Publication Date:
2019-07-13
Description:
Earth artificial satellite methods are extended by means of two way Doppler data, to the computation of very accurate orbiter trajectories around another planet, and to the determination of its gravity field. It is reported that in the case of Mars, all observations collected by 10 Deep Space Network stations located at three different sites during the Mariner 9 and Viking 1 and 2 missions have been processed and used to compute a full twelfth degree and order spherical harmonic model of the gravitational potential. It is concluded that the aeroid derived from the model shows very large correlations with the Martian topography, raising questions as to the deep structure of the planet which cannot be interpreted on the basis of topographic and isostatic considerations alone.
Keywords:
LUNAR AND PLANETARY EXPLORATION
Type:
The use of artificial satellites for geodesy and geodynamics. Volume 2; May 29, 1978 - Jun 02, 1978; Athens; Greece
Format:
text
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