Acta Astronautica最新文献

{"title":"Direct ink writing of carbon fiber and AlSi10Mg reinforced lunar regolith simulant brick","authors":"Lu Zhang ,&nbsp;Ailing Xun ,&nbsp;Yingyu Chen ,&nbsp;Chao Xu ,&nbsp;Meng Zou ,&nbsp;Luquan Ren","doi":"10.1016/j.actaastro.2026.02.014","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.actaastro.2026.02.014","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Additive manufacturing (AM) of small construction elements is promising for lunar construction due to the high costs and quality control challenges of large-scale AM in space. This study explores material extrusion of lunar regolith simulant bricks using Jilin University's mare lunar regolith simulant combined with PLA/DCM binder, carbon fiber (CF), and AlSi10Mg powders. We synthesize four types of inks with 24 formulations and print bricks, analyzing their microstructures and mechanical properties. Results show that adding an appropriate amount of CF and AlSi10Mg, either individually or concurrently, significantly improves compressive and tensile performance, including enhanced ductility from the yield plateau effect. The optimal formulation CF3%/AlSi10Mg15% shows a 216% increase in compressive strength (from 13.64 to 43.08 MPa) and a 167% increase in toughness (from 0.06 to 0.16J/mm³) compared to the control. Microstructural analyses confirm that CFs bridge micro-cracks and improve resistance to tensile stresses, while AlSi10Mg particles fill micropores, reinforcing mechanical properties synergistically. Furthermore, we construct interlocking bricks that can be assembled, showing improved compressive properties compared to the integral bricks. This research advances AM for lunar construction by focusing on lightweight and mechanically reinforced components within the In-Situ Resource Utilization concept.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":44971,"journal":{"name":"Acta Astronautica","volume":"244 ","pages":"Pages 187-202"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2026-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146153017","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Topology optimization and experimental validation of Linear Lorentz Actuator for non-contact spacecraft","authors":"Mingxuan Song ,&nbsp;He Liao ,&nbsp;Jinjin Xie","doi":"10.1016/j.actaastro.2026.01.072","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.actaastro.2026.01.072","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The successful launch of the Xihe satellite and the accomplishment of its on-orbit experimental mission demonstrate that the non-contact spacecraft technology has emerged as a pivotal developmental trend in ultra-high-precision spacecraft control. To further enhance the control performance and reduce the launch mass of the spacecraft, this paper proposes a three-stage comprehensive structure optimization focusing on the mass and magnetic uniformity within the air-gap of the Linear Lorentz Actuator (LLA), which is the key actuator of non-contact spacecraft. Firstly, configuration optimization is performed via finite element simulation (FEM) to identify the optimal configuration among three candidate LLA configurations suitable for non-contact spacecraft. Subsequently, dimensional parameters of the optimal configuration are then refined to maximize magnetic uniformity. Furthermore, a composited-objective topology optimization based on density interpolation function is proposed to achieve global optimality. This yields an optimized LLA structure achieving a magnetic uniformity of 0.00057 and a 50% mass reduction in the magnetic conduction ring. Furthermore, a physical LLA prototype is fabricated based on the optimized design in this paper. Ground tests confirm that deviations between measured and theoretical magnetic field data in the air-gap did not exceed 4%, validating the effectiveness of the proposed optimization strategy.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":44971,"journal":{"name":"Acta Astronautica","volume":"244 ","pages":"Pages 20-37"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2026-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146109806","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"MEMS Gyroscope technology for Low-Earth orbit aerospace: technologies, environmental challenges, and emerging design strategies","authors":"Donghua Chen ,&nbsp;Yusen Guo ,&nbsp;Pengyu Huo ,&nbsp;Qiliang Li","doi":"10.1016/j.actaastro.2026.01.011","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.actaastro.2026.01.011","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The rapid expansion of commercial Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) missions and mega-constellations has created stringent requirements for compact, cost-effective, and highly reliable inertial sensors. Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) gyroscopes have emerged as pivotal components in Attitude Determination and Control Systems (ADCS) due to their superior SWaP-C advantages over traditional optical gyroscopes. However, the LEO environment imposes severe constraints, including extreme thermal fluctuations, ionizing radiation, vacuum-induced outgassing, and launch-induced mechanical stresses, all of which degrade long-term stability and reliability. This review provides a comprehensive analysis of recent advancements in MEMS gyroscope design, with emphasis on structural innovations, radiation-hardened electronics, advanced packaging, and data-driven signal processing methods that have been predominantly demonstrated through ground-based simulations and laboratory validations. This paper further examines their adoption in commercial satellite constellations, remote sensing, and reusable platforms, and highlights emerging trends such as hybrid fiber-optic/MEMS systems and digital-twin concepts for design optimization and performance assessment, while explicitly distinguishing demonstrated results from conceptual or simulation-based studies. Special attention is given to LEO-specific environmental degradation mechanisms and mitigation strategies through material selection, circuit hardening, and redundant architecture. The review concludes by outlining future directions in sensor miniaturization, intelligent self-calibration, and resilient system integration, and by identifying key validation gaps for learning-based and digital-twin-enabled approaches under space environmental constraints, underscoring MEMS gyroscopes’ critical role in enabling next-generation spaceborne navigation and control. This work aims to guide researchers and developers in creating robust, space-grade MEMS inertial solutions for commercial aerospace applications.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":44971,"journal":{"name":"Acta Astronautica","volume":"243 ","pages":"Pages 280-290"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2026-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145902737","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Flexible PVA/BA gel for passive radiation shielding in spacesuit applications beyond LEO","authors":"Lucia Lambertini ,&nbsp;Maria Gabriella Santonicola ,&nbsp;Susanna Laurenzi","doi":"10.1016/j.actaastro.2026.01.066","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.actaastro.2026.01.066","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Protection of astronauts from intense space radiation during long-term missions to the Moon or Mars remains a critical challenge. With space agencies planning permanent lunar bases as gateways for deep-space exploration, enhancing radiation shielding in spacesuits during extravehicular activities (EVAs) is essential. This study explores the feasibility of integrating poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)-based gels as an intermediate shielding layer between the pressure bladder garment (PBG) and the liquid cooling and ventilation garment (LCVG), without altering suit geometry or increasing layer thickness. Due to their high water content, PVA-based gels combine flexibility, softness, and ductility with effective radiation attenuation. Experimental analyses compared the physical and mechanical properties of PVA gels to nylon, the primary material of PBG and LCVG. The gels exhibited similar density and thermal conductivity but demonstrated superior deformability, achieving elongations up to ∼65 % despite a lower Young's modulus. Numerical simulations performed with the OLTARIS confirmed the shielding potential of the proposed configuration. While protection against Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCR) remained limited due to their high penetration depth, the inclusion of PVA-based gel layers significantly reduced proton doses from Solar Particle Events (SPE), indicating their potential as an effective, lightweight enhancement to current spacesuit designs.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":44971,"journal":{"name":"Acta Astronautica","volume":"243 ","pages":"Pages 149-161"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2026-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146072618","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Rhombus facet design of fan-fold deployable reflector","authors":"Tadashi Masuoka ,&nbsp;Satoru Ozawa ,&nbsp;Takahiro Kuhara ,&nbsp;Yuji Yamagata ,&nbsp;Nobuaki Minami ,&nbsp;Kazuyuki Nakamura","doi":"10.1016/j.actaastro.2026.01.069","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.actaastro.2026.01.069","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper presents an efficient method for designing the rhombus-shaped facets of a parabolic reflector. An approximate solution is derived to calculate the RMS error induced by mesh deformation. Finite Element Analysis (FEA) is conducted by modeling a single rhombus facet to validate the approximate solution. The FEA results show good agreement with the approximate solution in terms of maximum facet deformation. Furthermore, the RMS error of an actual 1 m-scale reflector was measured, revealing a difference of only 4.5 % between the measured and estimated values. Finally, the facet length and angle are designed to satisfy the surface accuracy requirements for different frequency bands using the proposed method.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":44971,"journal":{"name":"Acta Astronautica","volume":"243 ","pages":"Pages 305-314"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2026-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146089662","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A multi-objective evolutionary optimization for infrared image reconstruction and typical thermal response selection in hypervelocity impact damage detection","authors":"Zhongbao Yan ,&nbsp;Chun Yin ,&nbsp;Xuegang Huang ,&nbsp;Jiuwen Cao ,&nbsp;Yuanhao Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.actaastro.2026.01.051","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.actaastro.2026.01.051","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The complex damage caused by hypervelocity impact poses significant challenges for spacecraft damage detection. This paper presents a novel method for detecting hypervelocity impact damage in spacecraft based on infrared nondestructive testing, which utilizes transient thermal response data and designs an adaptive classification model based on kernel density estimation to effectively distinguish different types of defect information. Additionally, the paper addresses the issue of extracting typical transient thermal responses from various defect types and constructs a multi-objective optimization function based on intraclass representativeness and interclass distinctiveness. The proposed multi-objective evolutionary optimization algorithm, combined with the <span><math><mi>α</mi></math></span>-shape method, neural networks, and vertical distance measures, dynamically adjusts the weight vectors to optimize the distribution of solutions and balance convergence and diversity, resulting in higher quality typical transient thermal responses. Experimental results validate the effectiveness of the proposed method on real hypervelocity impact specimens, successfully obtaining defect images of different types.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":44971,"journal":{"name":"Acta Astronautica","volume":"243 ","pages":"Pages 46-60"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2026-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146033456","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Microgravity-induced alterations in left atrial hemodynamics and thrombogenic risk: Insights from healthy and atrial fibrillation models","authors":"Grace Hoeppner ,&nbsp;Ahmad Bshennaty ,&nbsp;Brennan Vogl ,&nbsp;Ghasaq Saleh ,&nbsp;Mohamad Alkhouli ,&nbsp;Hoda Hatoum","doi":"10.1016/j.actaastro.2026.01.058","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.actaastro.2026.01.058","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Microgravity exposure alters cardiovascular loading, yet its impact on left atrial flow dynamics and thrombotic risk remains poorly understood. This study investigates how spaceflight-relevant microgravity-induced changes in cardiac outflow affect left atrial hemodynamics in healthy individuals and patients with atrial fibrillation.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>Patient-specific left atrial models were generated for three healthy individuals and three AF patients. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations were performed using each patient's baseline mitral outflow waveform and two modified waveforms representing short- and long-duration post-flight cardiac loading changes derived from echocardiographic observations. Hemodynamic metrics included left atrial velocity, time averaged wall shear stress, oscillatory shear index, relative residence time, and stasis volume, which were used to assess thrombogenic flow conditions.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Post-flight, microgravity-associated modifications to mitral outflow conditions produced distinct hemodynamic responses across cohorts. In healthy individuals, short-duration post-flight loading reduced time-averaged wall shear stress from 1.51 to 1.00 Pa and increased velocity-defined stasis from 19.6 % to 64.2 %, indicating substantially reduced atrial washout. Under long-duration post-flight conditions, these metrics recovered toward or above baseline values (time-averaged wall shear stress 1.68 Pa; stasis 18.5 %), consistent with hemodynamic adaptation. In contrast, patients with atrial fibrillation exhibited high baseline stasis and showed minimal changes in time-averaged wall shear stress, oscillatory shear, or relative residence time across all loading conditions. Across all cohorts, the left atrial appendage consistently demonstrated the lowest shear and highest residence time.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>These findings indicate that spaceflight-related microgravity exposure may transiently increase atrial flow stasis and thrombotic risk in individuals with normal atrial function, while individuals with atrial fibrillation remain in a persistently high-risk hemodynamic state that is relatively insensitive to microgravity-induced loading changes. This study provides the first patient-specific, chamber-level computational assessment of how spaceflight-documented cardiac adaptations influence left atrial hemodynamics and highlights the importance of accounting for duration-dependent hemodynamic adaptation when assessing thrombotic risk associated with human spaceflight.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":44971,"journal":{"name":"Acta Astronautica","volume":"243 ","pages":"Pages 61-72"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2026-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146081604","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Autonomous optical flow-based initial orbit determination","authors":"Willem Oliveira","doi":"10.1016/j.actaastro.2026.01.054","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.actaastro.2026.01.054","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The navigation algorithms proposed in the literature to achieve pinpoint landing for space exploration missions require initialization with state estimates from ground. This limits the missions that can be accomplished and significantly increases operation costs. This paper introduces an orbit determination (OD) algorithm, which can be used to autonomously initialize existing terrain absolute navigation (TAN) algorithms with pinpoint landing accuracy. Visual data is collected over the course of two orbit periods. This data is used to estimate the Keplerian orbit parameters of the trajectory. The estimated orbit parameters are used to initialize a crater-based TAN system independently from ground telemetry, thus providing a fully autonomous navigation system with pinpoint landing capability.</div><div>An extensive test campaign was performed using both simulated measurements and rendered images. The algorithm was shown to successfully enable TAN initialization.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":44971,"journal":{"name":"Acta Astronautica","volume":"243 ","pages":"Pages 237-250"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2026-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146072616","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Efficiency Metrics and Numerical Simulation Procedure for Atmosphere-Breathing Electric Propulsion (ABEP) Intake Designs","authors":"M.B. Agir ,&nbsp;N.H. Crisp ,&nbsp;K.L. Smith ,&nbsp;P.C.E. Roberts ,&nbsp;Z. Xiang ,&nbsp;M. Newsam ,&nbsp;M. Griffiths","doi":"10.1016/j.actaastro.2026.01.037","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.actaastro.2026.01.037","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The intake of an atmosphere-breathing electric propulsion system plays a pivotal role in capturing and collimating atmospheric residuals prior to the propulsion stage. Accurate assessment of intake performance necessitates accounting for rarefied gas dynamics, flow compression, and gas-surface interactions. In this study, the DSMC solver, dsmcFoam, is rigorously validated against fundamental benchmarks, including Clausing empirical cases and comparisons with the PICLas solver. Furthermore, dsmcFoam-dsmcFoam comparison is also conducted and observed deviations between our results and existing dsmcFoam results in the literature highlight the critical importance of careful simulation setup and procedural rigour. A systematic analysis of the simulation workflow, supplemented by additional computational strategies, demonstrates their pronounced impact on intake performance metrics. Furthermore, distinct definitions for efficiency – namely, collection efficiency and transmission efficiency for vacuum, standalone, and integrated configurations – are introduced, establishing a comprehensive framework for evaluating intake performance across varying operational altitudes and surface properties. The findings confirm that (i) dsmcFoam represents a reliable tool for ABEP intake design, providing a foundation for further developments, (ii) a structured and generic simulation procedure tailored for ABEP intakes is essential, and (iii) conventional efficiency metrics for ABEP intakes needs reconsideration for broader applicability and accurate performance evaluation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":44971,"journal":{"name":"Acta Astronautica","volume":"243 ","pages":"Pages 14-31"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2026-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146047965","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Thermal analysis of control moment gyroscopes based on the thermal network method","authors":"Lei Chen ,&nbsp;Zhangfan Xu ,&nbsp;Song Pan ,&nbsp;Huafeng Li","doi":"10.1016/j.actaastro.2026.01.065","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.actaastro.2026.01.065","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Control moment gyroscopes serving as high-power attitude actuators for large spacecraft require sustained lubrication performance of their high-speed bearings to ensure long-term operation. A critical challenge arises from the temperature-dependent release rate of lubricant stored in oil reservoirs, combined with structural constraints that impede direct temperature measurement at key bearing nodes. To address this issue, this study develops a thermal network modeling methodology for control moment gyroscopes that enables comprehensive and precise temperature estimation across all critical components. Experimental validation via thermal equilibrium tests demonstrates strong agreement between the measured and simulated temperatures (with an error coefficient of less than 12 %). The verified thermal network model provides an effective theoretical framework for the on-orbit thermal management and failure early warning of control moment gyroscopes, thereby enhancing operational reliability and extending lifespan. This methodology offers significant value for precision thermal control in advanced aerospace instrumentation systems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":44971,"journal":{"name":"Acta Astronautica","volume":"243 ","pages":"Pages 162-171"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2026-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146072608","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}