Related papers: Dynamic Soaring as a Means to Exceed the Solar Win…
This paper addresses the fundamental science question: "How does solar wind energy flow through the Earth's magnetosphere, how is it converted and distributed?". We need to understand how the Sun creates the heliosphere, and how the planets…
Aerocapture is an orbit insertion technique which uses atmospheric drag from a single pass to decelerate a spacecraft. Compared to conventional propulsive insertion, aerocapture can impart large velocity changes to the spacecraft with…
The solar wind (SW) is an outflow of the solar coronal plasma, expanding supersonically throughout the heliosphere. SW particles interact by charge exchange with interstellar neutral atoms and on one hand, they modify the distribution of…
A planetary research drone is proposed, which is capable for vertical takeoff and landing. A hybrid flight concept utilizing static lift enables the exploration over ground. The static lift is achieved with a lighter than CO2 gas like air,…
Solar sails enable missions to observe the solar environment from unique vantage points, such as sustained observations away from the Sun-Earth line; sub-L1 station keeping; high inclination solar orbits; Earth polar-sitting and…
We know that it is the front of the bow shock where the solar wind kinetic energy flux is transformed into the other kinds the most intensively. In our previous studies, we obtained important relationships that enable calculating the key…
Solar wind stream interaction regions (SIRs) are often characterized by energetic ion enhancements. The mechanisms accelerating these particles, as well as the locations where the acceleration occurs, remain debated. Here, we report the…
We present simulations of the magnetized interstellar medium (ISM) in models of massive star forming (40 Msun / yr) disk galaxies with high gas surface densities (~100 Msun / pc^2) similar to observed star forming high-redshift disks. We…
In this contribution I summarize our current knowledge of the nature and significance of starburst-driven galactic winds (``superwinds''). Superwinds are complex multiphase outflows of cool, warm, and hot gas, dust, and magnetized…
An analytic model of the heliosheath (HS) between the termination shock (TS) and the heliopause (HP) is developed in the limit in which the interstellar flow and magnetic field are neglected. The heliosphere in this limit is axisymmetric…
In the corona, plasma is accelerated to hundreds of kilometers per second, and heated to temperatures hundreds of times hotter than the Sun's surface, before it escapes to form the solar wind. Decades of space-based experiments have shown…
We use Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN observations of the upstream solar wind, and Mars Express observations of ionospheric electron densities and magnetic fields, to study how the topside ionosphere ($>$ 320 km) of Mars is affected…
Jets and outflows are commonly observed in young stellar objects (YSOs), yet their origins remain debated. Using 3D non-ideal magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations of a circumstellar disk threaded by a large-scale open poloidal magnetic…
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…
Dynamical friction (DF) may affect the dynamics of stars moving through dense media. This is the case for stars and compact objects (COs) crossing active galactic nuclei (AGN) discs, stellar clusters, and common envelopes (CE), driving…
How much wind energy does the atmosphere generate, and how much of it can at best be used as renewable energy? This review aims to give first-order estimates and sensitivities to answer these questions that are consistent with those…
The Voyager spacecraft is now approaching the edge of the solar system. Near the boundary between the solar system and the interstellar medium we find that an unstable ``jet-sheet'' forms. The jet-sheet oscillates up and down due to a…
The heating of the plasma in the solar atmosphere is discussed within both frameworks of fluid and kinetic drift wave theory. We show that the basic ingredient necessary for the heating is the presence of density gradients in the direction…
We examine the use of the interplanetary substance as a possible fuel for spacecraft plasma thrusters for interplanetary flights. The solar radiation is considered as an energy source for the ionization and the acceleration of particles of…
Future missions to Mars and Venus will make use of aerobraking and aerocapture in order to gain mass through the saving of fuel at planetary arrival. So far only aerobraking has been demonstrated, if the Mars Premier project has paved the…