--------------------------------------------------------- NSSDC Master Catalog Display Experiment --------------------------------------------------------- Magnetometer (OMAG) NSSDC ID: 78-051A-12 Mission Name: Pioneer Venus Orbiter Principal Investigator: Russell ------------------- Experiment mass: 1.80 kg Average experiment power: 2.00 W ------------------- Description This experiment used a triaxial fluxgate magnetometer with two ring-core sensors at the end of a magnetometer boom and one ring-core sensor, at 45 degrees to the spin axis, halfway down the boom. The drive and electronics design had been used on the Apollo 15 and 16 subsatellites. The objectives of this investigation were to: (1) determine any planetary and remnant magnetic fields; (2) deduce the location and strength of the ionospheric current system; (3) determine the energy and mass balance in the upper atmosphere of Venus; (4) examine the nature of the solar wind interaction with Venus; and, (5) study the near-wake region of Venus and the structure of the Venusian bow shock. Additional objectives for interplanetary (solar wind) studies were to determine the perturbation of the near-planet region by Venus and to compare the properties of the average field at 0.7 and 1.0 AU. The instrument was intended to, in the worst case of low-bit and low-sample rates, measure one vector per 32 s. While in Venus orbit, when the spacecraft was coasting through the interplanetary region in the apoapsis mode, the sample rate was one vector per 8 s. While the spacecraft was passing through Venus' ionosphere in the periapsis mode, the sample rate was four vectors per second. The last full orbit of three-axis data was 3602, which ended on 16 Oct. 1988 at 14:30 UT. After this time, only one-axis data were available. ------------------- Discipline(s) Planetary Science/Fields and Particles Space Physics/Heliospheric Studies --------------------------------------------------------- NSSDC Master Catalog Display Experiment Personnel --------------------------------------------------------- Magnetometer (OMAG) NSSDC ID: 78-051A-12 Principal Investigator Dr. Christopher T. Russell Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics University of California, Los Angeles 405 Hilgard Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90095-1567 Electronic Mail CRUSSELL@UCLASS (BITNET) BRUNET::CTRUSSELL (NSI/DECNET) CTRUSSELL@IGPP.UCLA.EDU (NSI/IP) ----- Co-Investigator Prof. Charles F. Kennel Department of Physics University of California, Los Angeles 405 Hilgard Los Angeles, CA 90095-1567 Electronic Mail KENNEL@UCLAPH.UCLA.EDU (INTERNET) ----- Prof. Paul J. Coleman, Jr. IGPP University of California, Los Angeles Slichter Hall 6851 Los Angeles, CA 90095-1567 Electronic Mail VXBMS::COLEMAN (NSI/DECNET) ----- Prof. George L. Siscoe Center for Space Physics Boston University 725 Commonwealth Avenue Boston, MA 02215 Electronic Mail SISCOE@BUASTA.BU.EDU (INTERNET) ----- Prof. Robert L. McPherron Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics University of California, Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA 90095-1567 Electronic Mail RMCPHERRON@IGPP.UCLA.EDU (INTERNET) UCLASP::RMCPHERRON (NSI/DECNET) ----- Dr. Janet G. Luhmann Space Sciences Laboratory University of California, Berkeley 301 SSL Berkeley, CA 94720 Electronic Mail JGLUHMAN@SUNSPOT.SSL.BERKELEY.EDU (INTERNET) ----- Dr. Richard C. Elphic Mail Stop D-438, ESS-8 Los Alamos National Laboratory Los Alamos, NM 87545 Electronic Mail RELPHIC@LANL.GOV (INTERNET) ----- NSSDC Contact Dr. Edwin V. Bell, II Hughes STX Corporation Suite 400 7701 Greenbelt Road Greenbelt, MD 20770 Electronic Mail BELL@NSSDC (BITNET) BELL@NSSDC.GSFC.NASA.GOV (INTERNET) NSSDCA::BELL (NSI/DECNET) ----- General Contact Dr. Christopher T. Russell Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics University of California, Los Angeles 405 Hilgard Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90095-1567 Electronic Mail CRUSSELL@UCLASS (BITNET) BRUNET::CTRUSSELL (NSI/DECNET) CTRUSSELL@IGPP.UCLA.EDU (NSI/IP) ----- --------------------------------------------------------- NSSDC Master Catalog Display Experiment Selected References --------------------------------------------------------- Magnetometer (OMAG) NSSDC ID: 78-051A-12 1. Russell, C. T., Elphic, R. C., and Slavin, J. A., Initial Pioneer Venus magnetic field results: Dayside observations, Science, 203, No. 4382, 745-747, Feb. 1979. 2. Russell, C. T., Elphic, R. C., and Slavin, J. A., Initial Pioneer Venus magnetic field results: Nightside observations, Science, 205, No. 4401, 114-115, July 1979. 3. Russell, C. T., Snare, R. C., Means, J. D., and Elphic, R. C., Pioneer Venus Orbiter fluxgate magnetometer, IEEE Trans. Geosci. Rem. Sens., GE-18, 32-35, Jan. 1980. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- For questions about this experiment, please contact: Dr. Edwin V. Bell, II, bell@nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov, (301)441-4209 Hughes STX Corporation Suite 400 7701 Greenbelt Road Greenbelt, MD 20770 For questions about the NSSDC's information systems, please contact: Dr. James Thieman, thieman@nssdca.gsfc.nasa.gov, (301)286-9790 National Space Science Data Center, Code 633.2 NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- NASA Official: J. H. King, king@nssdca.gsfc.nasa.gov Last Updated: 1996-04-12 Output Generated: 1996-09-25 Programming by: E. V. Bell, II