Artist's concept image of ISEE-3 (ICE)
spacecraft.
Image Credit: NASA
NASA has given a green light to a group of citizen scientists attempting to
breathe new scientific life into a more than 35-year old agency spacecraft.
The agency has signed a Non-Reimbursable Space Act Agreement (NRSAA) with
Skycorp, Inc., in Los Gatos, California, allowing the company to attempt to
contact, and possibly command and control, NASA’s International Sun-Earth
Explorer-3 (ISEE-3) spacecraft as part of the company’s ISEE-3 Reboot Project.
This is the first time NASA has worked such an agreement for use of a spacecraft
the agency is no longer using or ever planned to use again.
The NRSAA details the technical, safety, legal and proprietary issues that
will be addressed before any attempts are made to communicate with or control
the 1970’s-era spacecraft as it nears the Earth in August.
"The intrepid ISEE-3 spacecraft was sent away from its primary mission to
study the physics of the solar wind extending its mission of discovery to study
two comets." said John Grunsfeld, astronaut and associate administrator for the
Science Mission Directorate at NASA headquarters in Washington. "We have a
chance to engage a new generation of citizen scientists through this creative
effort to recapture the ISEE-3 spacecraft as it zips by the Earth this
summer."
Launched in 1978 to study the constant flow of solar wind streaming toward
Earth, ISEE-3 successfully completed its prime mission in 1981. With remaining
fuel and functioning instruments, it then was redirected to observe two comets.
Following the completion of that mission, the spacecraft continued in orbit
around the sun. It is now making its closest approach to Earth in more than 30
years.
The goal of the ISEE-3 Reboot Project is to put the spacecraft into an orbit
at a gravitationally stable point between Earth and the sun known as
Lagrangian 1 (L1). Once safely back in orbit, the next step would be to return
the spacecraft to operations and use its instruments as they were originally
designed. ISEE-3's close approach in the coming weeks provides optimal
conditions to attempt communication. If communications are unsuccessful, the
spacecraft will swing by the moon and continue to orbit the sun.
NASA has shared technical data with these citizen scientists to help them
communicate with and return data from ISEE-3. The contributions of any citizen
science provided by the spacecraft, if it is successfully recovered, depend on
the current condition of its instruments. New data resulting from the project
will be shared with the science community and the public, providing a unique
tool for teaching students and the public about spacecraft operations and data
gathering. The data also will provide valuable information about the effects of
the space environment on the 36-year old spacecraft.
The ISEE-3 mission opened new pathways for scientific exploration, helping
scientists better understand the sun-Earth system, which at its most turbulent
can affect satellites around Earth and disrupt our technological
infrastructure.
To learn more about the ISEE-3 Reboot Project, visit:
To learn more about ISEE-3, visit:
NASA
Guillermo Gonzalo Sánchez Achutegui
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