This was a great dress rehearsal for the Io encounters. We've been wondering how the spacecraft might hold up when it gets close to Io. This latest brush with radiation makes us think that the odds of survival may be fairly good. |
We anticipated the spacecraft's star scanner would detect about 300 to 400 pulse counts of radiation, so imagine our surprise when the instruments showed Galileo had flown through 1,400 pulse counts, |
We now have to make long-term plans for the vehicles because they may be around for quite a while. Either mission could end tomorrow with a random part failure. With the rovers already performing well beyond their original design lifetimes, having a part wear out and disable a rover is a distinct possibility at any time. |
We're developing a mode for keeping the arm out in front. We'll essentially stow it now by putting the instrument pack up over the rover's deck. |
With the rovers we've actually been able to go look and pick the things we wanted to see whether it was up on top of hills or whether it was down inside the craters, you name it. |
You've heard the who, what, when, where and how; now we will work on the why. |