THE SPACE APPLICATION ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE CHINESE UNMANNED SPACECRAFT "SZ-3"

During the 3rd mission of Chinese Unmanned Spacecraft the application sys tem of "SZ-3" (Shenzhou, a divine ship) gets a great success, all its goals are achieved. Many areas of science and breakthrough technology, including earth observation, earth environment monitoring, space material, space life science etc., are carried out in the mission. There are 44 payload instruments totally.All the instruments are working well during the orbit flight and a lot of good results are obtained. Many areas, for example the moderate resolution imag ing spectroradiometer, the solar ultraviolet spectral irradiance monitor and the space protein crystallization facility perform better than required and expected.A brief introduction of the experiments and the achievements of the mission is given in this paper.     

Fostering links between environmental and space exploration: the Earth and Space Foundation

The links between Earth and space exploration occur across a broad spectrum, from the use of satellite technology to support environmental monitoring and habitat protection to the study of extreme environments on Earth to prepare for the exploration of other planets. Taking the view that Earth and space exploration are part of a mutually beneficial continuum is in contrast to the more traditionally segregated view of these areas of activity. In its most polarized manifestation, space exploration is regarded as a waste of money, distracting from solving problems here at home, while environmental research is seen to be introspective, distracting from expansive visions of exploring the frontier of space. The Earth and Space Foundation was established in 1994 to help further mutually beneficial links by funding innovative field projects around the world that work at the broad interface between environmental and space sciences, thus encouraging the two communities to work together to solve the challenges facing society. This paper describes the work of the foundation and the philosophy behind its programmes.     

The Earth’s Magnetopause: Reconstruction of Motion and Structure

The Earth’s magnetosphere is an accessible region for improving our knowledge of the dynamics of collisionless plasmas. We focus here on the magnetopause a typical plasma discontinuity. We discuss recent developments in describing the structure of the magnetopause by means of reconstruction techniques, which translate in situ data into spatial information. We review short- and long-duration reconstruction methods and discuss the ideas behind them. The emphasis is on long-duration reconstruction methods in a multi-spacecraft context.     

Comparison of heliospheric conditions near the earth during four recent solar maxima

Statistical properties of the daily averaged values of the solar activity (sunspot numbers, total solar irradiance and 10.7 cm radio emission indices), the solar wind plasma and the interplanetary magnetic field parameters near the Earth’s orbit are investigated for a period from 1964 to 2002 covering the maxima of four solar cycles from 20th to 23rd. Running half-year averages show significant solar cycle variations in the solar activity indices but only marginal and insignificant changes in comparison with background fluctuations for heliospheric bulk plasma and magnetic field parameters. The current 23rd cycle maximum is weaker than 21st and 22nd maxima, but slightly stronger than 20th cycle in most of solar and heliospheric manifestations.     

深空机动对运载火箭发射火星探测轨道研究

为解决长征(LM)运载火箭发射火星探测器转移轨道时，因低温入轨级最长允许滑行时间及测控限制，有效发射日期窗口亟需拓展的问题，采用主矢量理论结合序列二次规划算法(SQP)，研究了探测器深空机动(DSM)对优化运载火箭发射火星转移轨道的作用。在发射直接转移火星探测轨道算法基础上，重点研究了包含引力影响球(SOI)内近地及近火飞行段后，采用主矢量获取深空机动最优猜测初值的分析算法，通过直接使用探测器近火点目标轨道参数优化运载火箭发射轨道，研究对比不同优化目标及设计约束下深空机动的分析结果，证实深空机动对降低转移轨道总发射能量需求、拓展发射日期窗口的高效性；该算法已应用于工程设计。     

Evaluation of craters formation in hypervelocity impact of debris particles on solid structures

The aim of this work is to develop simplified model of space debris particle collision on solid structures, which would provide closed form solution formulas for determining crater depth, radius and ejected mass being functions of impactor mass, speed and material of both impactor and target. The model will be verified with results of experiments.     

Swarm – An Earth Observation Mission investigating Geospace

The Swarm mission was selected as the 5th mission in ESA’s Earth Explorer Programme in 2004. This mission aims at measuring the Earth’s magnetic field with unprecedented accuracy. This will be done by a constellation of three satellites, where two will fly at lower altitude, measuring the gradient of the magnetic field, and one satellite will fly at higher altitude. The measured magnetic field is the sum of many contributions including both magnetic fields and currents in the Earth’s interior and electrical currents in Geospace. In order to separate all these sources electric field and plasma measurements will also be made to complement the primary magnetic field measurements. Together these will allow the deduction of information on a series of solid earth processes responsible for the creation of the fields measured. The completeness of the measurements on each satellite and the constellation aspect, however, implies simultaneous observations of a unique set of important electrodynamical parameters crucial for the understanding of the physical processes in Geospace, which are an important part of the objectives of the International Living With a Star Programme, ILWS. In this paper an overview of the Swarm science objectives, the mission concept, the scientific instrumentation, and the expected contribution to the ILWS programme will be summarized.     

System design of the Hayabusa 2—Asteroid sample return mission to 1999 JU3

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency is currently developing the second asteroid sample return mission, designated as Hayabusa 2. Following the successful return of Hayabusa from the asteroid “Itokawa”, Hayabusa 2 is designed as a round-trip mission to the asteroid “1999 JU3”. The 1999 JU3 is a C-type asteroid, which is believed to contain organic matter and hydrated minerals. Thus, it is expected that successful sample collection will provide additional knowledge on the origin and evolution of the planets and, in particular, the origin of water and organic matter. The current mission scenario will enable the spacecraft to reach 1999 JU3 in the middle of 2018 and perform an asteroid proximity operation for 1.5 years. Three touch downs for sampling and one 2-m-class crater generation by means of a high-speed impact operation are planned during the asteroid proximity operation. The samples are to be brought back to the Earth by a re-entry capsule. The present paper describes the system design of Hayabusa 2, some key technical challenges of the mission, and the development status.     

地月空间NRHO与DRO在月球探测中的应用研究

针对地月系统三体问题低能往返轨道转移在月球探测中的应用研究，结合天体借力飞行技术与混合优化技术，系统分析了不同目标轨道与借力方位对任务飞行时间与燃料消耗等关键参数的影响，给出了往返轨道设计初值的选择策略。针对轨道设计初值猜想问题，首先采用遗传算法与二体Lambert转移快速确定轨迹拼接点初值。在同时考虑近月点与近地点多约束条件下，基于序列二次规划算法与多重打靶法进一步对燃料最优的地月往返轨道进行研究，并推导了约束方程解析梯度提高设计效率。最后分析近月点高度、不同目标轨道的转移时间与燃耗变化特性，对于考虑月球借力的地月空间轨道往返转移设计及参数选取具有重要的参考价值。     

The mitigation, management, and survivability of asteroid/comet impact with Earth

The chances that Earth will collide with a significant near earth object (NEO) within the next century are very small, but such a collision is possible, would be catastrophic, and could happen at any time. Much discussion has been devoted to methods of diverting these objects away from Earth through the use of space technology. However, if these efforts are unsuccessful, we would need to implement effective strategies to survive the event, no matter how cataclysmic. To date, disaster management for various impact scenarios has not been addressed (except in novels and Hollywood films). An impact disaster may be many orders of magnitude greater than any disaster the human species has ever experienced. Initially, technology and experience gained in other large-scale disasters will most likely form the foundation of how these impact events will be managed and classified. Given the size and energy of the projectile, the estimated area of damage, and whether impact effects might be localized or global in nature, we can begin to build basic disaster response scenarios, anticipate public health concerns, and formulate questions in need of answers. Questions we must deal with include: what will be required technologically, sociologically, and medically to survive? What types of evacuation plans and warning systems might be required? Capabilities in need of further investigation include: technological protection strategies related to ‘impact winter’, expanded chemical hazard control methodologies, food storage and production, roles of national governments, and international cooperation. Whatever the magnitude and severity of the event, we must reflect on what we know, what capabilities we can apply, develop or adapt, and seriously investigate what might be done to manage it and survive.