Related papers: The meteoroid hazard for space navigation
The number of objects in orbit is rapidly increasing, primarily driven by the launch of megaconstellations, an approach to satellite constellation design that involves large numbers of satellites paired with their rapid launch and disposal.…
Disagreement in estimations of the observed acceleration of Phobos yields several theories empirically modifying classical description of motion of the satellite, but its orbital positions detected by Mars-aimed spacecraft differ from…
Thousands of satellites, asteroids, and rocket bodies break, collide, or degrade, resulting in large amounts of space debris in low Earth orbit. The presence of space debris poses a serious threat to satellite mega-constellations and to…
Anthropogenic effects on the space environment started in the late 19th century and reached their peak in the 1960s when high-altitude nuclear explosions were carried out by the USA and the Soviet Union. These explosions created artificial…
The Milky Way satellite galaxies show a phase-space distribution that is not expected from the standard scenario of galaxy formation. This is a strong hint at them being of tidal origin, which would naturally explain their spacial…
We consider global catastrophic risks due to cosmic explosions (supernovae, magnetars and gamma-ray bursts) and possible mitigation strategies by humans and other hypothetical intelligent beings. While by their very nature these events are…
Solar Energetic Particles (SEPs) are an important aspect of space weather. SEP events posses a high destructive potential, since they may cause disruptions of communication systems on Earth and be fatal to crew members onboard spacecrafts…
Major scientific questions and research opportunities are described on 10 unprioritized plasma astrophysics topics: (1) magnetic reconnection, (2) collisionless shocks and particle acceleration, (3) waves and turbulence, (4) magnetic…
In collision-poor plasmas from space, three distinct ion-ion instabilities can be driven by the proton beams streaming along the background magnetic field: left-hand resonant, non-resonant, and right-hand resonant instabilities. These…
Pulsars are potentially the most remarkable physical laboratories we will ever use. Although in many senses they are extremely clean systems there are a large number of instabilities and variabilities seen in the emission and rotation of…
Astrophysical ionizing radiation events such as supernovae, gamma-ray bursts, and solar proton events have been recognized as a potential threat to life on Earth, primarily through depletion of stratospheric ozone and subsequent increase in…
Plasma turbulence occurs ubiquitously in space and astrophysical plasmas, mediating the nonlinear transfer of energy from large-scale electromagnetic fields and plasma flows to small scales at which the energy may be ultimately converted to…
For exploration of space, in particular in attempts to find new extra-terrestrial resources, human society has encountered the problem of space pollution with human-made debris, which represents high risks for space missions. This prompted…
Operation of radar equipment is one of the key facilities used by navigators to gather situational awareness about their surroundings. With an ever increasing need for always-running logistics and tighter shipping schedules, operators are…
Recent studies have revealed that all large (over 1000 km in diameter) trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) form satellite systems. Although the largest Plutonian satellite, Charon, is thought to be an intact fragment of an impactor directly…
Numerous sources produce the ionization impact on the planetary atmosphere. The tropospheric cloudiness therewith is originated at such altitudes, which coincide with places of the maximum of the atmospheric ionization that caused by space…
Numerous problems connected with an assumption of the life origin on the Earth do not arise on Galilean satellites. Here, in presence of a practically non-salt water and of a great deal (~5-10%) of abiogenic organics, a great diversity of…
We demonstrate that in a chiral plasma subject to an external magnetic field, the chiral vortical effect can induce a new type of magnetohydrodynamic instability which we refer to as the {\it chiral magnetovortical instability}. This…
The Center for Astrophysics,Space Physics, and Engineering Research (CASPER) has completed construction and calibration of a Light Gas Gun (LGG), which is used for low velocity impact studies. At geosynchronous orbit, space debris can…
Thousands of active artificial objects are orbiting around Earth along with much more non-operational ones -- derelict satellites or rocket bodies, collision debris, or spacecraft payloads, significant part of them being uncatalogued. They…