Observation of aphelion cloud belt over Martian tropics,its evolution,and associated dust distribution from MCS data

The present study uses five Martian years of observations from Mars Climate Sounder onboard Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for investigating the Aphelion Cloud Belt (ACB) over the tropics. Analysis of zonal mean water ice column opacity suggests that the spatial extension of the ACB is mainly confined over the tropics and mid-latitudes (-20 – 40°N) during L_S ~ 45 – 135° (L_S = 0° signifies northern spring equinox). The ACB is seen primarily in the nighttime only due to the truncation of the daytime profile observations at significantly higher altitudes (at ~30 km). Zonal mean ice extinction profiles show ACB’s altitudinal range within ~10 – 40 km, and the existence of a thin cloud band in the absence of a thick ACB during aphelion season. Three phases of the ACB could be identified as the formation phase during L_S = 45 – 75° (phase 1), the peak phase during L_S = 76 – 105° (phase 2), and the decaying phase during L_S = 106 – 135° (phase 3). Observation of the cloud latitude belt shows a northward movement starting from phase 2, prominent over regions nearby Lunae Planum and Xanthe Terra. During this phase, the top level of thick clouds within the ACB decreases to ~20 km in the southern hemisphere, while it increases a little over the northern hemisphere (NH). The decreasing tendency continues in phase 3 over the entire region ?10 – 10°N, and the thick cloud base moves higher over the NH, though the vertical depth of it becomes narrower than phase 2. Temperature profiles do not show any noticeable influence on the northward evolution of the ACB. However, the study at a regional level indicates a possible association of upper tropospheric dustiness with the ACB’s evolution. The mechanism is evident in the correlation analysis mostly at an altitude range of ~18 – 35 km. The migrating semidiurnal tide (SMD) as a proxy of dust or water ice forcing, and the calculated upper tropospheric dust radiative heating, shows an apparent northward movement of their peak amplitude within the three phases of the ACB. This match between the spatiotemporal variations of the SMD and the water ice was not observed previously. However, the correlating behavior seems to be prominent in the areas nearby Lunae Planum and Xanthe Terra and the upper-tropospheric region of the atmosphere.     

Mars entry guidance using a semi-analytical method

Future Mars missions may require improved landed accuracy to facilitate the landing site selection and finally access a region of complex terrain with high scientific return. This paper is to develop a novel, robust, and precision entry guidance algorithm for Mars entry vehicles with low lift-to-drag ratios. In the presence of large uncertainties, the entry terminal point controller algorithm can encounter severe performance degradation due to: (1) the small perturbation assumption, and (2) theoretically ignoring deviations in the atmospheric-density model, aerodynamic-force model, etc. Based on numerical technologies and the classical variation method (VM), this work develops a semi-analytical (SA) algorithm, in which combined effects of several dynamic uncertainties now can be addressed. The terminal-downrange error is predicted by a numerical predictor such that the dependence on the reference trajectory can be reduced and then the issue caused by the small perturbation assumption can be addressed. Such a predicted terminal-downrange error is finally corrected by an analytical corrector, which is designed by the VM. It is indicative that there can be no numerical iterations in the SA algorithm. Numerical results demonstrate the effectiveness of the SA algorithm.     

国外单组元变推力发动机应用与关键技术

介绍了国外单组元变推力发动机的应用现状,阐释了单组元变推力发动机的结构和设计原理,总结了研制和改进过程中的关键技术,主要包括径向双层夹套催化床设计、径向喷注器设计、流量稳定调节技术和催化床空穴控制技术等。美国为火星软着陆研制的MR-80和MR-80B无水肼单组元变推力发动机分别应用于“海盗”号和“好奇”号着陆器下降级推进系统。MR-80发动机可实现275~2835 N变推力调节,推力变比为10∶1,比冲为205 s,呈120°均布于“海盗”号着陆器三角形基座的长边。“好奇”号下降级推进系统由2个高压氦气瓶、3个推进剂贮箱、8台单组元变推力发动机、8台单组元250 N姿控发动机、1个压力控制组件和3个推进剂控制组件组成,MR-80B发动机可产生31~3603 N的真空推力,推力变比达到100∶1,比冲范围为204~223 s。     

旋翼式火星无人机技术发展综述

火星表面稀薄的大气环境为旋翼式无人机在火星低空飞行提供了必要的条件。概述了火星无人机的研究背景、飞行环境与研制难点；整理了世界范围内各研究机构研制的旋翼式火星无人机的技术特点；梳理旋翼式火星无人机研究在气动特性理论、低气压飞行控制、系统集成等方面的关键技术；总结旋翼式火星无人机的仿真研究与实验研究成果；对火星无人机未来的发展趋势进行展望。     

South polar permanent CO2 ice cap presentation in the Global Mars Multiscale Model

The atmospheric influence caused by the Martian permanent south CO₂ ice cap is examined to improve the Global Mars Multiscale Model (GM3) to see if it can significantly improve the representation of south polar meteorology. However, the seasonal carbon dioxide ice in the polar regions is presented in the surface ice simulation by the Global Mars Multiscale Model but the model does not produce a permanent south CO₂ ice cap, and the physics code must modify to capture the realistic physical such as ice process detail; probably makes a bias in terms of total CO₂ ice and meteorological processes in the model aside from ice formation. The permanent south CO₂ ice cap in the model can significantly improve the representation of south polar meteorology for example in predicted surface temperatures, surface pressures, horizontal and zonal winds over the south cap and possible initiation of dust storms at south polar region during the southern summer period.     

火星探测器降落伞系统综述

文章介绍了美国火星探测器降落伞系统组成和验证试验情况;分析了5种不同探测器降落伞系统的具体差异;归纳了探测器降落伞系统的结构和性能参数;重点介绍了"凤凰号"和"火星科学实验室"降落伞系统研制过程和性能验证试验。     

火星探测用金属/CO2燃烧技术研究进展与展望

火星原位资源利用指利用火星当地资源生产火星探测所需原料和能源,减少任务载荷,降低发射成本,是火星探测不可或缺的关键技术。金属和二氧化碳是火星重要的原位资源,部分金属可以在二氧化碳气氛中燃烧,使得金属/CO_2燃烧体系在火星上扮演地球上化石燃料/空气燃烧体系的角色成为可能。从拓展金属/CO_2燃烧技术在火星探测中应用的角度出发,梳理了火星二氧化碳收集方式、火星矿物分布和冶炼、金属/CO_2燃烧技术的主要应用方式(Mg/CO_2火箭发动机和Mg/CO_2金属燃烧器)的研究进展,并对今后的研究进行了展望。     

天问一号环绕器中继轨道受摄共振特性分析

“天问一号”环绕器在环火中继轨道为“祝融”火星车提供中继服务时,星下点出现了过着陆点纬度时的经度先增大再减小的特殊漂移现象,需要对该现象产生的原因进行深入分析。基于摄动理论设计了一系列数值实验,提出了一种星下点过指定纬度时经度的简化计算方法;并结合对田谐项引力场位函数的解析推导发现,由于中继轨道周期与火星自转周期比接近1:3,导致3阶3次田谐项产生了轨道共振,从而使得半长轴长周期运动有着较为显著的振荡,进而与带谐项摄动联合导致了该特殊现象。研究揭示了“天问一号”环绕器的轨道共振现象,发现了高阶田谐项对非同步轨道上的环火卫星仍能产生较为明显的轨道共振现象。研究结果可为后续火星环绕探测任务轨道设计提供重要参考。     

一种LSTM模型预测BC值的空间碎片无控再入预报方法

提出一种利用长短周期记忆(LSTM)神经网络模型动态预测无控再入过程中弹道系数(BC)值实现空间碎片高精度再入时刻预报。通过利用空间碎片两行根数(TLE)、简化通用摄动模型(SGP4)与公开的物体陨落时间作为实测数据样本,利用迭代修正BC值方法构建预测模型的训练集,由此构造用于预测BC值的LSTM模型预测BC,再采用高精度轨道外推动力学模型配合预测BC值预报再入时刻,结果表明基于LSTM模型预测BC的空间碎片再入时刻预报方法是可行的,在95%的置信度内,90天以上的再入时刻预报精度小于10%,30天预报精度小于8%。     

火星探测器“进入、下降、着陆”过程的供配电方案综述

对国外成功着陆火星的"火星探路者"(MPF)、"火星探测巡视器"(MER)、凤凰号(Phoenix)和"火星科学实验室"(MSL)的供配电技术进行总结;着重分析探测器在"进入、下降、着陆"(EDL)过程中对电源的电池容量、放电电流、工作时间、环境温度及储存时间等方面的要求及解决方案;提出了火星探测器EDL过程中供配电设计在电池类型、器间供电接口、比能量、放电倍率、能量裕度和寿命方面要注意的重点。