Radio Science (RSS)

Description

The Radio Science Team used the telecommunications systems of the Voyager spacecraft to perform their studies. The system was a coherent S- and X-band downlink and S-band uplink. The science objectives of the radio science investigation were (1) to determine the physical properties of planetary and satellite ionospheres and atmospheres by examining the propagation effects on a dual-frequency radio signal during immersion of spacecraft occultation by the subject body, (2) to determine planetary and satellite masses, gravity fields and densities by precise tracking of a dual-frequency radio signal from the spacecraft during the encounter period, and (3) to determine the amount and size distributions of material in the rings of Saturn and the ring dimensions by examining the propagation effects on a dual-frequency radio signal that passes through each ring in succession and through the gap between the C ring and the surface of Saturn.