Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
1995-10-31
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
4 pages; LaTeX; Talk given at the Second William Fairbank Conference
Scientific paper
The year 1996 will mark the initiation of a number of new space missions to the planet Mars from which we expect to obtain a rich set of data, including spacecraft radio tracking data. Anticipating these events, we have analyzed the feasibility of testing a violation of the strong equivalence principle (SEP) with Earth-Mars ranging. Using analytic and numerical methods, we have demonstrated that ranging data can provide a useful estimate of the SEP parameter $\eta$. Two estimates of the predicted accuracy are quoted, one based on conventional covariance analysis, and the other based on ``modified worst case'' analysis, which assumes that systematic errors dominate the experiment. If future Mars missions provide ranging measurements with an accuracy of $\sigma$ meters, after ten years of ranging the expected accuracy for the parameter $\eta$ will be of order $\sigma_\eta\approx (1-12)\times 10^{-4}\sigma $. In addition, these ranging measurements will provide a significantly improved determination of the mass of the Jupiter system, independent of the test of the {\small SEP} polarization effect.
Anderson John D.
Gross Mark
Lau Eunice L.
Nordtvedt Kenneth L.
Turyshev Slava G.
No associations
LandOfFree
Testing the Strong Equivalence Principle with Mars Ranging Data does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with Testing the Strong Equivalence Principle with Mars Ranging Data, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Testing the Strong Equivalence Principle with Mars Ranging Data will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-281088