Magnetosphere Imaging Instrument (MIMI) on the Cassini Mission to Saturn/Titan

The magnetospheric imaging instrument (MIMI) is a neutral and charged particle detection system on the Cassini orbiter spacecraft designed to perform both global imaging and in-situ measurements to study the overall configuration and dynamics of Saturn’s magnetosphere and its interactions with the solar wind, Saturn’s atmosphere, Titan, and the icy satellites. The processes responsible for Saturn’s aurora will be investigated; a search will be performed for substorms at Saturn; and the origins of magnetospheric hot plasmas will be determined. Further, the Jovian magnetosphere and Io torus will be imaged during Jupiter flyby. The investigative approach is twofold. (1) Perform remote sensing of the magnetospheric energetic (E > 7 keV) ion plasmas by detecting and imaging charge-exchange neutrals, created when magnetospheric ions capture electrons from ambient neutral gas. Such escaping neutrals were detected by the Voyager l spacecraft outside Saturn’s magnetosphere and can be used like photons to form images of the emitting regions, as has been demonstrated at Earth. (2) Determine through in-situ measurements the 3-D particle distribution functions including ion composition and charge states (E > 3 keV/e). The combination of in-situ measurements with global images, together with analysis and interpretation techniques that include direct “forward modeling’’ and deconvolution by tomography, is expected to yield a global assessment of magnetospheric structure and dynamics, including (a) magnetospheric ring currents and hot plasma populations, (b) magnetic field distortions, (c) electric field configuration, (d) particle injection boundaries associated with magnetic storms and substorms, and (e) the connection of the magnetosphere to ionospheric altitudes. Titan and its torus will stand out in energetic neutral images throughout the Cassini orbit, and thus serve as a continuous remote probe of ion flux variations near 20R _S (e.g., magnetopause crossings and substorm plasma injections). The Titan exosphere and its cometary interaction with magnetospheric plasmas will be imaged in detail on each flyby. The three principal sensors of MIMI consists of an ion and neutral camera (INCA), a charge–energy–mass-spectrometer (CHEMS) essentially identical to our instrument flown on the ISTP/Geotail spacecraft, and the low energy magnetospheric measurements system (LEMMS), an advanced design of one of our sensors flown on the Galileo spacecraft. The INCA head is a large geometry factor (G ∼ 2.4 cm² sr) foil time-of-flight (TOF) camera that separately registers the incident direction of either energetic neutral atoms (ENA) or ion species (≥5^∘ full width half maximum) over the range 7 keV/nuc < E < 3 MeV/nuc. CHEMS uses electrostatic deflection, TOF, and energy measurement to determine ion energy, charge state, mass, and 3-D anisotropy in the range 3 ≤ E ≤ 220 keV/e with good (∼0.05 cm² sr) sensitivity. LEMMS is a two-ended telescope that measures ions in the range 0.03 ≤ E ≤ 18 MeV and electrons 0.015 ≤ E≤ 0.884 MeV in the forward direction (G ∼ 0.02 cm² sr), while high energy electrons (0.1–5 MeV) and ions (1.6–160 MeV) are measured from the back direction (G ∼ 0.4 cm² sr). The latter are relevant to inner magnetosphere studies of diffusion processes and satellite microsignatures as well as cosmic ray albedo neutron decay (CRAND). Our analyses of Voyager energetic neutral particle and Lyman-α measurements show that INCA will provide statistically significant global magnetospheric images from a distance of ∼60 R _S every 2–3 h (every ∼10 min from ∼20 R _S). Moreover, during Titan flybys, INCA will provide images of the interaction of the Titan exosphere with the Saturn magnetosphere every 1.5 min. Time resolution for charged particle measurements can be < 0.1 s, which is more than adequate for microsignature studies. Data obtained during Venus-2 flyby and Earth swingby in June and August 1999, respectively, and Jupiter flyby in December 2000 to January 2001 show that the instrument is performing well, has made important and heretofore unobtainable measurements in interplanetary space at Jupiter, and will likely obtain high-quality data throughout each orbit of the Cassini mission at Saturn. Sample data from each of the three sensors during the August 18 Earth swingby are shown, including the first ENA image of part of the ring current obtained by an instrument specifically designed for this purpose. Similarily, measurements in cis-Jovian space include the first detailed charge state determination of Iogenic ions and several ENA images of that planet’s magnetosphere.This revised version was published online in July 2005 with a corrected cover date.     

可重复使用运载器磁悬浮助推发射参数研究

针对磁悬浮助推水平起飞运载器这种新型发射概念,采用概念性分析方法,研究地面发射参数对可重复使用运载器性能的影响规律。结果表明,助推发射水平起飞运载器在降低初始推重比、推进剂和结构质量等方面具有优势,最后得出地面发射参数的一组优化值。     

Deep Impact: Working Properties for the Target Nucleus – Comet 9P/Tempel 1

In 1998, Comet 9P/Tempel 1 was chosen as the target of the Deep Impact mission (A’Hearn, M. F., Belton, M. J. S., and Delamere, A., Space Sci. Rev., 2005) even though very little was known about its physical properties. Efforts were immediately begun to improve this situation by the Deep Impact Science Team leading to the founding of a worldwide observing campaign (Meech et al., Space Sci. Rev., 2005a). This campaign has already produced a great deal of information on the global properties of the comet’s nucleus (summarized in Table I) that is vital to the planning and the assessment of the chances of success at the impact and encounter. Since the mission was begun the successful encounters of the Deep Space 1 spacecraft at Comet 19P/Borrelly and the Stardust spacecraft at Comet 81P/Wild 2 have occurred yielding new information on the state of the nuclei of these two comets. This information, together with earlier results on the nucleus of comet 1P/Halley from the European Space Agency’s Giotto, the Soviet Vega mission, and various ground-based observational and theoretical studies, is used as a basis for conjectures on the morphological, geological, mechanical, and compositional properties of the surface and subsurface that Deep Impact may find at 9P/Tempel 1. We adopt the following working values (circa December 2004) for the nucleus parameters of prime importance to Deep Impact as follows: mean effective radius = 3.25± 0.2 km, shape – irregular triaxial ellipsoid with a/b = 3.2± 0.4 and overall dimensions of ∼14.4 × 4.4 × 4.4 km, principal axis rotation with period = 41.85± 0.1 hr, pole directions (RA, Dec, J2000) = 46± 10, 73± 10 deg (Pole 1) or 287± 14, 16.5± 10 deg (Pole 2) (the two poles are photometrically, but not geometrically, equivalent), Kron-Cousins (V-R) color = 0.56± 0.02, V-band geometric albedo = 0.04± 0.01, R-band geometric albedo = 0.05± 0.01, R-band H(1,1,0) = 14.441± 0.067, and mass ∼7×10¹³ kg assuming a bulk density of 500 kg m⁻³. As these are working values, {i.e.}, based on preliminary analyses, it is expected that adjustments to their values may be made before encounter as improved estimates become available through further analysis of the large database being made available by the Deep Impact observing campaign. Given the parameters listed above the impact will occur in an environment where the local gravity is estimated at 0.027–0.04 cm s⁻² and the escape velocity between 1.4 and 2 m s⁻¹. For both of the rotation poles found here, the Deep Impact spacecraft on approach to encounter will find the rotation axis close to the plane of the sky (aspect angles 82.2 and 69.7 deg. for pole 1 and 2, respectively). However, until the rotation period estimate is substantially improved, it will remain uncertain whether the impactor will collide with the broadside or the ends of the nucleus.     

热防护系统高温纤维隔热毡传热及有效热导率分析

针对重复使用运载器热防护系统纤维隔热毡内部导热和辐射的耦合换热问题进行了分析,应用有限差分法建立了纤维隔热毡的数值分析模型.通过数值求解传热方程,计算了稳态的有效热导率.计算结果表明辐射和气体传导是纤维隔热毡内的主要传热方式,辐射作用随压力和试样密度的增加而降低,在试样温度高的一侧辐射是主要的传热方式,而在温度低的一侧气体传导为主要的传热方式;试样的有效热导率随纤维的平均直径、压力和温差的增加而增加,随试样密度的增加而降低.本文的计算结果与文献中的实验结果吻合较好,可以为纤维隔热毡及热防护系统的优化设计提供理论参考.     

热冲击再时效对Al—Zn—Mg—Cu合金组织及性能的影响

用高压电子显微镜对LC4-CS合金进行不同温度下的高温同位组织观察,证明该合金的晶间析出和基体沉淀可以同时固定在时效沉淀序列的不同阶段,使晶间呈过时效状态,而基体组织处于峰值时效状态。通过本文提出的热冲击再时效工艺方法可以获得以上组织状态,从而达到高强度铝合金主要性能的最佳组合。     

航天飞机三维最优再入轨道及气动加热过程

本文应用现代控制理论研究了航天飞行器三维最优再入轨道和与轨道参数密切相关的气动加热过程。文中选择飞行器迎角和倾斜角作为控制变量,以飞行器气动加热率和飞行过载沿轨道积分最小作为优化性能指标,按极大原理导出最优再入轨道有约束控制的非线性两点边值问题。采用了数值优化方法——共轭梯度法求解有升力飞行器的最优再入轨道及其热过程。文中以允许误差法讨论了权系数和罚函数的选取方法;对不同速度范围研究了不同的加热模型;按热平衡方程与优化轨道同步迭代的方法求得了算例数值结果。算例的数值结果与文献[13]的量值是一致的。     

欧洲返回舱CTV气动特性综述

研究分析了欧洲航天局天地往返运输系统之载人飞船返回舱CTV的气动特性，并与第一代联盟号飞船返回舱的气动特性作了对比研究。该返回舱为钝双锥外形，与联盟号飞船返回舱相比，它具有升阻比高、机动性强、稳定性好等特点。本文还对两类返回舱的气动热特性、防热材料重量、飞行弹道及通讯中断问题进行了对比分析研究。     

航天飞行中的稀薄气体动力学

飞船、宇航探测器、航天飞机等复杂外形航天器给气体动力学，包括稀薄气体动力学提出了新的要求。本文简要介绍了为计算过渡领域中气动力与热而发展的基于位置元概念的DSMC方法的通用算法。该方法解决了计算物面通量量的技术难点并已用于模拟圆球、飞船、类航天飞机的绕流。正在进行的航天实践，如麦哲伦飞船对金星的探测、行星大气中的气动制动、伽利略飞船的木星之行、尾屏蔽在太空中获得高真空的实验等等提出了新的气动力问题，稀薄气体动力学和DSMC方法是有力的工具。     

航天飞机防热瓦缝隙气动加热的讨论

本文根据航天飞机防热瓦缝隙流动的特点,从二维定常不可压缩层流的 N-S方程出发,提出了一个简化流动模型,即缝隙的二维流动可近似当作两个准一维沟槽流动的线性迭加,由此给出了缝隙中的热流率与压力、压力梯度和缝隙宽度的变化规律,并利用现有的实验结果作了验证。     

形态图计算中的投影空间维数和投影空间模型

确定投影空间维数和建立投影空间模型是计算机视觉领域中形态图计算时一个十分重要的基本问题，本文根据态图计算时特征视图拓扑结构等价的特点，指出轴测投影下的投影空间是二维空间，透视投影空间为三维空间，并分别了投影空间模型的建立方法，从而使复杂物体形科计算是简单可行。