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We examine the first three BepiColombo Mercury flybys Using data from the Miniature Ion Precipitation Analyzer (MIPA), an ion mass analyzer in the Search for Exospheric Refilling and Natural Abundances (SERENA) package on the Mercury…
This paper discusses the design and the performance achievable with active aerodynamic attitude control in very low Earth orbit, i.e. below 450 km in altitude. A novel real-time algorithm is proposed for selecting the angles of deflection…
Lunar Laser Ranging (LLR) measurements are crucial for advanced exploration of the laws of fundamental gravitational physics and geophysics. Current LLR technology allows us to measure distances to the Moon with a precision approaching 1…
Future observations of cosmic microwave background (CMB) polarisation have the potential to answer some of the most fundamental questions of modern physics and cosmology. In this paper, we list the requirements for a future CMB polarisation…
Mars, lacking an intrinsic dynamo, is an ideal laboratory to comparatively study induced magnetospheres, which can be found in other terrestrial bodies as well as comets. Additionally, Mars is of particular interest to further exploration…
Traversability assessment of deformable terrain is vital for safe rover navigation on planetary surfaces. Machine learning (ML) is a powerful tool for traversability prediction but faces predictive uncertainty. This uncertainty leads to…
The number of resident space objects is rising at an alarming rate. Mega-constellations and breakup events are proliferating in most orbital regimes, and safe navigation is becoming increasingly problematic. It is important to be able to…
Most methods of orbit determination are often difficult for numerical implementations since they are developed before the computer era. The recently developed mathematical technique of semi-definite programming (SDP) has been implemented…
LETSGO (LEnse-Thirring Sun-Geo Orbiter) is a proposed space-based mission involving the use of a spacecraft moving along a highly eccentric heliocentric orbit perpendicular to the ecliptic. It aims to accurately measure some important…
We investigate how the uncertainty on the Hubble constant (H_0) affects the uncertainty in the Equation of State (EOS) of Dark Energy and the total density of the Universe (Omega_tot). We use the approximate relations between the…
The rotation curve of the Milky Way is commonly used to estimate the local dark matter density $\rho_{{\rm DM},\odot}$. However, the estimates are subject to the choice of the distribution of baryons needed in this type of studies. In this…
A solar sail is one of the most promising space exploration system because of its theoretically infinite specific impulse using solar radiation pressure (SRP). Recently, some researchers proposed "transformable spacecrafts" that can…
Earth-based radar observations of the rotational dynamics of Mercury (Margot et al. 2012) combined with the determination of its gravity field by MESSENGER (Smith et al. 2012) give clues on the internal structure of Mercury, in particular…
Approaching a tumbling target safely is a critical challenge in space debris removal missions utilizing robotic manipulators onboard servicing satellites. In this work, we propose a trajectory planning method based on nonlinear optimization…
Radiative transfer (RT) simulations are a powerful tool that enables the calculation of synthetic images of a wide range of astrophysical objects. These simulations are often based on the Monte Carlo (MC) method, as it provides the needed…
One objective of Artemis science is to determine the impact human activities have on the lunar environment, which might compromise science objectives and measurements. We perform a preliminary analysis of the contamination associated with…
We provide a fast method for computing constraints on impactor pre-impact orbits, applying this to the late giant impacts in the Solar System. These constraints can be used to make quick, broad comparisons of different collision scenarios,…
We investigate the relativistic modeling of spacecraft motion in Mercury's post-Newtonian local coordinates. This investigation is motivated by the fact that Mercury's post-Newtonian gravitational field (as well as that of any other planet)…
Building and maintaining a catalog of resident space objects involves several tasks, ranging from observations to data analysis. Once acquired, the knowledge of a space object needs to be updated following a dedicated observing schedule.…
A Massive Compact Halo Object (Macho) that lenses a background star will magnify different parts of the rotating stellar disk by varying amounts. The differential magnification will cause a shift in the centroid of the star's spectral lines…