Nonlinear dust Alfvén modes

Nonlinear modes are investigated in magnetized dusty plasmas, where the dust dynamics is modelled by a number of cold, highly negatively charged and very massive fluids, besides ordinary electrons and protons. Several low-frequency motions occur which are typical for the dust components, some of them described by model equations such as the derivative nonlinear Schrödinger equation for electromagnetic waves. One can include equilibrium drifts and even fluctuations in the grain charges. Most of the preceding conclusions are relevant for different kinds of astrophysical and heliospheric plasmas.     

Detonation waves induced by a confined wedge

An auto-ignition detonation phenomenon can be initiated by a wedge confined in a channel. A new, self-sustaining, normal detonation wave engine concept is proposed. The detonation processes were numerically modeled with a simplified two-dimensional wedged channel flow that was deemed to emulate a real three-dimensional configuration. The results showed that within certain ranges of incoming flow Mach number or wedge angle, detonation could be self ignited in the channel. The study furthermore investigated the detonation waves based on three different detonation initiation positions. Different configurations of the detonation waves were observed and analyzed. The performance of the different detonation wave configurations was estimated and compared.     

The EU should freeze its military ambitions in space

In a clear departure from previous policies and activities, the European Union, together with the European Space Agency, have embarked on a series of military and security related space activities in recent years, often under the umbrella of largely civilian programmes. Such dual-use space programmes not only silently introduce military use of space in the context of the EU, they are to become an integral and essential part of the EU’s growing military ambitions. While these ambitions are opposed by large sections of European society, the EU has made milspace projects a top priority, with no international answer yet to the real and growing risks of military rivalry in space.     

DPOD2014: A new DORIS extension of ITRF2014 for precise orbit determination

To support precise orbit determination of the altimetry missions, the International DORIS Service (IDS) regularly estimates the DPOD (DORIS terrestrial reference frame for Precise Orbit Determination) solution which includes mean positions and velocities of all the DORIS stations. This solution is aligned to the current realization of the International Terrestrial Reference Frame (ITRF) and so, can be seen as a DORIS extension of the ITRF. In 2016, moving to the IDS Combination Center, the DPOD construction scheme changed. The new DPOD solution is produced from a DORIS cumulative position and velocity solution. We present the new methodology used to compute DPOD2014 and its validation procedure. In order to present geophysical applications and interpretations of these results, we show two examples: (1) the Gorkha earthquake (M7.8 – April 2015) generates a 3-D mis-positioning of nearly 55?mm of the EVEB DORIS station at the Everest base camp 90?km from the epicenter. (2) Applying the results the DPOD2014 realization, we show that the most recent vertical velocity of Thule, Greenland is similar to that observed between 2006 and 2010, indicating further ongoing ice mass loss in the Thule region of northwest Greenland.     

Subcritical water extractor for Mars analog soil analysis

Abstract Technologies that enable rapid and efficient extraction of biomarker compounds from various solid matrices are a critical requirement for the successful implementation of in situ chemical analysis of the martian regolith. Here, we describe a portable subcritical water extractor that mimics multiple organic solvent polarities by tuning the dielectric constant of liquid water through adjustment of temperature and pressure. Soil samples, collected from the Yungay region of the Atacama Desert (martian regolith analogue) in the summer of 2005, were used to test the instrument's performance. The total organic carbon was extracted from the samples at concentrations of 0.2-55.4 parts per million. The extraction data were compared to the total organic carbon content in the bulk soil, which was determined via a standard analytical procedure. The instrument's performance was examined over the temperature range of 25-250 degrees C at a fixed pressure of 20.7 MPa. Under these conditions, water remains in a subcritical fluid state with a dielectric constant varying between approximately 80 (at 25 degrees C) and approximately 30 (at 250 degrees C).     

Fault diagnostics and fault tolerant control

A novel simultaneous fault detection and diagnostics (FDD) and fault tolerant control (FTC) strategy for nonlinear stochastic systems in closed loops based on a continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR) is presented. The purpose of control is to track the reactant concentration setpoint. Instead of output feedback we propose here to use proportional-integral-derivative (PID) state feedback, which is shown essential to achieve FTC against sensor faults. A new concept of “equivalent bias” is proposed to model the sensor faults. Both the states and the equivalent bias are on-line estimated by a pseudo separate-bias estimation algorithm. The estimated equivalent bias is then evaluated via a modified Bayes' classification based algorithm to detect and diagnose the sensor faults. Many kinds of sensor faults are tested by Monte Carlo simulations, which demonstrate that the proposed strategy has definite fault tolerant ability against sensor faults, moreover the sensor faults can be on-line detected, isolated, and estimated simultaneously     

Radio science investigations with Voyager

The planned radio science investigations during the Voyager missions to the outer planets involve: (1) the use of the radio links to and from the spacecraft for occultation measurements of planetary and satellite atmospheres and ionospheres, the rings of Saturn, the solar corona, and the general-relativistic time delay for radiowave propagation through the Sun's gravity field; (2) radio link measurements of true or apparent spacecraft motion caused by the gravity fields of the planets, the masses of their larger satellites, and characteristics of the interplanetary medium; and (3) related measurements which could provide results in other areas, including the possible detection of long-wavelength gravitational radiation propagating through the Solar System. The measurements will be used to study: atmospheric and ionospheric structure, constituents, and dynamics; the sizes, radial distribution, total mass, and other characteristics of the particles in the rings of Saturn; interior models for the major planets and the mean density and bulk composition of a number of their satellites; the plasma density and dynamics of the solar corona and interplanetary medium; and certain fundamental questions involving gravitation and relativity. The instrumentation for these experiments is the same ground-based and spacecraft radio systems as will be used for tracking and communicating with the Voyager spacecraft, although several important features of these systems have been provided primarily for the radio science investigations.