Magellan Enters the Final Act
Magellan will enter the atmosphere permanently within a few hours after the periapsis altitude drops below 135 km, sometime around October 14th. The actual demise of the spacecraft will probably not be detected on the ground because communications will be lost as Magellan is unable to point the antenna toward Earth. What is not incinerated in the atmosphere will crash onto the surface of Venus, ending an extraordinarily successful planetary mission.
Dr. Vic Baker of the Magellan team will be discussing the Magellan mission at the SEDS meeting October 12th at 7:00pm, Space Sciences Building Room 308.
