Related papers: A Method for Establishing a Station-Keeping, Strat…
The feasibility of performing airborne and ground manipulation, perception, and reconnaissance using wheeled rovers, unmanned aerial vehicles, CubeSats, SmallSats and more have been evaluated before. Among all of these solutions,…
We describe the development and implementation of a light-weight, fully autonomous 2-axis pointing and stabilization system designed for balloon-borne astronomical payloads. The system is developed using off-the-shelf components such as…
Gas giant exoplanets orbiting at close distances to the parent star are subjected to large radiation and stellar wind fluxes. In this paper, hydrodynamic simulations of the planetary upper atmosphere and its interaction with the stellar…
Thermal soaring saves much energy, but flying large distances in this form represents a great challenge for birds, people and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). The solution is to make use of so-called thermals, which are localized, warmer…
This work briefly covers our efforts to stabilize the flight dynamics of Northeastern's tailless bat-inspired micro aerial vehicle, Aerobat. Flapping robots are not new. A plethora of examples is mainly dominated by insect-style design…
Stratosphere circulation is important to interpret abundances of photo-chemically produced compounds like ozone that we aim to observe to assess habitability of exoplanets. We thus investigate a tidally locked ExoEarth scenario for…
Aerodynamic collision avoidance manoeuvres provide an opportunity for satellites in Low Earth Orbits to reduce the risk during close encounters. With rising numbers of satellites and objects in orbit, satellites experience close encounters…
Reliably predicting the geomorphology and climate of planetary bodies requires knowledge of the dynamic threshold wind shear velocity below which saltation transport ceases. Here we measure this threshold in a wind tunnel for four…
Among potentially habitable worlds, rocky planets orbiting M dwarfs offer the most favorable prospects for atmospheric characterization, yet their climates may differ substantially from those of Earth analogs. In the tidally locked limit,…
The balloon-borne very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) experiment is a technical feasibility study for performing radio interferometry in the stratosphere. The flight model has been developed. A balloon-borne VLBI station will be…
Venus is known for its extreme surface temperature and its sulfuric acid clouds. But the cloud layers on Venus have similar temperature and pressure conditions to those on the surface of Earth and are conjectured to be a possible habitat…
There are many indications that anthropogenic global warming poses a serious threat to our civilization and its ecological support systems. Ideally this problem will be overcome by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Various space-based…
Indian Centre for Space Physics has taken a novel strategy to study low energy cosmic rays and astrophysical X-ray sources which involve very light weight payloads up to about five kilograms on board a single or multiple balloons which are…
Areostationary Mars orbit (AMO) satellites will play an important role in future expeditions to the Martian surface due to their strength as navigation and communication satellites. Perturbative forces experienced by an AMOR satellite will…
The classic accepted view of the heliosphere is a quiescent, comet-like shape aligned in the direction of the Sun's travel through the interstellar medium (ISM) extending for 1000's of AUs (AU: astronomical unit). Here we show, based on…
Bathed in intense ionizing radiation, close-in gaseous planets undergo hydrodynamic atmospheric escape, which ejects the upper extent of their atmospheres into the interplanetary medium. Ultraviolet detections of escaping gas around…
When pushing the speed limit for aggressive off-road navigation on uneven terrain, it is inevitable that vehicles may become airborne from time to time. During time-sensitive tasks, being able to fly over challenging terrain can also save…
We present results of simulations with the Max Planck Institute general circulation model (MPI-MGCM) implementing a hydrological cycle scheme. The simulations reveal a seasonal water "pump" mechanism responsible for the upward transport of…
An understanding of wind speed and direction as a function of height are critical to the proper modeling of atmospheric turbulence. We have used radiosonde data from launch sites near significant astronomical observatories and created mean…
Transmission spectroscopy is one of the most successful methods of learning about exoplanet atmospheres. The process of retrievals using transmission spectroscopy consists of creating numerous forward models and comparing them to…