Related papers: The Hera Saturn Entry Probe Mission
In March 2009, NASA will launch the Kepler satellite -- a mission designed to discover habitable Earth-like planets around distant Sun-like stars. The method that Kepler will use to detect distant worlds will only reveal the size of the…
Solar sails can play a critical role in enabling solar and heliophysics missions. Solar sail technology within NASA is currently at 80% of TRL-6, suitable for an in-flight technology demonstration. It is conceivable that an initial…
The Chandra X-ray Observatory is the X-ray component of NASA's Great Observatory Program which includes the recently launched Spitzer Infrared Telescope, the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) for observations in the visible, and the Compton…
In the most common space solar power (SSP) system architectures, solar energy harvested by large satellites in geostationary orbit is transmitted to Earth via microwave radiation. Currently, only limited information about the interactions…
The discovery of extra-solar planets is one of the greatest achievements of modern astronomy. There are now more than 200 such objects known, and the recent detection of planets with masses approximately 5 times that of Earth demonstrates…
Measurements of diffractive phenomena observed at HERA are reviewed. A short introduction to the theoretical background is presented. The review focuses on the current experimental directions and discusses the exclusive production of vector…
Planet population synthesis models predict an abundance of planets with semi-major axes between 1-10 au, yet they lie at the edge of the detection limits of most planet finding techniques. Discovering these planets and studying their…
It is demonstrated that the development of a nuclear fusion rocket engine based on a D $-$ $^{3}$He (Deterium-Helium 3) technology will allow to travel in the solar system and beyond. The Direct Fusion Drive (DFD) is the D $-$…
The Environmental Acoustic Reconnaissance and Sounding experiment (EARS), is composed of two parts: the Environmental Acoustic Reconnaissance (EAR) instrument and the Environmental Acoustic Sounding Experiment (EASE). They are distinct, but…
HERA is the only high energy electron-proton collider in the world today and hence has unique opportunities both to probe the structure of the proton and to search for physics beyond the Standard Model. Results are presented for…
A mission to view the solar poles from high helio-latitudes (above 60$^\circ$) will build on the experience of Solar Orbiter as well as a long heritage of successful solar missions and instrumentation (e.g. SOHO \cite{SOHO}, STEREO…
The Advanced Telescope for High-energy Astrophysics (Athena+) is being proposed to ESA as the L2 mission (for a launch in 2028) and is specifically designed to answer two of the most pressing questions for astrophysics in the forthcoming…
The highly eccentric binary system Eta Carinae shows numerous time-variable emission and absorption features. These observational signatures are the result of interactions between the complex three-dimensional (3D) wind-wind collision…
Several concepts for heliospheric missions operating at heliocentric distances far beyond Earth orbit are currently investigated by the scientific community. The mission concept of the Interstellar Probe (McNutt et al. 2018), e.g., aims at…
The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) is an international initiative to build the next generation ground-based very-high-energy gamma-ray observatory. Full sky coverage will be assured by two arrays, one located on each of the northern and…
The incredible longevity of Cassini's orbital mission at Saturn has provided the most comprehensive exploration of a seasonal giant planet to date. This review explores Saturn's changing global temperatures, composition, and aerosol…
Saturn's moon Enceladus offers a unique opportunity in the search for life and habitable environments beyond Earth, a key theme of the National Research Council's 2013-2022 Decadal Survey. A plume of water vapor and ice spews from…
The goal of finding and characterizing habitable planets in other solar systems represents one of humanity's greatest scientific challenges. NASA and ESA have initiated studies of missions that could accomplish this goal within the next ten…
The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) is the major ground-based gamma-ray observatory planned for the next decade and beyond. Consisting of two large atmospheric Cherenkov telescope arrays (one in the southern hemisphere and one in the…
The Solar Spectroscopy Explorer (SSE) concept is conceived as a scalable mission, with two to four instruments and a strong focus on coronal spectroscopy. In its core configuration it is a small strategic mission ($250-500M) built around a…