Related papers: Electric solar wind sail applications overview
The rotation of a planet located in the habitable zone of a solar-type star can be reversed by a smooth process associated with the formation of its atmosphere and the increase of stronger torques, opposite to normal tidal torques. Our…
Utilisation of the material and energy resources of the Solar System will be essential for the development of a sustainable space economy and associated infrastructure. Science will be a major beneficiary of a space economy, even if its…
In the context of current and future microwave surveys mainly dedicated to the accurate mapping of Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB), mm and sub-mm emissions from Solar System will represent a potential source of contamination as well as an…
We investigate the electromagnetic interaction of a relativistic stellar wind with a planet or a smaller body in orbit around a pulsar. This may be relevant to objects such as PSR B1257+12 and PSR B1620-26 that are expected to hold a…
In this paper, we detail the scientific objectives and outline a strawman payload of the SOLAR sail Investigation of the Sun (SOLARIS). The science objectives are to study the 3D structure of the solar magnetic and velocity field, the…
Some human mission trajectories to Mars include flybys of Venus. These flybys provide opportunities to practice deep space human operations, and offer numerous safe-return-to-Earth options, before committing to longer and lower-cadence…
The photoionization-driven evaporation of planetary atmospheres has emerged as a potentially fundamental process for planets on short period orbits. While 1-D studies have proven the effectiveness of stellar fluxes at altering the…
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…
What kind of environment may exist on terrestrial planets around other stars? In spite of the lack of direct observations, it may not be premature to speculate on exoplanetary climates, for instance to optimize future telescopic…
Context. In binary star systems, the winds from the two components impact each other, leading to strong shocks and regions of enhanced density and temperature. Potentially habitable circumbinary planets must continually be exposed to these…
Context. Recent spacecraft observations in the inner heliosphere have revealed the presence of local Alfvenic reversals of the magnetic field, while the field magnitude remains almost constant. They are called magnetic switchbacks and are…
The recent launches of Parker Solar Probe (PSP), Solar Orbiter (SO) and BepiColombo, along with several older spacecraft, have provided the opportunity to study the solar wind at multiple latitudes and distances from the Sun simultaneously.…
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 planet Mercury possesses a small but highly dynamic magnetosphere in which the role and dynamics of electrons are still largely unknown. We aim at modeling the global dynamics of solar wind electrons impinging on Mercury's…
The solar wind speed at Earth is one of the most important parameters regarding the effects of space weather on society. Thus far, most approaches for predicting the solar wind speed produce a single-value time series without uncertainty,…
In this study we considered a solar sail coated with materials that undergo thermal desorption at a specific temperature, as a result of heating by solar radiation at a particular heliocentric distance. Three different scenarios, that only…
The Solar System Odyssey mission uses modern-day high-precision experimental techniques to test the laws of fundamental physics which determine dynamics in the solar system. It could lead to major discoveries by using demonstrated…
In this work the orbital dynamics of Earth satellites about the geosynchronous altitude are explored, with primary goal to assess current mitigation guidelines as well as to discuss the future exploitation of the region. A thorough…
This work investigates a hybrid photovoltaic-wind-battery power system designed to sustain a Mars base under varying seasonal and climatic conditions. The Mars Climate Database was utilized to simulate the effects of seasonal changes,…
With interstellar mission concepts now being under study by various space agencies and institutions, a feasible and worthy interstellar precursor mission concept will be key to the success of the long shot. Here we investigate…