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Radial velocity surveys for extra-solar planets generally require substantial amounts of large telescope time in order to monitor a sufficient number of stars. Two of the aspects which can limit such surveys are the single-object…
Parabolic flights provide cost-effective, time-limited access to "weightless" or reduced gravity conditions experienced in space or on planetary surfaces, e.g. the Moon or Mars. These flights facilitate fundamental research - from materials…
Galactic cosmic rays and solar energetic particles (SEPs) affect the performance of instruments carried on board space missions and are the source of the absorbed dose to astronauts. Particles above 100 MeV are the most penetrating. The…
The classical tests of general relativity - light deflection, time delay and perihelion shift - are applied, along with the geodetic precession test, to the five-dimensional extension of the theory known as Kaluza-Klein gravity, using an…
We study the impact of the cosmological environment on the solar gravitational system by the imbedding formalism of Gautreau. It appears that the cosmic mean-mass density and the cosmological constant give negligibly small contribution to…
Recent studies have found the earth's peculiar velocity to be significant in microwave background based tests for compact cosmic topology, and modifications to these tests have been proposed. Tests of non-gaussianity, weak lensing analysis…
Superconducting gravimeters are the most sensitive instruments to measure surface gravity changes at low frequencies. Currently, about twenty five superconducting gravimeters are operating in the world and their global network has been…
Accurate measurement of inertial quantities is essential in geophysics, geodesy, fundamental physics and navigation. For instance, inertial navigation systems require stable inertial sensors to compute the position and attitude of the…
Moment-based estimation filters have successfully aided spacecraft navigation for decades. However, future missions plan to venture into deep-space regimes with significant round-trip light-time telecommunication delays, operate in…
Some tests of gravity theories - periastron shift, geodetic precession, change in mean motion and gravitational redshift - are applied in solar and stellar systems to constrain the cosmological constant. We thus consider a length scale…
Considering the OPERA neutrino-velocity measurement from the point of view of a GPS satellite we find that the detector at Gran Sasso has a velocity component in the order of $10^{-5}c$ towards the neutrino emission location at CERN. On…
The advent of novel measurement instrumentation can lead to paradigm shifts in scientific research. Optical atomic clocks, due to their unprecedented stability and uncertainty, are already being used to test physical theories and herald a…
The Gravitation Astrometric Measurement Experiment (GAME) is a mission concept based on astronomical techniques (astrometry and coronagraphy) for Fundamental Physics measurements, namely the \gamma\ and \beta\ parameters of the Parametrized…
Direct measurement of acceleration is a key scientific goal for both cosmology and exoplanets. For cosmology, the concept of redshift drift (more than 60 years old by the 2020s) could directly establish the…
Deflecting an asteroid from an Earth impact trajectory requires only small velocity changes, typically of the order of microns per second, if done many years ahead of time. For this, a highly precise method of determining the need,…
The testing of atmosphere-breathing electric propulsion intakes is an important step in the development of functional propulsion systems which provide sustained drag compensation in very low Earth orbits. To make satellite operations more…
We present a concept for a spacecraft that can controllably alter the trajectory of an Earth threatening asteroid using gravity as a towline. The spacecraft hovers near the asteroid with thrusters angled outward so the exhaust does not…
Responding to calls from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for new proposals to measure the gravitational constant $G$, we offer an interesting experiment in deep space employing the classic gravity train mechanism. Our setup requires…
The flyby anomaly is a persistent riddle in astrodynamics. Orbital analysis in several flybys of the Earth since the Galileo spacecraft flyby of the Earth in 1990 have shown that the asymptotic post-encounter velocity exhibits a difference…
Binary pulsars are a powerful tool for probing strong gravity that still outperforms direct gravitational wave observations in a number of directions due to the remarkable accuracy of the pulsar timing. They can constrain very precisely the…