Related papers: Planetary gravities on a low budget: sample test o…
The surface gravity on Mars is smaller than the surface gravity on Earth, resulting in longer falling times. This effect can be simulated on Earth by taking advantage of air resistance and buoyancy, which cause low density objects to fall…
This work presents an experimental design for studying low-velocity collisions into granular surfaces in low-gravity. In the experiment apparatus, reduced-gravity is simulated by releasing a free-falling projectile into a surface container…
In order to investigate the speed of gravitational signals travelling in air or through a different medium two experiments were designed. One of the experiments contains 2 masses rotating at very high speed and in the other experiment a…
Dust and sand motion are a common sight on Mars. Understanding the interaction of atmosphere and Martian soil is fundamental to describe the planet's weather, climate and surface morphology. We set up a wind tunnel to study the lift of a…
In developing mobile robots for exploration on the planetary surface, it is crucial to evaluate the robot's performance, demonstrating the harsh environment in which the robot will actually be deployed. Repeatable experiments in a…
The Ingenuity helicopter test flights on Mars in April 2021 marked the first time a powered aircraft has flown on another world. Students who have access to model helicopters and drones may wonder, how well could those hover on the Red…
Seismic measurements are an important tool for exploration of planetary interiors, but may not be included in missions due to perceived complexity in placement of sensitive instruments on the surface. To help address this concern, we assess…
The exploration of the lunar poles and the collection of samples from the martian surface are characterized by shorter time windows demanding increased autonomy and speeds. Autonomous mobile robots must intrinsically cope with a wider range…
Gravity differs from all other known fundamental forces since it is best described as a curvature of spacetime. For that reason it remains resistant to unifications with quantum theory. Gravitational interaction is fundamentally weak and…
For testing gravity and detecting gravitational waves in space, deep-space laser ranging using drag-free spacecraft is a common method. Deep space provides a large arena and a long integration time. Laser technology provides measurement…
In order to improve our understanding of landing on small bodies and of asteroid evolution, we use our novel drop tower facility to perform low-velocity (2-40 cm s^-1), shallow impact experiments of a 10 cm diameter aluminum sphere into…
The paper proposes an alternative to the Foucault pendulum for detecting various movements of rotation of the Earth. Calculations suggest that if the duration of a "free" fall becomes longer the eastward deflection will be amplified in…
We identified and computed the horizontal wavelengths of atmospheric gravity waves in clouds using a visible camera installed on a window of the Columbus module of the International Space Station (ISS) and controlled by a Raspberry Pi…
Searches for empirical clues beyond Einstein's general relativity (GR) are crucial to understand gravitation and spacetime. Radio pulsars have been playing an important role in testing gravity theories since 1970s. Because radio timing of…
Atmospheric gravity (buoyancy) waves (GWs) are of great importance for the energy and momentum budget of all planetary atmospheres. Propagating upward waves carry energy and momentum from the lower atmosphere to thermospheric altitudes and…
The precise measurement of the gravity of the earth plays a pivotal role in various fundamental research and application fields. Although a few gravimeters have been reported to achieve this goal, miniaturization of high-precision…
The microhertz frequency band of gravitational waves probes the merger of supermassive black holes as well as many other gravitational wave phenomena. However, space-interferometry methods that use test masses would require further…
Aeolian sediment transport is observed to occur on Mars as well as other extraterrestrial environments, generating ripples and dunes as on Earth. The search for terrestrial analogues of planetary bedforms, as well as environmental…
Although wheeled robots have been predominant for planetary exploration, their geometry limits their capabilities when traveling over steep slopes, through rocky terrains, and in microgravity. Legged robots equipped with grippers are a…
We reexamine non-Einsteinian effects observable in the orbital motion of low-orbit artificial Earth satellites. The motivations for doing so are twofold: (i) recent theoretical studies suggest that the correct theory of gravity might…