Lunar Prospector Status Report #47

September 4, 1998 - 1:00 p.m. EST (10:00 a.m. PST)

The Lunar Prospector spacecraft continues to perform very well.

There were two commands sent this past week (8/31) to adjust the gain of the GRS instrument.

Plans are underway to for the upcoming penumbral eclipse. On September 6 at ~11:00 GMT, the Earth will block up to 83% of the light from the Sun. As the spacecraft will be in 45 minute long eclipses each orbit (as the spacecraft orbit crosses the dark side of the moon), this will cause a measurable impact on the s/c battery. Plans are to turn off the Earth-Moon Limb Sensor and the Pressure Transducer, and the flight team will be prepared to turn off the primary heater circuit if necessary.

Current spacecraft state (0000 GMT 9/4/98):

Orbit: 2863
Downlink>: 3600 bps
Spin Rate: 12.00 rpm

Spin Axis Attitude (ecliptic):
Latitude: 88.8 deg
Longitude: 152 deg

Trajectory:
Periapsis Alt: 85.4 km
Apoapsis Alt: 111.6 km

Period: 118 min
Occultations: 28 minutes
Eclipses: 44 minutes