How was the altitude of 50 kilometers chosen for the March 2008 flyby of Enceladus?
A primary science objective for the March 2008 Enceladus flyby is to understand details about Enceladus’ plume, including its source and composition. To accomplish this, closer is better. At the same time, it is essential that the safety of the spacecraft not be jeopardized in the process. The two threats to the spacecraft were identified to be an inadvertent impact with Enceladus, and damage resulting from the environment within the plume. With regard to the former, the Project studied its navigational capability and past performance together with its knowledge of Enceladus’ position, and concluded that at 50 kilometers, and even somewhat closer than that, there was just no possibility of an impact. In assessing the environmental hazard, one of the main data sources used was an observation of a stellar occultation by the plume made by the Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph instrument on the spacecraft. In this observation, the instrument observed the star as it passed behind the plume,
Related Questions
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- How was the altitude of 50 kilometers chosen for the March 2008 flyby of Enceladus?
- What is the current estimate for the Earth flyby altitude?
