Related papers: Low-cost precursor of an interstellar mission
Direct and statistical observational evidences suggest that photoevaporation is important in eroding the atmosphere of sub-Neptune planets. We construct full hydrodynamic simulations, coupled with consistent thermochemistry and ray-tracing…
Aims. We present a solution to improve the performance of coronagraphs for the detection of exo-planets. Methods. We simulate numerically several kinds of coronagraphic systems, with the aim of evaluating the gain obtained with an adaptive…
The recent progress in laser propulsion research has advanced substantially the prospects to realize interstellar spaceflight within a few decades. Here we examine passive deceleration via momentum braking from ionized interstellar media.…
Interstellar communications are achievable with gram-scale spacecraft using swarm techniques introduced herein if an adequate energy source, clocks and a suitable communications protocol exist. The essence of our approach to the…
The electric solar wind sail (E-sail) propellantless propulsion device uses long, charged metallic tethers to tap momentum from the solar wind to produce spacecraft propulsion. If flying through planetary or moon eclipse, the long E-sail…
The helioglow is a fluorescence of interstellar atoms inside the heliosphere, where they are excited by the solar EUV. Because the mean free path between collisions for the interstellar gas is comparable to the size of the heliosphere, the…
Generating renewable energy on Mars is technologically challenging. Firstly, because compared to Earth, key energy resources such as solar and wind are weak as a result of very low atmospheric pressure and low solar irradiation. Secondly,…
In a previous work we analysed the white-light coronal brightness as a function of elongation and time from Wide-Field Imager (WISPR) observations on board the Parker Solar Probe (PSP) mission when PSP reached a minimum heliocentric…
With the upcoming launch of space telescopes dedicated to the study of exoplanets, the \textit{Atmospheric Remote-Sensing Infrared Exoplanet Large-survey} (ARIEL) and the \textit{James Webb Space Telescope} (JWST), a new era is opening in…
New measurements using radio and plasma-wave instruments in interplanetary space have shown that nanometer-scale dust, or nanodust, is a significant contributor to the total mass in interplanetary space. Better measurements of nanodust will…
The third interstellar object to be discovered, 3I/ATLAS, has a unique and continually unfolding story to tell about its nature and origin as it is monitored by telescopes on Earth, orbiting Earth and around the Solar System. Previous…
ASTROD I is planned as a single spacecraft mission. It will use interferometric and pulse ranging techniques between the spacecraft and ground stations, to make high precision measurements of the parameters that describe the solar system,…
Lightsail spacecraft, propelled to relativistic velocities via photon pressure using high power density laser radiation, offer a potentially new route to space exploration within and beyond the solar system, extending to interstellar…
We model accelerated trips at high-velocity aboard light sails (beam-powered propulsion in general) and radiation rockets (thrust by anisotropic emission of radiation) in terms of Kinnersley's solution of general relativity and its…
The ultimate astronomical observatory would be a formation flying interferometer in space, immune to atmospheric turbulence and absorption, free from atmospheric and telescope thermal emission, and reconfigurable to adjust baselines…
All known interstellar transportation methods encounter monumental technological or engineering roadblocks, or even rely on speculative unknown science. In particular light of the recent public excitement and ensuing disappointment…
Today's most detailed characterization of exoplanet atmospheres is accessible via transit spectroscopy (TS). Detecting transiting exoplanets only yields their size, and it is thus standard to measure a planet's mass before moving towards…
The scientific interest in directly image and identifying Earth-like planets within the Habitable Zone (HZ) around nearby stars is driving the design of specialized direct imaging mission such as ACESAT, EXO-C, EXO-S and AFTA-C. The inner…
Interstellar comets arrive with key ingredients for deep-space platforms already in place: volatile inventories convertible to propellant, natural rotation providing continuous attitude variation, and hyperbolic trajectories that carry them…
There is a degeneracy in the interior structure between a planet that has no atmosphere and a small Fe content, and a planet that has a thin atmosphere and a higher core mass fraction. We present a self-consistent interior-atmosphere model…