Fw: {MPML} Phobos-Soil Spacecraft Observations

rmiles.btee@btinternet.com

For info / possible action.
Richard Miles

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "jon_giorgini" <Jon.Giorgini@jpl.nasa.gov>
To: <mpml@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Thursday, October 27, 2011 8:05 PM
Subject: {MPML} Phobos-Soil Spacecraft Observations

> Scheduled for launch Nov 8, the Space Research Institute 
> (IKI, Russia) is very interested in any "near real-time"
> observations and astrometry of the Mars-bound Phobos-Soil.
> 
> Of particular interest are observations of two engine 
> burns to occur mostly over South America late Nov 8/early 
> Nov 9 UTC.
> 
> They have set up a website with ground-track plots.
> The site also lets people directly input astrometry 
> (MPC 80-column format):
> 
>      http://phobos.cosmos.ru/index.php?id=1686&L=2
> 
> If you are thinking about reporting observations, sign up
> in advance to get a password that gives access to the data 
> input section of the site.
> 
> Topocentric tracking predicts are computable from Horizons:
> 
> Web:
> http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/horizons.cgi?find_body=1&body_group=mb&sstr=-555
> 
> URL interactive window (type "soil" at prompt)
> telnet://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov:6775
> 
> UNIX/Linux interactive command-line (type "soil" at prompt):
> telnet ssd.jpl.nasa.gov 6775
> 
> During the engine firing, the spacecraft will be only 100's 
> of km overhead, moving at many 100s of arcsec/second and more. 
> So conventional astrometry will be "a challenge" until relative 
> motion slows, even though eyes-on/camera-on/clock-on could be 
> invaluable.

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