SatelliteDragVariabilityatEarth,MarsandVenusDueto.pptVIP

*AIAA/AAS Astrodynamics Specialist Conference, 21 - 24 Aug 2006, Keystone Resort Conference Center, Keystone, Colorado Satellite Drag Variability at Earth, Mars and Venus Due to Solar Rotation Jeffrey M. Forbes Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences, UCB 429 University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado Sean Bruinsma Department of Terrestrial and Planetary Geodesy, Centre Nationale DEtudes Spatiales, Toulouse, France Frank G. Lemoine Planetary Geodynamics Laboratory Code 698, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, USA Bruce R. Bowman Space Analysis Division/A9A, US Air force Space Command, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80914 Alex Konopliv Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA. Objective: Utilize thermosphere densities deduced from precise orbit determination (POD)* of the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS), Pioneer Venus Orbiter (PVO) and Magellan satellites, and 6 Earth-orbiting satellites during contemporaneous time periods, to perform a comparative analysis of the satellite drag environments of Earth, Mars and Venus due to the rotation of the Sun. *See papers by Lemoine (this session), Bowman (previous Astrodynamics conferences), and Konopliv on specific POD methodologies for Mars, Earth, Venus, respectively Average Temperature Profiles for Earth, Mars Venus CO2 cooling to space O + CO2 -- O + CO2* CO2* -- IR emission Mars Earth Venus Motivations: In the context of Thermosphere General Circulation Models (TGCMs) (e.g., Bougher et al.), comparative thermosphere data analyses can help to constrain the poorly-known rate coefficient for O + CO2 -- O + CO2* (2) Improved thermosphere density models are needed for aerobraking, re-entry, satellite ephemeris prediction, and mission planning. The Sun’s atmosphere rotates with a period of ≈ 25 days near the equator and 35 days near the poles, with an average rate of ≈ 27 days. This differential rotation causes magnetic field lines