In the Chinese lunar exploration project,the Chang'E-1 (CE-1) satellite was jointly monitored by the United S-band range and Doppler and the VLBI technique. A real-time reduction of the tracking data is realized to deduce the time series of the instantaneous state vectors (ISV) (position and velocity vec-tors) of the CE-1 satellite,and is applied to the orbital monitoring of pivotal arcs. This paper introduces this real-time data reduction method and its application to the orbital monitoring of pivotal arcs of the CE-1 satellite in order to serve as a source of criticism and reference.
Based on the tracking observations of radio ranges and VLBI delays of Chang’E-1 (CE-1) satellite during the controlled landing on the Moon on March 1, 2009, the landing trajectory and the coordinates of the landing point are determined by positioning analysis. It is shown that the landing epoch (the emission epoch of the last signal) of CE-1 satellite on the Moon was at UTC8h13m6.51s. The lunar longitude, latitude and surface height of the landing point in the lunar primary axes frame are respectively 52.2732°, 1.6440° and –3.56 km (the reference lunar radius is 1738 km). The uncertainties are 0.0040°, 0.0168° and 0.18 km. The corresponding uncertainty in the tangential direction of the lunar surface is 0.52 km and the three-dimensional (3D) positioning uncertainty is 0.55 km. It is accordingly deduced that even with the present technical specifications of the radio ranges and VLBI delays, the 1 km 3D positioning precision could be guaranteed for the lander in the second stage of China’s Lunar Explora- tion Project. Concerning the trace determination of the rover on the lunar surface, because only telemetry signal will be emitted, VLBI would be the sole tracking technique from the Earth. The application of the constraint of geocentric distance is shown to be helpful to improving the positioning precision. It is worthy to pay close attention to the applications of the same beam VLBI technique, the lunar topographic model and the on-board observations of the lander and rover to the position/trace determination of the rover.
LI JinLing GUO Li QIAN ZhiHan JIANG DongRong ZHENG WeiMin HONG XiaoYu
One of the most efficient ways to probe the lunar inner structure at present is through the study of its rotation.Range and range rate(Doppler) data between the Chang’E-3 lander and station on the Earth were collected from the beginning of the Chang’E-3 lunar mission in 2013.These observation data,taken together with the existing lunar laser ranging data,provide a new approach to extend research on the Earth-Moon system.The high precision of current observation data imposes exacting demands,making it necessary to include previously neglected factors.In this paper,motivated by progress of the Chinese lunar exploration project and to use its data in the near future,two lunar models:a one-layer model and a two-layer model with a fluid core,were applied to the rotational equations based on our implemented algorithm of the Moon’s motion.There was a difference of about 0.5′′in φ and ψ,but 0.2′′in θ between the two models.This result confirms that stratification of the inner structure of the Moon can be inferred from rotation data.We also added precise Earth rotation parameters in our model;the results show that this factor is negligible at present,due to the limited precision of the existing data.These results will help us understand the rotational process clearly and build a more realistic Earth-Moon model when we combine Lunar Laser Ranging data with high precision radio data to fit lunar motion in the near future.
Yong-Zhang YangJin-Song PingJian-Guo YanJin-Ling Li
Prior to achieving high precision navigation of a spacecraft using X-ray observations, a pulsar rotation model must be built and analysis of the precise posi- tion of the Earth should be performed using ground pulsar timing observations. We can simulate time-of-arrival ground observation data close to actual observed values before using pulsar timing observation data. Considering the correlation between the Earth＇s position and its short arc section of an orbit, we use polynomial regression to build the correlation. Regression coefficients can be calculated using the least square method, and a coordinate component series can also be obtained; that is, we can calcu- late Earth＇s position in the Barycentric Celestial Reference System according to pulse arrival time data and a precise pulsar rotation model. In order to set appropriate param- eters before the actual timing observations for Earth positioning, we can calculate the influence of the spatial distribution of pulsars on errors in the positioning result and the influence of error source variation on positioning by simulation. It is significant that the threshold values of the observation and systematic errors can be established before an actual observation occurs; namely, we can determine the observation mode with small errors and reject the observed data with big errors, thus improving the positioning result.
Feng Tian 1,2,Zheng-Hong Tang 1,Qing-Zeng Yan 1,2 and Yong Yu 11 Shanghai Astronomical Observatory,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Shanghai 200030,China
Some insights and analysis are presented concerning the monitoring model of the VLBI(Very Long Baseline Interferometry) antenna,settings of parameters and selection of constraints to the observation equation,which are verified via data simulation analysis to be reasonable and effective.The effects of the number of targets and antenna orientations,the precision of target positioning observations,the observation outliers detection and deletion on the determination precision of antenna parameters are also analyzed,and some preliminary conclusions are given.
