4^th International Conference and Exhibition on Satellite & Space Missions June 18-20, 2018 Rome, Italy

Biography:

Pascal Legai is an aeronautical and space engineer and holds a degree in geography engineering, a master's degree in image processing and a doctorate in international relations. Intelligence officer of the French Ministry of Defence, he is a specialist in international space relations and, in particular, is an expert on strategic issues related to satellite imagery. He was the director of the Joint Training and Imagery Interpretation Interpreting (CF3I) of the Military Intelligence Directorate (DRM) and is currently Director of the European Union Satellite Center (SatCen).

Abstract:

The European Union Satellite Centre (SatCen) supports the decision-making and actions of the European Union in the field of Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), in particular Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP). It thus addresses European Union crisis management missions and operations, by providing products and services resulting from the exploitation of relevant space assets and collateral data, including satellite imagery and aerial imagery, and related services. For fulfilling its tasks, SatCen cooperates with numerous national, European and international institutions in the field of remote sensing from space and works with image providers, public, commercial or governmental ones as well as with open source information. From its unique role and position in the remote sensing operational chain for security and defense, SatCen is following carefully the fast evolution of the remote sensing field: the needs from the end users but also of the techniques as well as the provided services and innovation from industry. In particular, the users ‘requirements, asking from near real time service, imply to have more frequent data acquisition as well as faster data processing and analysis. On the other hand, the increasing volume of available data collides with the limitation of image analyst staffing, imposing to extract the information close by the data generation, at upstream level, as well as to rely on automatic tools to focus analysts work on the most complex and demanding issues. The presentation will thus expose the analysis of SatCen, taking the benefits of its 25 years operational experience, on the fast evolving environment of remote sensing for security and defense, to identify the most important challenges to face at technical, operational and staff levels.

Biography:

Xavier Geneste works for aerospace industry since 1989 as an Electronics Engineer. He has been working on spacecrafts for the three majors in France, Aerospatiale (then Alcatel Space and now Thales Alenia Space), Astrium (now Airbus Defense and Space), CNES (National Center for Space Research) on a wide range of activities from project initiation to launches. He is currently working at European Space Agency since 2009 as a Senior Spacecraft Engineer and is dealing with new technologies developments for the telecommunication platforms (ARTES program).

Abstract:

Recent discoveries of possible existence of water in the South Pole of the moon, the popularity growth on missions to Mars, the reduction of the launch cost and more affordable technology, are some of the key aspects which have triggered a growing interest in the moon exploration by a number of governmental and private organizations during the latest years. Today, most of the big players are planning activities at the moon for the upcoming ten years in diverse areas (i.e. governmental, tourism, science, imaging and mining). Lunar Communications mission aims at enabling the development of a wide range of missions at the moon by providing a backbone lunar communication and navigation infrastructure. The mission is proposed as a game changer, especially for small-medium size missions by providing data relay communication and localization services, reducing the complexity, weight and costs of the payloads and outsourcing the operations and logistics, thus de-risking lunar missions and attracting new initiatives to the moon. The communications architecture is planned to be fully compatible with the International Communication System Interface Standards Document being finalized within the Interagency Operations Advisory Group (IOAG) standard services and Consultative Committee on Space Data Systems (CCSDS) forums. This intends to simplify, not only the architecture by offering services compatible with internationally agreed frequency and modulation schemes allocations, but the interaction with the future users that would just need to build their systems compatible with the standards.

Biography:

Serhii Moskalov has his expertise in the field of system designing space hardware. He participated in development of the Earth observation satellite Egyptsat-1 as well as the Earth observation and scientific satellites Sich-1M and Sich-2 that were launched in 2007, 2004 and 2011 respectively. Now Serhii Moskalov is a deputy Chief Designer and Head of Spacecraft and Systems Design Office. Under his leadership modern Earth observation and scientific satellites and buses for satellites of different classes are now being developed.

Abstract:

Development of spacecraft in the context of scientific research of space was from the very start one of the prioritized directions of Yuzhnoye’s activities. Nowadays Yuzhnoye proposes satellite platforms for scientific research as a reasonably priced and available means for scientific and technological experiments implementation. Depending on the payload type, specific orbit parameters, required type and accuracy of orientation there is a possibility to outfit the satellite platforms in terms of the following: increasing data rate; increasing attitude control accuracy; increasing power supply performance. Currently Yuzhnoye ensures technical implementation of Microsat project, the main purpose of which is observation of dynamic processes in the earth’s ionosphere. To perform ionosphere measurements Microsat-M spacecraft, developed on the basis of MS-2 satellite platform, is equipped with scientific instruments including: magnetic-wave complex; particles density analyzer; electric field spectrum analyzer; ionic driftmeter; scientific data collection system. Further phase of the project shall be development of satellite cluster for researching earth ionosphere based on Yuzhsat satellite platform providing simultaneous multi-point measurements of ionosphere parameters. Aerosol-UA project is currently being developed. It is intended for conducting global measurements of the detailed physical characteristics of natural and anthropogenic aerosols in the earth atmosphere as well as assessment of their chemical composition. For this project implementation Yuzhnoye also proposes Yuzhsat satellite platform equipped with a payload including scanning polarimeter (ScanPol) and multi-spectrum image-polarimeter (MSIP). The report also contains the results of “Lunar Industrial and Researching Base” conceptual design (concept of Lunar Industrial and Research Base, its configuration and infrastructure at different phases of operation, duration of the project implementation, main technical characteristics of the Lunar Base). A number of key elements are based on available technologies ( the reliability of some of them was confirmed by flight tests). Technologies and strategy of Lunar Industrial and Research Base creation proposed by Yuzhnoye bring us closer to practical implementation of such a global idea with lower expenses and short time period.

Biography:

Paul S Szymanski has 41 years of continuous experience studying outer space warfare theory, doctrine, strategies and tactics. This includes advanced concept development, space courses of action (COA’s) design, and space battle management command and control (BMC2) support.

Abstract:

The importance of outer space satellites and their supporting systems cannot be overstated. Their use in the civil and commercial world to provide communications, weather, navigation, timing and earth resources monitoring provides major advantages to those who employ the information generated by these systems. However, due to the global reach of these space systems, advantages are provided to both friendly and adversary militaries. Beginning with the use of space systems to support military operations during the Arab-Israeli conflicts, and in Desert Storm, both major and minor players are considering how denial of space capabilities to their adversaries will be a force multiplier on terrestrial battlefields. Based on the author’s extensive experience in this theoretical area, he has developed essential theory, rules, doctrine, strategies and tactics by which he feels the next space war will be conducted. These are based on his unclassified analyses of past military history, and of classical Military Principles of War and Sun Tzu's Art of War applicability to Space Warfare. Since a full-up space war has not yet occurred, all of these concepts are notional and unproven, much like air warfare doctrine was only theoretically understood prior to World War 2. Nonetheless, it is very important to better understand how a future space war might be conducted to ensure favorable outcomes for the more prepared country, and for better outcomes for the world, in general, post space conflict.

Biography:

Alaa A Saeed Al Rubaie has completed his PhD in Communications from Communications, Sensors, Signal and Information Processing (ComS2IP) Group, School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Newcastle University, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK He has MSc in Computer Network from University of Technology, Baghdad, Iraq. He is currently working as the Director in the Department of Information Technology in the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Baghdad, Iraq. He has his expertise in wireless communication networks with a focus on an advanced modulation, coding technique, equalization, radio frequency and free-space optical channels.

Abstract:

Physical layer network coding (PNC) for a two-way relay (TWR) channel has been utilized for increasing the system throughput in a TWR, where the two users exchange their information via a relay node. PNC with a TWR channel is adopted free space optical (FSO) communication link (TWR-FSO) to enhance the link availability under the atmospheric turbulence condition. FSO has attracted significant attention in a range of application, where the radio frequency (RF) based wireless technologies may not be used or be suitable. In fact, the use of FSO in certain applications releases the pressure on already highly congested RF spectrum, which can be used in areas where the demand for RF is very high. In this research, we introduce the turbo code in the TWR-FSO PNC system and evaluate the end-to-end (E2E) in terms of the bit error rate (BER) for weak and strong regimes. The performance of E2E turbo code in terms of iterative manner combined with TWR-FSO PNC is presented to improve the system performance and then compared with both non-iterative convolutional code and uncoded systems under the different influences turbulence. The simulation results shows that the proposed scheme can achieve a significant BER performance improvement through the introduction of an iterative process between turbo decoders. Furthermore, we investigate the decoding process of the system by using a graphical description, this involved implementing the extrinsic information transfer (ExIT) charts. The ExIT chart was implemented as a tool to analyze the convergence properties of iterative receivers. We review the ExIT chart, the simulation setup and the construction to analyze the major features of system architecture. The ExIT functions of the two decoders are thoroughly analyzed for a range of parameters under the influence of a turbulence-induced channel fading to demonstrate the convergence behavior.

Biography:

Ahmed Radi, PhD candidate in the Mobile Multi-Sensor Systems Research Group in the Department of Geomatics Engineering, University of Calgary (UofC), Canada. He got his B.Sc. (2007) and M.Sc. (2014) degrees in Electrical Engineering at Military Technical Collage, Egypt. Prior to joining the UofC, Ahmed held the position of senior researcher at the Technical Researches Center, Egypt. He published 8 papers in academic journals and conference proceedings. Ahmed received Faculty of Graduate Studies scholarship award, UofC, 2018. His research area is related to the non-linear error modeling of low-cost MEMS inertial sensors, multi-sensors integration, IMU calibration, wavelet analysis, estimation techniques, Kalman filter, adaptive integrated navigation algorithms.

Abstract:

The integration of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) with Inertial Navigation Systems (INS) has become a standard approach, for the last two decades, for accurate navigation and, hence, has been implemented widely in various applications. Such a complementary integrated architecture has been used for providing navigational information in many different fields such as mapping/surveying applications, autonomous driving, unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs), and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), where accurate position and orientation information is required. In order to achieve high positioning accuracy, a precise analysis of both GNSS positioning solutions and inertial sensors error, and their quantitative models, is highly needed. This paper investigates the Generalized Method of Wavelet Moments (GMWM) method for stochastic modelling of 1) low-cost GNSS receiver signal and 2) low-cost MEMS-based inertial sensors. Different datasets (including GNSS and raw inertial data) were collected using an all-in-one sensor system, namely MTi-G-710, where GNSS data was obtained and then processed in single point positioning (SPP) mode where position errors are expressed in the local-level frame (LLF) of reference. GMWM were used in identifying and characterizing the different latent stochastic process and their related coefficients for both GNSS position residual signals and inertial sensors ones as well where precise stochastic models have been built. The test results showed that for low-cost GNSS receivers, a white noise process alone is not sufficient for accurate position residual signals’ modeling. The results also stressed out that the GNSS error signal models are complicated where the corresponding error model structures were represented as a sum of random walk and more than one 1^st order Gauss-Markov (GM) processes, as an indication of correlated noise existence between consecutive observations. Moreover, results emphasize that a 1^st order GM process, which is usually considered, is not always well fitted with the behaviour of low-cost inertial sensor errors where a more complicated model structure need to be considered to improve the overall navigation results. In addition, the results showed that the GMWM is an efficient framework for estimating the parameters of composite stochastic processes with the advantage of correlated noise identification and characterization.

Biography:

Davide Vignotto is a PhD student at the University of Trento, Italy, where he graduated in Mechatronics Engineering. His master’s thesis focuses on the test mass release dynamics of the space mission LISA Pathfinder. He is interested in systems modelling and identification in the aerospace field. His research interest include: data analysis and systems identification.

Abstract:

LISA Pathfinder (LPF) is an ESA (European Space Agency) mission aimed at testing new technologies in the field of gravitational waves detection. The LPF scientific payload, the LISA Technology Package (LTP), contains two test masses (TMs) that must be set into free-fall inside their Gravitational Reference Sensors (GRS) with a minimum acceleration noise level, in order to provide the sensing bodies for the detection of gravitational waves. Driven by this requirement, the GRS design minimizes noisy forces by means of a strict control of the force budget and the adoption of large gaps between the TM and its electrode housing (EH). This however calls for a mechanism to secure the TM during the spacecraft launch and to release it to free fall for the science phase. The release maneuver is mission-critical and is performed by the grabbing positioning and release mechanism (GPRM), composed of two identical and opposed units which engage the TM by means of two plungers and release-dedicated tips. After a successful nominal and extended mission (2016-2017), due to its criticality for future missions (e.g. LISA), the GPRM release function has been intensively tested. The release performance of the GPRM can be estimated by the TM residual velocity after the disengagement, which should be minimal in order to allow the subsequent capture on behalf of the electrostatic actuation system. However, significant deviations occurred with respect to such a baseline, produced by unexpected configurations of the GPRM-TM system. The dedicated in-flight test campaign made it possible to understand some phenomena which produced such a behavior and formulate some risk-reduction strategies. In this work, the releases performed by the GPRM have been analyzed, focusing mainly on two aspects: i) studying the mechanical configuration of the system in pre-release phases and ii) evaluating the residual velocity of the TM after each release.

Biography:

Zhang Rong Zhi has her expertise in evaluation and passion in the spacecraft collision avoidance warning and operation. He leads a team for spacecraft collision warning and avoidance operation is Xi’an satellite control center about two decade. He is mainly interested in space missions.           

Abstract:

More than 23,000 space objects around the earth orbits in total are regularly tracked by the space surveillance network and maintained in the catalogue, which cover objects whose size are larger than approximately 5 to 10 cm in low earth orbit (LEO). Most of these space objects, especially the size of only several centimeters, are called space debris which are very dangers for in-orbit operational spacecraft because of potential collision. Space debris collision avoidance has almost been a routine activity for incapable space powers for the purpose to ensure the security of their spacecraft operation. In view of the current engineering and technological basics, the confidence level of collision warning is still to be further improved. In engineering, both the ability of tracking space objects of surveillance network and the integrality of measuring data limit the accuracy of orbit determination of space objects. But according to current technologies, the prediction accuracy of orbit dynamics model, especially low orbit atmospheric model, seriously decreases the accuracy of precise orbit prediction with time prolongs. On one hand, the shorter the time duration between the prediction and potential and potential collision is, the higher confidence level of the collision avoidance warning will be. On the other hand, the preparation procedure of spacecraft maneuver and the power consumption budget require collision avoidance to be made earlier. This paper focuses on the selection of the optimum time for spacecraft collision avoidance operation.

Biography:

Eman Fouad El-Nobi is a Lecturer in Physics Department, Faculty of Science, South Valley University-Qena-Egypt, and has her expertise in Solar Radiation especially on Ultraviolet Radiation. She completed PhD in Atmospheric Physics at Faculty of Science, South Valley University, and her thesis is entitled as “Distribution of UV-index in some upper Egypt regions”.

Abstract:

The spatial distribution of Erythemal Ultraviolet Dose Rate (EUV) at noon in mW/m² observations derived from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) are presented over Egypt covering the geographical domain (22.5°–31.5°N, 25.5°–35.5°E) during twelve  year from 2005 to 2015. In the frame of the variability, Egypt was considered as an average area (one pixel); the box-whisker plots were created for average monthly and annual values of EUV. The monthly mean of EUV values are lower in the winter months (December to February) 116.17±2.30 mW/m² compared to those in the summer months (June to August) 282.36±2.87 mW/m². The annual mean of EUV values are lower in 2015 (204.15±60.41 mW/m²) and higher in 2013 (213.13±60.34 mW/m²). For the purpose of mapping contour, with a spatial resolution of 1°×1°, 104 pixels, the results illustrated by monthly, seasonally and all period contour maps indicate high similarity of EUV in all years. Finally comparisons of ground-based measurement of Erythemal Ultraviolet Dose Rate (EUV_pyr) using a UVB-1 pyranometer with Ultraviolet Dose Rate (EUV_omi) from OMI satellite data have been examined in Qena, Upper Egypt (26° 16` N, 32° 75` E, 96 m asl) at noontime in mW/m². The examination revealed an overestimation of EUV_omi, on deviation average by 13.37±11%, within the period of study from 2006 to 2015 (except 2011-2012).

Biography:

Giancarlo Genta is a Professor of Construction Machines at Politecnico (Technical University) di Torino. He is a member of Academy of Sciences of Torino and of International Academy of Astronautics. In 2013, he received the Yangel Medal for outstanding contributions to “The development of the international space sciences and technologies” and the Engineering Science Award of the International Academy of Astronautics for outstanding achievement in Engineering Science. Starting from 2012 he chaired two study groups of the IAA on human Mars and lunar exploration. He authored 95 papers, published in Italian, American and English journals, 276 papers presented to symposia and 26 books. He is also the Author of two science fiction novels, published in Italian, English and Ukrainian.

Abstract:

The idea that humans could reach Mars is quite old and was advocated by many pioneers of spaceflight. Apart from fictional descriptions, sometimes bypassing completely the problem of how getting there, and of pioneristic work dealing with the general aspect of the problem, the first detailed study of a human Mars mission was done by Wernher von Braun who published in 1949 Das Mars Projekt, a technically sound project, demonstrating that it was possible to reach Mars with a technology predictable for a not too far future. This project, although technologically consistent, didn’t take in due account the relevant costs and, as perhaps unavoidably with a first attempt to put the problem in a rational way, was not sustainable.

The early first studies were followed by a large number of other ones, some of which directly promoted by space agencies, other performed by independent researchers or private societies, like the Mars Society. Many robotic Mars missions, performed by NASA, ESA and Roscosmos, recently joined by the Indian Space Agency ISRO, have the explicit goal of paving the way for human exploration of the planet.

Since a few years ago the common understanding was that human space exploration was the domain of space agencies, possibly cooperating with each other to mount international endeavors like the International Space Station (ISS), while private organizations like the Mars Society could play a role of advocacy groups, performing support tasks and supplying fresh ideas. Recently, however, private companies and no-profit organizations declared their intentions of mounting space exploration expeditions and/or starting space exploitation activities. Among them, SpaceX is developing a low cost transport system specifically intended for planetary (mainly Mars) exploration and issued statements regarding future mars colonization plans.

The book which is here presented deals with the problem of human Mars exploration from all viewpoints, from propulsion and astrodynamics to human factors, from the construction of the habitat on the planet to the ground transportation needed to reach the most interesting location, from the importance of other space missions, in particular those aimed to explore the Moon, as stepping stones to Mars, to more futuristic topics like colonization and terraforming.

While returning to the Moon is the first step toward the creation of a spacefaring civilization, the human exploration of Mars is without any doubt the logical ‘next step’.

Biography:

Paul S Szymanski has 41 years of continuous experience studying outer space warfare theory, doctrine, strategies and tactics. This includes advanced concept
development, space courses of action (COA’s) design, and space battle management command and control (BMC2) support.

Abstract:

As with most military planning, we fight the last wars that we understand well. That is probably the biggest problem outer space warfighters have in conceptualizing how a future conflict might play out. We just have not had that much experience in true space warfare. This makes it very difficult to predict how such combat will actually occur. Much as the concepts of air power were being developed in the 1920’s-30’s, the true power of space warfare is currently not well understood. To help solve these strategic issues, the author, based on his 41 years’ experience in space warfare, has determined possible criteria that would define “winning” the next space war. This is a difficult area to study because traditional terrestrial criteria for peace involve returning territory, prisoners of war, and economic restitution, but these do not necessarily apply to space warfare. This briefing will discuss these possible termination criteria, which are so important to define before any military space operations commence, or any military war goals are defined.

Biography:

Alexander V Nebylov has few Degrees to credit including: Title of the Honorary Scientist of the Russian Federation; Decree of the President  of Russian Federation of 2006; Academic rank of Full Professor since 1986; Doctor of Science Degree in information processing and control systems since 1985. His scientific field of interest include: motion control theory, control systems and avionics. He the author of 18 books and more than 300 scientific papers and inventions, leader of many Research and Development in aerospace instrumentation. He is a Chairman of Aerospace Devices and Measuring Complexes, State University of Aerospace Instrumentation in Saint Petersburg and Director of the International Institute for Advanced Aerospace Technologies, Russia. He is a Member of the leadership of the IFAC Aerospace Technical Committee since 2002.

Abstract:

The specific tasks of the relative motion control of small satellites in formation are considered. The purpose of control is to shape the ordered group of satellites, operating together to perform the general task. The relative motion control is carried out for satellites moving at very close orbits. The distance between satellites can be around 100 m or less. The purpose of shaping and rebuilding the formation of low-orbit satellites is to solve various practical tasks for monitoring the earth's surface, creating stereo images, building large-diameter telescopes, creating the data exchange channel between two points at the surface and others. The latest advances in avionics and other fields of science and technology led to the possibility of miniaturization of almost all spacecraft service systems without any loss of their functional performance. Precise estimation of the relative position of satellites is one of the main problems of formation flight. To determine the relative phase state of the satellites in a group, the processing of video images obtained by shooting one satellites using a video camera installed on another vehicle is often used. A new optical system of relative orientation and navigation is considered. The relative orientation and navigation 6 parameters of the controlled satellite are calculated from the image coordinates of the special contrast points of the main satellite on the camera matrix. The measured parameters are used to implement the optimal control law for the motion of CG of the controlled satellite. The control forces are created by miniature actuators. The results of the simulation and experiments are discussed.

Biography:

Daniele Bortoluzzi graduated in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Padova (Italy) in 1998. He earned the Ph.D. in Mechanics of machines in 2002 at the University of Brescia (Italy). He joined the Department of Physics of the University of Trento (Italy) in 2002 with a Post-doc grant on the development of drag-free technologies for space missions. Currently he has a position as Associate Professor of Mechanics of Machines in the Department of Industrial Engineering of the University of Trento. He collaborates with the European Space Agency and several industrial partners in the design of payloads for scientific missions, with particular emphasis on mechanisms. He is responsible for the qualification of the release mechanism for the LISA Pathfinder mission, where tribological, dynamics and control issues are involved. His research interest lies in mechanisms for space applications.

Abstract:

Mechanisms often constitute critical spacecraft subsystems, since they are subjected to environmental conditions which may affect their functionality and performance. Among the possible criticalities, tribological issues constitute a relevant source of mechanism malfunction, with relevant impact on the mission. Typical conditions which can enhance tribological phenomena (friction, wear, adhesion) are related to launch vibration, extreme temperatures, fretting and vacuum environment. In the framework of the development of the ESA (European Space Agency) LISA Pathfinder (LPF) mission, the need arose to understand if an extended object can be injected into a perfect free-fall state (geodesic orbit) by a mechanism with a minimal residual velocity with respect to the satellite. Most of the uncertainty in the expected velocity at the release is related to the behavior of adhesion forces between the metallic surfaces of the object to be released and its holding/releasing devices. In particular, the impulse developed by adhesion forces under the abrupt rupture of adhesive bonds, produced by quick separation of the holding devices, needs to be characterized and tested. In the ground testing activities of the Grabbing Positioning and Release Mechanism (GPRM) a facility was developed to test the behavior of adhesive bonds between metallic surfaces under quick separation. The transferred momentum measurement facility was designed and developed to characterize the impulse produced by the GPRM in releasing a suspended mock-up of the flight proof mass. The results of the ground testing activities are presented and discussed here.

Biography:

Marek Tulej has completed his PhD from Basel University, Switzerland. He is currently the Staff Member of Planetary Sciences and Space Research Division and Head of Laser Mass Spectrometry Lab in Physics Institute, University of Bern, Switzerland. He is involved in the development of a miniature analytical instruments for space missions. He is also the Science Group Member for the missions to the Moon (Luna Glob, Luna Resurs) and Jupiter satellites (JUICE). He has published more than 80 papers in reputed journals and has been serving as an Editorial Board Member, journal and proposal Reviewer. His research interest include: planetology, space research, chemical investigation of planetary surfaces and atmospheres and development of analytical instrumentation for space research.

Abstract:

Statement of the Problem: There is a growing interest in the development of the analytical instrumentation suitable to identify past and/or present life on the other planets. A combination of laser mass spectrometry and optical microscopy can be powerful for in situ searches of extinct or extant life forms embedded in minerals. On the Earth, the microbial life forms appeared likely earlier than 3.3 billion years ago. Also, Mars is expected to be some 3.5 billion years ago habitable hosting a great body of liquid water. New planetary targets in searching for life are Europa and Enceladus with their oceans covered by ice layers. Our instrument can be used to identify locations of putative life forms on rocks or ice surface by microscopy and to deliver chemical composition by laser ablation and laser desorption mass spectrometry. The miniature instrument suit is currently being developed for the future application on landed spacecraft. Our near future activities are focused on fitting such an instrument into the stringent requirements of a space mission regarding mass, power, volume and autonomous operations.

Methodology & Theoretical Orientation: The current studies are conducted on fossilized life forms embedded in mineralogical phase. The microscope optical analysis yield morphological and spectral details of the analyzed surface. The chemical analysis (elemental, isotope and molecular) are conducted using laser mass spectrometry.

Results & Conclusions: While from the elemental analyses the identification of bio-relevant elements and an insight to possible metabolic processes can be obtained, on the other hand from the measurement of isotope ratios one can conclude on a biotic or abiotic isotope fractionation mechanism. The matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation mass spectrometry (MALDI) can be applied, in addition, to search for possible detection of complex organic molecules. These chemical analyses together with the morphology of the investigated feature can deliver strong evidence for the presence of simple life forms.

Biography:

Alexander Panferov is a Professor of the State University of Aerospace Instrumentation in Saint Petersburg, and the Senior Researcher of the International Institute for Advanced Aerospace Technologies, Russia respectively. He has led many Research and Development projects in the field of aerospace instrumentation, control systems design for the aeroelastic object, micromechanical gyroscopes and systems. He is a coauthor of more than 12 patents and 100 articles in reputed journals.

Abstract:

Possible variants for controlling the relative motion of small satellites are considered. The purpose of such control is to create a highly accurate stabilization of an ordered group of satellites operating together on the implementation of the same task. In such groups, control is based on measurements of mutual locations of the satellites that are moving at very close orbits. The purpose of formation and rebuilding of a group of satellites is the solution of various practical tasks, such as monitoring the earth's gravity anomalies, creation of stereoscopic images and others. The purpose of this work is the synthesis of an optimal control system for the center mass motion of active satellites, with the objective of navigation to a specified point in space relative to the reference satellite. Utilization of this procedure in sequence to all satellites in a group allows one to create any kind of configuration. A new optical system of relative orientation and navigation is proposed. Proposed algorithms of processing of the images of the special contrast points of the main satellite on the camera matrix allows to calculate all 6 parameters of relative orientation and navigation of the controlled satellite relatively the main satellite. In solving this problem, random errors of the system relative orientation and navigation, the dynamic properties of actuators, creating control forces and moments of forces, are taken into account. The results of the simulation of the relative motion with different initial conditions are given. Operability of the proposed algorithms is proved for all possible initial conditions. Results of the synthesis of optimal filtering algorithms for primary navigation measurements are obtained. The simulation results are presented and an installation for an actual experiment is described.

Biography:

Alberto Adriani is the Principal Investigator for the JIRAM (Jovian InfraRed Auroral Mapper) experiment, funded by the Italian Space Agency (ASI), on board Juno, a NASA mission to the planet Jupiter; he is also Co-Investigator of the Juno NASA Project and of the project MAJIS and JANUS in the ESA Cosmic Vision mission JUICE. He has more than 30-years-experience in the development and use of optical instrumentation for studying earth and planetary atmospheres by means of observations from different ground-based, airborne, balloon-borne and space-borne platforms. He has collaborated with various scientists from many different institutions in Europe and the USA. He got his degree in Physics at the University of Rome “La Sapienza”, Italy, in 1978. He is presently working at the INAF Institute for Space Astrophysics and Planetology in Rome.

Abstract:

The activity of JIRAM, the Jovian InfraRed Auroral Mapper on board Juno, falls under the scientific responsibility of the Institute of Astrophysics and Space Planetology of INAF. The instrument incorporates a spectrometer and a camera that work in the field of infrared wavelengths between 2 and 5 microns. For the Juno mission, it has been set for providing maps on the infrared aurora generated by the H3+ ion and methane, the thermal emission of the planet near the 5 micron spectral window and the characterization of the planetary emission in the aforementioned spectral range with a resolution of 9 nm. The camera has a field of view of 6° x 3.5° and the single pixel field of view is about 240 µrad corresponding to a spatial resolution of the instrument, at a reference pressure level of 1 bar on Jupiter, that can vary from 2 km to 300 km depending on the distance of the spacecraft from the planet. The primary objectives of JIRAM on Juno are the study of the polar aurorae and the atmosphere of Jupiter up to the depths (depending on the presence of clouds and atmospheric opacity) of 3-5 bar in terms of chemical composition related to some minority gases (water, ammonia and phosphine), microphysics (clouds) and atmospheric dynamics. The hardware and the software of the instrument have been realized in Italy according to the scientific goals of the Juno mission at Jupiter. Results from the mission will be presented to show the capabilities of the instrument which can be used and opportunely specialized for those future missions that would require a remote sensing instrument able to operate in the JIRAM spectral range.

Biography:

Joseph Seckbach is a retired senior academician at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel. He earned his MSc. & Ph.D. from the University of Chicago and did a post doctorate in the Division of Biology at Caltech, in Pasadena, CA. He led a group researching exobiology (extraterrestrial life) at UCLA. He was appointed to the Hebrew University, Jerusalem (as a senior Lecturer) and spent sabbaticals at UCLA and Harvard University. Dr. Seckbach enjoyed his DAAD-sponsored (The German Academic Exchange) periods in Tübingen, Germany, and at LMU, Munich. He served at Louisiana State University (LSU), Baton Rouge, LA, USA, as the first selected Chair for the Louisiana Sea Grant and Technology transfer.

Abstract:

Life on Earth is found almost all over its surface, on land and in marine areas. We consider these forms of life as “normal.” However, there are organisms, termed extremophiles, which thrive in severe environments. The organisms dwelling in the normal environments are not able to tolerate such harsh conditions. On the other hand, living in a normal environment is not possible for the extremophiles.

Harsh environments of extremophiles include for example, excess of salt (halophiles), high pressure, thermophilic, various pH ranges, acidophilic and anaerobic environments. 

Among these extremophiles are microorganisms, cyanobacteria, algae, plants, insects, and even micro animals (such as the Tardigrades) as well as a group of unicellular red algae, the Cyanidiophyceae (which possess in their chloroplasts only chlorophyll A but not B and grow in thermo-acidic area such as in hot springs with some exceptional habitats (references.)

Polyextremophiles are those extremophiles who tolerate more than one factor of stress in their habitat. The extremophiles may represent the pioneers on early Earth when the primitive conditions were very harsh, an anaerobic, acidic, and thermophilic or psychrophilic environment. With the change of the atmosphere, these extremophilic organisms found niches to hide in where they felt comfortable.

In our presentation, we will discuss some extremophilic examples through their habitats and the physiological-environmental relationships and finally their affiliation to Astrobiology.

Biography:

Xavier Geneste work for aerospace industry since 1989 as an electronics engineer. He has been working on spacecrafts for the three majors in France, AEROSPATIALE (then Alcatel Space and now Thalesaleniaspace), ASTRIUM (now Airbus Defense and Space), CNES (Centre National des Etudes Spatiales) on a wide range of activities from project initiation to launches. Now at ESA since 2009 as a senior spacecraft engineer, he is dealing with new technologies developments for the telecommunication platforms (ARTES program).

Abstract:

Conventional Satcom systems have proved over the years to be a very effective means of addressing very high quality broadcast services over a large coverage area. However, today’s paradigm in media and content distribution is shifting from the classical broadcast to the video streaming, video on demand and data service applications. In this new context, the classical advantage of satellite large coverage area is challenged by the requirement of a very high throughput satellite systems to address the needs of each individual user. Moreover, the Satcom market is evolving with massive growth in bandwidth usage per consumer (fixed & mobile) and thus huge market potential is identified for high throughput satellite (HTS) systems. Focusing on GEO system, increased capacity is achieved with larger user Ka-band spectrum usage (up to 2.9 GHz) and aggressive frequency reuse in the coverage (massive multi-spot and frequency reuse) resulting in very large aggregated bandwidth with feeder link becoming the bottleneck. The new concept proposes to overcome this issue thanks to an innovative space segment architecture.

Biography:

Vladislav V Demyanov, DrSc in Engineering, has been working as a Full Professor of Irkutsk State Transport University since November, 2009. He works as a Senior Research Scientist of the GNSS Remote Sensing Research Group, Institute of Solar and Terrestrial Physics (Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Science). His research interest include: space weather- geomagnetic storms and solar radio flares and their impact on GNSS and SBAS performance; GNSSSBAS integrity and positioning availability control under irregular external impacts; GNSS remote sensing of the ionosphere; GNSS application on transportation.

Abstract:

Ionospheric activities and natural hazard events are accompanied with ionospheric disturbances at different spatial and temporal scales. For example, multi-scale-ionospheric GNSS-TEC (Global Navigation Satellite Systems- Total Electron Content) disturbances are observed during certain periods of time before and after the main phase of geomagnetic storms and earthquakes. Rocket launches are also accompanied with TEC-waves of different scales. Earlier it was revealed that both existence time and propagation distances are substantially different for the ionospheric waves at different scales. The small-scale ionospheric turbulences have weaker intensity, but they live longer and propagate with different speeds in comparison to the large-scale ionospheric disturbances. Thus, we could consider small-scale ionospheric disturbances as an additional means to improve the efficiency and reliability of ionospheric activity monitoring. In this report, the second-order derivative of the GPS signal phase is considered as a promising means to detect the small-scale weak ionospheric disturbances. Our modeling and experimental results show that the second-order derivative of the GPS-signal phase can be utilized to detect the weak small-scale ionospheric disturbances with size of decades and hundreds of meters. As the single-frequency data interpreting strictly depends on the L2P(Y) or L2C data were processed we discuss the likely cause for these differences: L1-aided tracking used to track both the L2P(Y) and L2C signals as well.

Biography:

Ryspek Usubamatov, Doctor Engineer graduated from Bauman Moscow State Technical University. Russia. He is a Professional Engineer in Mechanical, Manufacturing and Industrial Engineering, completed PhD in 1972 and Dr Tech Sc in 1993. He worked as an Engineer at a company and Lecturer in universities of Kyrgyzstan and Malaysia. He is a Professor of Razzakov Kyrgyz State Technical University. He has supervised around 100 Professional Engineer 15 MSc and 7 PhD students. His key research are productivity theory for industrial engineering, gyroscope theory and wind turbines represented by 7 books, 30 brochures and more than 300 manuscripts in reputed journals and 60 patents.

Abstract:

An inertial gyroscope in engineering manifests remarkable property which nature is still not well described in classical mechanics. Researchers unsuccessfully try to explain this gyroscope peculiarity since the Industrial Revolution. The new study demonstrates that origin of the gyroscope properties is more complex than presented in known publications. The gyroscope effects are result of the action of the internal torques that generated by the centrifugal, common inertial and Coriolis forces of the rotating mass elements as well as changes the change in the angular momentum. These inertial forces produce eight inertial torques acting interdependently around two gyroscope axes. The action of inertial torques manifests the resistance torques based on centrifugal and Coriolis forces and precession torques based on common inertial force and the change in the angular momentum. These inertial torques represent the fundamental principles of gyroscope theory. The action of inertial forces demonstrates unexplainable properties validated by practical tests that contradict the principles of physics. Blocking of the motion around one axis for the gyroscope with one side support deactivates the resistance torques acting around other axis and the running gyroscope turns to dawn under the action of the gravity force only.  At the same time, the precession torques are acting at the new condition.  These phenomena of deactivation of the resistance torques and action of the precession torques are the demonstration with the high probability of the unknown property of inertial forces acting on the gyroscope. The physical origin of the deactivation of the inertial forces for the running gyroscope represents the new challenge for researchers and need deep investigation. The action of the inertial forces on any rotating objects is not described in publications and new research should cover this gap in the science of classical mechanics.

Biography:

Turkan Kopac received her B.Sc (1983) and M.Sc degrees (1985) in Chemical Engineering from the Middle East Technical University, and Ph.D in Chemical Engineering (1992) from Gazi University, Ankara Turkey. Her research activities focus on adsorption, adsorbent development/characterization, nanostructures, protein adsorption/surface interactions with nanomaterials, dye adsorption, activated carbon from coal, environmental applications, MOF structures, hydrogen storage, methane, carbon dioxide adsorption. She is currently Professor at the Department of Chemistry, Bülent Ecevit University, Zonguldak, Turkey. She also served as the Vice Dean (1999-2002), then Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (2002-2008), and Vice Rector (2008-2010) of Bülent Ecevit University, Zonguldak, Turkey. She has been awarded “Assoc. Prof. Dr. Fahrettin Can Success in Managership Award” (2010) from the Middle East Technical University, Ankara.

Abstract:

The lack of fossil fuel supplies and the environmental concerns related with burning fossil fuels  have created  the need  to look for renewable and cleaner energy resources. Hydrogen has been regarded as an ideal energy carrier, because of higher heat of combustion than gasoline, and emission of cleaner combustion by-products. Hydrogen can be stored by applying various storage techniques, such as compressing, liquefying at very low temperature, adsorption in porous solids, forming metallic and complex hydrides.

Hydrogen storage systems are the subject of several studies searching for the appropriate materials for the applications, and each system has its own advantages and disadvantages. A safe and effective hydrogen storage technique is important for a possible application. Among the various hydrogen storage techniques, adsorption of hydrogen on porous solids has many advantages over the other systems. Porous solids such as, activated carbons, carbon nanostructures, metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), metal-carbon composites are some of the examples studied for hydrogen storage applications. The results of the studies carried out by various materials have shown that the hydrogen storage properties mainly depend on the surface and the structural characteristics of the sorbent materials. Therefore, efforts have been given towards the studies for enhancing the surface characteristics, such as surface area, pore volume of the sorbent material, as well as the interactions between the hydrogen and the surface of the materials.

In recent years, there exists a large number of publications on hydrogen storage applications in literature indicating a great progress in this field. In this contribution an overview of hydrogen storage applications, new materials for hydrogen sorption, limitations, advantages, and current trends will be discussed.

Biography:

Alexander Panferov is a Professor of the State University of Aerospace Instrumentation in Saint Petersburg, and the Senior Researcher of the International Institute for Advanced Aerospace Technologies, Russia respectively. He has led many Research and Development projects in the field of aerospace instrumentation, control systems design for the aeroelastic object, micromechanical gyroscopes and systems. He is a coauthor of more than 12 patents and 100 articles in reputed journals.

Abstract:

For transportation of large loads in interplanetary space, it is necessary to use sufficiently large space tugs equipped with highly efficient engines and a powerful power unit. Great weight of the power plant and the cargo compartment, connected by a light rod of variable cross-section, determines its considerable elasticity. After parking of the spacecraft into orbit around the earth, it is necessary to change its orientation and to stabilize the longitudinal axis at a tangent to the orbit. After achieving the second space velocity of the spacecraft, it is necessary to rotate again at large angles in all three axes. All maneuvers must be performed while saving fuel. In the report, questions of synthesis of laws of attitude control of spacecraft in case of big changes of angular situation in the non-uniform gravitational field of earth are considered. For the decision of tasks of control the maximum principle of Pontryagin is used. Questions of exact stabilizing of spacecraft taking into account elasticity of all elements relative to the three axes are considered. The complexity of controlling such spacecraft is defined by its considerable elasticity and complexity of a spatial configuration. Mathematical models of an elastic spacecraft are derived from multivariate analysis of elasticity and distribution of mass throughout the spacecraft structure. It is believed that in the process of elastic vibrations, each fragment of the structure can perform translational and rotational motion with respect to three axes. To automate the derivation of the mathematical model of an elastic spacecraft in the form of a system of differential equations of bounded dimension, a special program has been developed. For the damping of elastic vibrations, an original adaptive algorithm is proposed. Its efficiency is demonstrated. The results of the simulation are presented.