Space Physics
This work presents the design of a Linear Quadratic Regulator for relative motion control near periodic orbits in the Circular Restricted Three-Body Problem (CR3BP), formulated in non-singular toroidal coordinates. The key result exploits…
Coronal mass ejections (CMEs) from the Sun can have severe impacts on the Earth environment in the form of geomagnetic storms. These storms pose a risk to the global technological infrastructure, making the prediction of these events…
Atmospheric ion escape driven by the solar wind is a key process controlling the long-term loss of the Martian atmosphere. Localized plasma clouds can carry substantial fluxes of planetary ions away from Mars, representing episodes of bulk…
Thermospheric mass density governs aerodynamic drag in low Earth orbit and is a primary source of uncertainty in orbit prediction and conjunction assessment, particularly during geomagnetic disturbances. We present AETHER-P3…
We present a novel efficient technique for hybrid (kinetic ions, quasi-neutral fluid electrons) simulations of non-relativistic magnetized collisionless plasma shocks, frequently observed near the Sun, in the solar system, and beyond. This…
We present a morphology-first framework for narrowing the search for magnetic-reconnection candidates in Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) burst-mode data. The target is the small, short, and frequently electron-only reconnecting current…
The Venusian interaction with the solar wind leads to the formation of an induced magnetosphere structured by plasma boundaries. Their dynamics is complex, due to the combined influence of external (solar photons, solar wind plasma and…
The Polarimeter to UNify the Corona and Heliosphere (PUNCH) mission will remotely observe solar wind transients with high signal-to-noise ratio, high-cadence, high-resolution polarized white-light images. Using different polarization…
After geomagnetic storms erode the plasmasphere, cold ionospheric plasma flows along magnetic field lines to refill the depleted flux tubes. Previous studies have suggested that refilling undergoes two stages characterized by their distinct…
The lunar south pole is a key candidate region for future lunar exploration and base construction, but its charging characteristics under real topographic conditions and dynamic plasma environments remain insufficiently understood. A…
We report observations of two distinct nighttime F-region irregularities, plasma blob (localized density enhancement) and medium-scale traveling ionospheric disturbance (MSTID), in O(1D) 630.0 nm all-sky airglow images from Hanle…
Super-critical collisionless shocks are not static structures but evolve continuously as they reflect incoming ions back upstream. The physical process responsible for this non-stationarity -- whether it is dominated by wave-like…
We propose a mechanism for fast radio bursts based on photon acceleration by relativistic shocks propagating through highly magnetized electron--positron plasmas, as expected in magnetar magnetospheres. Density modulations at the shock…
We present first near-simultaneous observations of large-scale spatial response of the Martian H Lyman-{\alpha} and atomic oxygen dayglow emissions (O(3S) 130.4 nm and O(5S) 135.6 nm) during May 2024 interplanetary coronal mass ejection…
Magnetic switchbacks are large-amplitude fluctuations in the interplanetary magnetic field, and appear frequently in the near-Sun solar wind explored recently by Parker Solar Probe: these new observations have prompted many new studies into…
Context: In collisionless shocks, energetic particles can carry sufficient pressure to modify the upstream plasma and the shock structure itself, a regime often invoked in theories of cosmic-ray acceleration but rarely observed in the…
The JUpiter ICy moons Explorer (JUICE) mission, launched by the European Space Agency (ESA) in April 2023, represents one of the most ambitious deep space exploration endeavours targeting Jupiter's icy moons. This paper presents results…
The ESA/Rosetta mission escorted comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko for two years, exploring its plasma environment across diverse outgassing conditions. Plasma density observations from the Rosetta Plasma Consortium (RPC) are broadly…
The modulation of galactic cosmic rays, driven by the evolution of the heliospheric magnetic field, strongly influences the intensity of cosmic rays reaching near-Earth space. Characterizing this process is crucial both for advancing our…
Magnetic switchbacks (SB) -- the localized magnetic structures with magnetic field direction inclined at an angle $\theta$ relative to the background $B_0$ -- in the young solar wind have been associated with enhanced ion-scale wave…