In this section
@misc{Steinbruegge:2024:10.5194/epsc2024-686,
author = {Steinbruegge, G and Dunnigan, A and King, S and Mason, P and Hensley, S and Carter, L},
doi = {10.5194/epsc2024-686},
title = {Geodetic Contributions of the VenSAR Instrument for Inferring the Interior Structure of Venus},
type = {Other},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/epsc2024-686},
year = {2024}
}
TY - GEN
AB - <jats:p>Introduction:  One of the science priorities of the EnVision mission is to infer the interior structure of Venus, including the properties and thicknesses of its crust, mantle, and core [1]. Measurements of the moment of inertia and length-of-day variations provide critical geodetic constraints to understand the bulk interior structure of the planet. The polar moment of inertia of Venus is inversely proportional to the precession rate. Measuring the precession rate directly from orbit is challenging. For Magellan, spacecraft ephemeris errors dominated the measurement errors and for EnVision very similar challenges are expected. The precession rate itself depends on a number of geodetic parameters, namely the orbital mean motion, the spin rate, the second-degree gravity coefficient, the total mass of the planet, the radius, and the obliquity. To constrain the inertia tensor of Venus and hence to meet the EnVision objectives, the gravity field information must be complemented by measurements of the rotational state. Therefore, augmenting the gravity science solution with surface feature tracking and/or altimetry – abilities that VenSAR offers – can be critical in achieving EnVision science objectives. VenSAR has the capability to make use of globally distributed VenSAR altimetry data and ground-track intersections (cross-over points) to create a dense geodetic net. These observations can be used in concert with gravity observations and SAR images (Figure 1) to improve the a posteriori orbit determination, to solve for the rotation state of Venus including spin axis orientation and precession, and to allow the co-registration of other data products generated by the EnVision mission via improving the overall reference frame of Venus. The precise measurement of the rotation state allows us to infer constraints on the interior structure (e.g., by inferring the moment of inertia) as has been recently demon
AU - Steinbruegge,G
AU - Dunnigan,A
AU - King,S
AU - Mason,P
AU - Hensley,S
AU - Carter,L
DO - 10.5194/epsc2024-686
PY - 2024///
TI - Geodetic Contributions of the VenSAR Instrument for Inferring the Interior Structure of Venus
UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/epsc2024-686
ER -
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