Study of a Coronal Mass Ejection with SOHO/UVCS and STEREO data

We study the 3-D kinematics of a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) using data acquired by the LASCO C2 and UVCS instruments on board SOHO, and the COR1 coronagraphs and EUVI telescopes on board STEREO. The event, which occurred on May 20, 2007, was a partial-halo CME associated with a prominence eruption. This is the first CME studied with UVCS data that occurred in the STEREO era. The longitudinal angle between the STEREO spacecrafts was ∼7.7° at that time, and this allowed us to reconstruct via triangulation technique the 3-D trajectory of the erupting prominence observed by STEREO/EUVI. Information on the 3-D expansion of the CME provided by STEREO/COR1 data have been combined with spectroscopic observations by SOHO/UVCS. First results presented here show that line-of-sight velocities derived from spectroscopic data are not fully in agreement with those previously derived via triangulation technique, thus pointing out possible limitations of this technique.     

Visualizing Impact Probabilities of Space Debris

We present a new method to assess and visualize the collision risk due to space debris for an orbiting spacecraft. It is based on a parameter space derived from Öpik's studies of close approaches between small Solar System bodies and the planets. By means of this representation, many useful insights into the dynamics of the overall debris population with respect to a selected target can be obtained. The method can also be applied to estimate the increase in impact hazard (e.g., for the International Space Station) associated to fragmentation events occurring on a specific orbit.     

Preliminary assessment of a small robotic rover for Titan exploration

Titan is a very interesting target in deep space exploration. With its solid surface on which a rover can easily travel and its methane lakes which can be sailed it is the ideal target for a deep space mission which includes a mobile platform. In the present paper the general layout of a rover for a mission to Titan is studied, dealing with the mobility, power generation and trajectory control issues. A four-wheels configuration with slip steering was chosen; to compare this solution with the more conventional strategy based on steering wheels, simulations were performed on some trajectories computed through the well known ‘potential’ method, using both slip steering and conventional steering control, for different vehicle speeds. The comparison between the simulated trajectories allows to state the adequateness of the proposed approach.The results here obtained apply not only to a future mission to Titan, but also to other missions designed for the exploration of the satellites of the outer planets having a size comparable with that of Titan and the largest Kuiper belt objects like Pluto and 136472 Makemake.     

精英阶层新风尚

目前,全球共有六百多个马球会,分布于世界三十多个国家,其数量也正在不断地增加。全球共有五十多个国家举办过马球赛事,由国际性法定认可组织(国际马球协会和国际骑术学会)规范,拥有全球共同规则。定期每三年一度的马球世界杯在不同国家举行,2004年届在法国举办,2007年的马球世界杯在墨西哥举行。马球是欧洲王室贵族、各国领袖的挚爱,醉心马球的名人包括英国王储查