SIGMA: Projet d'Observatoire spatial a haute resolution angulaire pour les sources de rayons gamma

(SIGMA: Project of a high resolution space observatory for gamma rays sources)—The SIGMA space observatory is designed to obtain images of the sky in the hard X-ray/low energy gamma-ray domain (30–2000 keV range), with an angular accuracy of a few are min, within a field of ～7° × 7°, and a sensitivity for point sources down to a level of a few 10^?6 photons cm^?2s^?1keV^?1 (exposure 24 hr). The instrument is designed using the principle of the coded aperture mask telescope with a position sensitive detector derived from the Anger gamma-camera which is used in nuclear medicine. The pseudo-images of the sky are accumulated on board and transmitted to the ground stations for decoding processing. The gross weight of the instrument is 750 kg and its overall dimensions are 3 m long and 1.2 m in diameter.     

SMESE (SMall Explorer for Solar Eruptions): A microsatellite mission with combined solar payload

The SMESE (SMall Explorer for Solar Eruptions) mission is a microsatellite proposed by France and China. The payload of SMESE consists of three packages: LYOT (a Lyman α imager and a Lyman α coronagraph), DESIR (an Infra-red Telescope working at 35–80 and 100–250 μm), and HEBS (a High Energy Burst Spectrometer working in X- and gamma-rays).     

THE WAVE EXPERIMENT CONSORTIUM (WEC)

In order to get the maximum scientific return from available resources, the wave experimenters on Cluster established the Wave Experiment Consortium (WEC). The WEC's scientific objectives are described, together with its capability to achieve them in the course of the mission. The five experiments and the interfaces between them are shown in a general block diagram (Figure 1). WEC has organised technical coordination for experiment pre-delivery tests and spacecraft integration, and has also established associated working groups for data analysis and operations in orbit. All science operations aspects of WEC have been worked out in meetings with wide participation of investigators from the five WEC teams.     

An attempt to determine the ideal psychological profiles for crews of long term space missions.

This paper reviews possible psychological criteria for selection at individual level (personality, psychological stability, competence, social skills) as well as at crew level (crew size, gender, compatability, group homeostasis). Once astronauts have been selected an important effort will have to be made pre-flight to prepare the crew to the autonomy necessary for a Mars trip. During the mission psychological support will be important, but probably limited by the mission constraints. At this stage, mission success will probably rely mainly on the capacity of the crew to prevent and manage crises internally. Post-flight psychological support is necessary to help astronauts to readapt to a normal way of life on Earth.     

Habitability constraints/objectives for a Mars manned mission: internal architecture considerations.

It is generally accepted that high quality internal environment shall strongly support crew's adaptation and acceptance to situation of long isolation and confinement. Thus, this paper is an attempt to determine to which extent the resulting stress corresponding to the anticipated duration of a trip to Mars (1 and a half years to 2 and a half years) could be decreased when internal architecture of the spacecraft is properly designed. It is assumed that artificial gravity shall be available on board the Mars spacecraft. This will of course have a strong impact on internal architecture as far as a 1-g oriented design will become mandatory, at least in certain inhabited parts of the spacecraft. The review of usual Habitability functions is performed according to the peculiarities of such an extremely long mission. A particular attention is paid to communications issues and the need for privacy. The second step of the paper addresses internal architecture issues through zoning analyses. Common, Service and Personal zones need to be adapted to the constraints associated with the extremely long duration of the mission. Furthermore, due to the nature of the mission itself (relative autonomy, communication problems, monotony) and the type of selected crew (personalities, group structure) the implementation of a "fourth zone", so-called "recreational" zone, seems to be needed. This zoning analysis is then translated into some internal architecture proposals, which are discussed and illustrated. This paper is concluded by a reflection on habitability and recommendations on volumetric requirements. Some ideas to validate proposed habitability items through simulation are also discussed.     

Is Memory for Routes Enhanced by an Environment's Richness in Visual Landmarks?

We tested the hypothesis that a route's memorability is dependent on the frequency with which people are exposed to visual landmarks. Undergraduates learned either a route through an urban area lacking visually salient features, or a route in a neighborhood with many shops and urban objects. They were then asked to recall the learned route in the form of route directions and sketch maps. The results showed higher recall performance for the richer environment. When presented with photographs depicting scenes along the route, participants exposed to the richer environment had higher recognition scores and shorter response times than the others. The data confirm the functional role of landmarks in route memory and wayfinding.     

ODYSSEY, Orbit Determination Software for the Pioneer Data Analysis

The Pioneer anomaly refers to the difference between the computed trajectories of the Pioneer 10 and 11 spacecrafts and their actual trajectories as observed through Doppler tracking. This difference has been described by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) as a constant anomalous acceleration. In order to perform an independent analysis, specific trajectography software, named ODYSSEY, has been developed. The paper will focus on the models implemented in this software and on the results obtained. The existence of a constant anomalous acceleration is confirmed with properties similar to those reported by JPL. Time dependent components of the anomaly are also found and discussed.     

A compact body mass measuring device for space flight applications.

During spaceflights, it is important to measure an astronaut's body mass ('weight'), both for investigating the influence of the space environment on the human body and for monitoring the physical (health) condition of the astronaut. This paper reports the development of a mass measuring device that is compact, user friendly, and has an absolute measuring accuracy better than 60 gram. The measurement accuracy turns out to be restricted by the way a human body is configured by nature and not by the instrument itself, that has an accuracy much better than required.     

Infrared space studies of Solar-System objects: The post-ISO era

The ISO mission is expected to allow significant progress in the study of Solar-System objects, especially concerning planetary and cometary atmospheres. Beyond ISO, future Solar-System studies using infrared space missions will require an extension of the spectral coverage toward longer wavelengths and increased spatial capabilities for imaging spectroscopy.     

Impact analysis of the transponder time delay on radio-tracking observables

Accurate tracking of probes is one of the key points of space exploration. Range and Doppler techniques are the most commonly used. In this paper we analyze the impact of the transponder delay, $i.e$. the processing time between reception and re-emission of a two-way tracking link at the satellite, on tracking observables and on spacecraft orbits. We show that this term, only partially accounted for in the standard formulation of computed space observables, can actually be relevant for future missions with high nominal tracking accuracies or for the re-processing of old missions. We present several applications of our formulation to Earth flybys, the NASA GRAIL and the ESA BepiColombo missions.