Related papers: Solar sail propulsion: enabling new capabilities f…
Future prospects for solar spectroscopy missions operating in the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) and soft X-ray (SXR) wavelength ranges, 1.2-1600 Angstroms, are discussed. NASA is the major funder of Solar Physics missions, and brief summaries…
Several lunar missions are planned ahead and there is an increasing demand for efficient photovoltaic power generation in the moon. The knowledge of solar cell operation in the lunar surface obtained during early seventies need to be…
Achieving laser-driven, reflective, relativistic light sails would represent a tremendous breakthrough for humankind, allowing us to advance our understanding of the solar system and deep space far beyond what we know from space probes,…
Experimental work with solar neutrinos has illuminated the properties of neutrinos and tested models of how the sun produces its energy. Three experiments continue to take data, and at least seven are in various stages of planning or…
Solar-powered electric propulsion systems can operate in multiple modes and their operation is coupled to the power generated by solar arrays. However, the power produced by the solar arrays is a function of the solar array size and…
Reliable prediction of the solar cycle is a formidable challenge, yet it is increasingly vital in our technology-dependent society as solar activity drives space weather. Various methods, including precursors, nonlinear curve fitting and…
This chapter describes the SMILE (Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer) mission, currently under development as a joint project of the European Space Agency and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. SMILE aims to study the solar…
We consider a special relativistic effect, known as the Poynting-Robertson effect, on various types of trajectories of solar sails. Since this effect occurs at order $v^{\phi}/c$, where $v^{\phi}$ is the tangential speed relative to the…
Water has been identified as a critical resource both to sustain human-life but also for use in propulsion, attitude-control, power, thermal and radiation pro-tection systems. Water may be obtained off-world through In-Situ Resource…
A torus-shaped sail consists of a reflective membrane attached to an inflatable torus-shaped rim. The sail's deployment from its stowed configuration is initiated by introducing inflation pressure into the toroidal rim with an attached…
This paper presents a mission concept that enables Earth-Mars communications resistant to periods of solar conjunction by using CubeSat satellites equipped with a solar sail. The dynamics of the satellite is modeled separately in the…
The solar wind electric sail (E-sail) is a planned in-space propulsion device that uses the natural solar wind momentum flux for spacecraft propulsion with the help of long, charged, centrifugally stretched tethers. The problem of…
Laboratory astrophysics and complementary theoretical calculations are the foundations of astronomy and astrophysics and will remain so into the foreseeable future. The mission enabling impact of laboratory astrophysics ranges from the…
Energy harvesting is the fundamental activity in almost all forms of space exploration known to humans. So far, in most cases, it is not feasible to bring, along with probe, spacecraft or rover suitable supply of fuel to cover all mission's…
The purpose of this white paper is to put together a coherent vision for the role of helioseismic monitoring of magnetic activity in the Sun's far hemisphere that will contribute to improving space weather forecasting as well as fundamental…
The concept of exploring space using solar power is energetically appealing, but interstellar solar sails typically require extremely low areal densities (~g/m^2). This work explores an alternative approach: storing solar energy as…
The field of Heliophysics has a branding problem. We need an answer to the question: ``What is Heliophysics\?'', the answer to which should clearly and succinctly defines our science in a compelling way that simultaneously introduces a…
The Solar Orbiter mission, to be launched in July 2017, will carry a suite of remote sensing and in-situ instruments, including the Polarimetric and Helioseismic Imager (PHI). PHI will deliver high-cadence images of the Sun in intensity and…
In this paper the planar orbit and attitude dynamics of an uncontrolled spacecraft is studied, taking on-board a deorbiting device. Solar and drag sails with the same shape are considered and separately studied. In both cases, these devices…
Heliophysics is central to understanding and forecasting space weather events and solar activity. Despite decades of high-resolution observations from the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), most models remain task-specific and constrained by…