Search Publications
Martian buildings: Feasible cement/concrete for onsite sustainable construction from the structural point of view
Soureshjani, Omid Karimzade; Massumi, Ali; Nouri, Gholamreza
Colonizing other planets, like Mars, marks a significant milestone in the pursuit of a multi-planetary existence. Millions of people would settle on Mars in self-sufficient bases. Colonizing Mars is a long-term mission that demands self-sufficient, secure habitats and comprehensive planning. Importing structures, such as inflatable structures, fro…
A lost-in-space star identification algorithm based on regularized pattern recognition
Ozyurt, Erdem Onur; Aslan, Alim Rustem
Accuracy in spacecraft attitude determination has been improved continuously in parallel to scientific payloads requiring higher accuracy. Star trackers aim to maintain attitude determination by matching observations to the reference stars. They provide very high accuracy at any point in space at cost of higher computational complexity. This study…
Proprioceptive swarms for celestial body exploration
Cottiga, Simone; Caruso, Matteo; Gallina, Paolo +1 more
The exploration of small celestial bodies has been a very active field ever since the dawn of space exploration. However, traditional approaches based on monolithic landers allow only the area in the immediate vicinity to the landing spot to be examined. Using mobile systems like rovers allow for better coverage, but at considerable cost and compl…
High-speed scientific spacecraft launches with commercial launch vehicles
McNutt, Ralph L.; Brandt, Pontus C.; Vernon, Steven R. +2 more
Reaching the outer solar system and interstellar space beyond has always been challenging due to the long distances and long travel times. Initial work on planetary gravity assists in the early 1960s by Minovitch and Flandro laid the basis for expanding reachable space with then-existing launch vehicles. Such gravity assists have been key enablers…
A treatment of the all-clear problem for solar energetic particle events and subsequent decision making
Georgoulis, Manolis K.
We discuss the relatively overlooked problem of All Clear in Solar Energetic Particle (SEP) event prediction. These proton and heavier ion events are injected in major solar eruptions, propagate directionally into the heliosphere at relativistic speeds and threaten equipment and personnel at low-Earth orbit and beyond. SEPs are rare to extreme eve…
Prospecting in-situ resources for future crewed missions to Mars
Postberg, Frank; Poulet, François; Bishop, Janice L. +3 more
The installation of planetary and lunar human outposts might be an important step for future solar system exploration by both public space agencies and private companies. Humans living and working in these artificially created habitats will possibly depend, among other life support approaches, on bio-regenerative life support systems to produce an…
Understanding technological spillovers: The case of main astrophysics European missions
Petroni, Giorgio; Venturini, Karen
Due to the complexity and relevance of the scientific problems they address, astrophysical exploration missions can be a fertile ground for technological spillover.
In the past, various space technologies, particularly in telecommunications, transportation, health care, and even military defense, spilled over or have been transferred from Spa…The inferred abundance of interstellar objects of technological origin
Loeb, Abraham; Ezell, Carson
Interstellar objects discovered crossing through the solar system can either be natural objects or technological artifacts from extraterrestrial civilizations. Evidence from our own civilization suggests that early-stage technological civilizations are already able to launch artificial objects beyond their star system, and early-state to late-stag…
A sign in space: An interdisciplinary exploration of the potential reception of an extraterrestrial signal
Ferri, Paolo; de Paulis, Daniela; Shostak, Seth +5 more
A Sign in Space is an interdisciplinary project by media artist Daniela de Paulis, in collaboration with the Green Bank Observatory, the National Institute for Astrophysics, the SETI Institute and the European Space Agency.
The project consists in transmitting a simulated extraterrestrial message as part of a live performance, using an ESA sp…The road to on-board crew autonomy: Using ISS' Columbus module as the basis for ground procedure automation
Hartmann, Carsten; Speth, Franca; Sabath, Dieter +1 more
Future human exploration missions require new concepts of operations since the international roadmap foresees stations with uncrewed periods (e.g. Lunar Gateway) and deep space missions with communication delays making real-time monitoring and control impossible (e.g. any vehicle on its way to or in orbit of Mars). As part of the commitment to ach…