Issues of geologically-focused situational awareness in robotic planetary missions: Lessons from an analogue mission at Mistastin Lake impact structure,Labrador, Canada

Remote robotic data provides different information than that obtained from immersion in the field. This significantly affects the geological situational awareness experienced by members of a mission control science team. In order to optimize science return from planetary robotic missions, these limitations must be understood and their effects mitigated to fully leverage the field experience of scientists at mission control.     

俄反恐突袭的巡航导弹技术状态初步分析

2015年10月7日，俄罗斯采用远距离、高精度、大威力的“口径”对陆攻击巡航导弹远程空袭ISIS目标，该事件得到了高度关注。简要介绍了“口径”巡航导弹，并对俄巡航导弹技术状态进行了初步分析。     

Dynamics of a spacecraft and normalization around Lagrangian points in the Neptune–Triton system

The problem of a spacecraft orbiting the Neptune–Triton system is presented. The new ingredients in this restricted three body problem are the Neptune oblateness and the high inclined and retrograde motion of Triton. First we present some interesting simulations showing the role played by the oblateness on a Neptune’s satellite, disturbed by Triton. We also give an extensive numerical exploration in the case when the spacecraft orbits Triton, considering Sun, Neptune and its planetary oblateness as disturbers. In the plane a × I (a = semi-major axis, I = inclination), we give a plot of the stable regions where the massless body can survive for thousand of years. Retrograde and direct orbits were considered and as usual, the region of stability is much more significant for the case of direct orbit of the spacecraft (Triton’s orbit is retrograde). Next we explore the dynamics in a vicinity of the Lagrangian points. The Birkhoff normalization is constructed around L₂, followed by its reduction to the center manifold. In this reduced dynamics, a convenient Poincaré section shows the interplay of the Lyapunov and halo periodic orbits, Lissajous and quasi-halo tori as well as the stable and unstable manifolds of the planar Lyapunov orbit. To show the effect of the oblateness, the planar Lyapunov family emanating from the Lagrangian points and three-dimensional halo orbits are obtained by the numerical continuation method.     

A neutral gas mass spectrometer to measure the chemical composition of the stratosphere

The Polar Balloon Atmospheric Composition Experiment (P-BACE) is a new generation of neutral gas mass spectrometer based on the time-of-flight principle. P-BACE is the scientific experiment on the Mars Environment Analog Platform (MEAP) flown successfully on a balloon mission in summer 2008. The MEAP mission was flown with a 334,000 m³ helium balloon in the stratosphere on a semicircular trajectory from northern Sweden around the North Pole to Canada using the summer northern hemispheric wind current. The atmospheric conditions at an atmospheric altitude of 35–40 km are remarkably similar to those on the surface of Mars and thus the balloon mission was an ideal testbed for our mass spectrometer P-BACE. Originally this instrument was designed for in situ measurements of the chemical composition of the Martian atmosphere.P-BACE has a unique mass range from 0 to 1000 amu/q with a mass resolution m/Δm (FWHM) > 1000, and the dynamic range is at least six orders of magnitude. During this experiment, the acquisition of one mass spectrum is a sum of 65,535 single spectra, recorded in a time frame of 66 s.The balloon mission lasted 5 days and had successfully demonstrated the functionality of the P-BACE instrument during flight conditions. We had recorded more than 4500 mass spectra. With little modifications, P-BACE can be used on a planetary mission for Mars, but for example also for Venus or Mercury, if placed on a satellite.     

Indirect search for Dark Matter with H.E.S.S.

Observations of the Galactic center region with the H.E.S.S. telescopes have established the existence of a steady, extended source of gamma-ray emission coinciding with the position of the super massive black hole Sgr A^*. This is a remarkable finding given the expected presence of dense self-annihilating Dark Matter in the Galactic center region. The self-annihilation process is giving rise to gamma-ray production through hadronization including the production of neutral pions which decay into gamma-rays but also through (loop-suppressed) annihilation into final states of almost mono-energetic photons. We study the observed gamma-ray signal (spectrum and shape) from the Galactic center in the context of Dark Matter annihilation and indicate the prospects for further indirect Dark Matter searches with H.E.S.S.     

A sample collector for robotic sample return missions III: Impact survivability studies

Laboratory impact tests have been performed on experimental versions of a proposed robotic sample collector for extraterrestrial samples. The collector consists of a retractable aluminum ring containing an impregnable silicone compound that is pressed into the surface of the body to be sampled. As part of a comprehensive program to evaluate this idea, we have performed tests to determine if the samples embedded in the collector medium can survive the impact forces experienced during direct reentry, such as that of the recent Genesis sample return mission. For the present study, samples of sand, rock, glass, and chalk were subjected to decelerations of 1440–2880 g using drop tests. We found that even the most fragile samples, chosen to be representative of a wide range of the types of materials found on the surface of asteroids that have currently been studied, can withstand impacts of the intensity experienced by a sample return capsule during direct reentry.     

基于任务科目的直升机飞行品质评定试飞技术研究

主要对ADS-33E中飞行品质评定的要求进行分析,从任务科目、响应类型和可用感示环境3个维度进行飞行品质的等级评定研究,提出了直升机飞行品质综合评定的试飞技术研究思路,并对某型号直升机的试飞结果和有关问题进行了初步分析。     

Reconfigurable fault-tolerant control for supersonic missiles with actuator failures under actuation redundancy

Aircraft undergoing actuator failures into under-actuation have been seldom studied in literature. Aiming at addressing actuator failures of Total Loss of Effectiveness (TLOE) as well as Partial Loss of Effectiveness (PLOE) resulting in different system actuations, reconfigurable Fault-Tolerant Control (FTC) is proposed for supersonic wingless missiles under actuation redundancy. The under-actuated system of TLOE failure patterns is solved by transformation to cascade systems through a ‘shape variable’. Meanwhile, actuator TLOE faults of different unknown failure patterns from proper actuation to under-actuation are accommodated by a reconfigurable adaptive law on a multiple-model basis. The backstepping technique with the Extended State Observer (ESO) method adopted as a basic strategy is applied to an established symmetric coupled missile system with actuator PLOE faults, modeling errors, and external disturbances. Additionally, the nonlinear saturation characteristics of actuators are settled by an auxiliary system with the Nussbaum function technique. The stability of the control system is analyzed and proven through Lyapunov theory. Numerical simulations are implemented in the presences of aerodynamic uncertainties, gust disturbance, and actuator failures. Results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method with satisfactory tracking performance and actuator fault tolerance capacity.     

Contingency target assessment,trajectory design,and analysis for NASA’s NEA scout solar sail mission

The presented study examines contingency target selection and trajectory design for NASA’s Near-Earth Asteroid Scout mission under the assumption of a missed lunar gravity assist. Two previously considered asteroids are selected as potential targets for the given scenario based on favorable orbital characteristics for launch dates ranging from June 27, 2020 through July 26, 2020. Initially, a simplified circular restricted 3-body problem + ideal solar sail model is utilized to survey trajectory options for a month-long launch window. Selected solutions from this data set are then converged in an N-body ephemeris + non-ideal sail model. Results suggest that NEA Scout can still perform asteroid rendezvous mission under the missed lunar gravity assist scenario with new targets, 2019 GF1, 2018 PK21, and 2007 UN12, based on the target launch dates. Further target assessment is carried out for 165 days beyond the current June 27, 2020 launch date.     

Spatial transformation of general sampling-aliasing frequency region for rotating-blade parameter identification with emphasis on single-probe blade tip-timing measurement

Blade-health monitoring is intensely required for turbomachinery because of the high failure risk of rotating blades. Blade-Tip Timing (BTT) is considered as the most promising technique for operational blade-vibration monitoring, which obtains the parameters that characterize the blade condition from recorded signals. However, its application is hindered by severe undersampling and stringent probe layouts. An inappropriate probe layout can make most of the existing methods invalid or inaccurate. Additionally, a general conflict arises between the allowed and required layouts because of arrangement restrictions. For the sake of economy and safety, parameter identification based on fewer probes has been preferred by users. In this work, a spatial-transformation-based method for parameter identification is proposed based on a single-probe BTT measurement. To present the general Sampling-Aliasing Frequency (SAFE) map definition, the traditional time–frequency analysis methods are extended to a time-sampling frequency. Then, a SAFE map is projected onto a parameter space using spatial transformation to extract the slope and intercept parameters, which can be physically interpreted as an engine order and a natural frequency using coordinate transformation. Finally, the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed method are verified by simulations and experiments under uniformly and nonuniformly variable speed conditions.