An Overview of the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS)

The Lunar Crater Observation Sensing Satellite (LCROSS), an accompanying payload to the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) mission (Vondrak et al. 2010), was launched with LRO on 18 June 2009. The principle goal of the LCROSS mission was to shed light on the nature of the materials contained within permanently shadowed lunar craters. These Permanently Shadowed Regions (PSRs) are of considerable interest due to the very low temperatures, <120?K, found within the shadowed regions (Paige et al. 2010a, 2010b) and the possibility of accumulated, cold-trapped volatiles contained therein. Two previous lunar missions, Clementine and Lunar Prospector, have made measurements that indicate the possibility of water ice associated with these PSRs. LCROSS used the spent LRO Earth-lunar transfer rocket stage, an Atlas V Centaur upper stage, as a kinetic impactor, impacting a PSR on 9 October 2009 and throwing ejecta up into sunlight where it was observed. This impactor was guided to its target by a Shepherding Spacecraft (SSC) which also contained a number of instruments that observed the lunar impact. A?campaign of terrestrial ground, Earth orbital and lunar orbital assets were also coordinated to observe the impact and subsequent crater and ejecta blanket. After observing the Centaur impact, the SSC became an impactor itself. The principal measurement goals of the LCROSS mission were to establish the form and concentration of the hydrogen-bearing material observed by Lunar Prospector, characterization of regolith within a PSR (including composition and physical properties), and the characterization of the perturbation to the lunar exosphere caused by the impact itself.     

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO): Observations for Lunar Exploration and Science

The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) was implemented to facilitate scientific and engineering-driven mapping of the lunar surface at new spatial scales and with new remote sensing methods, identify safe landing sites, search for in situ resources, and measure the space radiation environment. After its successful launch on June 18, 2009, the LRO spacecraft and instruments were activated and calibrated in an eccentric polar lunar orbit until September 15, when LRO was moved to a circular polar orbit with a mean altitude of 50 km. LRO will operate for at least one year to support the goals of NASA’s Exploration Systems Mission Directorate (ESMD), and for at least two years of extended operations for additional lunar science measurements supported by NASA’s Science Mission Directorate (SMD). LRO carries six instruments with associated science and exploration investigations, and a telecommunications/radar technology demonstration. The LRO instruments are: Cosmic Ray Telescope for the Effects of Radiation (CRaTER), Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment (DLRE), Lyman-Alpha Mapping Project (LAMP), Lunar Exploration Neutron Detector (LEND), Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA), and Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC). The technology demonstration is a compact, dual-frequency, hybrid polarity synthetic aperture radar instrument (Mini-RF). LRO observations also support the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS), the lunar impact mission that was co-manifested with LRO on the Atlas V (401) launch vehicle. This paper describes the LRO objectives and measurements that support exploration of the Moon and that address the science objectives outlined by the National Academy of Science’s report on the Scientific Context for Exploration of the Moon (SCEM). We also describe data accessibility by the science and exploration community.     

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) Instrument Overview

The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) Wide Angle Camera (WAC) and Narrow Angle Cameras (NACs) are on the NASA Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). The WAC is a 7-color push-frame camera (100 and 400 m/pixel visible and UV, respectively), while the two NACs are monochrome narrow-angle linescan imagers (0.5 m/pixel). The primary mission of LRO is to obtain measurements of the Moon that will enable future lunar human exploration. The overarching goals of the LROC investigation include landing site identification and certification, mapping of permanently polar shadowed and sunlit regions, meter-scale mapping of polar regions, global multispectral imaging, a global morphology base map, characterization of regolith properties, and determination of current impact hazards.     

Characterization and Calibration of the CheMin Mineralogical Instrument on Mars Science Laboratory

A principal goal of the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover Curiosity is to identify and characterize past habitable environments on Mars. Determination of the mineralogical and chemical composition of Martian rocks and soils constrains their formation and alteration pathways, providing information on climate and habitability through time. The CheMin X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) instrument on MSL will return accurate mineralogical identifications and quantitative phase abundances for scooped soil samples and drilled rock powders collected at Gale Crater during Curiosity’s 1-Mars-year nominal mission. The instrument has a Co X-ray source and a cooled charge-coupled device (CCD) detector arranged in transmission geometry with the sample. CheMin’s angular range of 5^° to 50^° 2θ with <0.35^° 2θ resolution is sufficient to identify and quantify virtually all minerals. CheMin’s XRF requirement was descoped for technical and budgetary reasons. However, X-ray energy discrimination is still required to separate Co?Kα from Co?Kβ and Fe?Kα photons. The X-ray energy-dispersive histograms (EDH) returned along with XRD for instrument evaluation should be useful in identifying elements Z>13 that are contained in the sample. The CheMin XRD is equipped with internal chemical and mineralogical standards and 27 reusable sample cells with either Mylar^? or Kapton^? windows to accommodate acidic-to-basic environmental conditions. The CheMin flight model (FM) instrument will be calibrated utilizing analyses of common samples against a demonstration-model (DM) instrument and CheMin-like laboratory instruments. The samples include phyllosilicate and sulfate minerals that are expected at Gale crater on the basis of remote sensing observations.     

The ARTEMIS Mission

The Acceleration, Reconnection, Turbulence, and Electrodynamics of the Moon??s Interaction with the Sun (ARTEMIS) mission is a spin-off from NASA??s Medium-class Explorer (MIDEX) mission THEMIS, a five identical micro-satellite (hereafter termed ??probe??) constellation in high altitude Earth-orbit since 17 February 2007. By repositioning two of the five THEMIS probes (P1 and P2) in coordinated, lunar equatorial orbits, at distances of ??55?C65 R _E geocentric (??1.1?C12 R _L selenocentric), ARTEMIS will perform the first systematic, two-point observations of the distant magnetotail, the solar wind, and the lunar space and planetary environment. The primary heliophysics science objectives of the mission are to study from such unprecedented vantage points and inter-probe separations how particles are accelerated at reconnection sites and shocks, and how turbulence develops and evolves in Earth??s magnetotail and in the solar wind. Additionally, the mission will determine the structure, formation, refilling, and downstream evolution of the lunar wake and explore particle acceleration processes within it. ARTEMIS??s orbits and instrumentation will also address key lunar planetary science objectives: the evolution of lunar exospheric and sputtered ions, the origin of electric fields contributing to dust charging and circulation, the structure of the lunar interior as inferred by electromagnetic sounding, and the lunar surface properties as revealed by studies of crustal magnetism. ARTEMIS is synergistic with concurrent NASA missions LRO and LADEE and the anticipated deployment of the International Lunar Network. It is expected to be a key element in the NASA Heliophysics Great Observatory and to play an important role in international plans for lunar exploration.     

肋角度和出流孔位置对流动特性的影响

针对带肋和双排出流孔通道,研究了肋角度和出流孔位置对流量系数分布和总压系数分布的影响.研究的肋角度为60°,90°和120°.出流孔分别位于相邻两肋之间距前肋1/4肋距、两肋中间、距后肋1/4肋距.研究表明:不同的肋角度和出流孔位置不改变流量系数和总压系数沿流向的分布规律;流量系数随肋角度增大而增大;60°和120°肋通道中总压系数绝对值接近且小于90°肋通道中的绝对值;两肋之间,出流孔位置靠近下游,将使流量系数增大,总压系数绝对值增大.      

Selection of the Mars Science Laboratory Landing Site

The selection of Gale crater as the Mars Science Laboratory landing site took over five years, involved broad participation of the science community via five open workshops, and narrowed an initial >50 sites (25 by 20?km) to four finalists (Eberswalde, Gale, Holden and Mawrth) based on science and safety. Engineering constraints important to the selection included: (1)?latitude (±30°) for thermal management of the rover and instruments, (2)?elevation (<?1?km) for sufficient atmosphere to slow the spacecraft, (3)?relief of <100–130?m at baselines of 1–1000?m for control authority and sufficient fuel during powered descent, (4)?slopes of <30° at baselines of 2–5?m for rover stability at touchdown, (5)?moderate rock abundance to avoid impacting the belly pan during touchdown, and (6)?a?radar-reflective, load-bearing, and trafficable surface that is safe for landing and roving and not dominated by fine-grained dust. Science criteria important for the selection include the ability to assess past habitable environments, which include diversity, context, and biosignature (including organics) preservation. Sites were evaluated in detail using targeted data from instruments on all active orbiters, and especially Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. All of the final four sites have layered sedimentary rocks with spectral evidence for phyllosilicates that clearly address the science objectives of the mission. Sophisticated entry, descent and landing simulations that include detailed information on all of the engineering constraints indicate all of the final four sites are safe for landing. Evaluation of the traversabilty of the landing sites and target “go to” areas outside of the ellipse using slope and material properties information indicates that all are trafficable and “go to” sites can be accessed within the lifetime of the mission. In the final selection, Gale crater was favored over Eberswalde based on its greater diversity and potential habitability.     

变冲角条件下等离子体对扩压叶栅性能的影响

进行了不同冲角、不同电压以及不同电极安装位置下等离子体对大折转角扩压叶栅性能的影响研究.结果表明,当冲角增大时,分离流动加剧是叶栅损失增加的主要原因,而端壁附面层内的摩擦损失则由于流向速度的减小反而减少;等离子体在三种工况下(i=0°,5°,-5°)均可有效控制栅内流动分离、减小叶栅损失、增加叶片负荷,电压越大、电极安装位置越接近分离起始位置,其控制效果越明显;随着冲角的增加,等离子体减小能量损失的效果减弱;虽然电极沿整个叶高方向布置,但等离子体仅对约10%叶高以上的损失影响较为明显,同一电压下该范围内各叶高处的损失减小量也基本相同.      

掠叶片对涡轮叶栅气动性能的影响

本文采用某后部加载叶型沿不同的轴向弯曲积叠线生成了前掠10°,20°和后掠10°,20°掠叶片以及直叶片,并对这五种涡轮静叶栅内的三维粘性流场进行了数值模拟。结果表明,后掠叶片在叶栅流道后部形成了C型压力分布,在此压力梯度作用下,端壁低能流体被吸到主流中,被主流带走,削弱了低能流体在端部的堆积,减小了流动损失。     

Ceramic ChemCam Calibration Targets on Mars Science Laboratory

The ChemCam instrument on the Mars Science Laboratory rover Curiosity will use laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) to analyze major and minor element chemistry from sub-millimeter spot sizes, at ranges of ～1.5–7?m. To interpret the emission spectra obtained, ten calibration standards will be carried on the rover deck. Graphite, Ti?metal, and four glasses of igneous composition provide primary, homogeneous calibration targets for the laser. Four granular ceramic targets have been added to provide compositions closer to soils and sedimentary materials like those expected at the Gale Crater field site on Mars. Components used in making these ceramics include basalt, evaporite, and phyllosilicate materials that approximate the chemical compositions of detrital and authigenic constituents of clastic and evaporite sediments, including the elevated sulfate contents present in many Mars sediments and soils. Powdered components were sintered at low temperature (800?°C) with a small amount (9?wt.%) of lithium tetraborate flux to produce ceramics that retain volatile sulfur yet are durable enough for the mission. The ceramic targets are more heterogeneous than the pure element and homogenous glass standards but they provide standards with compositions more similar to the sedimentary rocks that will be Curiosity’s prime targets at Gale Crater.     

Investigations of tip-jet and exhaust jet development in a ducted fan

The major aim of this work is to investigate the tip-jet and exhaust jet development in a ducted fan as well as the impact on the fan’s performance. The flow field of the ducted fans under the solidity varied from 0.2 to 0.7 are simulated by using the shear-stress transport k-ω turbulence model with a refined high-quality structured grid. The exhaust jet trajectory, expanding range and the flow intersection of the jet and mainstream in the blade passage are analyzed. As the results suggest, the flow direction of the exhaust jet is deflected by the downwash and Coanda effect. The major decay region of the exhaust jet can extend at least 2 times the blade chord downstream from the blade trailing edge. The blade circulation is impacted by the tip-jet rather than the exhaust jet from the upstream when the blade tip pitch angle is 8°, and the fan solidity is less than 0.7. The blade tip thrust is reduced by the interruption from the exhaust jet when the blade tip pitch angle is 2°, and the fan solidity is larger than 0.3.     

Electrochemical trepanning with an auxiliary electrode

Electrochemical trepanning (ET) is one of the main methods for processing the blisks in aero-engines. However, stray corrosion in ET has a very negative impact on the machining quality of the blades. This paper proposes an innovative ET method with an auxiliary electrode surrounding the inner wall of the cavity above the cathode. Two-dimensional electric-field models are established and simulations are carried out with the auxiliary electrode at different positions and different electric potentials. The electric-field simulations show that adding the auxiliary electrode reverses the directions of the current lines in the processed area, thereby protecting it. The results show that when the distance from the bottom of the auxiliary electrode to the top of the cathode tool is 3 mm and the potential difference between the auxiliary electrode and the anode workpiece is 5 V, the area corroded by stray current is decreased. Experiments are performed under the parameter values determined by the simulations, and they confirm that this method is effective at reducing stray corrosion. Specifically, at a feed rate of 2.5 mm/min, the blade taper angle is decreased from 1.37° to −0.09°, the thickness of the leading and trailing edges is increased from 0.307 mm to 0.704 mm, and the average surface roughness is decreased from S_a =8.239 μm to S_a=7.028 μm.     

The Dawn Ion Propulsion System

Dawn??s ion propulsion system (IPS) is the most advanced propulsion system ever built for a deep-space mission. Aside from the Mars gravity assist it provides all of the post-launch ??V required for the mission including the heliocentric transfer to Vesta, orbit capture at Vesta, transfer to various Vesta science orbits, escape from Vesta, the heliocentric transfer to Ceres, orbit capture at Ceres, and transfer to the different Ceres science orbits. The ion propulsion system provides a total ??V of nearly 11 km/s, comparable to the ??V provided by the 3-stage launch vehicle, and a total impulse of 1.2×10⁷ N?s.     

嫦娥探测器分段渐倾转移机构设计

巡视探测器转移机构是在地外空间环境执行巡视探测器转移释放任务的空间机构。与美国、苏联转移任务不同，中国探月工程（CLEP）二期着陆器采用腿式着陆缓冲机构及巡视器顶部搭载方式，转移任务沿着陆器周向展开距离及巡视器释放高度增加，转移难度增大。在设计阶段，转移机构是否符合探测任务严苛的工程约束及设计指标；在执行阶段，转移机构能否在月面非确知环境下正常展开、转移过程是否稳定可靠，是嫦娥探测器顺利完成探测任务的关键。为保障月球后续任务及火星探测任务中转移机构的设计需要，根据巡视器转移系统特点，以探月二期工程中首次探索并成功自主设计定型的嫦娥分段渐倾转移机构为例，对巡视器转移系统的组成、任务需求及设计约束予以阐述，并结合参研人员经验，对机构研制方案的选取、关键环节设计、工程状态及任务验证情况进行说明，以为后续工作及相关工程提供参考。     

Effects of coarse riblets on air flow structures over a slender delta wing using particle image velocimetry

This research investigates the aerodynamic performance and flow characteristics of a delta wing with 65° sweep angle and with coarse axial riblets,and then compares with that of a smooth-surface delta wing.Particle Image Velocimetry(PIV)were utilized to visualize the flow over the wing at 6 cross-sections upright to the wing surface and parallel to the wing span,as well as 3 longitudinal sections on the leading edge,symmetry plane,and a plane between them at Angles of Attack(AOA)=20°and 30°and Re=1.2×10~5,2.4×10~5,and 3.6×10~5.The effects of the riblets were studied on the vortices diameter,vortex breakdown location,vortices distance from the wing surface,flow lines pattern nearby the wing,circulation distribution,and separation.The results show that the textured model has a positive effect on some of the parameters related to drag reduction and lift increase.The riblets increase the flow momentum near the wing’s upper surface except near the apex.They also increase the flow momentum behind the wing.     

直射式气动雾化喷嘴对燃烧室性能的影响

为了深入分析燃油喷嘴对燃气轮机燃烧室性能的影响，针对燃气轮机燃烧室中的直射式气动雾化喷嘴开展了数值模 拟，获得了气流流量、燃油流量和气液比对雾化性能的影响规律，喷嘴的雾化性能参数包括雾化粒径和雾化锥角。结果表明：气液 比和气流流量对该型喷嘴的雾化性能有显著影响，燃油流量对雾化性能的影响较小；气液两相间相对速度是影响该型喷嘴雾化性 能的决定因素，相对速度增大有利于减小雾化粒径，并增大雾化锥角；气流流量和气液比的增大均有利于雾化粒径的减小，燃油流 量的增加将使雾化粒径增大；增大气流流量、气液比和减小燃油流量均可使雾化锥角增大；该型喷嘴的雾化锥角变化范围为 30.12°～41.24°，雾化粒径变化范围为131.46～ 186.52 μm。喷嘴可实现在较小的雾化锥角变化范围内获得较宽的雾化粒径变化， 以此匹配燃气轮机燃烧室不同工作状态，具有较高的实用价值。     

Analysis of Local Slopes at the InSight Landing Site on Mars

To evaluate the topography of the surface within the InSight candidate landing ellipses, we generated Digital Terrain Models (DTMs) at lander scales and those appropriate for entry, descent, and landing simulations, along with orthoimages of both images in each stereopair, and adirectional slope images. These products were used to assess the distribution of slopes for each candidate ellipse and terrain type in the landing site region, paying particular attention to how these slopes impact InSight landing and engineering safety, and results are reported here. Overall, this region has extremely low slopes at 1-meter baseline scales and meets the safety constraints of the InSight lander. The majority of the landing ellipse has a mean slope at 1-meter baselines of 3.2°. In addition, a mosaic of HRSC, CTX, and HiRISE DTMs within the final landing ellipse (ellipse 9) was generated to support entry, descent, and landing simulations and evaluations. Several methods were tested to generate this mosaic and the NASA Ames Stereo Pipeline program dem_mosaic produced the best results. For the HRSC-CTX-HiRISE DTM mosaic, more than 99 % of the mosaic has slopes less than 15°, and the introduction of artificially high slopes along image seams was minimized.