Ancient volcanic xenon in single glass grains from the D'Orbigny angrite

We present high-sensitivity xenon data for single glass grains from the D'Orbigny angrite. These grains contain the first sample of volcanic gas from a planetary body other than the Earth and excess Xe-129 detected for the first time in angrites

Remarkably high abundance of presolar grains in interplanetary dust particles collected from the comet Grigg-Skjellerup dust stream

Isotopic studies of IDPs collected from the comet Grigg-Skjellerup dust stream reveal extremely high abundances of presolar grains in two of four IDPs. These abundances exceed those of any other extraterrestrial material analyzed and support a cometary origin for these IDPs

Optimum maneuvers of hypervelocity vehicles

Optimum maneuvering of glide vehicle at hypersonic speed

Optimum three-dimensional atmospheric entry from the analytical solution of Chapman's exact equations

The general solution for the optimum three-dimensional aerodynamic control of a lifting vehicle entering a planetary atmosphere is developed. A set of dimensionless variables, modified Chapman variables, is introduced. The resulting exact equations of motion, referred to as Chapman's exact equations, have the advantage that they are completely free of the physical characteristics of the vehicle. Furthermore, a completely general lift-drag relationship is used in the derivation. The results obtained apply to any type of vehicle of arbitrary weight, dimensions and shape, having an arbitrary drag polar, and entering any planetary atmosphere. The aerodynamic controls chosen are the lift coefficient and the bank angle. General optimum control laws for these controls are developed. Several earlier particular solutions are shown to be special cases of this general result. Results are valid for both free and constrained terminal position

Scanning micro-raman spectroscopy on carbon-rich residues of primitive chondrites: A tool for chondrite classification and stardust analysis

We present results obtained by Raman spectroscopy of various organic residues of primitive chondrites in order to better characterize the microstructural state of the organic matter. These results will be correlated with the petographic classification of the chondrites

Analytic theory of orbit contraction

The motion of a satellite in orbit, subject to atmospheric force and the motion of a reentry vehicle are governed by gravitational and aerodynamic forces. This suggests the derivation of a uniform set of equations applicable to both cases. For the case of satellite motion, by a proper transformation and by the method of averaging, a technique appropriate for long duration flight, the classical nonlinear differential equation describing the contraction of the major axis is derived. A rigorous analytic solution is used to integrate this equation with a high degree of accuracy, using Poincare's method of small parameters and Lagrange's expansion to explicitly express the major axis as a function of the eccentricity. The solution is uniformly valid for moderate and small eccentricities. For highly eccentric orbits, the asymptotic equation is derived directly from the general equation. Numerical solutions were generated to display the accuracy of the analytic theory