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The Beagle 2 environmental sensors: science goals and instrument description
Patel, M. R.; Zarnecki, J. C.; Wilson, C. F. +12 more
A suite of instruments on the Beagle 2 Mars lander was designed and built in order to investigate the environmental conditions at the landing site. The sensor suite was capable of measuring air temperature at two heights, surface level pressure, wind speed and direction, saltated particle momentum, UV flux (diffuse and direct at five wavelengths),…
A stratospheric balloon experiment to test the Huygens atmospheric structure instrument (HASI)
Patel, M. R.; Fulchignoni, M.; Hathi, B. +15 more
We developed a series of balloon experiments parachuting a 1:1 scale mock-up of the Huygens probe from an altitude just over 30 km to simulate at planetary scale the final part of the descent of the probe through Titan's lower atmosphere. The terrestrial atmosphere represents a natural laboratory where most of the physical parameters meet quite we…
Scientific objectives and selection of targets for the SMART-1 Infrared Spectrometer (SIR)
Keller, H. U.; Hiesinger, H.; Mall, U. +3 more
The European SMART-1 mission to the Moon, primarily a testbed for innovative technologies, was launched in September 2003 and will reach the Moon in 2005. On board are several scientific instruments, including the point-spectrometer SMART-1 Infrared Spectrometer (SIR). Taking into account the capabilities of the SMART-1 mission and the SIR instrum…
The far-infrared spectra of Jupiter and Saturn
Lellouch, E.; Encrenaz, T.; Orton, G. S. +4 more
We present far-infrared, disk-averaged spectra of Jupiter and Saturn that were measured with the Long Wavelength Spectrometer aboard the Infrared Space Observatory. The Long Wavelength Spectrometer covered the wavelength region between 43 and 197 µm and achieved in grating mode a resolving power of 150-300.
The spectra observed in the f…Rotational dynamics of subsolar sublimating triaxial comets
Mysen, Eirik
A model with subsolar water sublimation on a triaxial, ellipsoidal comet nucleus is presented for the calculation of reactive torques. The resulting differential equations describing the comet's rotation are then Hamiltonian, and gravity-gradients are trivial to include. While effects derived from a weak perturbing function are neither able to cha…
Martian northern polar cap: Layering and possible implications for radar sounding
Ilyushin, Yaroslaw A.
The propagation of electromagnetic waves in the northern polar ice sheet of Mars is considered. It is shown that the dispersion and attenuation of radio waves in the polar sheet are regulated by two groups of factors: the physical and chemical composition of the ice, and the geometrical parameters of the layered structure of polar sheet. Both anal…
Comet Hyakutake (C/1996 B2): Spectacular disconnection event and the latitudinal structure of the solar wind
Brandt, J. C.; Snow, M.; Mikuz, H. +2 more
Images of comet Hyakutake (C/1996 B2) are analyzed in conjunction with solar wind data from spacecraft to determine the relationship between solar wind conditions and plasma tail morphology. The disconnection event (DE) on March 25, 1996 is analyzed with the aid of data from the IMP-8 and WIND Earth-orbiting spacecraft and the DE is found to be co…
On a systematic spectral variation of energetic ions in the Jovian outer magnetosphere: HI-SCALE/Ulysses observations
Sarris, E. T.; Anagnostopoulos, G. C.; Marhavilas, P. K.
An important finding of Ulysses flyby of Jupiter is the discovery of a large-scale energetic particle layer adjacent to the magnetopause. Previous studies discussed the particle flux and the anisotropy characteristics of this layer. This study examines the spectral characteristics of the large-scale magnetopause boundary layer of energetic particl…
Simulation and analysis of the revised Huygens probe entry and descent trajectory and radio link modelling
Lebreton, J. -P.; Kazeminejad, B.; Pérez-Ayúcar, M. +7 more
The Cassini spacecraft will arrive at Saturn in 2004 carrying the Huygens probe. The beginning of the Cassini tour at Saturn has been redesigned to achieve a different relative orbiter/probe geometry in order to compensate for the probe relay receiver design flaw that was discovered during tests in February 2000. This paper presents a numerical si…
Visualization and topographical analysis of the Mars surface
Dorninger, P.; Jansa, J.; Briese, Ch.
The Institute of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing has more than 30 years of experience in computation, visualization and analysis of digital terrain data. Most of the developed methods and algorithms are implemented in the software application SCOP++ and tested on Earth datasets. Due to the institute's involvement into Mars Express, these methods…