Related papers: Extending Science from Lunar Laser Ranging
The quality of astronomical spectra is now so high that the accuracy of the laboratory data is getting more and more important for the analysis and interpretation. Both in astrophysics and cosmology the needs for accurate laboratory…
We survey the methods proposed in the literature for detecting moons of extrasolar planets in terms of their ability to distinguish between prograde and retrograde moon orbits, an important tracer of moon formation channel. We find that…
Machine learning techniques offer a precious tool box for use within astronomy to solve problems involving so-called big data. They provide a means to make accurate predictions about a particular system without prior knowledge of the…
Robotic and human lunar landings are a focus of future NASA missions. Precision landing capabilities are vital to guarantee the success of the mission, and the safety of the lander and crew. During the approach to the surface there are…
Radiance fields have been a major breakthrough in the field of inverse rendering, novel view synthesis and 3D modeling of complex scenes from multi-view image collections. Since their introduction, it was shown that they could be extended…
LARS is an Absolute Reference Spectrograph designed for ultra-precise solar observations. The high-resolution echelle spectrograph of the Vacuum Tower Telescope is supported by a state-of-the-art laser frequency comb to calibrate the solar…
We present the results of measuring the geocentric lunar distance using what we propose is the simplest method to achieve a precise result. Although lunar distance has been systematically measured to a precision of few millimeters using…
The Moon's permanently shadowed regions (PSRs) are among the coldest places in the Solar System and are expected to become key landing sites for upcoming international space agency missions. Their proximity to peaks of perpetual solar power…
Machine learning techniques are utilised in several areas of astrophysical research today. This dissertation addresses the application of ML techniques to two classes of problems in astrophysics, namely, the analysis of individual…
Two core competencies of a mobile robot are to build a map of the environment and to estimate its own pose on the basis of this map and incoming sensor readings. To account for the uncertainties in this process, one typically employs…
The radio environment of the Moon at low frequencies, particularly in lunar polar regions and the permanently shadowed regions (PSR) found there, is relatively poorly explored and may contain some novel features. In addition, these areas of…
We report the detection of the lunar gamma-ray emission during the first year of Fermi-LAT observations. Such emission is produced by cosmic ray nuclei interacting with the lunar surface. Thanks to the solar minimum conditions and the…
The past decade has seen the rise of various radio astronomy arrays, particularly for low-frequency observations below 100MHz. These developments have been primarily driven by interesting and fundamental scientific questions, such as…
Machine Learning algorithms are good tools for both classification and prediction purposes. These algorithms can further be used for scientific discoveries from the enormous data being collected in our era. We present ways of discovering…
Four ongoing microlensing experiments have produced important new results but also big puzzles, the major one being that the expected classes of lenses cannot account for the observed distribution of time scales. I discuss future…
Lunar caves are promising features for long-term and permanent human presence on the moon. However, given their inaccessibility to imaging from survey satellites, the concrete environment within the underground cavities is not well known.…
Synthetic Lunar Terrain (SLT) is an open dataset collected from an analogue test site for lunar missions, featuring synthetic craters in a high-contrast lighting setup. It includes several side-by-side captures from event-based and…
The circumplanetary environments in our Solar System host a stunning array of moon and ring systems. Study of these environs has yielded valuable insights into planetary system formation and evolution, and there is every reason to believe…
Ground-based observation at frequencies below 30 MHz is hindered by the ionosphere of the Earth and radio frequency interference. To map the sky at these low frequencies, we have proposed the Discovering the Sky at the Longest wavelength…
Onboard localization capabilities for planetary rovers to date have used relative navigation, by integrating combinations of wheel odometry, visual odometry, and inertial measurements during each drive to track position relative to the…