eCite Digital Repository
Venus Express radio occultation observed by PRIDE
Citation
Bocanegra-Bahamon, TM and Molera Calves, G and Gurvits, LI and Cimo, G and Dirkx, D and Duev, DA and Pogrebenko, SV and Rosenblatt, P and Limaye, S and Ciu, L and Li, P and Kondo, T and Sekido, M and Mikhailov, AG and Kharinov, MA and Ipatov, AV and Wang, W and Zheng, W and Ma, M and Lovell, JEJ and McCallum, JN, Venus Express radio occultation observed by PRIDE, Astronomy and Astrophysics, 624 Article A59. ISSN 0004-6361 (2019) [Refereed Article]
![]() | PDF 3Mb |
Copyright Statement
Reproduced with permission from Astronomy & Astrophysics, © 2019 ESO”.
DOI: doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201833160
Abstract
Context: Radio occultation is a technique used to study planetary atmospheres by means of the refraction and absorption of a spacecraft carrier signal through the atmosphere of the celestial body of interest, as detected from a ground station on Earth. This technique is usually employed by the deep space tracking and communication facilities (e.g., NASA’s Deep Space Network (DSN), ESA’s Estrack).
Aims: We want to characterize the capabilities of the Planetary Radio Interferometry and Doppler Experiment (PRIDE) technique for radio occultation experiments, using radio telescopes equipped with Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) instrumentation.
Methods: We conducted a test with ESA’s Venus Express (VEX), to evaluate the performance of the PRIDE technique for this particular application. We explain in detail the data processing pipeline of radio occultation experiments with PRIDE, based on the collection of so-called open-loop Doppler data with VLBI stations, and perform an error propagation analysis of the technique.
Results: With the VEX test case and the corresponding error analysis, we have demonstrated that the PRIDE setup and processing pipeline is suited for radio occultation experiments of planetary bodies. The noise budget of the open-loop Doppler data collected with PRIDE indicated that the uncertainties in the derived density and temperature profiles remain within the range of uncertainties reported in previous Venus’ studies. Open-loop Doppler data can probe deeper layers of thick atmospheres, such as that of Venus, when compared to closed-loop Doppler data. Furthermore, PRIDE through the VLBI networks around the world, provides a wide coverage and range of large antenna dishes, that can be used for this type of experiments.
Item Details
Item Type: | Refereed Article |
---|---|
Keywords: | radio occultation, PRIDE, Venus, Venus Express |
Research Division: | Physical Sciences |
Research Group: | Astronomical sciences |
Research Field: | Planetary science (excl. solar system and planetary geology) |
Objective Division: | Expanding Knowledge |
Objective Group: | Expanding knowledge |
Objective Field: | Expanding knowledge in the physical sciences |
UTAS Author: | Molera Calves, G (Mr Guifre Molera Calves) |
UTAS Author: | Lovell, JEJ (Dr Jim Lovell) |
UTAS Author: | McCallum, JN (Dr Jamie McCallum) |
ID Code: | 131673 |
Year Published: | 2019 |
Web of Science® Times Cited: | 1 |
Deposited By: | Mathematics and Physics |
Deposited On: | 2019-03-29 |
Last Modified: | 2020-05-20 |
Downloads: | 8 View Download Statistics |
Repository Staff Only: item control page