Hot Times at Mercury: Mission Operations for the Mercury Atmospheric and Surface Composition Spectrometer on MESSENGER

摘要

The thermal environment of the planet Mercury requires constant monitoring by the MESSENGER mission operations team during the planning of spacecraft and instrument operations. During the peak heating periods of each Mercury year (88 Earth days), the Mercury Atmospheric and Surface Composition Spectrometer (MASCS) takes advantage of seasonal spacecraft off-pointing, in combination with instrument power cycling, to maintain the temperature of sensitive detectors within operational limits. Spacecraft and instrument thermal models, in combination with recorded flight data, have been used to update operational plans seasonally so as to maximize scientific return while staying within instrument operational limits. As the year of primary mission operations drew to a close, thermal management procedures already in place were updated, as a result of expected changes in the thermal environment, to enable MASCS to maximize measurement opportunities for a second Earth year of extended mission operations.