Analysis of some modified ordered statistic CFAR: OSGO and OSSOCFAR

It is necessary for automatic detection radars to be adaptive to variations in background clutter in order to maintain a constant false alarm rate (CFAR). A CFAR based on an ordered statistic technique (OS CFAR) has some advantages over the cell-averaging technique (CA CFAR), especially in clutter edges or multiple target environments; unfortunately the large processing time required by this technique limits its use. The authors present two new OS CFARs that require only ahlf the processing time. One is an ordered statistic greatest of CFAR (OSGO), while the other is an ordered statistic smallest of CFAR (OSSO). The OSGO CFAR has the advantages of the OS CFAR with only a negligible increment to the CFAR loss     

XMM-Newton observations of low luminosity Be/X-ray candidates

A small number of early Be stars exhibit X-ray luminosities intermediate between those typical of early type stars and those radiated by Be/X-ray binaries in the quiescent state. We report on XMM-Newton observations of two such Be stars, HD 161103 and SAO 49725 which were originally discovered in a systematic cross-correlation between the ROSAT all-sky survey and SIMBAD. The new observations confirm the X-ray luminosity detected by ROSAT (L_X  10³² erg s⁻¹) and the hardness of their X-ray spectra (thin thermal with kT  8–10 keV or power law with photon index of 1.7) which are both unusual for normal early type stars. We discuss the possible origin of this excess X-ray emission in the light of the models proposed for γ-Cas, magnetic disc-star interaction or accretion onto a compact companion object, neutron star or white dwarf, and compare the properties of these two sources with those of the new massive systems discovered in the XMM- Newton/SSC survey of the Galactic plane.     

Structural development of the X-ray limb flare of 30 April 1980

We describe the development of the limb flare of 30 April 1980, 20:20 UT, as observed by the Hard X-ray Imaging Spectrometer (HXIS) aboard the Solar Maximum Mission (SMM). It consisted of a short-lived bright nucleus (FWHM < 10,000 km), just inside the Sun's limb; a longer lasting tongue, extending to a height of 30,000 km, and a more complicated feature, approximately situated at the Sun's limb. The tongue was a pre-existing magnetic structure that started emitting X-rays only a few seconds after the bright nucleus, and which had a slightly higher temperature than the nucleus; its X-ray emission may be caused by electrons escaped from the nucleus.     

REMS: The Environmental Sensor Suite for the Mars Science Laboratory Rover

The Rover Environmental Monitoring Station (REMS) will investigate environmental factors directly tied to current habitability at the Martian surface during the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission. Three major habitability factors are addressed by REMS: the thermal environment, ultraviolet irradiation, and water cycling. The thermal environment is determined by a mixture of processes, chief amongst these being the meteorological. Accordingly, the REMS sensors have been designed to record air and ground temperatures, pressure, relative humidity, wind speed in the horizontal and vertical directions, as well as ultraviolet radiation in different bands. These sensors are distributed over the rover in four places: two booms located on the MSL Remote Sensing Mast, the ultraviolet sensor on the rover deck, and the pressure sensor inside the rover body. Typical daily REMS observations will collect 180 minutes of data from all sensors simultaneously (arranged in 5 minute hourly samples plus 60 additional minutes taken at times to be decided during the course of the mission). REMS will add significantly to the environmental record collected by prior missions through the range of simultaneous observations including water vapor; the ability to take measurements routinely through the night; the intended minimum of one Martian year of observations; and the first measurement of surface UV irradiation. In this paper, we describe the scientific potential of REMS measurements and describe in detail the sensors that constitute REMS and the calibration procedures.     

Survival of spores of the UV-resistant Bacillus subtilis strain MW01 after exposure to low-earth orbit and simulated martian conditions: data from the space experiment ADAPT on EXPOSE-E

In the space experiment "Molecular adaptation strategies of microorganisms to different space and planetary UV climate conditions" (ADAPT), bacterial endospores of the highly UV-resistant Bacillus subtilis strain MW01 were exposed to low-Earth orbit (LEO) and simulated martian surface conditions for 559 days on board the European Space Agency's exposure facility EXPOSE-E, mounted outside the International Space Station. The survival of B. subtilis MW01 spores from both assays (LEO and simulated martian conditions) was determined by a colony-formation assay after retrieval. It was clearly shown that solar extraterrestrial UV radiation (λ≥110?nm) as well as the martian UV spectrum (λ≥200?nm) was the most deleterious factor applied; in some samples only a few spore survivors were recovered from B. subtilis MW01 spores exposed in monolayers. However, if shielded from solar irradiation, about 8% of MW01 spores survived in LEO conditions, and 100% survived in simulated martian conditions, compared to the laboratory controls. The results demonstrate the effect of shielding against the high inactivation potential of extraterrestrial solar UV radiation, which limits the chances of survival of even the highly UV-resistant strain of B. subtilis MW01 in the harsh environments of outer space and the martian surface.     

Low-altitude,near-polar and near-circular orbits around Europa

The dynamics of orbits around planetary satellites, taking into account the gravitational attraction of a third-body and the non-uniform distribution of mass of the planetary satellite, is studied. The Hamiltonian considered is explicitly time-dependent. Conditions for frozen orbits are presented. Low-altitude, near-polar orbits, very desirable for scientific missions to study planetary satellites such as the Jupiter’s moon Europa, are analyzed. Lifetimes for these orbits are computed through the single and double averaged method. Comparison between the results obtained by the single and double averaged method is presented. The single-averaged model is more realistic, since it does not eliminate the term due to the equatorial ellipticity of the planetary satellite as done by the double-averaged problem. Considering the single-averaged method, we found unstable frozen orbits where the satellite does not impact with the surface of Europa for at least 200 days. We present an approach using the unaveraged disturbing potential to analyze the effects of these terms in the amplitude of the eccentricity.     

Predicting the probability of occurrence of spread-F over Brazil using neural networks

The probability of occurrence of spread-F can be modeled and predicted using neural networks (NNs). This paper presents a feasibility study into the development of a NN based model for the prediction of the probability of occurrence of spread-F over selected equatorial stations within the Brazilian sector. The input space included the day number (seasonal variation), hour (diurnal variation), sunspot number (measure of the solar activity), magnetic index (measure of the magnetic activity) and magnetic position. Twelve years of spread-F data from Brazil (covering the period 1978–1989) measured at the equatorial site Fortaleza (3.9°S, 38.45°W) and low latitude site Cachoeira Paulista (22.6°S, 45.0°W) are used in the development of an input space and NN architecture for the model. Spread-F data that is believed to be related to plasma bubble developments (range spread-F) was used in the development of the model. The model results show the probability of spread-F occurrence as a function of local time, season and latitude. Results from the Brazilian Sector NN (BSNN) based model are presented in this paper, as well as a comparative analysis with a Brazilian model developed for the same purpose.     

Russia's resurgence: Prospects for space policy and international cooperation

Based on a joint study initiated in 2007–2008 by the Policy planning staff (CAP) of the French Foreign Ministry and the space agency CNES, which brought together experts, researchers and industry insiders, this article considers the factors behind Russia's recent resurgence and the possible revival of its space programme. It examines how far the latter will require international cooperation in order to progress further and discusses likely areas of profitable collaboration with Europe in general and France in particular, given that country's long history of space cooperation with Russia and the need in the mid-term future to share the burden of developing ambitious new space programs. While there is in principle much potential, especially in the area of space transportation, there are also numerous challenges and uncertainties. How these are resolved will affect the level and success of any cooperative efforts of both sides.     

Contributions from nearby pulsars to the local cosmic ray electron spectrum

PSR J0437-4715 is one of the closest millisecond pulsars (MSPs) to Earth, lying at a distance of ∼140 pc. This pulsar has a characteristic age of 4.9 Gyr and a relatively low spindown power of ∼10³⁴ ergs/s. During its rather long lifetime, a large fraction of the energy output has been in the form of multi-TeV electrons. In this paper, we investigate the possible contribution of this nearby MSP to the local interstellar electron spectrum (LIS). The old age of the system justifies a steady-state evaluation of the contribution from this pulsar to the LIS. We calculate the electron spectrum at the light cylinder in the framework of a General Relativistic polar cap (PC) model, and use this as an injection spectrum in a diffusion model. The younger Geminga pulsar is also very close to Earth and warrants investigation. A steady-state approach is however no longer justified, so we use an impulsive injection model. We will present results of a study of the contribution from these pulsars to the cosmic ray (CR) LIS. Our calculations show that pulsars like Geminga can make a non-negligible contribution to the LIS.