Statistical Approach to the Evaluation of the Mean Correlation Length and the Propagation Velocity of Middle-Scale Plasma Structures in the Earth's Foreshock

Based on simultaneous measurements of ion fluxes made onboard the closely separated satellites Interball-1and Magion-4, the propagation velocity of middle-scale plasma structures in the Earth's foreshock relative to the solar wind flow is estimated. The derived value of this velocity allows these structures to be identified as a fast magnetosonic wave propagating upstream of the solar wind inflowing the Earth's bow shock. An evaluation is also made of the correlation length of these disturbances in the plane perpendicular to the Sun–Earth line. This length is approximately equal to 2R _E.     

Gravitational maneuvers as a way to direct small asteroids to trajectory of a rendezvous with dangerous near-Earth objects

A possibility to prevent collisions with the Earth of dangerous celestial bodies by directing at them small asteroids is considered. It is proposed to solve this problem using a gravitational maneuver near the Earth.     

Observations of A0535+26 transient X-ray source

Observations of the transient X-ray A0535+26 source with the SIGNE-2MP instrument on-board the Soviet “Prognoz-6” and “Prognoz-7” satellites are considered in the paper.     

A low-orbit experiment on modeling superhigh-velocity impact of a meteorite reproducing abiogenic synthesis of complex organic compounds in torch plasma

We present the results of model experiments confirming that in torch plasma, arising under the superhigh-velocity impact action of a meteorite, synthesis of complex polymer molecules takes place, if this plasma contains elements forming organic compounds. Based on these results we suggest a new concept of the prebiotic stage of evolution, according to which the processes in plasma torches of meteorite impacts could facilitate origination of primordial forms of living matter. In order to investigate the processes of plasma synthesis one needs to carry out direct impact experiments with impactors whose dimensions would range from 1 to 20 cm. Ground-based accelerators of dust particles allow one to reach the necessary impact velocity only for particles with dimensions below 10–3 cm in diameter. In order to overcome this difficulty, we suggest a low-orbit experiment with original technique, in which impact of a impactor into a target with a diameter of up to 300 cm proceeds on oppositely directed orbits, the products of synthesis being detected with the use of remote mass-spectrometric measurements.     

Attitude Determination for Satellites in the INTERBALL Project from a Limited Set of Measurements

The determination of the orientation of satellites in the INTERBALL project from a limited set of measurements is discussed. It is shown that the full set of attitude parameters can be obtained by processing only the solar sensor data. The accuracy of corresponding parameters is estimated from alternative measurements.     

Method and Results of Direct Measurement of the Interstellar Neutral Helium Abundance and Isotopic Composition

One of the important astrophysical problems is the determination of the abundance of helium isotopes ³He and ⁴He in different regions of the Universe, because this abundance can reflect its history by pointing to the intensity of various possible processes of the creation and decay of light elements. This paper describes the method and results of the determination (for the first time performed by a direct method) of the helium isotopic abundance in the local interstellar medium surrounding the Solar system. The experiment was carried out on the manned Mir space station by long-term space exposure of samples of metal foil with their subsequent recovery to the Earth and detailed laboratory mass-spectrometric analysis. As a result, we succeeded in obtaining an estimation of the ⁴He concentration (about 7.5 × 10^–3 cm^–3) and the isotopic ratio ³He/⁴He (about1.7 × 10^–4) for the local interstellar medium.