Related papers: A Planetary Cooling Hose
Performing orbital insertion around Mars using aerocapture instead of a propulsive orbit insertion manoeuvre allows to save resources and/or increase the payload mass fraction. Aerocapture has never been employed to date because of the high…
Currently, there are about 3 dozen known super-Earth (M < 10 MEarth), of which 8 are transiting planets suitable for atmospheric follow-up observations. Some of the planets are exposed to extreme temperatures as they orbit close to their…
A heliospheric termination shock (HTS) surrounds our solar system at approximately 100 astronomical units from the Sun, where the expanding solar wind (SW) is compressed and heated before encountering the interstellar medium.…
The concept of a space elevator dates back to Tsilokovsky, but they are not commonly considered in near-term plans for space exploration, perhaps because a terrestrial elevator would not be possible without considerable improvements in…
Monitoring the abundance of greenhouse gases (GHGs) such as carbon dioxide (CO$_2$) and methane (CH$_4$) is necessary to quantify their impact on global warming and climate change. Although a number of satellites and ground-based networks…
A moisture-driven air capture (DAC) system was designed and demonstrated. A laboratory-scale system delivering ~1 g CO2 per day was demonstrated in a laminar flow hood and a small pilot-scale system that could deliver ~100 g CO2 daily was…
We present hydrostatic equilibrium models of spherical, self-gravitating clouds of helium and molecular hydrogen, focusing on the cold, high-density regime where solid- or liquid-hydrogen can form. The resulting structures have masses from…
This paper outlines a novel subsea flushing system which uses a subsea tool to improve the performance of the flushing operation. The new method outlined in this paper uses a small-diameter, high-pressure supply line and a subsea deployed…
This study developed a novel thermal control system to cool detectors of the General AntiParticle Spectrometer (GAPS) before its flights. GAPS is a balloon-borne cosmic-ray observation experiment. In its payload, GAPS contains over 1000…
We report on a laser annealing procedure which greatly improves the quality of suspended monolayers of chemical vapor deposition (CVD) grown MoSe2. Annealing with a green laser locally heats the suspended flake to approximately 600 K, which…
The habitable zone (HZ) is the circular region around a star(s) where standing bodies of water could exist on the surface of a rocky planet. Space missions employ the HZ to select promising targets for follow-up habitability assessment. The…
Author suggests and researches a new revolutionary method for changing the climates of entire countries or portions thereof, obtaining huge amounts of cheap water and energy from the atmosphere. In this paper is presented the idea of cheap…
The form of depleted sulphur in dense clouds is still unknown. Until now, only two molecules, OCS and SO2, have been detected in interstellar ices but cannot account for the elemental abundance of sulphur observed in diffuse medium.…
Methane, as a strong greenhouse gas, has 21-25 times the warming potential per unit mass than carbon dioxide, and the methane from the oceans can contribute to ~4% of the annual atmosphere methane budget. Large methane bubble plumes have…
The habitable zone (HZ) describes the range of orbital distances around a star where the existence of liquid water on the surface of an Earth-like planet is in principle possible. While 3D climate studies can calculate the water vapor, ice…
With observational efforts moving from the discovery into the characterisation mode, systematic campaigns that cover large ranges of global stellar and planetary parameters will be needed. We aim to uncover cloud formation trends and…
There are four different stable climate states for pure water atmospheres, as might exist on so-called "waterworlds". I map these as a function of solar constant for planets ranging in size from Mars size to 10 Earth-mass. The states are:…
Heliotropes are passive solar hot air balloons that are capable of achieving nearly level flight within the lower stratosphere for several hours. These inexpensive flight platforms enable stratospheric sensing with high-cadence enabled by…
The possibility of direct air capture of CO$_2$ in Antarctica is discussed. Because the concentration of H$_2$O in the atmosphere during the Antarctic winter is extremely low, an installation for direct air capture could employ a…
A method of waste incineration using pure oxygen or atmospheric air enriched with oxygen is proposed, demonstrating several advantages over conventional burning in atmospheric air. The higher flame temperature is predicted, even with low…