Asymmetries in Mars' Exosphere

Observations and simulations show that Mars' atmosphere has large seasonal variations. Total atmospheric density can have an order of magnitude latitudinal variation at exobase heights. By numerical simulations we show that these latitude variations in exobase parameters induce asymmetries in the hydrogen exosphere that propagate to large distances from the planet. We show that these asymmetries in the exosphere produce asymmetries in the fluxes of energetic neutral atoms (ENAs) and soft X-rays produced by charge exchange between the solar wind and exospheric hydrogen. This could be an explanation for asymmetries that have been observed in ENA and X-ray fluxes at Mars.     

High energy-density propulsion—reducing the risk to humans in planetary exploration

The potential benefits to humankind of space exploration are tremendous. Space is not only the final frontier but is also the next marketplace. The orbital space above Earth offers tremendous opportunities for both strategic assets and commercial development. The critical obstacle retarding the use of the space around the Earth is the lack of low cost access to orbit. Further out, the next giant leap for mankind will be the human exploration of Mars. Almost certainly within the next 30 years, a human crew will brave the isolation, the radiation, and the lack of gravity to walk on and explore the Red planet. Both of these missions will change the outlook and perspective of every human being on the planet. However, these missions are expensive and extremely difficult. Chemical propulsion has demonstrated an inability to achieve orbit cheaply and is a very high-risk option to accomplish the Mars mission. An alternative solution is to develop a high performance propulsion system. Nuclear propulsion has the potential to be such a system. The question will be whether humanity is willing to take on the challenge.     

火星探测用降落伞研制试验简介

文章主要介绍了美国火星探测用降落伞研制过程以及在研制过程中的一些主要试验，并同时指出了试验中的一些特点。     

Global Response of Martian Plasma Environment to an Interplanetary Structure: From Ena and Plasma Observations at Mars

As a part of the global plasma environment study of Mars and its response to the solar wind, we have analyzed a peculiar case of the subsolar energetic neutral atom (ENA) jet observed on June 7, 2004 by the Neutral Particle Detector (NPD) on board the Mars Express satellite. The “subsolar ENA jet” is generated by the interaction between the solar wind and the Martian exosphere, and is one of the most intense sources of ENA flux observed in the vicinity of Mars. On June 7, 2004 (orbit 485 of Mars Express), the NPD observed a very intense subsolar ENA jet, which then abruptly decreased within ∼10 sec followed by quasi-periodic (∼1 min) flux variations. Simultaneously, the plasma sensors detected a solar wind structure, which was most likely an interplanetary shock surface. The abrupt decrease of the ENA flux and the quasi-periodic flux variations can be understood in the framework of the global response of the Martian plasma obstacle to the interplanetary shock. The generation region of the subsolar ENA jet was pushed towards the planet by the interplanetary shock; and therefore, Mars Express went out of the ENA jet region. Associated global vibrations of the Martian plasma obstacle may have been the cause of the quasi-periodic flux variations of the ENA flux at the spacecraft location.     

火星探测直接转移轨道精确求解研究

针对火星探测直接转移轨道精确求解问题, 提出了一种快速微分修正算法. 基于二体模型建立控制参数和目标参数偏差关系的数学模型, 并由此求解系统的偏导数矩阵; 采用B平面参数作为中间变量, 对算法进行两层迭代设计, 有效地减少了求解过程中的积分运算次数. 以2018年火星探测机会为例对算法进行了验证, 仿真结果表明, 利用圆锥曲线拼接法得到的轨道初值, 求解一条标准轨道只需6~9次积分迭代. 通过STK对计算结果进行了对比和验证.      

A Revisit of the Phobos Events

The magnetic field disturbances detected by the Phobos-2 spacecraft in 1989 have been suggested to be caused by a ring of dust and/or gas emitted from the Martian moon, Phobos. The physical nature of these ``Phobos events' is examined using results from related investigations over the last twenty years. It is concluded that there is no clear evidence at present to support the association of magnetic field disturbances in the solar wind with Phobos. The situation will be further clarified taking advantage of the multi-spacecraft observations of the Yinghuo-1(YH-1), Mars Express and MAVEN missions beginning in 2012. It is expected that many novel features of solar wind interaction with Phobos (and possibly also Deimos) itself will also be revealed.      

Autonomous navigation of Mars probe using X-ray pulsars: Modeling and results

Autonomous navigation of Mars probe is a main challenge due to the lack of dense ground tracking network measurements. In this paper, autonomous navigation of the Mars probe Orbits is investigated using the X-ray pulsars. A group of X-ray pulsars with high ranging accuracy are selected based on their properties and an adaptive extended Kalman filter is developed to incorporate the Mars probe dynamics and pulsar-based ranging measurements. Results of numerical experiment show that the three-dimensional positioning accuracy can achieve 750m in X-axis, 220m in Y-axis and 230m in Z-axis, which is much better than the positioning results by current Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) or Doppler observations with the accuracy of 150 km or several kilometers, respectively.     

Powered-descent trajectory optimization scheme for Mars landing

This paper presents a trajectory optimization scheme for powered-descent phase of Mars landing with considerations of disturbance. Firstly, θ–D$\theta ''–''D$ method is applied to design a suboptimal control law with descent model in the absence of disturbance. Secondly, disturbance is estimated by disturbance observer, and the disturbance estimation is as feedforward compensation. Then, semi-global stability analysis of the composite controller consisting of the nonlinear suboptimal controller and the disturbance feedforward compensation is proposed. Finally, to verify the effectiveness of proposed control scheme, an application including relevant simulations on a Mars landing mission is demonstrated.     

萤火一号火星探测器轨道设计与科学探测事件分析

针对萤火一号火星探测器在2011年发射窗口的轨道进行初步设计.在此基础上,分析了萤火一号火星探测器绕火星飞行的轨道特性,预报其穿越火星弓激波和磁堆积区域、CCD相机拍照时刻,其与深空站进行星-地掩星试验和与俄罗斯Phobos-Grunt火星探测器进行星-星掩星试验的时刻.结果表明,萤火一号火星探测器在与俄罗斯Phobos-Grunt分离后一年的环火飞行时间里,存在大量的科学探测机会.