Related papers: Near Earth Asteroids:The Celestial Chariots

In this paper we present and discuss the criteria for selecting potential target stars suitable for the search for Earth like planets, with a special emphasis on the stellar aspects of habitability. Missions that search for terrestrial…

We present SHINeS, a space simulator which can be used to replicate the thermal environment in the immediate neighborhood of the Sun down to a heliocentric distance r~0.06 au. The system consists of three main parts: the solar simulator…

Due to their small radii, M-dwarfs are very promising targets to search for transiting super-Earths, with a planet of 2 Earth radii orbiting an M5 dwarf in the habitable zone giving rise to a 0.5% photometric signal, with a period of two…

Nearby masses can have a high probability of lensing stars in a distant background field. High-probability lensing, or mesolensing, can therefore be used to dramatically increase our knowledge of dark and dim objects in the solar…

In this work, we analyzed the orbits of more than 35,000 (for 2024) near-Earth objects (NEOs) for the possibility of successive approaches to all pairs of planets: Earth, Venus, and Mars in the time range from 2020 to 2120. We have selected…

The author proposes and investigates his old idea - a living human in space without the encumbrance of a complex space suit. Only in this condition can biological humanity seriously attempt to colonize space because all planets of Solar…

Near Earth Asteroids (NEAs) and dead comets comprise the vast majority of the population of Near Earth Objects (NEOs) detected to date. Less is known of their physical properties than of the much larger population of main-belt asteroids.…

In this paper we present the "Small Bodies: Near and Far" Infrared Database, an easy-to-use tool intended to facilitate the modeling of thermal emission of small Solar System bodies. Our database collects thermal emission measurements of…

The search for habitable conditions beyond Earth is a top priority in astrophysics. The discovery of habitable exoplanets beyond our solar system will require a suite of instruments providing long-term monitoring for detection (e.g. with…

The near-earth object camera (NEOCam) is a proposed infrared space mission designed to discover and characterize most of the potentially hazardous asteroids larger than 140 m in diameter that orbit near the Earth. NASA has funded technology…

We present an analysis of surveying the inner Solar System for objects that may pose some threat to the Earth. Most of the analysis is based on understanding the capability provided by Sentinel, a concept for an infrared space-based…

Very low Earth orbits (VLEO), typically classified as orbits below approximately 450 km in altitude, have the potential to provide significant benefits to spacecraft over those that operate in higher altitude orbits. This paper provides a…

Geophysical imaging of the lunar near-surface structure will be key for in situ resource utilization, identification of hazards for crews and infrastructure, and answering science questions on the formation and interior of the Moon. The…

The impact risk has been sharply curtailed for the largest km-sized Near Earth Objects (NEOs) through a concerted period of observation spanning the last decade. Thus the risk of impact has now migrated to the smaller and more numerous…

PILOT (the Pathfinder for an International Large Optical Telescope is a proposed 2.5 m optical/infrared telescope to be located at DomeC on the Antarctic plateau. The atmospheric conditions at Dome C deliver a high sensitivity, high…

In this paper we build upon recent work in the radio astronomy community to experimentally demonstrate the viability of passive radar for Space Situational Awareness. Furthermore, we show that the six state parameters of objects in orbit…

In orbit, we find a harsh environment able to damage even space-qualified components. The main threats will be listed in the following lines, one by one, also presenting some of the effects on commercial electronics. According to the…

The Russell Conjecture states that there is an unproven possibility of small (<1 m) hollow heat-resistant objects (HoHOs) in Earth orbit or otherwise present in the inner solar system or asteroid belt. While such objects are not the current…

The selection of optimal targets in the search for life represents a highly important strategic issue. In this Letter, we evaluate the benefits of searching for life around a potentially habitable planet orbiting a star of arbitrary mass…

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will enable the search for and characterization of terrestrial exoplanet atmospheres in the habitable zone via transmission spectroscopy. However, relatively little work has been done to use solar…