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D.L. Huestis (SRI), R.J. Vervack, L.J. Paxton (JHU/APL)
The Pioneer Venus Orbiter Ultraviolet Spectrometer (PVOUVS) acquired a vast collection of data on the Venusian upper atmosphere during the 1978-1992 time frame. As the only long-term record of the upper atmosphere of a planet other than Earth, the PVOUVS data set should provide key insights about how a CO2 atmosphere responds to variations in ultraviolet radiation throughout a complete solar cycle, of particular importance in support of upcoming missions to Mars.
In collaboration with Ian Stewart, the instrument PI, we have retrieved the raw PVOUVS data from all 5055 orbits of the Pioneer Venus Orbiter and have restored access to the data. Data from 4166 of these orbits are usable. The recovered data set includes 2.7 million 256-channel data blocks recording either UV spectra or fixed-wavelength spatial profiles.
We have requested funding from NASA to make the PVOUVS data available to the planetary science community through the Planetary Data System (PDS). In this presentation we will review the characteristics of the data set as well as some possible science outputs from more detailed future analysis. We especially solicit expressions of interest and suggestions of additional science questions that the PVOUVS data set could answer.
The author(s) of this abstract have provided an email address for comments about the abstract: david.huestis@sri.com
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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 36 #4
© 2004. The American Astronomical Soceity.