Orbital stability close to asteroid 624 Hektor using the polyhedral model

We investigate the orbital stability close to the unique L4-point Jupiter binary Trojan asteroid 624 Hektor. The gravitational potential of 624 Hektor is calculated using the polyhedron model with observational data of 2038 faces and 1021 vertexes. Previous studies have presented three different density values for 624 Hektor. The equilibrium points in the gravitational potential of 624 Hektor with different density values have been studied in detail. There are five equilibrium points in the gravitational potential of 624 Hektor no matter the density value. The positions, Jacobian, eigenvalues, topological cases, stability, as well as the Hessian matrix of the equilibrium points are investigated. For the three different density values the number, topological cases, and the stability of the equilibrium points with different density values are the same. However, the positions of the equilibrium points vary with the density value of the asteroid 624 Hektor. The outer equilibrium points move away from the asteroid’s mass center when the density increases, and the inner equilibrium point moves close to the asteroid’s mass center when the density increases. There exist unstable periodic orbits near the surface of 624 Hektor. We calculated an orbit near the primary’s equatorial plane of this binary Trojan asteroid; the results indicate that the orbit remains stable after 28.8375?d.     

Coupled Clouds and Chemistry of the Giant Planets— A Case for Multiprobes

In seeking to understand the formation of the giant planets and the origin of their atmospheres, the heavy element abundance in well-mixed atmosphere is key. However, clouds come in the way. Thus, composition and condensation are intimately intertwined with the mystery of planetary formation and atmospheric origin. Clouds also provide important clues to dynamical processes in the atmosphere. In this chapter we discuss the thermochemical processes that determine the composition, structure, and characteristics of the Jovian clouds. We also discuss the significance of clouds in the big picture of the formation of giant planets and their atmospheres. We recommend multiprobes at all four giant planets in order to break new ground.     

Europa planetary protection for Juno Jupiter Orbiter

NASA’s Juno mission launched in 2011 and will explore Jupiter and its near environment starting in 2016. Planetary protection requirements for avoiding the contamination of Europa have been taken into account in the Juno mission design. In particular Juno’s polar orbit, which enables scientific investigations of parts of Jupiter’s environment never before visited, also greatly assist avoiding close flybys of Europa and the other Galilean satellites.     

Return to Europa: Overview of the Jupiter Europa orbiter mission

Missions to explore Europa have been imagined ever since the Voyager mission first suggested that Europa was geologically very young. Subsequently, the Galileo spacecraft supplied fascinating new insights into this satellite of Jupiter. Now, an international team is proposing a return to the Jupiter system and Europa with the Europa Jupiter System Mission (EJSM). Currently, NASA and ESA are designing two orbiters that would explore the Jovian system and then each would settle into orbit around one of Jupiter’s icy satellites, Europa and Ganymede. In addition, the Japanese Aerospace eXploration Agency (JAXA) is considering a Jupiter magnetospheric orbiter and the Russian Space Agency is investigating a Europa lander.     

基于不同动力引力辅助模型的木星转移轨道设计

针对木星转移轨道设计中动力引力辅助模型选择问题展开了研究。首先,介绍了近心点机动和甩摆后机动2种动力引力辅助模型,给出了2种模型下最优脉冲机动速度增量的解算方法;然后,基于动力引力辅助模型,提出了包含引力辅助的行星际转移轨迹初始设计方法;最后,以木星探测任务转移轨迹设计为例,对比了不同动力引力辅助模型下探测器的燃料消耗情况。仿真结果表明:相比于甩摆后机动方式,近心点轨道机动方式更加节省燃料。基于近心点机动引力辅助模型,最终完成了金星-地球-地球引力辅助序列的木星转移轨迹初始设计,为我国未来采用引力辅助方式的深空探测任务提供了一定的参考。     

A possible flyby anomaly for Juno at Jupiter

In the last decades there have been an increasing interest in improving the accuracy of spacecraft navigation and trajectory data. In the course of this plan some anomalies have been found that cannot, in principle, be explained in the context of the most accurate orbital models including all known effects from classical dynamics and general relativity. Of particular interest for its puzzling nature, and the lack of any accepted explanation for the moment, is the flyby anomaly discovered in some spacecraft flybys of the Earth over the course of twenty years. This anomaly manifest itself as the impossibility of matching the pre and post-encounter Doppler tracking and ranging data within a single orbit but, on the contrary, a difference of a few mm/s in the asymptotic velocities is required to perform the fitting.Nevertheless, no dedicated missions have been carried out to elucidate the origin of this phenomenon with the objective either of revising our understanding of gravity or to improve the accuracy of spacecraft Doppler tracking by revealing a conventional origin.With the occasion of the Juno mission arrival at Jupiter and the close flybys of this planet, that are currently been performed, we have developed an orbital model suited to the time window close to the perijove. This model shows that an anomalous acceleration of a few mm/s² is also present in this case. The chance for overlooked conventional or possible unconventional explanations is discussed.     

The Planetary Laboratory for Image Analysis (PLIA)

The observation, characterization, and understanding of planetary atmospheres are key components of Solar System exploration. Their study requires, among other observations, the use of image data acquired from spacecrafts. The basic tasks that are generally used to work with planetary image data are: image navigation, projection, image processing, limb-darkening correction, composition of multiwavelength images and mosaicing. We illustrate the mathematical techniques required for the study of planetary images obtained from spacecrafts using as an example our own software package (PLIA). We present examples of analysis of Galileo SSI, Cassini ISS and Venus Express VIRTIS observations covering a large range of image peculiarities. The paper is organized as a guide for anyone willing to replicate one or several of the capabilities incorporated in the PLIA software. An open source version of PLIA for astronomical image processing is available.     

Miniaturized laser-induced plasma spectrometry for planetary in situ analysis – The case for Jupiter’s moon Europa

Jupiter’s icy moon Europa is one of most promising places in our Solar System where possible extraterrestrial life forms could exist either in the past or even presently. The Europa Lander mission, an exciting part of the international Europa Jupiter System Mission (EJSM/Laplace), considers in situ planetary exploration of the moon. The distance of Europa from the Earth and the Sun asks for autonomous analytical tools that maximize the scientific return at minimal resources, demanding new experimental concepts. We propose a novel instrument, based on the atomic spectroscopy of laser generated plasmas for the elemental analysis of Europa’s surface materials as far as it is in reach of the lander for example by a robotic arm or a mole, or just onboard the lander. The technique of laser-induced plasma spectrometry provides quantitative elemental analysis of all major and many trace elements. It is a fast technique, i.e. an analysis can be performed in a few seconds, which can be applied to many different types of material such as ice, dust or rocks and it does not require any sample preparation. The sensitivity is in the range of tens of ppm and high lateral resolution, down to 50 μm, is feasible. In addition, it provides the potential of depth profiling, up to 2 mm in rock material and up to a few cm in more transparent icy matrices. Key components of the instrument are presently developed in Germany for planetary in situ missions. This development program is accompanied by an in-depth methodical investigation of this technique under planetary environmental conditions.     

Charged particles on the Earth–Jupiter–Europa spacecraft trajectory

Charged particle fluxes on the trajectory of future Russian space research mission to Jupiter and its satellite Europa are investigated. The existing experimental data and models of Jupiter’s main magnetic field and radiation belts are summarized. Preliminary results of computations of energetic particle fluxes and radiation doses for each stage of the flight are given. Special attention is paid to estimation of radiation conditions in Europa’s orbit and on its surface; influence of the satellite on spatial distribution of the fluxes of charged particles of various energies is studied.     

木星磁场及磁场模型的对比分析

木星具有太阳系最强的行星磁场,是木星探测面临的基本环境。首先对磁场环境及其数学模型进行了调研,并在研究木星磁场模型以及磁场的数学原理的基础上,使用MATLAB数学工具实现了木星主磁场的计算,对VIP4、VIT4、O6和V1_17ev（eigenvector,特征向量）4个模型与磁测数据进行了对比及分析。研究结果表明这4个模型计算得到的磁场强度范围较为一致,但在全球磁场分布上存在差异,尤其是对磁南极位置的识别上,4个模型的结果都不相同;在对模型计算结果与探测数据的探讨分析中,发现4个模型与探测数据的符合较为一致,偏差均较小。可为木星探测的环境保障提供必要的理论基础和计算模型支撑。