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Drones provide a versatile platform for remote sensing and atmospheric studies. However, strict payload mass limits and intense vibrations have proven obstacles to adoption for astronomy. We present a concept for system-level testing of a…
Aerocapture is a maneuver which uses aerodynamic drag to slow down a spacecraft in a single pass through the atmosphere. All planetary orbiters to date have used propulsive orbit insertion. Aerocapture is a promising alternative, especially…
We study the amount, size distribution and material composition of (sub-)mic aerosol particles in the lower Venus atmosphere < 50 km. Our GGchem phase-equilibrium model predicts metal-chloride and metal-fluoride molecules to be present in…
We use thermodynamic calculations to model atmospheric chemistry on terrestrial exoplanets that are hot enough for chemical equilibira between the atmosphere and lithosphere, as on Venus. The results of our calculations place constraints on…
Flexible 3D models to explore the vast diversity of terrestrial planets and interpret observational data are still in their early stages. In this work, we present OASIS: a novel and flexible 3D virtual planet laboratory. With OASIS we…
One popular view of Venus' climate history describes a world that has spent much of its life with surface liquid water, plate tectonics, and a stable temperate climate. Part of the basis for this optimistic scenario is the high deuterium to…
Saturn was observed on 6-11 February 2002 using an Acousto-optic Imaging Spectrometer (AImS) to study Saturn's vertical cloud structure. The 3.67-m Advanced Electro-Optical System telescope at the Maui Space Surveillance Complex was used.…
Research attention on natural user interfaces (NUIs) for drone flights are rising. Nevertheless, NUIs are highly diversified, and primarily evaluated by different physical environments leading to hard-to-compare performance between such…
Aerocapture is the technique of using planetary atmospheres to decelerate a spacecraft in a single pass to achieve nearly fuel-free orbit insertion. Aerocapture has been extensively studied since the 1980s but has never been flown yet. The…
Venus is Earth's sister planet, with similar mass and density but an uninhabitably hot surface, an atmosphere with a water activity 50-100 times lower than anywhere on Earths' surface, and clouds believed to be made of concentrated sulfuric…
A problem of constructing the trajectory of a spacecraft flight to Venus within the framework of a mission including landing of a lander in a given region of the planet's surface is being considered. A new celestial mechanics related method…
The atmospheres of Mars and Titan are loaded with aerosols that impact remote sensing observations of their surface. Here we present the algorithm and the first applications of a radiative transfer model in spherical geometry designed for…
Thanks to the Cassini Huygens mission, it is now established that the first aerosols in Titan s upper atmosphere are found from an altitude of about 1200 km. Once they are formed and through their descent towards the surface, these…
This work introduces a novel approach for Titan exploration based on soft morphing aerial robots leveraging the use of flexible adaptive materials. The controlled deformation of the multirotor arms, actuated by a combination of a pneumatic…
Cellular network-connected unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) experience different radio propagation conditions than radio nodes on the ground. Therefore, it has become critical to investigate the performance of aerial radios, both…
The presence of phosphine (PH$_3$) in the atmosphere of Venus was reported by Greaves et al. (2021a), based on observations of the J=1-0 transition at 267 GHz using ground-based, millimeter-wave spectroscopy. This unexpected discovery…
A problem of determining attainable landing sites on the surface of Venus is an essential part of the Venera-D project aimed to explore the planet using a lander. This problem appears due to the inability for the descent module to land at…
Venus' atmosphere -- specifically its clouds buoyed up 40 to 60 km above the surface -- has long been suspected to encompass a biosphere where Earth-like living organisms could grow and flourish. This idea has been recently rekindled by the…
In the context of future Venusian missions, it is crucial to improve our understanding of Venus upper atmosphere through 3D modeling, notably for spacecraft orbit computation. This study compares three General Circulation Models (GCMs) of…
Being motivated by ceiling inspection applications via unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) which require close proximity flight to surfaces, a systematic control approach enabling safe and accurate close proximity flight is proposed in this…