A mars communication constellation for human exploration and network science

This paper analyses the possibility of exploiting a small spacecrafts constellation around Mars to ensure a complete and continuous coverage of the planet, for the purpose of supporting future human and robotic operations and taking advantage of optical transmission techniques. The study foresees such a communications mission to be implemented at least after 2020 and a high data-rate requirement is imposed for the return of huge scientific data from massive robotic exploration or to allow video transmissions from a possible human outpost.     

Italian industry's approach to space

European space activities began in the 1960's. The development of what was initially scientific research and which later spread to the enthusiastic involvement of Europe's most advanced industry is by now familiar history. The organization of ELDO and ESRO, which eventually gave way to today's ESA, occured in a span of less than a decade. Many major European countries also commenced their national space programmes during this period. This report examines the space initiatives taken by Italian industry.     

A hybrid,self-adjusting search algorithm for optimal space trajectory design

The aim of the present paper is to propose a hybrid, self adjusting, search algorithm for space trajectory optimization. By taking advantage of both direct and indirect methods, the present algorithm allows the finding of the optimal solution through the introduction of some new control parameters, whose number is smaller than that of the Lagrange multipliers, and whose range is bounded. Eventually, the optimal solution is determined by means of an iterative self-adjustment of the search domain occurring at “runtime”, without any correction by an external user. This new set of parameters can be found through a reduction process of the degrees of freedom, obtained through the transversality conditions before entering the search loop. Furthermore, such a process shows that Lagrange multipliers are subject to a deep symmetry mirroring the features of the state vector. The algorithm reliability and efficiency is assessed through some test cases, and by reproducing some optimal transfer trajectories: a full three-dimensional, minimum time Mars mission, an optimal transfer to Jupiter, and finally an injection into a circular Moon orbit.     

JIRAM,the Jovian Infrared Auroral Mapper

JIRAM is an imager/spectrometer on board the Juno spacecraft bound for a polar orbit around Jupiter. JIRAM is composed of IR imager and spectrometer channels. Its scientific goals are to explore the Jovian aurorae and the planet’s atmospheric structure, dynamics and composition. This paper explains the characteristics and functionalities of the instrument and reports on the results of ground calibrations. It discusses the main subsystems to the extent needed to understand how the instrument is sequenced and used, the purpose of the calibrations necessary to determine instrument performance, the process for generating the commanding sequences, the main elements of the observational strategy, and the format of the scientific data that JIRAM will produce.     

A high-order SPH method by introducing inverse kernels

The smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) method is usually expected to be an effi-cient numerical tool for calculating the fluid-structure interactions in compressors; however, an endogenetic restriction is the problem of low-order consistency. A high-order SPH method by intro-ducing inverse kernels, which is quite easy to be implemented but efficient, is proposed for solving this restriction. The basic inverse method and the special treatment near boundary are introduced with also the discussion of the combination of the Least-Square (LS) and Moving-Least-Square (MLS) methods. Then detailed analysis in spectral space is presented for people to better under-stand this method. Finally we show three test examples to verify the method behavior.     

Validation of numerical prediction of dynamic derivatives: The DLR-F12 and the Transcruiser test cases

The dynamic derivatives are widely used in linear aerodynamic models in order to determine the flying qualities of an aircraft: the ability to predict them reliably, quickly and sufficiently early in the design process is vital in order to avoid late and costly component redesigns. This paper describes experimental and computational research dealing with the determination of dynamic derivatives carried out within the FP6 European project SimSAC. Numerical and experimental results are compared for two aircraft configurations: a generic civil transport aircraft, wing-fuselage-tail configuration called the DLR-F12 and a generic Transonic CRuiser, which is a canard configuration. Static and dynamic wind tunnel tests have been carried out for both configurations and are briefly described within this paper. The data generated for both the DLR-F12 and TCR configurations include force and pressure coefficients obtained during small amplitude pitch, roll and yaw oscillations while the data for the TCR configuration also include large amplitude oscillations, in order to investigate the dynamic effects on nonlinear aerodynamic characteristics. In addition, dynamic derivatives have been determined for both configurations with a large panel of tools, from linear aerodynamic (Vortex Lattice Methods) to CFD. This work confirms that an increase in fidelity level enables the dynamic derivatives to be calculated more accurately. Linear aerodynamics tools are shown to give satisfactory results but are very sensitive to the geometry/mesh input data. Although all the quasi-steady CFD approaches give comparable results (robustness) for steady dynamic derivatives, they do not allow the prediction of unsteady components for the dynamic derivatives (angular derivatives with respect to time): this can be done with either a fully unsteady approach i.e. with a time-marching scheme or with frequency domain solvers, both of which provide comparable results for the DLR-F12 test case. As far as the canard configuration is concerned, strong limitations for the linear aerodynamic tools are observed. A key aspect of this work are the acceleration techniques developed for CFD methods, which allow the computational time to be dramatically reduced while providing comparable results.     

Responses of haloarchaea to simulated microgravity

Various effects of microgravity on prokaryotes have been recognized in recent years, with the focus on studies of pathogenic bacteria. No archaea have been investigated yet with respect to their responses to microgravity. For exposure experiments on spacecrafts or on the International Space Station, halophilic archaea (haloarchaea) are usually embedded in halite, where they accumulate in fluid inclusions. In a liquid environment, these cells will experience microgravity in space, which might influence their viability and survival. Two haloarchaeal strains, Haloferax mediterranei and Halococcus dombrowskii, were grown in simulated microgravity (SMG) with the rotary cell culture system (RCCS, Synthecon). Initially, salt precipitation and detachment of the porous aeration membranes in the RCCS were observed, but they were avoided in the remainder of the experiment by using disposable instead of reusable vessels. Several effects were detected, which were ascribed to growth in SMG: Hfx. mediterranei's resistance to the antibiotics bacitracin, erythromycin, and rifampicin increased markedly; differences in pigmentation and whole cell protein composition (proteome) of both strains were noted; cell aggregation of Hcc. dombrowskii was notably reduced. The results suggest profound effects of SMG on haloarchaeal physiology and cellular processes, some of which were easily observable and measurable. This is the first report of archaeal responses to SMG. The molecular mechanisms of the effects induced by SMG on prokaryotes are largely unknown; haloarchaea could be used as nonpathogenic model systems for their elucidation and in addition could provide information about survival during lithopanspermia (interplanetary transport of microbes inside meteorites).     

Lense-Thirring Precession in the Astrophysical Context

This paper surveys some of the astrophysical environments in which the effects of Lense-Thirring precession and, more generally, frame dragging are expected to be important. We concentrate on phenomena that can probe in situ the very strong gravitational field and single out Lense-Thirring precession in the close vicinity of accreting neutron stars and black holes: these are the fast quasi periodic oscillations in the X-ray flux of accreting compact objects. We emphasise that the expected magnitude of Lense-Thirring/frame dragging effects in the regions where these signals originate are large and thus their detection does not pose a challenge; rather it is the interpretation of these phenomena that needs to be corroborated through deeper studies. Relativistic precession in the spin axis of radio pulsars hosted in binary systems hosting another neutron star has also been measured. The remarkable properties of the double pulsar PSR J0737–3039 has opened a new perspective for testing the predictions of general relativity also in relation to the precession of spinning bodies.     

Buffering Fuzzy Maps in GIS

In this paper, we show how standard GIS operations like the complement, union, intersection, and buffering of maps can be made more flexible by using fuzzy set theory. In particular, we present a variety of algorithms for operations on fuzzy raster maps, focusing on buffer operations for such maps. Furthermore, we show how widely-available special-purpose hardware (in particular, z-buffering in graphics hardware) can be used for supporting buffer operations in fuzzy geographic information systems (GIS).     

Chicxulub and climate: radiative perturbations of impact-produced S-bearing gases

We use one-dimensional (1D) atmospheric models coupled to a sulfate aerosol model to investigate climate forcing and short-term response to stratospheric sulfate aerosols produced by the reaction of S-bearing gases and water vapor released in the Chicxulub impact event. A 1D radiation model is used to assess the climate forcing due to the impact-related loading of S-bearing gases. The model suggests that a climate forcing 100 times larger than that from the Pinatubo volcanic eruption is associated with the Chicxulub impact event for at least 2 years after the impact. In particular, we find a saturation effect in the forcing, that is, there is no significant difference in the maximum forcing between the highest (approximately 300 Gt) and lowest (approximately 30 Gt) estimated stratospheric S-loading from the Chicxulub impact. However, higher S-loads increase the overall duration of the forcing by several months. We use a single column model for a preliminary investigation of the short-term climate response to the impact-related production of sulfate aerosols (the lack of horizontal feedbacks limits the usefulness of the single column model to the first few days after the impact). Compared with the present steady-state climate, the introduction of large amounts of sulfate aerosols in the stratosphere results in a significant cooling of the Earth's surface. A long-term climate response can only be investigated with the use of a three-dimensional atmospheric model, which allows for the atmospheric circulation to adjust to the perturbation. Overall, although the climate perturbation to the forcing appears to be relatively large, the geologic record shows no sign of a significant long-term climatic shift across the K/T boundary, which is indicative of a fast post-impact climatic recovery.