Analysis of planetary spacecraft images with SPICE

Spacecraft images are an invaluable source of information in Planetary Science. However, they must be processed and the initial stage is to navigate them, i.e., determine the longitude and latitude coordinates of each pixel on the image plane. The main goal of the present work is to develop an open-source tool to do so. It will be independent of proprietary software and implemented in a widely used language (Java, Python). It will be able to analyse planetary images taken by different spacecraft, such as New Horizons, Cassini or Voyager, with minimal user intervention. Here we present the first steps of the process illustrating the techniques to navigate an image of an ellipsoidal body, obtained from mission kernels using NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory SPICE library, considering that the attitude and position of the spacecraft are available; correct the camera attitude information; determine the image resolution for each pixel; and combine different images of a body to generate mosaics with high resolutio

An assessment of different relay network topologies to improve Earth-Mars communications

The future of deep space communications encompasses a challenging situation where the current facilities used to communicate with different spacecraft may become saturated as a result of an increasing number of missions and their complexity. From this forecast, the present study intends to provide a solution to saturation problems through strategically-located upgradable relays for Earth-Mars communications. The foremost goal of this paper is to quantitatively uncover the potential enhancements coming from relay placement in strategic orbits between Earth and Mars. Herein, two relay configurations –a.k.a. network topologies– are analyzed: the Lagrange-relays network topology and a circular, homogeneously-distributed satellite constellation, acknowledged here as pearl constellation. The first uses the Earth-Sun system Lagrange points L3, L4 and L5 as potential locations for the relays, whilst the second defines an optimized orbit between Earth and Mars with 3 or 4 relay satellites. To aid in the analysis, the authors developed an open-sourced piece of software that obtains the link availability as well as the data rate at which two nodes may communicate, taking as a reference the Deep Space Network for Earth, and the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for Mars. For complex topologies with more than two communicating nodes, the software outputs the end-to-end bit rate and optimal communication route at each time step. Moreover, this product is extensible to analyze and optimize any network topology and could be adapted to be used for contact management and mission planning in the future. The results show that the network-topology proposals are an advantageous option to significantly increase the link availability of Earth-Mars communications. Nevertheless, the Direct-To-Earth link always outperforms the multi-hop path due to the limited telecommunication system’s capabilities of both the spacecraft and the relays. As a result of this, the study includes an analysis on the requirements of the relay’s design in order to make the constellation a beneficial and comparable alternative to the DTE link. This way, the proposed network topologies become a suitable option whom to share with the DSN communications workload, providing enhanced bit rates and data volumes as well as higher availability of the communication.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

The Nüwa Concept. A development model for a self-sustainable city on Mars

20 pages, 35 figuresThe spacecraft in which we have traveled for eight months has just landed gently on the surface. Passengers stared at each other in disbelief, still feeling numb from the brutality of the supersonic retropropulsion during the braked descent. It seems unbelievable... We are on Mars! Many of us have arrived in recent years. Thousands upon thousands of people traveling from our comfortable blue home to the uncertain red dream. The promise of a new world. An opportunity to rethink everything, in order not to repeat the same mistakes. Beyond the polarized glass windows, the light of the Martian dawn spills over Tempe Mensa. The Sun is a small golden circle, surrounded by two bright points: Venus and the Earth. A few kilometers from the spaceport, the gigantic extensions of the greenhouses domes are outlined. Beyond, the land descends steeply down the south-facing cliff. On its vertical walls awaits Nüwa, the wonderful city that leads the accelerated settlement of Mars. Its name recalls the goddess who protects humans. And, certainly, the city protects and provides us with everything we need. Now, I’ll become part of Mars; I will dissolve into Nüwa, and join all those that give life to it. And we will become Nüwa, foreve