October 26, 2004 and received on Earth October 27, 2004. The camera was pointing toward TITAN at approximately 108,149 kilometers away, and the image was taken using the MT3 and CL2 filters. This image has not been validated or calibrated. <br /><br /> Raw Cassini image <br /><br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <em>I feel better than James Brown.</em> </div>

 

[Leovinus]

<i>This image is one of the closest ever taken of Saturn's hazy moon Titan. It was captured by Cassini's imaging science subsystem on Oct. 26, 2004, as the spacecraft flew by Titan. At its closest, Cassini was 1,200 kilometers (745 miles) above the moon, 300 times closer than during its first flyby on July 3, 2004.</i> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[thalion]

I'm amazed by the pictures, but I must admit that I am a bit disappointed--the images are low contrast, and in any event dramatic surface features are not immediately apparent. Hopefully the RADAR measurements will be more revealing; Titan seems especially reluctant to give up her secrets... <br /><br />Of course, in retrospect I realize that atmospheric haze and the lower resolution caused by using longer-wavelength light will necessarily degrade the image somewhat. I'm still hoping to see some dramatic topography though, eventually.

 

[Leovinus]

It seems that every image we get from Cassini has "contrast enhanced" attached to it. What we saw were raw images. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[mooware]

<font color="yellow">"I have absolutely no idea on what this is "</font><br /><br />It's alien inteligence!!<br /><br />Seriously though, could this be some type of reflection or echo?<br /><br />

 

[thechemist]

It is probably some kind of artifact. From the Frequently Asked Questions - Raw Images :<br /><br /><i>What are the ghostly lights?<br />"When the cameras take an image of something like a moon with a very bright Saturn just out of view, light shining from the planet can reflect off parts of the inside of the camera and onto the sensor. The inside of each camera is coated with a black non-reflective substance to minimize this scattered light. Still, some light does get in and the result can be rays or large fuzzy circles of light. "</i><br /><br />CL2 is "clear" filter, MT3 is "Methane band 3". <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <em>I feel better than James Brown.</em> </div>

 

[titanian]

At first sight, this image is really amazing,but which part of Titan is it?a bright area ( Xanadu) or a dark area?If they confirm that it's not artifacts, we have something interesting here."A fortiori",those circular shapes would be the sign of craters with perfectly defined shockwaves.Since certain circular shapes are barely visible,one can gess that the erosion (and resurfacing) process is well marked.<br />Those circular shapes remind me the impact of a droplet into water.So, I would say that the soil of this area (if it's not artifacts) is rather soft.<br />Among the numerous circular shapes, there is a slightly different circular shape:would it be a pancake shaped volcano? <br /><br />www.titanexploration.com