Gene and Danny: Here is the time line for the MEX BSR on day 038 (Monday 7 PM to Tuesday 1 AM at JPL) at DSS 14. In this experiment the X-Band echo first appears about 15 kHz above the carrier (05:45 UTC). It slowly drifts down but starts picking up speed around 06:15. At 06:30:30 it passes through the carrier moving at about 20 Hz/s. By 06:45 it is slowing again, and it reverses direction at 06:56 when it is 48 kHz below the carrier. The echo ends 39 kHz below the carrier at 07:14. We will get a lot of exercise changing FRO for SCHAN 3 (25 kHz). The early part of the experiment probes cratered terrain at 25-45S latitude southwest of the Tharsis volcanoes. At 06:33 the specular point crosses Stealth (a very poorly reflecting region on the equator at about 146W longitude); this is our 'target' even though it occupies only a couple minutes of the total experiment. The experiment ends in northern plains at 70N latitude. We have done Stealth experiments before, but always had problems pulling enough signal out to draw useful conclusions. This experiment, being near periapsis and near opposition and at incidence angles near 60 degrees, should make up for a lot that was missing in the earlier attempts. I have booked a flight to Burbank, arriving 3 PM local time. That gives me plenty of time to rent a car, check into the motel, grab something to eat, and navigate my way to JPL for an arrival before 7 PM. If I remember to bring it, you may be able to reach me on my wife's cell phone (650-380-0675) after I'm on the ground. There is, however, a wild card in my travel plans. I had an eye injury a couple weeks ago and the doctor has made some recommendations regarding the recovery. As of today, I see no reason not to travel; but it's possible that conditions will change - in which case, I'll have to do this over the phone from either Stanford (650-723-3525) or my home (650-494-9272) Thanks, Dick 2012/038 (UTC) - - - - - - - 03:00 Begin Pre-cal at DSS 14 FGAIN = 60 dB (all channels, except X-RCP) 65 dB X-RCP FRO_X = 0; FRO_S = 0 (all SCHAN) Start 4-channel 25 kHz recordings after Step 5 (new NOP) Stop 25 kHz recording after Step 20 (new NOP) 05:00 Begin track X-Band AOS (probably with low priority telemetry) 05:07 S-Band AOS 05:13 Advise DSS 14 of switch to planetary coordinates at 05:28 Advise DSS 14 of start of MINICAL #1 at 05:30 05:22 X-Band telemetry OFF 05:23 Resume 25 kHz recording 05:28 DSS 14 switch to planetary coordinates 05:29 FRO_X = +10000 Hz (SCHAN 3) FRO_S = 0 Hz (SCHAN 3) (S-Band) FRO_X = -18000 Hz (SCHAN 4) 05:30 Begin MINICAL #1 05:36 Begin spacecraft SLEW #1 (carrier is outside 25 kHz X-Band window) 05:45 End of MINICAL #1 (end of step 5) End SLEW #1 Begin 100 kHz recording (SCHAN 4) 06:15 FRO_X = +2000 Hz (SCHAN 3) 06:29 FRO_X = -5000 Hz (SCHAN 3) 06:30 FRO_S = -4000 Hz (SCHAN 3) (S-Band) 06:34 FRO_X = -13000 Hz (SCHAN 3) 06:36 FRO_S = -7000 Hz (SCHAN 3) (S-Band) 06:37 FRO_X = -21000 Hz (SCHAN 3) 06:39 FRO_X = -27000 Hz (SCHAN 3) 06:40 FRO_S = -10000 Hz (SCHAN 3) (S-Band) 06:41 FRO_X = -33000 Hz (SCHAN 3) 06:43 FRO_X = -39000 Hz (SCHAN 3) 06:44 FRO_S = -13000 Hz (SCHAN 3) (S-Band) 06:47 FRO_X = -48000 Hz (SCHAN 3) 06:51 FRO_S = -15000 Hz (SCHAN 3) (S-Band) 07:11 FRO_X = -45000 Hz (SCHAN 3) 07:10 Advise DSS 14 that MINICAL #2 begins at 07:15 Advise DSS 14 to return to spacecraft pointing after MINICAL #2 07:14 Begin SLEW #2 back to Earth End 100 kHz recording (SCHAN 4) 07:15 Begin MINICAL #2 07:30 End MINICAL #2 (end of step 5) 07:31 DSS 14 return to spacecraft pointing FRO_X = 0 Hz (SCHAN 3) FRO_S = 0 Hz (SCHAN 3) 07:32 End SLEW #2 07:44 S-Band LOS X-Band telemetry ON (ignore) Early end of track (scheduled for 08:00) Go to zenith Begin post-cal when ready 09:00 End post-cal (or earlier, if post-cal complete) End 25 kHz recordings End of Activity