Low cost missions to explore the diversity of near Earth objects

We propose a series of low-cost flyby missions to perform a reconnaissance of near-Earth cometary nuclei and asteroids. The primary scientific goal is to study the physical and chemical diversity in these objects. The mission concept is based on the Pegasus launch vehicle. Mission costs, inclusive of launch, development, mission operations, and analysis are expected to be near $50 M per mission. Launch opportunities occur in all years. The benefits of this reconnaissance to society are stressed

Modeling the Enceladus plume--plasma interaction

We investigate the chemical interaction between Saturn's corotating plasma and Enceladus' volcanic plumes. We evolve plasma as it passes through a prescribed H2O plume using a physical chemistry model adapted for water-group reactions. The flow field is assumed to be that of a plasma around an electrically-conducting obstacle centered on Enceladus and aligned with Saturn's magnetic field, consistent with Cassini magnetometer data. We explore the effects on the physical chemistry due to: (1) a small population of hot electrons; (2) a plasma flow decelerated in response to the pickup of fresh ions; (3) the source rate of neutral H2O. The model confirms that charge exchange dominates the local chemistry and that H3O+ dominates the water-group composition downstream of the Enceladus plumes. We also find that the amount of fresh pickup ions depends heavily on both the neutral source strength and on the presence of a persistent population of hot electrons.Comment: 10 pages, 1 table, 2 figure

High Resolution Imaging Systems For Spin-Stabilized Probe Spacecraft

A novel design for a high-resolution imaging system which includes on-board data editing and optical navigation, suggests high quality images can be acquired from spin-stabilized spacecraft oriented towards high velocity, short duration planetary missions ("Probes"). The approach to designing imaging systems requires that mission objectives be met within the physical and fiscal constraints imposed by the spacecraft and mission design. Severe constraints imposed on a Comet Halley probe (for example, 57km/sec encounter velocity with a small, 10km diameter, object coupled with a great uncertainty in encounter time and distance, were overcome by innovative use of existing technology. Such designs suggest that 3-axis stabilization or non-spinning platforms are not necessary to acquire high resolution, high quality planetary images

Longwave Radiative Transfer In The Atmosphere: Model Development And Applications

Thesis (Ph.D.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2003A FLexible Radiative Transfer Tool (FLRTT) has been developed to facilitate the construction of longwave, correlated k-distribution, radiative transfer models. The correlated k-distribution method is a technique which accelerates calculations of radiances, fluxes, and cooling rates in inhomogeneous atmospheres; therefore, correlated k-distribution models are appropriate for simulations of satellite radiances and inclusion into general circulation models. FLRTT was used to build two new rapid radiative transfer models, RRTM_HIRS and RRTM_v3.0, which maintain accuracy comparable to the line-by-line radiative transfer model LBLRTM. Iacono et al. [2003] evaluated upper tropospheric water vapor (UTWV) simulated by the National Center for Atmospheric Research Community Climate Model, CCM3, by comparing modeled, clear-sky brightness-temperatures to those observed from space by the High-resolution Radiation Sounder (HIRS). CCM3 was modified to utilize the rapid radiative transfer model RRTM and the separate satellite-radiance module, RRTM_HIRS, which calculates brightness temperatures in two HIRS channels. By incorporating these accurate radiative transfer models into CCM3, the longwave radiative transfer calculations have been removed as a significant source of error in the simulations. An important result of this study is that CCM3 exhibits moist and dry discrepancies in UTWV of 50% in particular climatic regions, which may be attributed to errors in the CCM3 dynamical schemes. RRTM_v3.0, an update of RRTM, is a rapid longwave radiative transfer appropriate for use in general circulation models. Fluxes calculated by RRTM_v3.0 agree with those computed by the LBLRTM to within 1.0 W/m2 at all levels, and the computed cooling rates agree to within 0.1 K/day and 0.3 K/day in the troposphere and stratosphere, respectively. This thesis also assessed and improved the modeling of clear-sky, longwave radiative fluxes at the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program North Slope of Alaska site by simultaneously addressing the specification of the atmosphere, radiometric measurements, and radiative transfer modeling. Consistent with findings from other field sites, the specification of the atmospheric water vapor is found to be a large source of uncertainty in modeled radiances and fluxes. Improvements in the specification of carbon dioxide optical depths within LBLRTM resulted, in part, from this analysis

Analysis of optical observations and three-dimensional hybrid code simulation of the CRRES plasma injection experiments in space

Thesis (Ph.D.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 1998The Combined Release and Radiation Effects Satellite (CRRES) was a NASA funded campaign designed to study a variety of plasma processes in the Earth's space environment. An analysis of optical data from three CRRES plasma injection experiments, in conjunction with results from a three-dimensional hybrid code simulation, have provided new insights into small-scale coupling processes in the ionosphere. The results have direct application to auroral processes, comets, and other similar geophysical/astrophysical systems

A Sensitivity Study of the Enceladus Torus

We have developed a homogeneous model of physical chemistry to investigate the neutral-dominated, water-based Enceladus torus. Electrons are treated as the summation of two isotropic Maxwellian distributions$-$a thermal component and a hot component. The effects of electron impact, electron recombination, charge exchange, and photochemistry are included. The mass source is neutral H$_2$O, and a rigidly-corotating magnetosphere introduces energy via pickup of freshly-ionized neutrals. A small fraction of energy is also input by Coulomb collisions with a small population ($<$ 1%) of supra-thermal electrons. Mass and energy are lost due to radial diffusion, escaping fast neutrals produced by charge exchange and recombination, and a small amount of radiative cooling. We explore a constrained parameter space spanned by water source rate, ion radial diffusion, hot-electron temperature, and hot-electron density. The key findings are: (1) radial transport must take longer than 12 days; (2) water is input at a rate of 100--180 kg s$^{-1}$; (3) hot electrons have energies between 100 and 250 eV; (4) neutrals dominate ions by a ratio of 40:1 and continue to dominate even when thermal electrons have temperatures as high as $\approx$ 5 eV; (5) hot electrons do not exceed 1% of the total electron population within the torus; (6) if hot electrons alone drive the observed longitudinal variation in thermal electron density, then they also drive a significant variation in ion composition.Comment: 9 pages text, 3 tables, 9 figure

Cassini UVIS Observations of the Io Plasma Torus. IV. Modeling Temporal and Azimuthal Variability

In this fourth paper in a series, we present a model of the remarkable temporal and azimuthal variability of the Io plasma torus observed during the Cassini encounter with Jupiter. Over a period of three months, the Cassini Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph (UVIS) observed a dramatic variation in the average torus composition. Superimposed on this long-term variation, is a 10.07-hour periodicity caused by an azimuthal variation in plasma composition subcorotating relative to System III longitude. Quite surprisingly, the amplitude of the azimuthal variation appears to be modulated at the beat frequency between the System III period and the observed 10.07-hour period. Previously, we have successfully modeled the months-long compositional change by supposing a factor of three increase in the amount of material supplied to Io's extended neutral clouds. Here, we extend our torus chemistry model to include an azimuthal dimension. We postulate the existence of two azimuthal variations in the number of super-thermal electrons in the torus: a primary variation that subcorotates with a period of 10.07 hours and a secondary variation that remains fixed in System III longitude. Using these two hot electron variations, our model can reproduce the observed temporal and azimuthal variations observed by Cassini UVIS.Comment: Revised 24 August 2007 Accepted by Icarus, 50 pages, 2 Tables, 8 figure

Interaction of Magnetic Reconnection and Kelvin-Helmholtz Modes for Large Magnetic Shear: 2. Reconnection Trigger

A typical property of magnetopause reconnection is a significant perpendicular shear flow due to the fast streaming magnetosheath plasma. Therefore, the magnetopause represents a large magnetic and flow shear boundary during periods of southward interplanetary magnetic field, which can be unstable to Kelvin‐Helmholtz (KH) modes and to magnetic reconnection. A series of local three‐dimensional MHD and Hall MHD simulations is carried out to investigate the interaction of reconnection and nonlinear KH waves considering magnetic reconnection as the primary process. It is demonstrated that the onset reconnection causes a thinning of the shear flow layer, thereby generating small wavelength KH modes. In turn, the growing KH modes modify the current layer width, which modulate the diffusion regions, increase the local reconnection rates, and generate field‐aligned currents. The simulation results imply a limitation of total amount of open flux likely caused by nonlinear saturation of KH growth and the associated diffusion. It is also demonstrated that the reconnection rate maximizes for conditions that allow a strong nonlinear evolution of KH waves, i.e., fast shear flow and limited guide magnetic field. The presence of Hall physics increases the reconnection rate in the early stage; however, the maximum reconnection rate and the total amount of open flux at saturation are the same as in the MHD case

Three-Dimensional Hybrid Simulation of Viscous-Like Processes at Saturn\u27s Magnetosphere Boundary

Saturn\u27s magnetosheath flows exhibit significant dawn/dusk asymmetry. The dawnside flows are reduced from expectation, suggesting significant momentum transport through the magnetopause boundary where the flow shear is maximized. It has been suggested that the solar wind interaction with the giant magnetospheres is, in fact, dominated by a viscous‐like interaction governed by the Kelvin‐Helmholtz instability. In three dimensions, the Kelvin‐Helmholtz instability can generate small‐scale and intermittent magnetic reconnection due, in part, to a twisted magnetic field topology. The net result is a field line threading of the magnetopause boundary and the generation of Maxwell shear stresses. Here we present three‐dimensional hybrid simulations (kinetic ions and massless fluid electrons) of conditions similar to Saturn\u27s dawnside magnetopause boundary to quantify the viscous‐like, tangential drag. Using model‐determined momentum fluxes, we estimate the effect on dawnside sheath flows and find very good agreement with observations