Identification and characteristics of source flares emitting 3-He or Fe enriched cosmic rays in the period September to December 1977

During the observation of solar cosmic rays on the Prognoz 6 and Helios 1 and 2 spacecrafts, several events with anomalous composition of accelerated particles (higher abundance of 3-He or Fe nuclei) occurred. We found seven such events from the period September to December 1977 for which data from the Prognoz 6 solar X-ray photometer are available. This material together with published optical and radio data from terrestrial observatories enabled us to identify more reliably the source flares and describe their characteristics. It turned out that the character of X-ray emission accompanying the emission of accelerated particles with anomalous composition shows no pronounced difference from other flares. No correlation has been found among the ratio 3-He/4-He and the angular distance between the field lines connected with the source flare and the place of observation. If a solar flare with anomalous ratio 3-He/4-He appears in a given active region, this region will probably produce other anomalous events.     

Synthetic aperture radar capabilities for snow and glacier monitoring

The potential of SAR systems for monitoring the seasonal snow cover and glaciers has been investigated based on an airborne experiment in the Austrian Alps and on Seasat SAR and Shuttle Imaging Radar-A data. X- and C-band SAR are useful sensors for mapping wet snow packs, while in L-band snow-covered and snow-free surfaces often cannot be separated. SAR data in all three frequency bands provide valuable glaciological information.     

Land mobile satellite propagation experiments in Kyoto City

In February of 1990, land mobile satellite propagation experiments were conducted in Kyoto City, Japan, using the Engineering Test Satellite V (ETS-V). The signal transmitted from the satellite was received and recorded at a mobile unit moving in different streets of the downtown area. The streets chosen have typical downtown medium and high rise buildings, electric utility poles, trees, etc., which caused obstruction to the satellite line of sight. The propagation characteristics such as fade/nonfade distribution, joint fade and nonfade distribution, phase distribution, and their dependence on the antenna type are discussed for the measured link. Error characteristics in digital communication for the above link have been qualitatively analyzed on the basis of the measured signal level fluctuation. Effect of interleaving and coding to improve the communication link is also discussed     

Low energy ions in the heavy ions in space (HIIS) experiment on LDEF.

We present data from the Lexan top stacks in the Heavy Ions In Space (HIIS) experiment which was flown for six years (April 1984-Jan 1990) onboard the LDEF spacecraft in 28.5 degrees orbit at about 476 km altitude. HIIS was built of passive (i.e. no timing resolution) plastic track detectors which collected particles continuously over the entire mission. In this paper we present data on low energy heavy ions (10 < or = Z, 20MeV/nuc < E < 200 MeV/nuc). These ions are far below the geomagnetic cutoff for fully ionized ions in the LDEF orbit even after taking into account the severe cutoff suppression caused by occasional large geomagnetic storms during the LDEF mission. Our preliminary results indicate an unusual elemental composition of trapped particles in the inner magnetosphere during the LDEF mission, including both trapped anomalous cosmic ray species (Ne, Ar) and other elements (such as Mg and Fe) which are not found in the anomalous component of cosmic rays. The origin of the non-anomalous species is not understood, but they may be associated with the solar energetic particle events and geomagnetic disturbances of 1989.     

ExoMars 2016 Schiaparelli Module Trajectory and Atmospheric Profiles Reconstruction

On 19^th October 2016 Schiaparelli module of the ExoMars 2016 mission flew through the Mars atmosphere. After successful entry and descent under parachute, the module failed the last part of the descent and crashed on the Mars surface. Nevertheless the data transmitted in real-time by Schiaparelli during the entry and descent, together with the entry state vector as initial condition, have been used to reconstruct both the trajectory and the profiles of atmospheric density, pressure and temperature along the traversed path.The available data-set is only a small sub-set of the whole data acquired by Schiaparelli, with a limited data rate (8 kbps) and a large gap during the entry because of the plasma blackout on the communications.This paper presents the work done by the AMELIA (Atmospheric Mars Entry and Landing Investigations and Analysis) team in the exploitation of the available inertial and radar data. First a reference trajectory is derived by direct integration of the inertial measurements and a strategy to overcome the entry data gap is proposed. First-order covariance analysis is used to estimate the uncertainties on all the derived parameters. Then a refined trajectory is computed incorporating the measurements provided by the on-board radar altimeter.The derived trajectory is consistent with the events reported in the telemetry and also with the impact point identified on the high-resolution images of the landing site.Finally, atmospheric profiles are computed tacking into account the aerodynamic properties of the module. Derived profiles result in good agreement with both atmospheric models and available remote sensing observations.     

Regolith X-Ray Imaging Spectrometer (REXIS) Aboard the OSIRIS-REx Asteroid Sample Return Mission

The Regolith X-ray Imaging Spectrometer (REXIS) is the student collaboration experiment proposed and built by an MIT-Harvard team, launched aboard NASA’s OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample return mission. REXIS complements the scientific investigations of other OSIRIS-REx instruments by determining the relative abundances of key elements present on the asteroid’s surface by measuring the X-ray fluorescence spectrum (stimulated by the natural solar X-ray flux) over the range of energies 0.5 to 7 keV. REXIS consists of two components: a main imaging spectrometer with a coded aperture mask and a separate solar X-ray monitor to account for the Sun’s variability. In addition to element abundance ratios (relative to Si) pinpointing the asteroid’s most likely meteorite association, REXIS also maps elemental abundance variability across the asteroid’s surface using the asteroid’s rotation as well as the spacecraft’s orbital motion. Image reconstruction at the highest resolution is facilitated by the coded aperture mask. Through this operation, REXIS will be the first application of X-ray coded aperture imaging to planetary surface mapping, making this student-built instrument a pathfinder toward future planetary exploration. To date, 60 students at the undergraduate and graduate levels have been involved with the REXIS project, with the hands-on experience translating to a dozen Master’s and Ph.D. theses and other student publications.     

Analysis of the dynamic behavior of structures using the high-rate GNSS-PPP method combined with a wavelet-neural model: Numerical simulation and experimental tests

Recently, the high rate global navigation satellite system-precise point positioning (GNSS-PPP) technique has been used to detect the dynamic behavior of structures. This study aimed to increase the accuracy of the extraction oscillation properties of structural movements based on the high-rate (10?Hz) GNSS-PPP monitoring technique. A developmental model based on the combination of wavelet package transformation (WPT) de-noising and neural network prediction (NN) was proposed to improve the dynamic behavior of structures for GNSS-PPP method. A complicated numerical simulation involving highly noisy data and 13 experimental cases with different loads were utilized to confirm the efficiency of the proposed model design and the monitoring technique in detecting the dynamic behavior of structures. The results revealed that, when combined with the proposed model, GNSS-PPP method can be used to accurately detect the dynamic behavior of engineering structures as an alternative to relative GNSS method.     

Non-stationarity and cross-correlation effects in the MHD solar activity

The analysis of turbulent processes in sunspots and pores which are self-organizing long-lived magnetic structures is a complicated and not yet solved problem. The present work focuses on studying such magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) formations on the basis of flicker-noise spectroscopy using a new method of multi-parametric analysis. The non-stationarity and cross-correlation effects taking place in solar activity dynamics are considered. The calculated maximum values of non-stationarity factor may become precursors of significant restructuring in solar magnetic activity. The introduced cross-correlation functions enable us to judge synchronization effects between the signals of various solar activity indicators registered simultaneously.     

A novel framework for liquid propellant engine’s cooling system design by sensitivity analysis based on RSM and multi-objective optimization using PSO

One of the challenges of combustion chamber and nozzle design in a Liquid Propellant Engine (LPE) is to predict the behavior and performance of the cooling system. Therefore, while designing, the optimization of the cooling system is always of great importance. This paper presents the multi-objective optimization of the LPE’s cooling system. To this end, a novel framework has been developed, resulting from the application of the Response Surface Method (RSM) and the correlation coefficients matrix, sensitivity analysis and the The Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO). based on this method, the input variables, constraints, objective functions, and their surfaces were identified. In terms of multi-optimization algorithms, RSM and PSO are utilized to get global optimum. In conclusion, the methodology capability is to optimize the LPE’s cooling system, 6 percentage increase in total heat transfer and 7 bar decrease cooling system pressure loss, which resulted in a 1.2-seconds increase in the specific impulse of the engine.     

The Delivery of Water During Terrestrial Planet Formation

The planetary building blocks that formed in the terrestrial planet region were likely very dry, yet water is comparatively abundant on Earth. Here we review the various mechanisms proposed for the origin of water on the terrestrial planets. Various in-situ mechanisms have been suggested, which allow for the incorporation of water into the local planetesimals in the terrestrial planet region or into the planets themselves from local sources, although all of those mechanisms have difficulties. Comets have also been proposed as a source, although there may be problems fitting isotopic constraints, and the delivery efficiency is very low, such that it may be difficult to deliver even a single Earth ocean of water this way. The most promising route for water delivery is the accretion of material from beyond the snow line, similar to carbonaceous chondrites, that is scattered into the terrestrial planet region as the planets are growing. Two main scenarios are discussed in detail. First is the classical scenario in which the giant planets begin roughly in their final locations and the disk of planetesimals and embryos in the terrestrial planet region extends all the way into the outer asteroid belt region. Second is the Grand Tack scenario, where early inward and outward migration of the giant planets implants material from beyond the snow line into the asteroid belt and terrestrial planet region, where it can be accreted by the growing planets. Sufficient water is delivered to the terrestrial planets in both scenarios. While the Grand Tack scenario provides a better fit to most constraints, namely the small mass of Mars, planets may form too fast in the nominal case discussed here. This discrepancy may be reduced as a wider range of initial conditions is explored. Finally, we discuss several more recent models that may have important implications for water delivery to the terrestrial planets.