Concept of wireless sensor network for future in-situ exploration of lunar ice using wireless impedance sensor

It is known that a wireless sensor network uses some sort of sensors to detect a physical quantity of interest, in general. The wireless sensor network is a potential tool for exploring the difficult-to-access area on the earth and the concept may be extended to space applications in future. Recently, lunar water has been detected by a few lunar missions using remote sensing techniques. The lunar water is expected to be in the form of ice at very low temperatures of permanently dark regions on the moon. To support the remote observations and also to find out potential ice bearing sites on the moon, in-situ measurement of the lunar ice is essential. However, a rover may not be able to reach the permanently shadowed regions due to terrain irregularity. One possibility to access such areas is to use a wireless sensor network on the lunar surface.     

The X/X/KA-band deep space transponder for the BepiColombo mission to mercury

This paper reports the main characteristics of the deep space transponder (DST) equipment that has been designed, developed and tested by Thales Alenia Space—Italy (TAS-I) for the European Space Agency (ESA) BepiColombo mission to Mercury.     

Attractive manifold-based adaptive solar attitude control of satellites in elliptic orbits

The paper presents a novel noncertainty-equivalent adaptive (NCEA) control system for the pitch attitude control of satellites in elliptic orbits using solar radiation pressure (SRP). The satellite is equipped with two identical solar flaps to produce control moments. The adaptive law is based on the attractive manifold design using filtered signals for synthesis, which is a modification of the immersion and invariance (I&I) method. The control system has a modular controller–estimator structure and has separate tunable gains. A special feature of this NCEA law is that the trajectories of the satellite converge to a manifold in an extended state space, and the adaptive law recovers the performance of a deterministic controller. This recovery of performance cannot be obtained with certainty-equivalent adaptive (CEA) laws. Simulation results are presented which show that the NCEA law accomplishes precise attitude control of the satellite in an elliptic orbit, despite large parameter uncertainties.     

A new universal equation for the time of transfer between two points of the central gravitational field

The paper presents the derivation of two new equations for calculating the time of transfer between two points of the central gravitational field: for hyperbolic orbits and the universal equation for elliptical and hyperbolic orbits. In the paper we have used as an independent variable, instead of the linear elements (semimajor axis, focal parameter of orbit or a chord connecting the ends of boundary radii of transfer), the angular parameter—the angle between the radius vector of an initial point of transfer and the vector of initial velocity of transfer. Paper’s material is a continuation of that presented in the “Space research“ Journal, vol. 2, March–April, 2009.     

Potential of salt-accumulating and salt-secreting halophytic plants for recycling sodium chloride in human urine in bioregenerative life support systems

This study addresses the possibility of growing different halophytic plants on mineralized human urine as a way to recycle NaCl from human wastes in a bioregenerative life support system (BLSS). Two halophytic plant species were studied: the salt-accumulating Salicornia europaea and the salt-secreting Limonium gmelinii. During the first two weeks, plants were grown on Knop’s solution, then an average daily amount of urine produced by one human, which had been preliminarily mineralized, was gradually added to the experimental solutions. Nutrient solutions simulating urine mineral composition were gradually added to control solutions. NaCl concentrations in the stock solutions added to the experimental and control solutions were 9 g/L in the first treatment and 20 g/L in the second treatment. The mineralized human urine showed some inhibitory effects on S. europaea and L. gmelinii. The biomass yield of experimental plants was lower than that of control ones. If calculated for the same time period (120 d) and area (1 m²), the amount of sodium chloride taken up by S. europaea plants would be 11.7 times larger than the amount taken up by L. gmelinii plants (486 g/m² vs. 41 g/m²). Thus, S. europaea is the better choice of halophyte for recycling sodium chloride from human wastes in BLSS.     

Investigation into impact of tropical cyclones on the ionosphere using GPS sounding and NCEP/NCAR Reanalysis data

Ionospheric response to tropical cyclones (TCs) was estimated experimentally on the example of three powerful cyclones – KATRINA (23–31 August 2005), RITA (18–26 September 2005), and WILMA (15–25 October 2005). These TCs were active near the USA Atlantic coast. Investigation was based on Total Electron Content (TEC) data from the international network of two-frequency ground-based GPS receivers and the NCEP/NCAR Reanalysis data. We studied the spatial–temporal dynamics of wave TEC disturbances over two periods of ranges (02–20 min and 20–60 min). To select the ionospheric disturbances which were most likely to be associated with the cyclones, maps of TEC disturbances were compared with those of meteorological parameters.     

Seasonal variation of surface refractivity over Nigeria

The seasonal variation of surface refractivity over Nigeria was studied using two years in-situ meteorological data from eight locations over Nigeria. The result shows that the surface refractivity generally has higher value during rainy season than dry season at all location studied. The results also show that the value of surface refractivity increases from arid region in the north to the coastal area in south. The results also show that local meteorology plays a very important role in refractivity variation.     

Does the endolymph pass through the base of the cupula?

Whether the endolymph of the semicircular canal passes the cupular partition or not was examined using the lateral semicircular canal system of adult pigeons (Columba livia). By applying various pressures by means of injection of a dye solution through the membranous canal, it was found that the dye solution, was seen to pass the cupula even under very low pressures when the pressure was increased gradually. When pulled by a magnet, the ultrafine particles of the dextran magnetite contained in the injected fluid were found to pass through the subcupular space without evident increase of the ampullary pressure.     

Strategies for telecommunications and navigation in support of Mars exploration

The planned exploration of Mars will pose new and unique telecommunications and navigation challenges. The full range of orbital, atmospheric, and surface exploration will drive requirements on data return, energy-efficient communications, connectivity, and positioning. In this paper we will summarize the needs of the currently planned Mars exploration mission set, outline design trades and options for meeting these needs, and quantify the specific telecommunications and navigation capabilities of an evolving infrastructure.     

Updated Review of Planetary Atmospheric Electricity

This paper reviews the progress achieved in planetary atmospheric electricity, with focus on lightning observations by present operational spacecraft, aiming to fill the hiatus from the latest review published by Desch et al. (Rep. Prog. Phys. 65:955–997, 2002). The information is organized according to solid surface bodies (Earth, Venus, Mars and Titan) and gaseous planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune), and each section presents the latest results from space-based and ground-based observations as well as laboratory experiments. Finally, we review planned future space missions to Earth and other planets that will address some of the existing gaps in our knowledge.