Related papers: Lunar Cold Trap Contamination by Landing Vehicles
Lunar dust particles are generated by hypervelocity impacts of interplanetary micron-meteoroids onto the surface of the Moon, which seriously threatens the security of explorations. Studying the lunar dust dynamics helps to understand the…
Regolith simulants are essential for space research and technology development. Yet, their physical properties often differ from those of true planetary soil, particularly when compared to regolith properties in-situ, that experience…
Transient Lunar Phenomena (TLP) observed on the surface of the moon, are of high rarity, low repetition rate and very short observation times, resulting in that there is little information about this topic. This necessitates the importance…
Shear strength and cohesion of granular materials are important geotechnical properties that play a crucial role in the stability and behavior of lunar and Martian regolith, as well as their terrestrial analog materials. To characterize and…
Reducing the forces necessary to construct projects like landing pads and blast walls is possibly one of the major drivers in reducing the costs of establishing lunar settlements. The interlock drive system generates traction by penetrating…
A plasma void forms downstream of the Moon when the solar wind impacts the lunar surface. This void gradually refills as the solar wind passes by, forming the lunar wake. We investigate this refilling process using a fully kinetic…
Light volatile elements in lunar regolith are thought to be a mixture of the solar wind and Earth's atmosphere, the latter sourced in the absence of geomagnetic field. However, the extent to which both the current and primitive geodynamo…
In the distant future, humans will surely fly to Mars. Even today, probes and vehicles are carrying out measurements on the surface of Mars. However, most landings on Mars cannot be carried out with parachutes alone. Instead, landing…
To establish a self-sustained human presence in space and to explore deeper into the solar system, extensive research has been conducted on In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) systems. Past studies have proposed and researched many…
We explore the likelihood that early remains of Earth, Mars, and Venus have been preserved on the Moon in high enough concentrations to motivate a search mission. During the Late Heavy Bombardment, the inner planets experienced frequent…
Lunar hematite is formed by the oxidation of iron on the surface of the Moon by oxygen from the Earth's upper atmosphere. The Moon's surface is continuously affected by solar particles from the sun. However, Earth's magnetic tail blocks 99…
The passive retroreflector arrays placed on the moon by Apollo 11, 14 and 15 astronauts continue to produce valuable Earth-Moon range measurements that enable high-precision tests of gravitational physics, as well as studies of geo- and…
Forty years ago, Apollo astronauts placed the first of several retroreflector arrays on the lunar surface. Their continued usefulness for laser-ranging might suggest that the lunar environment does not damage optical devices. However, new…
Airborne dust is the main climatic agent in the Martian environment. Local dust storms play a key role in the dust cycle; yet their life cycle is poorly known. Here we use mesoscale modeling that includes the transport of radiatively active…
Geophysical imaging of the lunar near-surface structure will be key for in situ resource utilization, identification of hazards for crews and infrastructure, and answering science questions on the formation and interior of the Moon. The…
Microscopic liquid brines, especially calcium-perchlorate could emerge by deliquescence on Mars during night time hours. Using climate model computations and orbital humidity observations, the ideal periods and their annual plus daily…
Atmospheric refraction affects to various degrees exoplanet transit, lunar eclipse, as well as stellar occultation observations. Exoplanet retrieval algorithms often use analytical expressions for the column abundance along a ray traversing…
Simulation of vehicle motion in planetary environments is challenging. This is due to the modeling of complex terrain, optical conditions, and terrain-aware vehicle dynamics. One of the critical issues of typical simulators is that they…
Much of the surface of Mars is covered by dunes, ripples, and other features formed by the blowing of sand by wind, known as saltation. In addition, saltation loads the atmosphere with dust aerosols, which dominate the Martian climate. We…
Previous studies indicate that more than a quarter of all white dwarf (WD) atmospheres are polluted by remnant planetary material, with some WDs being observed to accrete the mass of Pluto in 10^6 years. The short sinking timescale for the…