NASA Photo ID: S88-34271 File Name: 10063250.jpg
Film Type: 35mm Date Taken: 04/27/88
Title: Artist concept of Magellan spacecraft orbiting Venus
Description:
Magellan spacecraft orbits Venus in this artist concept. The continued
quest for detailed topographic measurements of Venus will again be
undertaken in April 1989 by Magellan, named after the 16th century
Portuguese explorer. Magellan will orbit Venus about once every three
hours, acquiring radar data for 37 minutes of each orbit when it is
closest to the surface. Using an advanced instrument called a synthetic
aperature radar (SAR), it will map more than 90 per cent of the surface
with resolution ten times better than the best prior spacecraft. Magellan
is managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL); Martin Marietta is
developing the spacecraft and Hughes Aircraft Company, the advanced
imaging radar. Magellan will be deployed from the payload bay (PLB) of
Atlantis, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 104, during mission STS-30.
Subject terms:
MAGELLAN SPACECRAFT (NASA)
STS-30
VENUS (PLANET)
VISUAL AIDS
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