Origin of planetary atmospheres

The near absence of noble gases on earth, other than those of radioactive origin, indicates that the earth was formed by the accumulation of planetesimals; this process systematically excluded all constituents that did not enter into the solid phase. The atmosphere and the ocean with many of its dissolved salts have arisen from gases emitted from the earth's interior, a process that continues today. The oxygen in the earth's atmosphere plus a greater quantity that has been removed from the atmosphere to oxidize geologic materials, has arisen mainly from a small excess of photosynthesis over decay of organic material. The atmospheres of Mars and Venus have probably arisen in a manner similar to the atmosphere on earth, by emission from the planetary interiors. However, they have not received any oxygen from photosynthesis and so are nearly oxygen free. Mars has very little water in its atmosphere, and this can be explained by its lower than freezing average surface temperature. Venus also has very little water, and this requires an ad hoc explanation; one possibility is that Venus was formed from much drier planetesimals than was the earth. Mercury and the moon are virtually without atmospheres. Although some gases may be emitted from their interiors, they are presumably rapidly lost by escape. Whatever atmosphere they possess is probably due to the neutralized solar wind that impinges upon them. The outer planets retained volatiles, including hydrogen and helium, to a much greater extent than did the terrestrial planets.     

Molecular spectroscopy of planetary atmospheres

Summary Clearly spectroscopy has already provided considerable insight into the nature of the planetary atmospheres. Several molecular constituents have been positively identified and upper limits have been placed on the abundances of others which are of particular significance in devising planetary models. But, equally clearly, the inadequacy of the spectral data, due to low spectral and/or spatial resolution, renders deductions of abundances, temperatures and pressures very uncertain. With the sole exception of the Martian CO₂ abundance, knowledge of the concentrations of planetary atmospheric constituents is unsatisfactory, and all numbers given must be regarded as only crude estimates. This latter comment applies equally well to the derived temperatures and pressures.What is urgently needed is the development of a reasonably complete theory of line formation in planetary atmospheres. This, coupled with more detailed spectroscopic work, should produce numerical values of atmospheric parameters which can be used with assurance.This work was performed with the aid of NASA Grant NsG-101-61 with funds administered by the University of California.     

Physical studies of the planetary rings

In this review paper, the physical properties of the Saturnian and Uranian rings as derived from ground-based observations are first discussed. Focus is then shifted to the study of the orbital dynamics of the ring particles. Numerical simulations of the evolutionary history of a system of colliding particles in differential rotation together with theoretical modelling of the inelastic collision processes are surveyed. In anticipation of the information returned from in situ measurements by space probes, interactions of the planetary rings with the interplanetary meteoroids and planetary magnetospheres are briefly considered. Finally, models of planetary ring origin are examined. In this connection, some recent work on the satellite resonant perturbation effects on the ring structure are also touched upon.     

In search of other planetary systems

Numerous recent developments have led to an increasing awareness of and interest in the detection of other planetary systems. A brief review of the modern history of this subject is presented with emphasis on the status of data concerning Barnard's star. A discussion is given of plausible observable effects of other planetary systems with numerical examples to indicate the nature of the detection problem. Possible types of information (in addition to discovery) that observations of these effects might yield (e.g., planetary mass and temperature) are outlined. Also discussed are various candidate detection techniques (e.g., astrometric observations) which might be employed to conduct a search, the current state-of-the-art of these techniques in terms of measurement accuracy, and the capability of existing or planned facilities (e.g., space telescope) to perform a search. Finally, consideration is given to possible search strategies and the scope of a comprehensive search program.     

Light scattering in planetary atmospheres

This paper reviews scattering theory required for analysis of light reflected by planetary atmospheres. Section 1 defines the radiative quantities which are observed. Section 2 demonstrates the dependence of single-scattered radiation on the physical properties of the scatterers. Section 3 describes several methods to compute the effects of multiple scattering on the reflected light.     

Fourier spectroscopy in planetary research

The application of Fourier Transform Spectroscopy (FTS) to planetary research is reviewed. The survey includes FTS observations of the Sun, all the planets except Uranus and Pluto, the Galilean satellites and Saturn's rings. Instrumentation and scientific results are considered. The prospects and limitations of FTS for planetary research in the forthcoming years are discussed.     

Recent advances in planetary ionospheres

Recent results on the ionospheres of various planets are reviewed. In view of the large amount of data now available on Venus, much of the work relates to this planet. The outer planets received somewhat less attention partly due to lack of measurements in the post-Voyager era. Two outer planetary satellites, that of Titan and Triton present very interesting ionospheres and have been included in the review.     

Communication system architecture for planetary exploration

Future human missions to Mars will require effective communications supporting exploration activities and scientific field data collection. Constraints on cost, size, weight, and power consumption for all communications equipment make optimization of these systems very important. These information and communication systems connect people and systems together into coherent teams performing the difficult and hazardous tasks inherent in planetary exploration. The communication network supporting vehicle telemetry data, mission operations, and scientific collaboration must have excellent reliability and flexibility. We propose hybrid communication architectures consisting of space-based links, a surface-based deployable mid-range communications network and a cluster of short-range links to solve the problems of connectivity and bandwidth, while meeting the other constraints of weight and power. A network of orbiting satellites could cover much of the planet surface, but this space-based capability may not be optimal for cost or performance. Specifically, a minimal space-based capability can be augmented using mobile cellular repeaters deployable by robots and human EVA. This method results in an increase in the number of radio nodes, but the distances separating them is decreased. This results in a significant increase in bandwidth and decrease in radio power, and therefore, node size, complexity, and power consumption. This paper will discuss the results of field testing such hybrid radio systems for the support of scientific surveys. System analysis of design tradeoffs will yield insight into optimal solutions that will be compared to other approaches providing a method of effectively evaluating new candidate architectures     

含行星架裂纹故障的行星齿轮箱振动仿真

为深入了解行星架裂纹故障振动频谱结构,提出一种考虑时变传递路径和行星轮系载荷非均匀分配的振动仿真模型。根据裂纹导致的行星轮角位移函数,分析了行星轮角位移对行星轮系载荷分配特性的影响,仿真分析了行星架裂纹导致的行星轮角位移和行星轮系载荷非均匀分配下的频谱边带结构。仿真结果表明：行星轮个数为3时,边频带仅受行星轮角位移影响,随行星轮个数增加到4、5时,频谱边带受行星轮角位移和载荷分配共同影响,阶比谱出现以行星架旋转阶次为间隔的调制边带成分。通过对比行星轮个数为3的齿轮箱仿真与实测信号的阶比谱边带结构,验证了模型的有效性。     

Vision-aided inertial navigation for pinpoint planetary landing

Autonomous and safe landing spacecraft on moon and planetary bodies is a rather difficult and risky task. Accurate relative navigation between the spacecraft and the planetary surface is essential, together with the autonomous hazard detection and avoidance. This paper describes the vision-aided inertial navigation (VAIN) scheme to meet the pinpoint landing requirement of the next generation planetary lander. Images of distinctive surface feature called feature points/landmarks are detected and tracked autonomously to improve the performance of inertial navigation. Landmark image information derived from optical navigation camera and the spacecraft state information sensed by IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit) are integrated in extended Kalman filter algorithm. The validity of the proposed navigation scheme is confirmed by computer simulation.     

行星机构的可靠性分析与计算

行星机构的结构设计缺陷、制造与安装误差、支撑构件刚度不足等原因可能会使系统发生一定程度的偏载,从而会影响整个机构的使用寿命与可靠性。利用最小次序统计量的概念建立了行星齿轮系的可靠度计算模型,模型反映了偏载对齿轮系可靠性的影响。首先,对行星机构进行了详细的运动学和力学分析,计算得到了各个齿轮的随机载荷历程。根据Miner线性疲劳累积损伤法则,将随机载荷历程转化为等效恒幅载荷谱,并将其作为可靠性模型的载荷输入变量。然后,将特定齿轮的疲劳寿命数据进行统计处理,将统计结果作为可靠性模型的强度输入变量。最后,根据模型的计算结果定量地说明了偏载对行星齿轮系可靠性的影响程度,同时利用随机截尾数据处理方法对可靠性模型的有效性进行了验证。     

公-自转耦合的滚针轴承保持架振动特性

建立了含公-自转耦合的行星轮滚针轴承动力学微分方程组,采用gear stiff（GSTIFF）变步长积分算法对微分方程组进行求解,对比研究了有无公转工况下保持架的打滑率和振动特性,分析了公-自转耦合工况下结构参数和工况参数对两者的影响。结果表明:纯自转工况下保持架振动加速度幅频图各倍频处对应1个幅值,公-自转耦合工况下各倍频处对应2个幅值;在公-自转耦合工况下,保持架振动幅值随径向力和公转速度的增大而增大,随自转速度的增大而减小,存在一个最优间隙比,即间隙比为1左右时使保持架振动幅值最小;保持架打滑率变化趋势与纯自转时一致,但数值减小且减幅越来越大;综上,公-自转耦合工况下会增大保持架径向振动特性,减小周向振动特性。      

Tracking of DABS-Equipped Aircraft

The Discrete Address Beacon System (DABS) is scheduled to replace the Air Traffic Control Beacon System (ATCRBS) as the prime sensing tool for air traffic control in the 1980's. The design of DABS requires knowledge of the tracking accuracy obtainable as a function of various system parameters. In particular, the potential value of air-to-ground telemetry of turn-rate data and its effect on intermittent positive control (IPC) must be assessed. The design of DABS tracking algorithms is discussed, and the results obtained with a Kalman tracker simulation are given. The major finding is that turn-rate telemetry of moderate accuracy can improve tracking by a factor of 6 to 10.     

Gemini Orbital Tracking

One purpose of the GEMINI program is to study the problem of and establish techniques associated with acquisition, tracking, and photography of terrestrial objects from the orbiting spacecraft. This paper describes a ground-based simulation which was performed to obtain a realistic understanding of this problem and to provide the astronauts with preflight experience. The results presented evaluate the test subjects' performance in terms of tracking-rate errors, position errors, and fuel consumption for various orbital altitudes and target offsets.     

直升机行星传动轮系故障诊断研究进展

行星传动轮系是直升机传动系统的核心部件,是直升机健康和使用监测系统(HUMS)重要的监测对象。直升机行星传动轮系具有结构复杂紧凑、组件繁多、工况瞬时多变以及使用环境恶劣等特点,导致直升机行星传动轮系振动信号污染严重、成分复杂,具有较强的非平稳性和耦合调制特征。另外复杂的故障模式、较少的故障样本,也都增加了直升机行星传动轮系故障诊断的难度。面对这些难题,研究人员在基于信号降噪与信号分离、时频分析与解耦解调、数学建模与模式识别的故障诊断技术上取得了丰硕的成果。面对仍然存在的一些亟待研究和解决的问题,提出了直升机行星传动轮系故障诊断技术的研究方向以及未来的发展趋势。