Reducing mission operations costs through spacecraft autonomy: the near earth asteroid rendezvous (near) experience

With a maximum time of 12 days out of ground contact and a round-trip light time as high as 56 minutes, The Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) spacecraft requires a moderate degree of onboard autonomy to react to faults and safe the spacecraft. Beyond the basic safing requirements, additional functions are carried out onboard. For example, on-board calculation of the Sun, Earth, asteroid, and spacecraft positions allow the spacecraft to autonomously orient itself for science and downlink operations. On-board autonomous momentum management during cruise relieves Mission Operations from planning, scheduling, and carrying out many manual momentum dumps. During development, additional operations, such as center-of-mass management during propulsive maneuvers and optical navigation were also considered for onboard autonomy on the NEAR spacecraft, but were not selected. The allocation of functions to onboard software or to ground operations involved tradeoffs such as development time for onboard software versus ground software, resource management, life cycle costs, and spacecraft safety.After two years of cruise operations, considerable experience with the NEAR autonomy system has accrued. The utility of some autonomous capabilities is greater than expected, others less so. Software uploads increased spacecraft autonomy in some cases, and the impact on Mission Operations can be assessed. Allocation of functions between spacecraft autonomy and ground operation during development of future missions can be improved by applying the lessons learned from the NEAR experience.     

利用Gauss-Markov过程的着陆小天体导航与制导方法

给出一种利用Gauss-Markov过程的自主着陆小天体导航与制导算法，来解决无法得到精确的轨道动力学模型带来的轨道确定困难问题。主要是在导航算法中，采用一阶高斯-马尔科夫过程近似着陆探测器轨道动力学中的无模型加速度，利用扩展卡尔曼滤波估计探测器的位置、速度及无模型加速度。通过数学仿真分析了给出的自主导航与制导系统的性能，并对比了采用与不采用一阶高斯-马尔科夫过程的导航滤波器性能，结果表明前者明显优于后者。     

扩展场景的SAR回波信号快速仿真算法

将SAR原始回波信号仿真的时域和频域生成算法进行对比,讨论这两种原始信号仿真生成算法所获得原 始数据的不同应用领域和研究方向。提出一种基于光学照片图像情况下,小平面单元后向散射系数的计算方法。将光 学照片应用于SAR回波信号的仿真,验证了频域生成算法的可行性。并利用RD算法对仿真数据进行成像,得到了这些 数据的SAR图像,验证了这种仿真方法在验证成像算法方面的有效性,该法能为SAR图像的后处理提供丰富的图像数 据。     

航空动力装置任务可靠度模糊预计与分配的综合

根据Vague集的直觉性，定义一种判定Vague值真值的函数，进而给出一种确定Fuzzy隶属度的方法。将此方法应用于模糊综合评判理论，得到一种在设计初期根据专家意见，预计航空动力装置任务可靠度的模糊决策方法。根据预计值和比例组合分配法的思想，先按任务可靠度模型的等效串联模型进行任务可靠度指标的分配，然后再对等效串联模型中冗余部分的指标进行分配。     

Manned missions to Mars: Minimizing risks of failure

Some major risks-of-failure issues for the future manned missions to Mars are discussed, with an objective to address criteria for making such missions possible, successful, safe and cost-effective. The following astronautical and instrumentation-and-equipment-reliability related aspects of the missions are considered: redundancies and backup strategies; costs; assessed probability of failure as a suitable reliability criterion for the instrumentation (equipment); probabilistic assessment of the likelihood of the mission success and safety. It is concluded that parametric risk modeling is a must for a risk-driven decision-making process.     

Manned exploration and exploitation of solar system: Passive and active shielding for protecting astronauts from ionizing radiation—A short overview

In deep space manned missions for the exploration and exploitation of celestial bodies of Solar System astronauts are not shielded by the terrestrial magnetic field and must be protected against the action of Solar Cosmic Rays (SCRs) and Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCRs). SCRs are sporadically emitted, and in very rare but possible events, their fluence can be so high to be lethal to a unprotected crew. Their relatively low energy allows us to conceive fully passive shields, also if active systems can somewhat reduce the needed mass penalty. GCRs continuously flow without intensity peaks, and are dangerous to the health and operability of the crew in long duration (>1year) missions. Their very high energy excludes the possible use of passive systems, so that recourse must be made to electromagnetic fields for preventing ionizing particles to reach the habitat where astronauts spend most of their living and working time. A short overview is presented of the many ideas developed in last decades of last century; ideas are mainly based on very intense electrostatic shields, flowing plasma bubbles, or enormous superconducting coil systems for producing high magnetic fields. In the first decade of this century the problem began to be afforded in more realistic scenarios, taking into account the present and foreseeable possibilities of launchers (payload mass, diameter and length of the shroud of the rocket, etc.) and of assembling and/or inflating structures in space. Driving parameters are the volume of the habitat to be protected and the level of mitigation of the radiation dose to be guaranteed to the crew. Superconducting magnet systems based on multi-solenoid complexes or on one huge magnetic torus surrounding the habitat are being evaluated for defining the needed parameters: masses, mechanical structures for supporting the huge magnetic forces, needed equipments and safety systems. Technological tests are in preparation or planned for improving density of the current, lightness and stability, to increase working temperature of superconducting cables, and for finding light supporting structures and suitable safety architectures, delineating a possible development program for affording this difficult problem.     

无人作战飞机任务系统设计关键技术

介绍无人作战飞机的发展对现代空战的影响,元人作战飞机的作战使命、操控方式,重点描述无人作战飞机任务系统设计的关键技术,强调开展无人作战飞机任务系统研究的必要性。     

Achievements of Space Scientific Experiments Aboard SJ-8 Satellite

As scientific experiment payloads, microgravity experiments of fluid physics, life science,combustion science, physics and accelerator measurement were conducted on board the Chinese recoverable satellite SJ-8 during 18-day orbital flight. The experimental payloads and an experiment support system constituted the microgravity experiment system of the flight mission. This article has presented the briefs of the scientific achievements of these space experiments, the composition and performance of the Microgravity Experimental System (MES) and the general picture of the overall flight mission, respectively.      

A sample collector for robotic sample return missions I: Temperature effect on collected mass

Sample return is playing an increasingly important role in solar system exploration. Among the possible mission on the horizon, are sample return from asteroids, comets, the Moon and Mars. A collector initially intended for near-Earth asteroids is the touch-and-go-impregnable-pad (TGIP). Here we explore the effect of temperature on its collection capabilities. Temperatures expected on near-Earth asteroid mission targets range from −43 to 36 °C. Experiments were conducted at −75, −50, −25, 23, 65, and 105 °C. It was found that the mass of sample collected by the TGIP increased almost linearly to 23 °C and then leveled off at higher temperatures. We also found that the collector did not lose its ability to collect samples after being subjected to −75 °C temperatures (essentially frozen) and then thawed. These experiments have shown that the TGIP can operate effectively at temperatures expected on near-Earth asteroids, especially if collection is performed on the sunward side of the asteroid.     

月球地质形貌及其环境概述

文章重点介绍了月球的地质形貌和月球环境.针对在月球上建立生产基地和居住基地,提出了需要重点开展的一些研究工作.