A high order method for orbital conjunctions analysis: Sensitivity to initial uncertainties

A high order method to quickly assess the effect that uncertainties produce on orbital conjunctions through a numerical high-fidelity propagator is presented. In particular, the dependency of time and distance of closest approach to initial uncertainties on position and velocity of both objects involved in a conjunction is studied. The approach relies on a numerical integration based on differential algebraic techniques and a high-order algorithm that expands the time and distance of closest approach in Taylor series with respect to relevant uncertainties. The modeled perturbations are atmospheric drag, using NRLMSISE-00 air density model, solar radiation pressure with shadow, third body perturbation using JPL’s DE405 ephemeris, and EGM2008 gravity model. The polynomial approximation of the final position is used as an input to compute analytically the expansion of time and distance of closest approach. As a result, the analysis of a close encounter can be performed through fast, multiple evaluations of Taylor polynomials. Test cases with objects ranging from LEO to GEO regimes are considered to assess the performances and the accuracy of the proposed method.     

MHD ANALYSIS OF PETSCHEK-TYPE RECONNECTION IN NON-UNIFORM FIELD AND FLOW GEOMETRIES

Analytical studies of reconnection have, for the most part, been confined to steady and uniform current sheet geometries. In contrast to these implifications, natural phenomena associated with the presence of current sheets indicate highly non-uniform structure and time-varying behaviour. Examples include the violent outbursts of energy on the Sun known as solar flares, and magnetospheric phenomena such as flux transfer events, plasmoids, and auroral activity. Unlike the theoretical models, reconnection therefore occurs in a highly dynamic and structured plasma environment. In this article we review the mathematical tools and techniques which are available to formulate models capable of describing the effects of reconnection in such situations. We confine attention to variants of the reconnection model first discussed by Petschek in the 1960s, in view of its successful application in predicting and interpreting phenomena in the terrestrial magnetosphere. The analysis of Petschek-type reconnection is based on the equations of ideal magnetohydrodynamics (MHD), which describe the large-scale behaviour of the magnetic field and plasma flow outside the diffusion region, which we determine as a localised part of the current sheet in which reconnection is initiated. The approach we adopt here is to transform the MHD equations into a Lagrangian or so-called 'frozen-in' coordinate system. In this coordinate system, the equation of motion transforms into a set of coupled nonlinear equations, in which the presence of inhomogeneous magnetic fields and/or plasma flows gives rise to a term similar to that which appears in the study of the ordinary string equation in a non-homogeneous medium. As demonstrated here, this approach not only clarifies and highlights the effects of such non-uniformities, it also simplifies the solution of the original set of MHD equations. In particular, this is true for those types of problem in which the total pressure can be considered as a known quantity from the outset. To illustrate the method, we solve several 2D problems involving magnetic field and flow non-uniformities: reconnection in a stagnation-point flow geometry with antiparallel magnetic fields; reconnection in a Y-type magnetic field geometry with and without velocity shear across the current sheet; and reconnection in a force-free magnetic field geometry with field lines of the form xy = const. These case examples, chosen for their tractability, each incorporate some aspects of the field and flow geomtries encountered in solar-terrestrial applications, and they provide a starting point for further analytical as well as numerical studies of reconnection.     

THE CLUSTER ION SPECTROMETRY (CIS) EXPERIMENT

The Cluster Ion Spectrometry (CIS) experiment is a comprehensive ionic plasma spectrometry package on-board the four Cluster spacecraft capable of obtaining full three-dimensional ion distributions with good time resolution (one spacecraft spin) with mass per charge composition determination. The requirements to cover the scientific objectives cannot be met with a single instrument. The CIS package therefore consists of two different instruments, a Hot Ion Analyser (HIA) and a time-of-flight ion COmposition and DIstribution Function analyser (CODIF), plus a sophisticated dual-processor-based instrument-control and Data-Processing System (DPS), which permits extensive on-board data-processing. Both analysers use symmetric optics resulting in continuous, uniform, and well-characterised phase space coverage. CODIF measures the distributions of the major ions (H⁺, He⁺, He⁺⁺, and O⁺) with energies from ~0 to 40 keV/e with medium (22.5°) angular resolution and two different sensitivities. HIA does not offer mass resolution but, also having two different sensitivities, increases the dynamic range, and has an angular resolution capability (5.6° × 5.6°) adequate for ion-beam and solar-wind measurements.     

Marangoni heat pipe: An experiment on board MIOsat Italian microsatellite

This article summarizes the activities in preparation of a microgravity experiment to be carried out by using a small technological payload onboard a microsatellite developed by the Italian Space Agency. A dedicated hardware will be developed to investigate innovative heat pipes filled with self-rewetting fluids, i.e. dilute aqueous alcoholic solutions with unique surface tension properties. After a general introduction of the scientific background, the paper is focused on the main activities in preparation of the flight experiment, on the design of the flight hardware and on the experimental planned procedure. The laboratory results achieved on ground in preparation of a flight experiment are also presented, including measurements of fluids physical properties and preliminary heat pipes performances characterization test. From the engineering point of view, the activities dealing with heat pipes filling and sealing are included. The activities for heat pipe characterization conclude the paper.     

CRYOGENIC TECHNOLOGY TO IMPROVE ELECTRIC THRUSTERS

This paper analyzes superconducting (SC) coils technology to improve satellite electric propulsion. SC magnets can generate very high magnetic fields with extremely low ohmic losses, low electric power and PCU weight. Moreover, the weight of SC magnet coils is quite low compared with conventional or permanent magnets capable of producing the same field strength. For instance, to obtain a 0.4 T magnetic field strength, typical of applied field magnetoplasmadynamic thrusters (AF-MPD), based on the Lorentz force, and with thrust in the range of 1 N, this paper shows that only a 40 g coil SC weight is needed, whereas an equivalent field copper winding would weigh about 36 kg. Using SC technology it is shown that the limited magnetic induction provided by a permanent magnet may be raised and also that it is possible to obtain high magnetic fields (of order of several Tesla) with fewer turns, drastically reducing coil volume, weight and complexity compared to conventional winding.

Superconductivity at low temperature (LTSC) requires liquid helium at 4.2 K to produce very high current densities: the thermal analysis in this paper shows that, depending on satellite and thruster, high temperature superconductors (HTSC) wires are sometimes better than LTSC because these can support lower current densities but with a critical superconductivity temperature higher than for LHe, requiring LN₂ at 77 K, easier to maintain during the whole mission.

Finally, this paper shows that implementing SC cryogenic technology on a satellite can be achieved with current active coolers technology.     

Pseudo-automatic characterization of the morphological and kinematical properties of coronal mass ejections using a texture-based technique

The white light coronagraphs onboard SOHO (LASCO-C2 and -C3) and most recently STEREO (SECCHI -COR1 and -COR2) have detected a myriad of coronal mass ejections (CME). They are a key component of space weather and under certain conditions they can become geo-effective, hence the importance of their kinematic characterization to help predict their effects. However, there is still a lot of debate on how to define the event boundaries for space weather purposes, which in turn makes it difficult to agree on their kinematic properties. That lack of agreement is reflected in both the manual and automated CME catalogs in existence. To contribute to a more objective definition and characterization of white-light coronagraph events, Goussies et al. (2010) introduced recently the concept of “texture of the event”. Based on that property, they developed a supervised segmentation algorithm to allow the automatic tracking of dynamic events observed in the coronagraphs field of view, which is called CORonal SEgmentation Technique (CORSET). In this work, we have enhanced the capabilities of the algorithm by adding several new functionalities, namely the automatic computation of different morphological and kinematic parameters. We tested its performance on 57 well-studied limb CME events observed with the LASCO coronagraphs between 1997 and 2001, and compared the parameters obtained with those from three existent CME lists: two of them obtained from an observer-based detection and tracking method (i.e., two manual catalogs), and the other one based on the automated detection and characterization of the CME events (i.e., a fully automated catalog). We found that 51 events could be tracked and quantified in agreement with the CME definition. In general terms, the position angle, and the radial and expansion speeds are in agreement with the manual catalogs used for comparison. On the other hand, some discrepancies between CORSET and the automated catalog were found, which can be explained by the different delimitation of the CME angular extent.     

Self-propagating high-temperature reactions for the fabrication of Lunar and Martian physical assets

The development of a new process potentially useful for future manned Lunar and/or Martian space missions in the framework of the so-called ISRU (In-Situ Resource Utilization) and ISFR (In-Situ Fabrication and Repair) concepts is described and discussed in this work. This process involves the fabrication of physical assets by self-propagating high temperature synthesis (SHS) for construction applications in Lunar and Martian environments starting from different Lunar or Martian regolith simulants and aluminum, as reducing agent. In addition, although Moon and Mars already contain ilmenite (FeTiO₃) and iron oxides, respectively, the latter ones are also added to the initial mixtures to promote suitable SHS reactions. A complete scheme for the fabrication of physical assets to be used as protection against solar rays, solar wind and meteoroids, where all required stages are indicated, is finally proposed in the framework of a recently filed patent.     

Optimal Earth’s reentry disposal of the Galileo constellation

Nowadays there is international consensus that space activities must be managed to minimize debris generation and risk. The paper presents a method for the end-of-life (EoL) disposal of spacecraft in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO). The problem is formulated as a multiobjective optimisation one, which is solved with an evolutionary algorithm. An impulsive manoeuvre is optimised to reenter the spacecraft in Earth’s atmosphere within 100?years. Pareto optimal solutions are obtained using the manoeuvre $\mathrm{\Delta }v$ and the time-to-reentry as objective functions to be minimised. To explore at the best the search space a semi-analytical orbit propagator, which can propagate an orbit for 100?years in few seconds, is adopted. An in-depth analysis of the results is carried out to understand the conditions leading to a fast reentry with minimum propellant. For this aim a new way of representing the disposal solutions is introduced. With a single 2D plot we are able to fully describe the time evolution of all the relevant orbital parameters as well as identify the conditions that enables the eccentricity build-up. The EoL disposal of the Galileo constellation is used as test case.     

Control of Lunar and Martian dust--experimental insights from artificial and natural cyanobacterial and algal crusts in the desert of Inner Mongolia, China

Studies on the colonization of environmentally extreme ground surfaces were conducted in a Mars-like desert area of Inner Mongolia, People's Republic of China, with microalgae and cyanobacteria. We collected and mass-cultured cyanobacterial strains from these regions and investigated their ability to form desert crusts artificially. These crusts had the capacity to resist sand wind erosion after just 15 days of growth. Similar to the surface of some Chinese deserts, the surface of Mars is characterized by a layer of fine dust, which will challenge future human exploration activities, particularly in confined spaces that will include greenhouses and habitats. We discuss the use of such crusts for the local control of desert sands in enclosed spaces on Mars. These experiments suggest innovative new directions in the applied use of microbe-mineral interactions to advance the human exploration and settlement of space.