The Mars Hopper: Development, Simulation and Experimental Validation of a Radioisotope Exploration Probe for the Martian Surface

An advanced exploration probe has been proposed by the Center for Space Nuclear Research (CSNR) to acquire detailed data from the Martian surface and subsurface, ‘hop’ large distances to multiple sites in short periods of time and perform this task repeatedly. Although several similar flying vehicles have been proposed utilizing various power sources and complex designs, e.g. solar-electric and chemical-based, the CSNR’s Mars Hopper is based on a radioisotope thermal rocket (RTR) concept. The Mars Hopper’s design relies on the high specific energies [J/kg] of radioisotopes and enhances their low specific power [W/kg] through the use of a thermal capacitance material to store thermal energy over time. During operation, the RTR transfers the stored thermal energy to a flowing gas, which is then expanded through a converging-diverging nozzle, producing thrust. Between flights, the platform will have ample time to perform in-depth science at each location while the propellant tanks and thermal capacitor recharge. Recharging the propellant tanks is accomplished by sublimation freezing of the ambient CO2 atmosphere with a cryocooler, followed by heating and pressurization to yield a liquid storage state. The proposed Mars Hopper will undergo a ballistic flight, consuming the propellant in both ascent and descent, and by using multiple hopper platforms, information can be gathered on a global scale, enabling better resource resolution and providing valuable information for a possible Mars sample-return mission. The CSNR, collaborating with the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) and three universities (University of Idaho, Utah State University and Oregon State University), has identified key components and sub-systems necessary for the proposed hopper. Current project activities include the development of a lab-scale prototypic Mars Hopper and test facility, along with computational fluid dynamics (CFD)/thermal-hydraulic models to yield a better understanding of the heat transfer process and complex nature of turbulent CO2 flow. Laboratory experimentation will aid design iterations and the development of both tethered and free-flying terrestrial hoppers that utilize an electrically heated core. The knowledge base acquired from these activities will refine the Mars Hopper’s future performance and optimize the RTR core components prior to constructing the final design

Plasma Magnetosphere Formation Around Oscillating Magnetized Neutron Stars

The notion of death line of rotating pulsars is applied to model of oscillating neutron stars. It is shown that the magnetosphere of typical non-rotating oscillating stars may not contain secondary plasma to support the generation of radio emission in the region of open field lines of plasma magnetosphere.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astrophysics & Space Scienc

Consumer trends in tourism: the offer in Paraná (Brazil) for experiences seekers

O turismo, como atividade econômica, está em constante busca de aperfeiçoar a forma como seus produtos e serviços são produzidos e entregues ao consumidor, este por sua vez encontra - se a cada dia mais envolvido em adquirir experiências em suas viagens. Surge desta forma, o direcionamento do marketing sob as premissas da economia da experiência. Visto isso, este trabalho tem como objetivo diagnosticar os atrativos que compõem a dimensão de evasão de Pine e Gilmore (1999) no estado do Paraná, Brasil. Para tanto, é realizado uma pesquisa bibliográfica exploratória, com o aporte teórico-metodológico do Plano Paraná Turístico 2026 - pacto para um destino inteligente – seguido de um levantamento de dados quantitativos e qualitativos do potencial do turismo no estado do Paraná. Conclui - se que a conformação de produtos experienciais está consolidada com aporte da segmentação da demanda, interligada com perfis de consumidores e com apoio dos conceitos da economia da experiência.El turismo, como actividad económica, está en constante búsqueda de perfeccionar la forma como sus productos y servicios son producidos y entregados al consumidor, éste a su vez se encuentra cada día más involucrado en adquirir experiencias en sus viajes. Surge de esta forma, el direccionamiento del marketing bajo las premisas de la economía de la experiencia. En este sentido, este trabajo tiene como objetivo diagnosticar los atractivos que componen la dimensión de evasión de Pine y Gilmore (1999) en el estado de Paraná, Brasil. Para ello, se realiza una investigación bibliográfica exploratoria, con el aporte teórico-metodológico del Plan Paraná Turístico 2026 - pacto para un destino inteligente - seguido de un levantamiento de datos cuantitativos y cualitativos del potencial del turismo en el estado de Paraná. Se concluye que la conformación de productos experienciales está consolidada con aporte de la segmentación de la demanda, interconectada con perfiles de consumidores y con apoyo de los conceptos de la economía de la experiencia.Tourism as an economic activity is constantly seeking to optimize the way its products and services are produced and delivered to the consumers, who, in turn, find themselves increasingly involved in acquiring experiences in their travels. Consequently, the steering of marketing under the premises of experience economy has arisen. This study seeks to diagnose the attractions that make up the escapism dimension of Pine and Gilmore (1999) in the state of Paraná. To do this, an exploratory bibliographic research has been carried out with the theoretical-methodological contribution of the Paraná Plan 2026 - Agreement for an intelligent destination - followed by a survey of quantitative and qualitative data on tourism potential in the state of Paraná. Based on the observations, it may be concluded that the conformation of experiential products is consolidated with the contribution of demand segmentation interconnected with consumer profiles and the support of the concepts of experience economy

Experience-based learning in innovation and production

How can we model and document the impact of experience in product innovation? We use data on the innovation and production histories of 294 product platforms to explore experience-based learning. We extend learning curve concepts from their traditional domain - the production process - into the product innovation process to build and test a richer, quantitative model of learning. The results suggest that learning occurs differently in the innovation process than in production. They also suggest that how and where a firm learns depend in part on the complexity of product components and sub-systems. Finally, we discuss the competitive implications for product innovation