Experimental Astronomy最新文献

{"title":"Mars’ plasma system. Scientific potential of coordinated multipoint missions: “The next generation”","authors":"Beatriz Sánchez-Cano,&nbsp;Mark Lester,&nbsp;David J. Andrews,&nbsp;Hermann Opgenoorth,&nbsp;Robert Lillis,&nbsp;François Leblanc,&nbsp;Christopher M. Fowler,&nbsp;Xiaohua Fang,&nbsp;Oleg Vaisberg,&nbsp;Majd Mayyasi,&nbsp;Mika Holmberg,&nbsp;Jingnan Guo,&nbsp;Maria Hamrin,&nbsp;Christian Mazelle,&nbsp;Kerstin Peter,&nbsp;Martin Pätzold,&nbsp;Katerina Stergiopoulou,&nbsp;Charlotte Goetz,&nbsp;Vladimir Nikolaevich Ermakov,&nbsp;Sergei Shuvalov,&nbsp;James A. Wild,&nbsp;Pierre-Louis Blelly,&nbsp;Michael Mendillo,&nbsp;Cesar Bertucci,&nbsp;Marco Cartacci,&nbsp;Roberto Orosei,&nbsp;Feng Chu,&nbsp;Andrew J. Kopf,&nbsp;Zachary Girazian,&nbsp;Michael T. Roman","doi":"10.1007/s10686-021-09790-0","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10686-021-09790-0","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The objective of this White Paper, submitted to ESA’s Voyage 2050 call, is to get a more holistic knowledge of the dynamics of the Martian plasma system, from its surface up to the undisturbed solar wind outside of the induced magnetosphere. This can only be achieved with coordinated multi-point observations with high temporal resolution as they have the scientific potential to track the whole dynamics of the system (from small to large scales), and they constitute the next generation of the exploration of Mars analogous to what happened at Earth a few decades ago. This White Paper discusses the key science questions that are still open at Mars and how they could be addressed with coordinated multipoint missions. The main science questions are: (i) How does solar wind driving impact the dynamics of the magnetosphere and ionosphere? (ii) What is the structure and nature of the tail of Mars’ magnetosphere at all scales? (iii) How does the lower atmosphere couple to the upper atmosphere? (iv) Why should we have a permanent in-situ Space Weather monitor at Mars? Each science question is devoted to a specific plasma region, and includes several specific scientific objectives to study in the coming decades. In addition, two mission concepts are also proposed based on coordinated multi-point science from a constellation of orbiting and ground-based platforms, which focus on understanding and solving the current science gaps.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":551,"journal":{"name":"Experimental Astronomy","volume":"54 2-3","pages":"641 - 676"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2021-11-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10686-021-09790-0.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"4554544","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"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":"Enceladus as a potential oasis for life: Science goals and investigations for future explorations","authors":"Gaël Choblet,&nbsp;Gabriel Tobie,&nbsp;Arnaud Buch,&nbsp;Ondrej Čadek,&nbsp;Laura M. Barge,&nbsp;Marie Bēhounková,&nbsp;Eloi Camprubi,&nbsp;Caroline Freissinet,&nbsp;Matt Hedman,&nbsp;Geraint Jones,&nbsp;Valery Lainey,&nbsp;Alice Le Gall,&nbsp;Alice Lucchetti,&nbsp;Shannon MacKenzie,&nbsp;Giuseppe Mitri,&nbsp;Marc Neveu,&nbsp;Francis Nimmo,&nbsp;Karen Olsson-Francis,&nbsp;Mark Panning,&nbsp;Frank Postberg,&nbsp;Joachim Saur,&nbsp;Jürgen Schmidt,&nbsp;Yasuhito Sekine,&nbsp;Takazo Shibuya,&nbsp;Christophe Sotin,&nbsp;Ondrej Soucek,&nbsp;Cyril Szopa,&nbsp;Tomohiro Usui,&nbsp;Steven Vance,&nbsp;Tim Van Hoolst","doi":"10.1007/s10686-021-09808-7","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10686-021-09808-7","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Enceladus is the first planetary object for which direct sampling of a subsurface water reservoir, likely habitable, has been performed. Over a decade of flybys and seven flythroughs of its watery plume, the Cassini spacecraft determined that Enceladus possesses all the ingredients for life. The existence of active eruptions blasting fresh water into space, makes Enceladus the easiest target in the search for life elsewhere in the Solar System. Flying again through the plume with more advanced instruments, landing at the surface near active sources and collecting a sample for return to Earth are the natural next steps for assessing whether life emerges in this active world. Characterizing this habitable world also requires detailed mapping and monitoring of its tidally-induced activity, from the orbit as well as from the surface using complementary platforms. Such ambitious goals may be achieved in the future in the framework of ESA large or medium-class missions in partnership with other international agencies, in the same spirit of the successful Cassini-Huygens mission. For all these reasons, exploring habitable ocean worlds, with Enceladus as a primary target, should be a priority topic of the ESA Voyage 2050 programme.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":551,"journal":{"name":"Experimental Astronomy","volume":"54 2-3","pages":"809 - 847"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2021-11-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"4402843","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"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":"The THESEUS space mission: science goals, requirements and mission concept","authors":"L. Amati,&nbsp;P.T. O’Brien,&nbsp;D. Götz,&nbsp;E. Bozzo,&nbsp;A. Santangelo,&nbsp;N. Tanvir,&nbsp;F. Frontera,&nbsp;S. Mereghetti,&nbsp;J. P. Osborne,&nbsp;A. Blain,&nbsp;S. Basa,&nbsp;M. Branchesi,&nbsp;L. Burderi,&nbsp;M. Caballero-García,&nbsp;A. J. Castro-Tirado,&nbsp;L. Christensen,&nbsp;R. Ciolfi,&nbsp;A. De Rosa,&nbsp;V. Doroshenko,&nbsp;A. Ferrara,&nbsp;G. Ghirlanda,&nbsp;L. Hanlon,&nbsp;P. Heddermann,&nbsp;I. Hutchinson,&nbsp;C. Labanti,&nbsp;E. Le Floch,&nbsp;H. Lerman,&nbsp;S. Paltani,&nbsp;V. Reglero,&nbsp;L. Rezzolla,&nbsp;P. Rosati,&nbsp;R. Salvaterra,&nbsp;G. Stratta,&nbsp;C. Tenzer,&nbsp;on behalf of THESEUS Consortium","doi":"10.1007/s10686-021-09807-8","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10686-021-09807-8","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>THESEUS, one of the two space mission concepts being studied by ESA as candidates for next M5 mission within its Comsic Vision programme, aims at fully exploiting Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRB) to solve key questions about the early Universe, as well as becoming a cornerstone of multi-messenger and time-domain astrophysics. By investigating the first billion years of the Universe through high-redshift GRBs, THESEUS will shed light on the main open issues in modern cosmology, such as the population of primordial low mass and luminosity galaxies, sources and evolution of cosmic re-ionization, SFR and metallicity evolution up to the “cosmic dawn” and across Pop-III stars. At the same time, the mission will provide a substantial advancement of multi-messenger and time-domain astrophysics by enabling the identification, accurate localisation and study of electromagnetic counterparts to sources of gravitational waves and neutrinos, which will be routinely detected in the late ‘20s and early ‘30s by the second and third generation Gravitational Wave (GW) interferometers and future neutrino detectors, as well as of all kinds of GRBs and most classes of other X/gamma-ray transient sources. Under all these respects, THESEUS will provide great synergies with future large observing facilities in the multi-messenger domain. A Guest Observer programme, comprising Target of Opportunity (ToO) observations, will expand the science return of the mission, to include, e.g., solar system minor bodies, exoplanets, and AGN.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":551,"journal":{"name":"Experimental Astronomy","volume":"52 3","pages":"183 - 218"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2021-11-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10686-021-09807-8.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"4401915","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"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":"The high-energy Sun - probing the origins of particle acceleration on our nearest star","authors":"S. A Matthews,&nbsp;H. A. S. Reid,&nbsp;D. Baker,&nbsp;D. S. Bloomfield,&nbsp;P. K. Browning,&nbsp;A. Calcines,&nbsp;G. Del Zanna,&nbsp;R. Erdelyi,&nbsp;L. Fletcher,&nbsp;I. G. Hannah,&nbsp;N. Jeffrey,&nbsp;L. Klein,&nbsp;S. Krucker,&nbsp;E. Kontar,&nbsp;D. M. Long,&nbsp;A. MacKinnon,&nbsp;G. Mann,&nbsp;M. Mathioudakis,&nbsp;R. Milligan,&nbsp;V. M. Nakariakov,&nbsp;M. Pesce-Rollins,&nbsp;A. Y. Shih,&nbsp;D. Smith,&nbsp;A. Veronig,&nbsp;N. Vilmer","doi":"10.1007/s10686-021-09798-6","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10686-021-09798-6","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>As a frequent and energetic particle accelerator, our Sun provides us with an excellent astrophysical laboratory for understanding the fundamental process of particle acceleration. The exploitation of radiative diagnostics from electrons has shown that acceleration operates on sub-second time scales in a complex magnetic environment, where direct electric fields, wave turbulence, and shock waves all must contribute, although precise details are severely lacking. Ions were assumed to be accelerated in a similar manner to electrons, but γ-ray imaging confirmed that emission sources are spatially separated from X-ray sources, suggesting distinctly different acceleration mechanisms. Current X-ray and γ-ray spectroscopy provides only a basic understanding of accelerated particle spectra and the total energy budgets are therefore poorly constrained. Additionally, the recent detection of relativistic ion signatures lasting many hours, without an electron counterpart, is an enigma. We propose a single platform to directly measure the physical conditions present in the energy release sites and the environment in which the particles propagate and deposit their energy. To address this fundamental issue, we set out a suite of dedicated instruments that will probe both electrons and ions simultaneously to observe; high (seconds) temporal resolution photon spectra (4 keV – 150 MeV) with simultaneous imaging (1 keV – 30 MeV), polarization measurements (5–1000 keV) and high spatial and temporal resolution imaging spectroscopy in the UV/EUV/SXR (soft X-ray) regimes. These instruments will observe the broad range of radiative signatures produced in the solar atmosphere by accelerated particles.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":551,"journal":{"name":"Experimental Astronomy","volume":"54 2-3","pages":"335 - 360"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2021-11-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10686-021-09798-6.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"4402502","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"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":"Assessment of the Cherenkov camera alignment through Variance images for the ASTRI telescope","authors":"Simone Iovenitti,&nbsp;Giorgia Sironi,&nbsp;Enrico Giro,&nbsp;Alberto Segreto,&nbsp;Osvaldo Catalano,&nbsp;Milvia Capalbi","doi":"10.1007/s10686-021-09814-9","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10686-021-09814-9","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>A peculiar aspect of Cherenkov telescopes is that they are designed to detect atmospheric light flashes on the time scale of nanoseconds, being almost blind to stellar sources. As a consequence, the pointing calibration of these instruments cannot be done in general exploiting the standard astrometry of the focal plane. In this paper we validate a procedure to overcome this problem for the case of the innovative ASTRI telescope, developed by INAF, exploiting sky images produced as an ancillary output by its novel Cherenkov camera. In fact, this instrument implements a statistical technique called “Variance method” (VAR) owning the potentiality to image the star field (angular resolution <span>(sim 11^{prime })</span>). We demonstrate here that VAR images can be exploited to assess the alignment of the Cherenkov camera with the optical axis of the telescope down to <span>(sim 1{^{prime prime }})</span>. To this end, we evaluate the position of the stars with sub-pixel precision thanks to a deep investigation of the convolution between the point spread function and the pixel distribution of the camera, resulting in a transformation matrix that we validated with simulations. After that, we considered the rotation of the field of view during long observing runs, obtaining light arcs that we exploited to investigate the alignment of the Cherenkov camera with high precision, in a procedure that we have already tested on real data. The strategy we have adopted, inherited from optical astronomy, has never been performed on Variance images from a Cherenkov telescope until now, and it can be crucial to optimize the scientific accuracy of the incoming MiniArray of ASTRI telescopes.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":551,"journal":{"name":"Experimental Astronomy","volume":"53 1","pages":"117 - 132"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2021-11-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10686-021-09814-9.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"4481658","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"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":"UV exploration of the solar system","authors":"Jean-Yves Chaufray,&nbsp;Laurent Lamy,&nbsp;Philippe Rousselot,&nbsp;Mathieu Barthelemy","doi":"10.1007/s10686-021-09789-7","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10686-021-09789-7","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The study of the Solar System is fundamental to answer key questions from space agencies, as outlined in their strategic plans, about the content, origin, and evolution of the Solar System and the potential for life elsewhere. The UV spectral range is a crucial window to investigate a large area of phenomena associated with this objective, ranging from the surfaces to the atmospheres and magnetospheres of the Solar System bodies. In this White Paper, submitted to ESA in response to the Voyage 2050 call, we present a few examples of science issues that could be addressed about surfaces, atmospheres, and magnetospheres for different objects in the Solar System using UV observations. After the planned termination of the highly successful Hubble Space Telescope (HST), a new multi-objects UV observatory with UV spectro-imager to map the surfaces, atmospheres, and auroral regions of the different objects of the Solar System, and spectropolarimeter to provide measurements on the surface texture, atmospheric aerosols, surface pressure for KBOs, and magnetic field measurements, would be needed to answer the major questions presented in this paper and to open new possibilities of exploration in the Solar System and beyond.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":551,"journal":{"name":"Experimental Astronomy","volume":"54 2-3","pages":"1169 - 1186"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2021-10-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10686-021-09789-7.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"5167970","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"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":"Uranus and Neptune are key to understand planets with hydrogen atmospheres","authors":"Tristan Guillot","doi":"10.1007/s10686-021-09812-x","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10686-021-09812-x","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Uranus and Neptune are the last unexplored planets of the Solar System. I show that they hold crucial keys to understand the atmospheric dynamics and structure of planets with hydrogen atmospheres. Their atmospheres are active and storms are believed to be fueled by methane condensation which is both extremely abundant and occurs at low optical depth. This means that mapping temperature and methane abundance as a function of position and depth will inform us on how convection organizes in an atmosphere with no surface and condensates that are heavier than the surrounding air, a general feature of gas giants. Using this information will be essential to constrain the interior structure of Uranus and Neptune themselves, but also of Jupiter, Saturn, and numerous exoplanets with hydrogen atmospheres. Owing to the spatial and temporal variability of these atmospheres, an orbiter is required. A probe would provide a reference profile to lift ambiguities inherent to remote observations. It would also measure abundances of noble gases which can be used to reconstruct the history of planet formation in the Solar System. Finally, mapping the planets’ gravity and magnetic fields will be essential to constrain their global composition, structure and evolution.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":551,"journal":{"name":"Experimental Astronomy","volume":"54 2-3","pages":"1027 - 1049"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2021-10-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10686-021-09812-x.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"5167971","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"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":"The in-situ exploration of Jupiter’s radiation belts","authors":"Elias Roussos,&nbsp;Oliver Allanson,&nbsp;Nicolas André,&nbsp;Bruna Bertucci,&nbsp;Graziella Branduardi-Raymont,&nbsp;George Clark,&nbsp;Konstantinos Dialynas,&nbsp;Iannis Dandouras,&nbsp;Ravindra T. Desai,&nbsp;Yoshifumi Futaana,&nbsp;Matina Gkioulidou,&nbsp;Geraint H. Jones,&nbsp;Peter Kollmann,&nbsp;Anna Kotova,&nbsp;Elena A. Kronberg,&nbsp;Norbert Krupp,&nbsp;Go Murakami,&nbsp;Quentin Nénon,&nbsp;Tom Nordheim,&nbsp;Benjamin Palmaerts,&nbsp;Christina Plainaki,&nbsp;Jonathan Rae,&nbsp;Daniel Santos-Costa,&nbsp;Theodore Sarris,&nbsp;Yuri Shprits,&nbsp;Ali Sulaiman,&nbsp;Emma Woodfield,&nbsp;Xin Wu,&nbsp;Zonghua Yao","doi":"10.1007/s10686-021-09801-0","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10686-021-09801-0","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Jupiter has the most complex and energetic radiation belts in our Solar System and one of the most challenging space environments to measure and characterize in-depth. Their hazardous environment is also a reason why so many spacecraft avoid flying directly through their most intense regions, thus explaining how Jupiter’s radiation belts have kept many of their secrets so well hidden, despite having been studied for decades. In this paper we argue why these secrets are worth unveiling. Jupiter’s radiation belts and the vast magnetosphere that encloses them constitute an unprecedented physical laboratory, suitable for interdisciplinary and novel scientific investigations: from studying fundamental high energy plasma physics processes which operate throughout the Universe, such as adiabatic charged particle acceleration and nonlinear wave-particle interactions, to exploiting the astrobiological consequences of energetic particle radiation. The in-situ exploration of the uninviting environment of Jupiter’s radiation belts presents us with many challenges in mission design, science planning, instrumentation, and technology. We address these challenges by reviewing the different options that exist for direct and indirect observations of this unique system. We stress the need for new instruments, the value of synergistic Earth and Jupiter-based remote sensing and in-situ investigations, and the vital importance of multi-spacecraft in-situ measurements. While simultaneous, multi-point in-situ observations have long become the standard for exploring electromagnetic interactions in the inner Solar System, they have never taken place at Jupiter or any strongly magnetized planet besides Earth. We conclude that a dedicated multi-spacecraft mission to Jupiter is an essential and obvious way forward for exploring the planet’s radiation belts. Besides guaranteeing numerous discoveries and huge leaps in our understanding of radiation belt systems, such a mission would also enable us to view Jupiter, its extended magnetosphere, moons, and rings under new light, with great benefits for space, planetary, and astrophysical sciences. For all these reasons, in-situ investigations of Jupiter’s radiation belts deserve to be given a high priority in the future exploration of our Solar System. This article is based on a White Paper submitted in response to the European Space Agency’s call for science themes for its Voyage 2050 programme.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":551,"journal":{"name":"Experimental Astronomy","volume":"54 2-3","pages":"745 - 789"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2021-10-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10686-021-09801-0.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"5167229","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"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":"Sample return of primitive matter from the outer Solar System","authors":"P. Vernazza,&nbsp;P. Beck,&nbsp;O. Ruesch,&nbsp;A. Bischoff,&nbsp;L. Bonal,&nbsp;G. Brennecka,&nbsp;R. Brunetto,&nbsp;H. Busemann,&nbsp;J. Carter,&nbsp;C. Carli,&nbsp;C. Cartier,&nbsp;M. Ciarniello,&nbsp;V. Debaille,&nbsp;A. Delsanti,&nbsp;L. D’Hendecourt,&nbsp;E. Füri,&nbsp;O. Groussin,&nbsp;A. Guilbert-Lepoutre,&nbsp;J. Helbert,&nbsp;P. Hoppe,&nbsp;E. Jehin,&nbsp;L. Jorda,&nbsp;A. King,&nbsp;T. Kleine,&nbsp;P. Lamy,&nbsp;J. Lasue,&nbsp;C. Le Guillou,&nbsp;H. Leroux,&nbsp;I. Leya,&nbsp;T. Magna,&nbsp;Y. Marrocchi,&nbsp;A. Morlok,&nbsp;O. Mousis,&nbsp;E. Palomba,&nbsp;L. Piani,&nbsp;E. Quirico,&nbsp;L. Remusat,&nbsp;M. Roskosz,&nbsp;M. Rubin,&nbsp;S. Russell,&nbsp;M. Schönbächler,&nbsp;N. Thomas,&nbsp;J. Villeneuve,&nbsp;V. Vinogradoff,&nbsp;P. Wurz,&nbsp;B. Zanda","doi":"10.1007/s10686-021-09811-y","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10686-021-09811-y","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The last thirty years of cosmochemistry and planetary science have shown that one major Solar System reservoir is vastly undersampled in the available suite of extra-terrestrial materials, namely small bodies that formed in the outer Solar System (&gt;10 AU). Because various dynamical evolutionary processes have modified their initial orbits (e.g., giant planet migration, resonances), these objects can be found today across the entire Solar System as P/D near-Earth and main-belt asteroids, Jupiter and Neptune Trojans, comets, Centaurs, and small (diameter &lt; 200 km) trans-Neptunian objects. This reservoir is of tremendous interest, as it is recognized as the least processed since the dawn of the Solar System and thus the closest to the starting materials from which the Solar System formed. Some of the next major breakthroughs in planetary science will come from studying outer Solar System samples (volatiles and refractory constituents) in the laboratory. Yet, this can only be achieved by an L-class mission that directly collects and returns to Earth materials from this reservoir. It is thus not surprising that two White Papers advocating a sample return mission of a primitive Solar System small body (ideally a comet) were submitted to ESA in response to its Voyage 2050 call for ideas for future L-class missions in the 2035-2050 time frame. One of these two White Papers is presented in this article.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":551,"journal":{"name":"Experimental Astronomy","volume":"54 2-3","pages":"1051 - 1075"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2021-10-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10686-021-09811-y.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"5057604","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"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":"Pre-flight qualification tests of the Mini-EUSO telescope engineering model","authors":"F. Bisconti,&nbsp;H. Miyamoto,&nbsp;D. Barghini,&nbsp;M. Battisti,&nbsp;A. Belov,&nbsp;M. E. Bertaina,&nbsp;S. Blin-Bondil,&nbsp;G. Cambiè,&nbsp;F. Capel,&nbsp;M. Casolino,&nbsp;A. Cellino,&nbsp;L. Conti,&nbsp;G. Contino,&nbsp;G. Cotto,&nbsp;T. Ebisuzaki,&nbsp;F. Fenu,&nbsp;C. Fornaro,&nbsp;A. Franceschi,&nbsp;D. Gardiol,&nbsp;A. Haungs,&nbsp;P. Klimov,&nbsp;M. Manfrin,&nbsp;L. Marcelli,&nbsp;M. Mignone,&nbsp;T. Napolitano,&nbsp;E. Parizot,&nbsp;P. Picozza,&nbsp;L. W. Piotrowski,&nbsp;G. Prévôt,&nbsp;E. Reali,&nbsp;M. Ricci,&nbsp;K. Shinozaki,&nbsp;F. Simioli,&nbsp;G. Suino,&nbsp;J. Szabelski","doi":"10.1007/s10686-021-09805-w","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10686-021-09805-w","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Mini-EUSO is part of the JEM-EUSO program and operates on board the International Space Station (ISS). It is a UV-telescope with single-photon counting capability looking at nighttime downwards to the Earth through a nadir-facing UV-transparent window. As part of the pre-flight tests, the Mini-EUSO engineering model, a telescope with 1/9 of the original focal surface and a lens of 2.5 cm diameter, has been built and tested. Tests of the Mini-EUSO engineering model have been made in laboratory and in open-sky conditions. Laboratory tests have been performed at the TurLab facility, located at the Physics Department of the University of Turin, equipped with a rotating tank containing different types of materials and light sources. In this way, the configuration for the observation of the Earth from space was emulated, including the Mini-EUSO trigger schemes. In addition to the qualification and calibration tests, the Mini-EUSO engineering model has also been used to evaluate the possibility of using a JEM-EUSO-type detector for applications such as observation of space debris. Furthermore, observations in open-sky conditions allowed the studies of natural light sources such as stars, meteors, planets, and artificial light sources such as airplanes, satellites reflecting the sunlight, and city lights. Most of these targets could be detected also with Mini-EUSO. In this paper, the tests in laboratory and in open-sky conditions are reported, as well as the obtained results. In addition, the contribution that such tests provided to foresee and improve the performance of Mini-EUSO on board the ISS is discussed.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":551,"journal":{"name":"Experimental Astronomy","volume":"53 1","pages":"133 - 158"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2021-10-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10686-021-09805-w.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"4805217","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"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}