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The WGLA of the AAS (http://www.aas.org/labastro/) promotes collaboration and exchange of knowledge between astronomy and planetary sciences and the laboratory sciences (physics, chemistry, and biology). Laboratory data needs of ongoing and…
We have designed an inquiry-based laboratory activity on transiting extrasolar planets for an introductory college-level astronomy class. The activity was designed with the intent of simultaneously teaching science process skills and…
The ice-giant planet Uranus likely underwent a giant impact, given that its spin axis is tilted by 98 degrees. That its satellite system is equally inclined and prograde suggests that it was formed as a consequence of the impact. However,…
Laboratory studies for planetary science and astrobiology aimat advancing our understanding of the Solar System through the promotion of theoretical and experimental research into the underlying processes that shape it. Laboratory studies…
We present the Flagship galaxy mock, a simulated catalogue of billions of galaxies designed to support the scientific exploitation of the Euclid mission. Euclid is a medium-class mission of the European Space Agency optimised to determine…
An outstanding, multi-disciplinary goal of modern science is the study of the diversity of potentially Earth-like planets and the search for life in them. This goal requires a bold new generation of space telescopes, but even the most…
During the 1970s members of the British Interplanetary Society embarked on a landmark theoretical engineering design study to send a probe to Barnard's star. Project Daedalus was a two-stage vehicle employing electron beam driven inertial…
Atmospheric circulation patterns derived from multi-spectral remote sensing can serve as a guide for choosing a suitable entry site for a future in situ probe mission. Since the Voyager-2 flybys in the 1980s, three decades of observations…
Know thy star, know thy planet,... especially in the ultraviolet (UV). Over the past decade, that motto has grown from mere wish to necessity in the M dwarf regime, given that the intense and highly variable UV radiation from these stars is…
On 2007 December 16-17, spectra were acquired of the disk of Uranus by the Spitzer Infrared Spectrometer (IRS) when its equator was close to the sub-earth point. This spectrum provides the highest-resolution broad-band spectrum ever…
The discovery of extra-solar planets is arguably the most exciting development in astrophysics during the past 15 years, rivalled only by the detection of dark energy. Two projects unite the communities of exoplanet scientists and…
There is a growing interest in Lunar exploration fed by the perception that the Moon can be made accessible to low-cost missions in the next decade. The on-going projects to set a communications relay in Lunar orbit and a deep space…
We advocate for establishing key scientific priorities for the future of Mercury exploration, including the development of specific science goals for a landed mission. We support the Mercury science community in fostering closer…
In this paper, we investigate whether Uranus's 98$^{\circ}$ obliquity was a by-product of a secular spin-orbit resonance assuming that the planet originated closer to the Sun. In this position, Uranus's spin precession frequency is fast…
Uranus and Neptune have intrinsic magnetic fields generated via convection in a molten H2O layer, where the field strength is determined by its electrical conductivity (EC) along with convection size and velocity. Previous shock experiments…
Exoplanet atmosphere characterization has seen revolutionary advances over the last few years, providing us with unique insights into atmospheric chemistry, dynamics and planet formation mechanisms. However, true solar system analog planets…
We calculate the upper bounds of the population of theoretically stable Centaur orbits between Uranus and Neptune. These small bodies are on low-eccentricity, low-inclination orbits in two specific bands of semi-major axis, centred at…
To perform tasks well in a new domain, one must first know something about it. This paper reports on a robot controller for navigation through unfamiliar indoor worlds. Based on spatial affordances, it integrates planning with reactive…
Astrophysical measurements away from the 1 AU orbit of Earth can enable several astrophysical science cases that are challenging or impossible to perform from Earthbound platforms, including: building a detailed understanding of the…
Thanks to the Cassini-Huygens mission, Titan, the pale orange dot of Pioneer and Voyager encounters has been revealed to be a dynamic, hydrologically-shaped, organic-rich ocean world offering unparalleled opportunities to explore prebiotic…