Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Proceedings of the 39th ESLAB Symposium |
| Subtitle of host publication | Trends in Space Science and Cosmic Vision 2020 |
| Publisher | European Space Agency |
| Pages | 3-10 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| ISBN (print) | 9290928999, 9789290928997 |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Jan 2005 |
| Event | 39th ESLAB Symposium: Trends in Space Science and Cosmic Vision 2020 - Noordwijk, Netherlands Duration: 19 Apr 2005 → 21 Apr 2005 |
Publication series
| Name | European Space Agency, (Special Publication) ESA SP |
|---|---|
| Number | 588 |
| ISSN (Print) | 0379-6566 |
Abstract
The Pioneer 10 and 11 spacecraft yielded the most precise navigation in deep space to date. These spacecraft had exceptional acceleration sensitivity. However, analysis of their radio-metric tracking data has consistently indicated that at heliocentric distances of ∼20-70 astronomical units, the orbit determinations indicated the presence of a small, anomalous, Doppler frequency drift. The drift is a blue-shift, uniformly changing with a rate of ∼ (5.99 ± 0.01) × 10-9 Hz s-1, which can be interpreted as a constant sunward acceleration of each particular spacecraft of aP = (8.74 ± 1.33) × 10-10 ms -2(Anderson et al. 1998; Turyshev et al. 1999; Anderson et al. 2002a). The nature of this anomaly remains unexplained. This signal has become known as the Pioneer anomaly. The inability to explain the anomalous behavior of the Pioneers with conventional physics has contributed to growing discussion about its origin. There is now an increasing number of proposals that attempt to explain the anomaly outside conventional physics. This progress emphasizes the need for a new experiment to explore the detected signal. Furthermore, the recent extensive efforts led to the conclusion that only a dedicated experiment could ultimately determine the nature of the found signal. We discuss the Pioneer anomaly and present the next steps towards an understanding of its origin. We specificallyfocus on the development of a mission to explore the Pioneer Anomaly in a dedicated experiment conducted in deep space. This joint European-US mission is motivated by the desire to better understand the laws of fundamental physics as they affect dynamics in the solar system. The mission could lead to a major discovery in the 21st century and, with readily available technologies, it could be flown well within the Cosmic Vision time frame.
Keywords
- Deep space navigation, Fundamental physics, Gravitation, Pioneer anomaly, Solar system dynamics
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Engineering(all)
- Aerospace Engineering
- Earth and Planetary Sciences(all)
- Space and Planetary Science
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Proceedings of the 39th ESLAB Symposium: Trends in Space Science and Cosmic Vision 2020. European Space Agency, 2005. p. 3-10 (European Space Agency, (Special Publication) ESA SP; No. 588).
Research output: Chapter in book/report/conference proceeding › Conference contribution › Research › peer review
}
TY - GEN
T1 - A mission to explore the Pioneer anomaly
AU - Dittus, H.
AU - Turyshev, S. G.
AU - Lämmerzahl, C.
AU - Theil, S.
AU - Foerstner, R.
AU - Johann, U.
AU - Ertmer, W.
AU - Rasel, E.
AU - Dachwald, B.
AU - Seboldt, W.
AU - Hehl, F. W.
AU - Kiefer, C.
AU - Blome, H. J.
AU - Kunz, J.
AU - Giulini, D.
AU - Bingham, R.
AU - Kent, B.
AU - Sumner, T. J.
AU - Bertolami, O.
AU - Páramos, J.
AU - Rosales, J. L.
AU - Christophe, B.
AU - Foulon, B.
AU - Touboul, P.
AU - Bouyer, P.
AU - Reynaud, S.
AU - Brillet, A.
AU - Bondu, F.
AU - Samain, E.
AU - De Matos, C. J.
AU - Erd, C.
AU - Grenouilleau, J. C.
AU - Izzo, D.
AU - Rathke, A.
AU - Anderson, J. D.
AU - Asmar, S. W.
AU - Lau, E. E.
AU - Nieto, M. M.
AU - Mashhoon, B.
PY - 2005/1/1
Y1 - 2005/1/1
N2 - The Pioneer 10 and 11 spacecraft yielded the most precise navigation in deep space to date. These spacecraft had exceptional acceleration sensitivity. However, analysis of their radio-metric tracking data has consistently indicated that at heliocentric distances of ∼20-70 astronomical units, the orbit determinations indicated the presence of a small, anomalous, Doppler frequency drift. The drift is a blue-shift, uniformly changing with a rate of ∼ (5.99 ± 0.01) × 10-9 Hz s-1, which can be interpreted as a constant sunward acceleration of each particular spacecraft of aP = (8.74 ± 1.33) × 10-10 ms -2(Anderson et al. 1998; Turyshev et al. 1999; Anderson et al. 2002a). The nature of this anomaly remains unexplained. This signal has become known as the Pioneer anomaly. The inability to explain the anomalous behavior of the Pioneers with conventional physics has contributed to growing discussion about its origin. There is now an increasing number of proposals that attempt to explain the anomaly outside conventional physics. This progress emphasizes the need for a new experiment to explore the detected signal. Furthermore, the recent extensive efforts led to the conclusion that only a dedicated experiment could ultimately determine the nature of the found signal. We discuss the Pioneer anomaly and present the next steps towards an understanding of its origin. We specificallyfocus on the development of a mission to explore the Pioneer Anomaly in a dedicated experiment conducted in deep space. This joint European-US mission is motivated by the desire to better understand the laws of fundamental physics as they affect dynamics in the solar system. The mission could lead to a major discovery in the 21st century and, with readily available technologies, it could be flown well within the Cosmic Vision time frame.
AB - The Pioneer 10 and 11 spacecraft yielded the most precise navigation in deep space to date. These spacecraft had exceptional acceleration sensitivity. However, analysis of their radio-metric tracking data has consistently indicated that at heliocentric distances of ∼20-70 astronomical units, the orbit determinations indicated the presence of a small, anomalous, Doppler frequency drift. The drift is a blue-shift, uniformly changing with a rate of ∼ (5.99 ± 0.01) × 10-9 Hz s-1, which can be interpreted as a constant sunward acceleration of each particular spacecraft of aP = (8.74 ± 1.33) × 10-10 ms -2(Anderson et al. 1998; Turyshev et al. 1999; Anderson et al. 2002a). The nature of this anomaly remains unexplained. This signal has become known as the Pioneer anomaly. The inability to explain the anomalous behavior of the Pioneers with conventional physics has contributed to growing discussion about its origin. There is now an increasing number of proposals that attempt to explain the anomaly outside conventional physics. This progress emphasizes the need for a new experiment to explore the detected signal. Furthermore, the recent extensive efforts led to the conclusion that only a dedicated experiment could ultimately determine the nature of the found signal. We discuss the Pioneer anomaly and present the next steps towards an understanding of its origin. We specificallyfocus on the development of a mission to explore the Pioneer Anomaly in a dedicated experiment conducted in deep space. This joint European-US mission is motivated by the desire to better understand the laws of fundamental physics as they affect dynamics in the solar system. The mission could lead to a major discovery in the 21st century and, with readily available technologies, it could be flown well within the Cosmic Vision time frame.
KW - Deep space navigation
KW - Fundamental physics
KW - Gravitation
KW - Pioneer anomaly
KW - Solar system dynamics
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=33644778269&partnerID=8YFLogxK
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:33644778269
SN - 9290928999
SN - 9789290928997
T3 - European Space Agency, (Special Publication) ESA SP
SP - 3
EP - 10
BT - Proceedings of the 39th ESLAB Symposium
PB - European Space Agency
T2 - 39th ESLAB Symposium: Trends in Space Science and Cosmic Vision 2020
Y2 - 19 April 2005 through 21 April 2005
ER -