Acta Astronautica最新文献

{"title":"Emission spectroscopy and surface temperature analysis from Hayabusa2 sample return observation","authors":"Yu Liu,&nbsp;Matthew Thompson,&nbsp;Steven F.T. Apirana,&nbsp;Richard G. Morgan,&nbsp;Christopher M. James","doi":"10.1016/j.actaastro.2025.01.037","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.actaastro.2025.01.037","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Remote observation is an important way for studying the re-entry environment that a spacecraft experiences. On 5 December 2020 UTC, researchers from the University of Queensland (UQ) took part in the flight observation of the Hayabusa2 Sample Return Capsule’s re-entry, conducting independent measurements alongside other research teams. The UQ system, which included a tracking camera and two grating prism spectrometers, was designed to capture atomic transitions of nitrogen, oxygen, and hydrogen, as well as blackbody radiation, in the visible and near-infrared regions. Spectra were recorded from 17:28:56 to 17:29:16 UTC, with data from 17:28:56 to 17:29:08 UTC successfully processed and calibrated, covering the peak radiative heating point at 17:29:03 UTC. This paper outlines the data processing and calibration techniques, including methods for extracting spectra in low signal-to-noise ratio images and correcting for spectral blurring across spatial dimension. Calibrated spectra are presented, and surface temperatures were derived by fitting the spectra to Planck’s law. UQ’s data, as an important subset of the broader dataset from the joint observation, showed strong agreement with the results from other teams during the overlapping time frames. The fitted temperature profile also aligned with numerical predictions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":44971,"journal":{"name":"Acta Astronautica","volume":"229 ","pages":"Pages 498-511"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2025-01-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143035336","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Ferroptosis in space: How microgravity alters iron homeostasis","authors":"Nithyasree Sivasubramanian ,&nbsp;Kamalesh Dattaram Mumbrekar ,&nbsp;Sudharshan Prabhu","doi":"10.1016/j.actaastro.2025.01.049","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.actaastro.2025.01.049","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>As humanity ventures into space, understanding the effects of microgravity on fundamental cellular, molecular, and physiological processes is essential. Research in this area not only addresses the challenges faced during space exploration but also has the potential to lead to novel discoveries. Microgravity research in the field of biological sciences has gained significant importance as astronauts, cosmonauts, and taikonauts experience various pathological conditions while living under gravity levels vastly different from that on Earth. This review explores insights drawn from space missions and ground-based microgravity simulation models, highlighting changes in iron utilization, storage, transport, recycling, redox signaling, and oxidative stress under microgravity conditions. We aim to elucidate how these alterations may influence the risk of ferroptosis either by exacerbating or mitigating it during space missions. By investigating the effects of microgravity, we gain a deeper understanding of the role of iron and other contributing factors in ferroptotic cell death in space environments. This comprehensive review, therefore, examines the complex interplay between microgravity and iron dynamics, with particular focus on its implication for ferroptosis.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":44971,"journal":{"name":"Acta Astronautica","volume":"229 ","pages":"Pages 512-522"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2025-01-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143035334","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Analytical solutions for hover-to-hover lunar landing: Attitude-driven guidance approach","authors":"Takahiro Sasaki ,&nbsp;Junji Kikuchi ,&nbsp;Kazuki Kariya ,&nbsp;Masaru Koga","doi":"10.1016/j.actaastro.2025.01.021","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.actaastro.2025.01.021","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In precise lunar landing missions, several hovering points are often set to detect obstacles or switch between ranging sensors during the vertical descent phase, the terminal landing sequence. This paper proposes analytical solutions for the guidance between hovering points, which are tracked along the desired attitude sequence. Then, a methodology is proposed to optimize the vertical descent trajectory and hovering point selection simultaneously while considering fuel consumption and constraints, such as horizontal/vertical distance and control error. This study demonstrated the proposed method’s effectiveness through Monte-Carlo simulations, which are also described in this paper.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":44971,"journal":{"name":"Acta Astronautica","volume":"229 ","pages":"Pages 471-484"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2025-01-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143174229","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":"Application of the finite element method to evaluate the effectiveness of spacecraft protective screens","authors":"Pavel A. Radchenko,&nbsp;Andrey V. Radchenko,&nbsp;Stanislav P. Batuev,&nbsp;Aleksandr V. Kanutkin","doi":"10.1016/j.actaastro.2025.01.045","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.actaastro.2025.01.045","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In this work, within the framework of the Lagrangian approach, the hypervelocity interaction (HVI) of an aluminum particle, representing space debris, with monolithic and spaced barriers made of aluminum alloy of equivalent thickness is numerically studied using the finite element method. The simulation is performed using the proprietary 3D software complex EFES, which ensures mass conservation under the fracture condition. The implemented fracture algorithm allows for the description of material fragmentation and the formation of new contact boundaries without distorting the computational mesh. A comparison with experimental data on crater depth under hypervelocity impact has been conducted. The protective properties of monolithic and spaced barriers were evaluated in the velocity range of 3–15 km/s.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":44971,"journal":{"name":"Acta Astronautica","volume":"229 ","pages":"Pages 466-470"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2025-01-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143174228","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":"Space traffic management: Large constellations","authors":"Marlon Sorge ,&nbsp;Didier Alary ,&nbsp;Florent Lacomba ,&nbsp;Helen Tung ,&nbsp;Balbir Singh","doi":"10.1016/j.actaastro.2025.01.043","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.actaastro.2025.01.043","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Large constellations of hundreds or thousands of satellites in low Earth orbit are a recent development that is both creating new space-based services and creating challenges for space traffic management especially considering the number of new constellations and corresponding satellites proposed. The large numbers of satellites, orders of magnitude beyond historic norms and the new modes of operations present a range of technical, policy and communications challenges. These challenges are discussed along with proposed and some implemented solutions. Several recommendations are made to improve the safety of large constellations while enabling continued innovation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":44971,"journal":{"name":"Acta Astronautica","volume":"229 ","pages":"Pages 698-704"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2025-01-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143173857","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":"Space traffic management: Improvements to spacecraft collision avoidance (COLA)","authors":"Marlon Sorge ,&nbsp;Toby Harris ,&nbsp;Camilla Colombo ,&nbsp;Matthew Hejduk ,&nbsp;Norman Fitz-Coy ,&nbsp;Ryan Sheppard ,&nbsp;Emma Kerr ,&nbsp;Upasana Dasgupta ,&nbsp;Nicolas Berend ,&nbsp;Diego Escobar ,&nbsp;Martin Michel ,&nbsp;Cristina Perez","doi":"10.1016/j.actaastro.2025.01.042","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.actaastro.2025.01.042","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Collision avoidance, the process of planning and possibly executing a manoeuvre to mitigate the risk of a collision in orbit, is becoming increasingly important as the amount of space traffic increases. This paper discusses different types of conjunction events, the technical processes involved in identifying higher risk conjunctions and possible mitigation techniques, and gaps and limitations in the processes. Possible solutions to these gaps are addressed including improved communication and coordination, more accurate and precise data, and improved education of operators. Several recommendations are made to improve the collision avoidance process and effectiveness.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":44971,"journal":{"name":"Acta Astronautica","volume":"229 ","pages":"Pages 600-605"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2025-01-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143173385","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":"Space-based debris trajectory estimation using vision sensors and track-based data fusion techniques","authors":"Khaja Faisal Hussain,&nbsp;Nour El-Din Safwat,&nbsp;Kathiravan Thangavel,&nbsp;Roberto Sabatini","doi":"10.1016/j.actaastro.2025.01.038","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.actaastro.2025.01.038","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Resident Space Objects (RSO) are human-made objects in orbit around Earth and can remain there for an extended period. These objects can include active satellites, rockets, and space stations, as well as debris caused by previous space endeavours. Debris originated as a consequential outcome of activities such as space launches, orbital missions and collision events, pose a formidable threat to currently operational space assets. To reduce the risk of on-orbit collisions, it is imperative that spacecraft operators enhance their situational awareness concerning potential threats posed by RSO. This necessitates comprehensive tracking of the total number of objects in space and the continuous estimation of the probability of accidental collisions. Effective Collision Avoidance (CA) manoeuvres rely on accurate tracking and characterization of RSO. Currently, RSO are monitored and catalogued using ground-based observational systems. However, Space-Based Space Surveillance (SBSS) presents a viable solution for tracking the RSO, providing superior sensor resolution, tracking accuracy, and independence from weather conditions. Accurate and continuous orbit determination of RSO is critical for developing a robust framework that enables accurate prediction of RSO dynamics. This capability is essential for applications such as Interplanetary space exploration, space tourism and Point-To-Point Suborbital Transport (PPST), which are anticipated in the future. The current study proposes a multi-sensor data fusion strategy designed to integrate angular measurements extracted from image sequences obtained by multiple cost-effective Electro-Optical Sensors (EOS) sensors deployed in SBSS missions. The main contribution of this study lies in the development of data fusion frameworks tailored for constrained computational environments, ensuring seamless real-time implementation on intelligent Distributed Satellite Systems (iDSS). This study proposes and rigorously compares three distinct data fusion methodologies—Measurement Fusion-1 (MF-1), Measurement Fusion-2 (MF-2), and Track-to-Track (T2T) fusion—examining their impact on tracking accuracy across varying sensor-to-target geometries. Additionally, the data fusion framework is validated under diverse operational conditions, including Ground-Based Space Surveillance (GBSS), SBSS, and the synergistic integration of GBSS and SBSS. A validation case study is conducted on an iDSS constellation executing a SBSS mission. The results indicate that MF-1 outperforms other algorithms in the SBSS scenario in terms of tracking accuracy. In contrast, T2T fusion demonstrates superior performance in terms of computational time. Notably, the integration of SBSS and GBSS data surpasses the performance of GBSS across all evaluated data fusion methodologies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":44971,"journal":{"name":"Acta Astronautica","volume":"229 ","pages":"Pages 814-830"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2025-01-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143368336","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Two-stage DRL with hybrid perception of vision and force feedback for lunar construction robotic assembly control","authors":"Boxin Li,&nbsp;Zhaokui Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.actaastro.2025.01.017","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.actaastro.2025.01.017","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The moon, as the closest celestial body to Earth, is currently the only deep space celestial body that humans can conveniently travel back and forth using chemical rocket. It can serve as an outpost for humans to move further towards other deep space celestial bodies and become an extraterrestrial resource gathering area that humans can utilize. Lunar construction is necessary for the long-term deep space exploration and resource utilization in the future. The lunar robotic assembly is an indispensable technology that must be broken through in long-term lunar surface exploration. To address the challenges brought by the lunar open-environment scene and the features of the lunar construction tasks, this paper proposes a two-stage DRL control method with the hybrid perception of visual and force feedback for lunar construction robot to perform assembly operations end-to-end rather than model-base. A staged reward function based on the visual pose norm and the first-order derivative of the piecewise force is designed for policy learning. For a large amount of interactive training of our lunar construction robot, this paper establishes a 1:1 simulation scenario covering dynamics and kinematics. A ground real robot prototype is designed to conduct ground experiments, and a sim-to-real pipeline using multi-Aruco visual calibration is provided to eliminate reality gaps. The effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed control method have been verified through simulation experiments and ground real-robot experiments. The application of DRL and cross-disciplinary integration helps lunar robotic systems to embody intelligence and perform complex assembly operations autonomously in open environments.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":44971,"journal":{"name":"Acta Astronautica","volume":"229 ","pages":"Pages 357-373"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2025-01-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143174223","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":"Design and first results of the solar cell experiment on EIVE","authors":"Markus T. Koller ,&nbsp;Marius Eggert ,&nbsp;Markus Kranz ,&nbsp;Lorenz Maurer ,&nbsp;Jakob Meier ,&nbsp;Robin Müller ,&nbsp;Robin Schweigert ,&nbsp;Jonas Weihrauch ,&nbsp;Felix Gerstenberger ,&nbsp;Wolfgang Guter ,&nbsp;Torsten Torunski ,&nbsp;Sabine Klinkner","doi":"10.1016/j.actaastro.2025.01.029","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.actaastro.2025.01.029","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>An advanced electronic load circuit was developed to characterise the current–voltage curves of seven metal-wrap-through triple-junction solar cells and four conventional quadruple-junction solar cells produced by AZUR SPACE GmbH. This solar cell experiment was launched aboard the EIVE nanosatellite in June 2023 and has been operational since October 2023. The evaluation of over 5,000 individual curves highlights the need for precise compensation of temperature, sun angle error, and solar flux effects. The corrected data show excellent agreement with ground measurements obtained from solar simulator testing of the same cells.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":44971,"journal":{"name":"Acta Astronautica","volume":"229 ","pages":"Pages 627-643"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2025-01-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143173889","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effects of acute hypoxic exposure in extraterrestrial habitats on work performance and biomechanical parameters of manual material handling","authors":"Jing Zhang ,&nbsp;Jianlin Liu ,&nbsp;Wanjing Jia ,&nbsp;Jiayin Li ,&nbsp;Chao Sun ,&nbsp;Jiachen Nie ,&nbsp;Tian Liu ,&nbsp;Hetong Wang ,&nbsp;Xuerui Ma ,&nbsp;Li Ding","doi":"10.1016/j.actaastro.2025.01.040","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.actaastro.2025.01.040","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>NASA has proposed long-duration lunar and Mars habitats operate at 8.0 psia / 32 % O₂ atmosphere (the equivalent air altitude [EAA] = 1213 m) nominally with an optional depress to 7.6 psia / 32 % O₂ (EAA = 2100 m). To investigate the design extension of atmosphere for emergency scenarios and the biomechanical responses of astronauts performing physical tasks in hypobaric hypoxia, this study analyzed the work performance, upper limb muscles activation and kinematics of ten male participants during repetitive manual material handling (MMH) of 25 kg boxes to fatigue at normobaric normoxia (NN, FiO₂ = 20.9 %) and acute hypobaric moderate (MH, FiO₂ = 13.6 %) and severe (SH, FiO₂ = 11.8 %) hypoxic exposure. The results indicated a significant work performance decrement for per five MMH repetitions at SH (mean ± SD: 76.49 ± 17.47 s) compared to NN (53.09 ± 14.84 s) (P &lt; 0.01). The normalized root mean square (RMS, %MVC) of brachioradialis and erector spinae at fatigue states was significantly higher than those during the starting stage at NN and MH (P &lt; 0.05). The mean power frequency (MPF) of brachioradialis was significantly higher in MH and SH than that in NN (P &lt; 0.01). Both MPF and zero crossing rate (ZCR) of brachioradialis and erector spinae muscles post-MMH were significantly reduced compared to pre-MMH (P &lt; 0.05). Elbow flexion and upper limb acceleration remained unaffected by changes in oxygen levels and fatigue state (P &gt; 0.05). This study provides valuable insights for the design of hypoxic atmospheres in extraterrestrial habitats, as well as for astronaut physical fatigue monitoring and safety protection.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":44971,"journal":{"name":"Acta Astronautica","volume":"229 ","pages":"Pages 345-356"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2025-01-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143174225","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}