Thank you for visiting the Deep Space 1 mission status information site, now in its fifth week on the list of most frequently visited logged sources in the solar system for information on this technology validation mission. This message was recorded at 8:40 pm Pacific Time on Monday, November 23.

As preparations for renewed tests of the ion propulsion system progress, modifications of the system's software have been completed and tested. These changes will give engineers greater resolution in studying currents and voltages when the thruster tries to start. The new software was radioed to the spacecraft's main computer Friday morning and then loaded into the ion propulsion system's computer controller. In tests with the thruster scheduled for tomorrow, the new software will capture and return data to assist in continuing analyses of several different strategies for resuming thrusting so that engineers can decide on which ones to implement and in which order. Part of the electronics for the thruster were turned on today to gain insight into whether there might be a short circuit and to determine where in the complex system it might be. That analysis is ongoing. As with all other activities, the operations team is proceeding with the prudence that is always necessary in controlling a probe in deep space.

Deep Space 1 is farther from the Sun than Earth is. In order to conduct more tests of the advanced technology camera, engineers would like to point it at Earth to take images of this now-distant planet on Wednesday. But that means that it will point the spacecraft's star tracker near the Sun as well. This star tracker, cleverly named because it tracks stars, helps the spacecraft determine its orientation in space. Data from two similar units flying on an Earth-orbiting spacecraft launched a few weeks prior to DS1 suggest that it may be more sensitive to scattered sunlight than the supplier predicted. Approaching this situation delicately, the team has devised an elaborate strategy that may allow the spacecraft to reach the orientation needed to view Earth with less risk of the star tracker causing problems. If it appears that Sunlight is interfering with the star tracker, the operation will be called off. If there is no interference, this will provide a unique opportunity to turn the novel combination camera/imaging spectrometer to view Earth and perhaps the moon. In either case, it will yield important information about the star tracker. While this is not one of DS1's advanced technologies, it is a new and sophisticated device. Even apart from the uncertainty about the behavior of the star tracker, this activity involves rotating the spacecraft in a way that has not yet been tried, so it is a complex and difficult activity. To prepare, the cover on the camera, which is transparent at some of the wavelengths the camera senses but opaque at others, will be opened on Tuesday.

Following the attempt to characterize the star tracker and perhaps capture images of Earth and the moon, a skeleton team will monitor the spacecraft over the 4-day Thanksgiving holiday. With the rapid development for DS1 and the intense activities since launch, during which many important technology validation data were collected, the operations team will attempt to recapture remnants of normal life and have some time to rest. Your loyal correspondent will remain diligent and update this recording if events warrant.

Deep Space 1 is now more than 12 times as far away from Earth as the moon. Radio signals, traveling at the universal limit of the speed of light, take more than half a minute to make the round trip. JPL astronomers managed to take a picture of the diminutive craft using one of the world's largest telescopes on Palomar Mountain on November 16 when DS1 was at a distance of 3.7 million kilometers or 2.3 million miles from Earth. The reflected sunlight from the spacecraft was 4 million times dimmer than our humble eyes could detect.