[SFDXA] Ham Radio Community Invited to Say “HI” to Juno Spacecraft

[Bill]

Ham Radio Community Invited to Say “HI” to Juno Spacecraft
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NASA’s Juno spacecraft will fly past Earth on October 9 to receive a 
gravity assist, putting it on course for Jupiter. To celebrate, the Juno 
mission is *inviting* <http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/hijuno/> Amateur Radio 
operators around the world to say “HI” to Juno in a coordinated Morse 
code message. If enough operators participate, Juno’s “Waves” radio and 
plasma wave experiment should be able to detect the message. The *Say 
“HI” to Juno* <http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/hijuno/> web page will be updated 
with additional information as the event approaches. All transmissions 
will take place on 10 meters, with the precise (suggested) frequency 
determined by the last letter of your call sign (see Juno Flyby Table in 
“Photo Gallery” below).
Sponsors say Juno will have a better chance of detecting signals from 
many operators if the transmissions are spread out across the spectrum. 
The Juno Waves instrument is a broadband receiver, and the detector 
being used for this event has a passband that’s 1 MHz wide.
While the Waves instrument is sensitive to radio signals in all amateur 
bands below 40 MHz, sponsors chose 10 meters, because experience with 
the University of Iowa instruments on the Galileo and Cassini Earth 
flybys showed significant ionospheric shielding at lower frequencies. 
Sponsors actually are hoping for poor band conditions on October 9, so 
an appreciable fraction of the radiated energy can escape the ionosphere 
into space.
Indicators on the *Say “HI” to Juno* <http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/hijuno/> 
web page will instruct participants when to transmit and when to stop 
transmitting. Each will have a timer to indicate how long until you 
switch from one mode to the other mode. Stations should transmit a legal 
station identification as the FCC or non-US regulators require.
Stations with directional antennas should check the web site for 
information on what headings to use during the event. Visit the *Say 
“HI” to Juno* <http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/hijuno/> web page for full 
details and to obtain the latest information. The activity begins 
October 9 at about 18:01 UTC and continue until about 20:41 UTC. 
Operators taking part should make sure their computer clocks are 
synchronized to network time prior to the event. The web page will 
indicate when you start or stop transmitting (key down/key up).
Participants can receive a QSL card for contacting Juno. *E-mail* 
<mailto:juno_outreach at jpl.nasa.gov> your call sign and mailing address. 
Additional information is available at *NASA’s Juno* 
<http://www.nasa.gov/juno> web site and the *Mission Juno* 
<http://missionjuno.swri.edu/> web site. /— NASA Jet Propulsion 
Laboratory; thanks to John Andrews, ACØXY/