Article
Engineering, Aerospace
Sara Seager, Janusz J. Petkowski, Christopher E. Carr, Sarag J. Saikia, Rachana Agrawal, Weston P. Buchanan, David H. Grinspoon, Monika U. Weber, Pete Klupar, Simon P. Worden, Iaroslav Iakubivskyi, Mihkel Pajusalu, Laila Kaasik
Summary: Scientists have been considering the potential existence of life in the clouds of Venus for over half a century. In situ atmospheric measurements using modern instruments can determine whether the cloud decks have the necessary characteristics to support life. A suite of instruments is proposed to measure the acidity, water content, presence of metals, organic material, and biosignature gases in the droplets. The mission also serves as preparation for sample return by studying the non-liquid cloud particles and informing collection and storage methods.
Article
Engineering, Aerospace
Sara Seager, Janusz J. Petkowski, Christopher E. Carr, David H. Grinspoon, Bethany L. Ehlmann, Sarag J. Saikia, Rachana Agrawal, Weston P. Buchanan, Monika U. Weber, Richard French, Pete Klupar, Simon P. Worden, Darrel Baumgardner
Summary: The Venus Life Finder (VLF) missions aim to assess the habitability of the Venusian clouds and search for signs of extraterrestrial life. The project, led by MIT, is focused on astrobiology and can be launched quickly and at a relatively low cost.
Review
Biology
Desiree Pantalone
Summary: In the coming years, missions to the Moon and Mars will be the new goals of space flight. The complexity of these missions and the unforeseen obstacles have raised concerns for crew health and survival, resulting in the development of new protocols and devices. Deep-space missions or settlements on other planets also face challenges such as communication and supply issues, medical delays and shortage, and radiation.
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
L. Demaret, I. B. Hutchinson, G. Eppe, C. Malherbe
Summary: Raman spectroscopy plays a vital role in planetary exploration, assisting in the identification of minerals and organics on Mars to evaluate the habitability of the planet. By developing quantitative models and calibration curves, it is possible to effectively quantify different types of geochemical samples, demonstrating the feasibility of Raman analyses in the context of robotic exploration studies.
Article
Engineering, Aerospace
Gerald P. Jackson
Summary: This paper discusses the use of antimatter-initiated fission of depleted uranium to generate thrust and electrical power for a 10 kg-scale unmanned spacecraft. The mission focuses on decelerating and inserting the spacecraft into orbit around an exoplanet, using the example of Proxima b. The paper envisions obtaining prompt science results on interstellar clouds, Oort cloud population distributions, interstellar magnetic fields, and radiation spectra in the interstellar void. The paper also provides brief summaries of other important areas such as antimatter production and storage, spacecraft instrumentation, and mission objectives.
Article
Engineering, Aerospace
Giorgio Petroni, Karen Venturini
Summary: Due to the complexity and relevance of the scientific problems they address, astrophysical exploration missions can be a fertile ground for technological spillover. This article presents the results of a study on spillovers generated by six of the most important astrophysical missions launched by the European Space Agency in the first two decades of this century. The results highlight the relevance of some technological innovations realized by small enterprises and then transferred to the industrial sector.
Article
Social Issues
Henri Huttunen, Oskari Sivula
Summary: The possibility of employing human enhancement interventions for future space missions, especially biomedical moral enhancements, is receiving attention. This paper focuses on exploring the types and effects of biomedical moral enhancements and suggests a grounded understanding of moral enhancement as a form of cognitive enhancement that also helps individuals act according to their own moral code. In the context of space missions, the authors argue that making biomedical enhancements mandatory for early-phase long-distance space travel is justified due to the high-stakes nature of such missions and the potential advantages that enhancements can provide.
TECHNOLOGY IN SOCIETY
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Runzi Liu, Xu Ding, Weihua Wu, Wei Guo
Summary: This paper proposes a distributed coordinate resource scheduling method for remote sensing missions. The multiple resource coordination problem is formulated as an MILP problem and is decomposed into subproblems for remote sensing satellite systems and data relay satellite systems. A distributed iterative scheme based on ADMM is proposed, where only the inter-satellite link schedule information needs to be exchanged. Simulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.
Review
Engineering, Aerospace
Nicola Garzaniti, Zeljko Tekic, Dragan Kukolj, Alessandro Golkar
Summary: This paper analyzes technology trends in New Space missions using a patent analytics approach, identifying ten major topics. By surveying over 200 organizations involved in New Space development, it provides insights for future development of New Space missions. The study uses Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) to identify underlying structures in technology trends and potential areas for further technology advancements.
PROGRESS IN AEROSPACE SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Paula Andrea Valencia Londono, Diana Valencia Londono, Phoenix Storm Paz
Summary: This paper examines the impact of development projects on the quality of life for vulnerable inhabitants in informal settlements in Colombia, using the case study of La Primavera. It highlights the contradictions in the development agenda by showing how economic improvement and environmental conservation efforts negatively affect the well-being of the residents.
Article
Engineering, Aerospace
Stefania Fedyay, Arslan Niiazov, Sergey Ponomarev, Aleksei Polyakov, Mark Belakovskiy, Oleg Orlov
Summary: Medical support is crucial for isolation or confinement experiments to ensure the health of crew members and volunteers. These experiments provide opportunities to test medical technologies for long-term space missions. This paper reports the results of medical control in two isolation experiments, lasting 4 and 8 months respectively, revealing issues such as headaches, skin inflammation, and sleep disturbance during the longer confinement. It also highlights the importance of collecting and analyzing medical control indicators for optimizing medical support in future experiments and manned space missions.
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Massimiliano Marvasi, Monica Monici, Desiree Pantalone, Duccio Cavalieri
Summary: Wound healing is slowed in Space due to microgravity, physical factors, and alterations in the skin microbial community. To improve wound healing in Space, the application of human skin microbiota in four domains, including antimicrobial properties, immune system interaction, precision medicine, and gut-skin/gut-brain axes, is proposed.
FRONTIERS IN BIOENGINEERING AND BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Aerospace
Kapish Aggarwal, Ron Noomen
Summary: This paper aims to identify graveyard orbit solutions in circummartian space for future Mars space debris, ensuring long-term stability and protection for Mars exploration. Extensive validations and adjustments are conducted to find multiple candidate solutions, which are found to be safe from debris in the vicinity of Mars.
ADVANCES IN SPACE RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Business
Matthijs J. Janssen, Milad Abbasiharofteh
Summary: This study assesses the extent to which pre-commercial R&D collaborations span geographic and cognitive boundaries, and finds that key enabling technology (KET) projects are less dependent on cognitive proximity, while health and care missions and energy transition and sustainability missions foster collaboration between cognitively proximate firms.
TECHNOLOGICAL FORECASTING AND SOCIAL CHANGE
(2022)
Review
Chemistry, Medicinal
Giacomo Fais, Alessia Manca, Federico Bolognesi, Massimiliano Borselli, Alessandro Concas, Marco Busutti, Giovanni Broggi, Pierdanilo Sanna, Yandy Marx Castillo-Aleman, Rene Antonio Rivero-Jimenez, Antonio Alfonso Bencomo-Hernandez, Yendry Ventura-Carmenate, Michela Altea, Antonella Pantaleo, Gilberto Gabrielli, Federico Biglioli, Giacomo Cao, Giuseppe Giannaccare
Summary: Spirulina, as a well-studied cyanobacterium, has potential benefits in improving healthcare in both space and on Earth. It could be a new technology for sustaining long-duration manned missions to planets beyond Lower Earth Orbit and play an active role in various aspects of medicine.
Article
Astronomy & Astrophysics
Beatriz Sanchez-Cano, Mark Lester, Marco Cartacci, Roberto Orosei, Olivier Witasse, Pierre-Louis Blelly, Wlodek Kofman
Summary: This study investigates the behavior of Mars' ionosphere during two consecutive solar minima (23/24 and 24/25) using the same dataset. The Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionospheric Sounding (MARSIS) is used to study the total electron content and the variability of the electron density profiles. The study confirms that the empirical model equations for the Martian ionosphere derived for the solar minimum 23/24 are also valid and accurate for the solar minimum 24/25.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Leopold Desage, Alain Herique, Sylvain Doute, Sonia Zine, Wlodek Kofman
Summary: This paper focuses on the analysis of the first tens of meters of the Martian subsurface using the SHARAD radar. It compares the use of different high-resolution DTMs for radar simulation, namely, from the HRSC onboard Mars Express and the CTX onboard MRO. The study shows that the HRSC DTM failed to reproduce the surface echo visible on SHARAD data, and also highlights the potential artifacts in optical DTMs that can complicate radar analysis.
Article
Astronomy & Astrophysics
Siting Xiong, Jan-Peter Muller, Yu Tao, Chunyu Ding, Bochen Zhang, Qingquan Li
Summary: This study combines radar observations, terrain models, and surface images to investigate the subsurface features of the ExoMars landing site in Oxia Planum. The results reveal that the surface deposit in Oxia Planum is made up of clay-bearing units.
ASTRONOMY & ASTROPHYSICS
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Yizhong Zhang, Xin Ren, Zhaopeng Chen, Wangli Chen, Zhenqiang Zhang, Xiangfeng Liu, Weiming Xu, Jianjun Liu, Chunlai Li
Summary: China's first Mars rover, Zhurong, successfully landed in the southern region of Utopia Planitia on May 14, 2021. Equipped with MarSCoDe, Zhurong is able to analyze the material composition of the Martian surface using LIBS, SWIR, and a microimaging camera. However, analysis shows that the spectra acquired by MarSCoDe's LIBS experience wavelength drift, which affects the accuracy of elemental analysis. This paper establishes a wavelength calibration method based on a quadratic function relationship between the drift and CCD temperature of the MarSCoDe spectrometer.
Review
Environmental Sciences
Xiaohang Qiu, Chunyu Ding
Summary: This paper discusses the principles, methods, and detection results of using ground penetrating radar (GPR) to detect lava tubes on the Moon and Mars. Different types of radar have their own advantages, disadvantages, and prospects in detecting lava tubes. The distribution of lava tubes and their potential utilization are also briefly summarized and discussed. We believe that GPR technique is an effective geophysical method in exploring the underground structures of the Moon and Mars, and lava tubes can provide important references for selecting future Moon and Mars bases.
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Barbara Cosciotti, Elisabetta Mattei, Alessandro Brin, Sebastian Emanuel Lauro, David E. Stillman, Alister Cunje, Dylan Hickson, Graziella Caprarelli, Elena Pettinelli
Summary: It has been suggested that clay minerals on the Martian surface could be the source of bright reflections detected by MARSIS at Ultimi Scopuli, instead of briny water. However, experimental results from dielectric measurements and temperature controls indicate that clays are unlikely to be the source of these reflections, based on well-established dielectric theory and previous laboratory measurements. The apparent permittivity of clays at 230K and 4MHz is too low to match the values detected by MARSIS.
JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-PLANETS
(2023)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Yueyang Li, Wenzhe Fa, Bojun Jia
Summary: The morphology of small lunar impact craters at decimeter to hectometer scales was investigated using high-resolution data from the Chang'E-3/4/5 missions. The results show that crater depth, rim height, and inner wall slope increase with diameter, with smaller values than larger craters. The regolith strength differs among the three landing regions. Additionally, meter-scale concentric and flat-bottomed craters were observed, possibly caused by strength heterogeneity within the regolith layer. These findings provide insights into near-surface properties, lunar surface evolution, and impact cratering process.
JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-PLANETS
(2023)
Article
Astronomy & Astrophysics
Qinghai Sun, Wenzhe Fa, Meng-Hua Zhu, Jun Du
Summary: This study investigates the physical properties and evolution of sub-kilometer lunar craters and estimates the exposure and burial periods of rocks and ejecta. The results show that the time at which the largest CPR occurs varies in different regions of the craters.
RESEARCH IN ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS
(2023)
Review
Environmental Sciences
Feiyang Fang, Chunyu Ding, Jianqing Feng, Yan Su, Ravi Sharma, Iraklis Giannakis
Summary: This paper provides an overview of the new advancements achieved by the Lunar Regolith Penetrating Radar (LRPR) in observing the basic structure of the shallow regolith of the Moon. It emphasizes the role played by the LRPR in revealing details about the shallow lunar regolith's structure, its estimated dielectric properties, the provenance of the regolith materials, and its interpretation of the geological stratification at the landing site. Lastly, it envisions the application and developmental trends of in situ radar technology in future lunar exploration.
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Jianqing Feng, Matthew. A. Siegler, Yan Su, Chunyu Ding, Iraklis Giannakis
Summary: By using the Lunar Penetrating Radar (LPR) measurements from the Chang'E-4 rover, we have identified the layered structure of the upper three hundred meters of the lunar surface in the South Pole-Aitken Basin. The LPR 60-MHz channel detected five large strata below 90 m depth, with thicknesses ranging from 20 m to larger than 70 m. The LPR 500-MHz channel revealed the structure of weathered material in the top ~40 m, including several layers and a buried paleo crater with its ejecta blanket in the regolith.
JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-PLANETS
(2023)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Mingwei Zhang, Wenzhe Fa, Vincent R. Eke
Summary: This study comprehensively investigates the factors influencing the production and distribution of lunar regolith by individual simple craters. The regolith production is primarily determined by the shattering of bedrock, followed by impact-induced volume change and regolith volume created by secondary cratering. The distribution of regolith is influenced by the preimpact regolith thickness, with a deeper layer resulting in more regolith distributed outside the crater rim. The regolith evolution model provides a better estimation of the growth process and suggests that impact craters dominate the regolith growth process at scales from a meter to a few hectometers, excluding large, distant impacts.
JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-PLANETS
(2023)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Chunyu Ding, Jing Li, Rong Hu
Summary: The Moon-based ground-penetrating radar (GPR) onboard the Chang'E-4 (CE-4) Yutu-2 rover has deployed on the Moon's far side, providing an unprecedented opportunity to study the shallow surface geological process and the history of the volcanic eruption of the Moon. The high-frequency radar observed a buried lens structure similar to 27 m below the lunar surface, interpreted as paleoregolith by previous studies. Our quantitative analysis of the dielectric properties reveals that the buried lens structure is likely a basalt flow representing the latest volcanic eruption on the Moon, possibly from the Eratosthenian-aged volcano that occurred approximately 2.5-2.2 billion years ago.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON GEOSCIENCE AND REMOTE SENSING
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Electrical & Electronic
Chunyu Ding, Qingquan Li, Jiangwan Xu, Zhonghan Lei, Jiawei Li, Yan Su, Shaopeng Huang
Summary: The Moon-based ground penetrating radar carried by the Yutu rover is used to explore the shallow subsurface structure of the Moon and its internal resources. The results show that the helium-3 reservoir along the Yutu rover's route is estimated to be 37-51 g with a concentration of 0.083-0.114 g/m^2, which is at least five times higher than the global average. The article also discusses the possibility of using lunar helium-3 as fuel for nuclear fusion and suggests the Chang'E-3 landing area as a potential site for future helium-3 exploitation.
IEEE JOURNAL OF SELECTED TOPICS IN APPLIED EARTH OBSERVATIONS AND REMOTE SENSING
(2023)
Article
Astronomy & Astrophysics
YuanZhou Liu, Tong Wang, YingZhuo Jia, Mi Song, ChunYu Ding, ShaoPeng Huang
Summary: This paper discusses the importance of the thermal environment on the lunar surface to the design and data interpretation of a lunar lander. Through temperature records and environmental models, the study analyzes the temperature variations and their impact on different parts of the lander. The results are of significant importance to both theoretical research and engineering applications.
SCIENTIA SINICA-PHYSICA MECHANICA & ASTRONOMICA
(2023)
