Related papers: Swarming Proxima Centauri: Optical Communication O…
Swarm robotics utilises decentralised self-organising systems to form complex collective behaviours built from the bottom-up using individuals that have limited capabilities. Previous work has shown that simple occlusion-based strategies…
The first definitely interstellar object 1I/'Oumuamua (previously A/2017 U1) observed in our solar system provides the opportunity to directly study material from other star systems. Can such objects be intercepted? The challenge of…
Discovered in October 2017, the interstellar object designated 1I/'Oumuamua was the first such object to be observed travelling through our solar system. 1I/'Oumuamua has other characteristics never seen before in a celestial body and…
Our ability to explore the cosmos by direct contact has been limited to a small number of lunar and interplanetary missions. However, the NASA Starlight program points a path forward to send small, relativistic spacecraft far outside our…
Proxima Centauri has become the subject of intense study since the radial-velocity discovery by Anglada-Escud\'e et al. 2016 of a planet orbiting this nearby M-dwarf every ~ 11.2 days. If Proxima Centauri b transits its host star,…
Two fundamental problems for extraterrestrial intelligences (ETIs) attempting to establish interstellar communication are timing and energy consumption. Humanity's study of exoplanets via their transit across the host star highlights a…
Systems of small distributed satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO) transmitting cooperatively to a multiple antenna ground station (GS) are investigated. These satellite swarms have the benefit of much higher spatial separation in the…
Any missions to catch 1I/'Oumuamua have the daunting challenge of generating higher hyperbolic excess speeds than the interstellar object's own, i.e. $>$ 26.3 $kms^{-1}$ with respect to the Sun. To accomplish this task using chemical…
The wide binary orbit of Proxima Centauri around $\alpha$ Centauri A and B differs significantly between Newtonian and Milgromian dynamics (MOND). By combining previous calculations of this effect with mock observations generated using a…
Exploring and traveling to distant stars has long fascinated humanity but has been limited due to the vast distances. The Breakthrough Starshot Program aims at eliminating this limitation by traveling to Alpha Centauri, which is 4.37…
Transmission spectra probe the atmospheres of transiting exoplanets, but these observations are also subject to signals introduced by magnetic active regions on host stars. Here we outline scientific opportunities in the next decade for…
The recently discovered first high velocity hyperbolic objects passing through the Solar System, 1I/'Oumuamua and 2I/Borisov, have raised the question about near term missions to Interstellar Objects. In situ spacecraft exploration of these…
Interstellar probes can carry out slingshot manoeuvres around the stars they visit, gaining a boost in velocity by extracting energy from the star's motion around the Galactic Centre. These maneouvres carry little to no extra energy cost,…
A solar sail propelled small satellite mission concept to intercept and potentially rendezvous with newly discovered transient interstellar objects (ISOs) is described. The mission concept derives from the proposal for a technology…
We have previously argued that targeted interstellar communication has a physical optimum at narrowband X-ray wavelengths $\lambda\approx1\,$nm, limited by the surface roughness of focusing devices at the atomic level (arXiv:1711.05761). We…
Previous work in studying interstellar exploration by one or several probes has focused primarily either on engineering models for a spacecraft targeting a single star system, or large-scale simulations to ascertain the time required for a…
The Breakthrough Initiatives Project Starshot proposes to send a gram-scale laser driven spacecraft to the Alpha Centauri system in a 20 year mission travelling at v=0.2c. One of the challenges of this mission as the spacecraft moves…
In the cm-wavelength range, an extraterrestrial electromagnetic narrow band (sine wave) beacon is an excellent choice to get alien attention across interstellar distances because 1) it is not strongly affected by interstellar /…
This work presents a large-scale simulation study investigating the deployment and operation of distributed swarms of CubeSats for interplanetary missions to small celestial bodies. Utilizing Taylor numerical integration and advanced…
Coordinated controlling a large UAV swarm requires significant spectrum resources due to the need for bandwidth allocation per UAV, posing a challenge in resource-limited environments. Over-the-air (OTA) control has emerged as a…