Click on the image for movie of
How to Correct a Trajectory
This artist's animation shows NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander adjusting its
course to Mars, an event called a trajectory correction maneuver.
Normally, as Phoenix cruises toward Mars, it maintains an orientation for
its solar panels to catch sunlight and its antenna to face Earth.
For maneuvers to adjust the flight path, the entire spacecraft must be
pivoted to get the trajectory-correction thrusters pointed in the
direction that navigators have calculated for the maneuver. After the
thrusters fire for the prescribed length of time, the spacecraft swivels
back to its previous orientation.
This movie has been sped up. A trajectory correction maneuver actually
takes much longer.
The Phoenix Mission is led by the University of Arizona, Tucson, on behalf
of NASA. Project management of the mission is by NASA's Jet Propulsion
Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. Spacecraft development is by Lockheed Martin
Space Systems, Denver.
