• Title/Summary/Keyword: Mars Exploration

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The Study of Two-dimensional Chemical Distribution about Soil using Laser Spectroscopy (레이저 분광법을 활용한 토양 2차원 화학적 분포도 검출 연구)

  • Yang, Jun-Ho;Yoh, Jai-Ick
    • Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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    • v.45 no.6
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    • pp.523-530
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    • 2017
  • Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) which a plasma is irradiated at a specific wavelength depending on the material when a high-energy laser is irradiated, and a Raman spectroscopy which measures rotation and vibration in molecules as light-scattering phenomenon occurs, are attracting attention as a space exploration technology because of the advantages of high accuracy and real-time analysis, and the ability to perform long-range detection. In this study, the tendency of the laser spectrum according to the change of the soil component was analyzed by laser spectroscopy and the two - dimensional chemical distribution was conducted based on the trend of laser spectrum. We have also established the environment of Mars (4-7 torr) and lunar atmosphere (<1 torr) in experimental setup, to prove that it is possible to measure by difference of soil chemical composition using LIBS and Raman spectroscopy even in artificial space environment.

Analysis of landing mission phases for robotic exploration on phobos mar's moon

  • Stio, A.;Spinolo, P.;Carrera, E.;Augello, R.
    • Advances in aircraft and spacecraft science
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    • v.4 no.5
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    • pp.529-541
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    • 2017
  • Landing phase is one of the crucial and most important phases during robotic aerospace explorations. It concerns the impact of the landing module of a spacecraft on a celestial body. Risks and uncertainties of landing are mainly due to the morphology of the surface, the possible presence of rocks and other obstacles or subsidence. The present work quotes results of a computational analysis direct to investigate the stability during the landing phase of a lander on Phobos, a Mars Moon. The present study makes use of available software tools for the simulation analyses and results processing. Due to the nature of the system under consideration (i.e., large displacements and interaction between several systems), multibody simulations were performed to analyze the lander's behavior after the impact with the celestial body. The landing scenario was chosen as a result of a DOE (Design of Experiments) analysis in terms of lander velocity and position, or ground slope. In order to verify the reliability of the present multibody methodology for this particular aerospace issue, two different software tools were employed in order to emphasize two different ways to simulate the crash-box, a particular component of the system used to cushion the impact. The results show the most important frames of the simulations so as to provide a general idea about how lander behaves in its descent and some trends of the main characteristics of the system. In conclusion, the success of the approach is demonstrated by highlighting that the results (crash-box shortening trend and lander's kinetic energy) are comparable between the two tools and that the stability is ensured.

Gamma-ray Full Spectrum Analysis for Environmental Radioactivity by HPGe Detector

  • Jeong, Meeyoung;Lee, Kyeong Beom;Kim, Kyeong Ja;Lee, Min-Kie;Han, Ju-Bong
    • Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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    • v.31 no.4
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    • pp.317-323
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    • 2014
  • Odyssey, one of the NASA's Mars exploration program and SELENE (Kaguya), a Japanese lunar orbiting spacecraft have a payload of Gamma-Ray Spectrometer (GRS) for analyzing radioactive chemical elements of the atmosphere and the surface. In these days, gamma-ray spectroscopy with a High-Purity Germanium (HPGe) detector has been widely used for the activity measurements of natural radionuclides contained in the soil of the Earth. The energy spectra obtained by the HPGe detectors have been generally analyzed by means of the Window Analysis (WA) method. In this method, activity concentrations are determined by using the net counts of energy window around individual peaks. Meanwhile, an alternative method, the so-called Full Spectrum Analysis (FSA) method uses count numbers not only from full-absorption peaks but from the contributions of Compton scattering due to gamma-rays. Consequently, while it takes a substantial time to obtain a statistically significant result in the WA method, the FSA method requires a much shorter time to reach the same level of the statistical significance. This study shows the validation results of FSA method. We have compared the concentration of radioactivity of $^{40}K$, $^{232}Th$ and $^{238}U$ in the soil measured by the WA method and the FSA method, respectively. The gamma-ray spectrum of reference materials (RGU and RGTh, KCl) and soil samples were measured by the 120% HPGe detector with cosmic muon veto detector. According to the comparison result of activity concentrations between the FSA and the WA, we could conclude that FSA method is validated against the WA method. This study implies that the FSA method can be used in a harsh measurement environment, such as the gamma-ray measurement in the Moon, in which the level of statistical significance is usually required in a much shorter data acquisition time than the WA method.

Construction of the image database of Earth's lava caves useful in identifying the lunar caves

  • Hong, Ik-Seon;Jeong, Jongil;Sohn, Jongdae;Oh, Suyeon;Yi, Yu
    • The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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    • v.37 no.2
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    • pp.138.2-138.2
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    • 2012
  • Cave on the Moon is considered as the most appropriate place for human to live during the frontier lunar exploration. While the lava flows, the outer crust gets cooled and solidified. Then, the empty space is remained inside after lava flow stops. Such empty space is called the lava caves. Those lava tubes on the Earth are formed mostly by volcanic activity. However, the lava tubes on satellite like Moon and planet like Mars without volcanic activity are mostly formed by the lava flow inside of the crater made by large meteorite impact. Some part of lava tube with collapsed ceiling appears as the entrance of the cave. Such area looks like a deep crater so called a pit crater. Four large pit craters with diameter of > 60 m and depth of > 40 m are found without difficulty from Kaguya and LRO mission image archives. However, those are too deep to use as easily accessible human frontier base. Therefore, now we are going to identify some smaller lunar caves with accessible entrances using LRO camera images of 0.5 m/pixel resolution. Earth's lava caves and their entrances are well photographed by surface and aerial camera in immense volume. Thus, if the image data are sorted and archived well, those images can be used in comparison with the less distinct lunar cave and entrance images due to its smaller size. Then, we can identify the regions on the Moon where there exist caves with accessible entrances. The database will be also useful in modeling geomorphology for lunar and Martian caves for future artificial intelligence investigation of the caves in any size.

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Optimization of Material Extruding Performance to Build a 3D Printed Habitat on the Moon and Mars (달, 화성 3D 프린팅 주거지 건설을 위한 재료 사출기능 최적화 연구)

  • Lee, Jin Young;Lee, Tai Sik
    • KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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    • v.39 no.2
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    • pp.345-349
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    • 2019
  • The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has long been studying the essential elements of manned planetary exploration and has held several international challenges to encourage the research works related to it. One of them was the NASA Centennial Challenge Programs which started in 2015. Following the second in 2017, the third is currently going on in 2019. Participating "3D-Printed Habitat Challenge", one of the challenges in the second program, this research team designed and developed the 3D printer extruding module for the Lunar Simulant (Korea Hanyang Lunar Simulant-1; KOHLS-1) and the polymer. For optimizing the modul, a cylindrical specimen of ${\varnothing}150{\times}300mm^3$ volume and a specimen of $200{\times}100{\times}650mm^3$ volume were manufactured and their compressive and flexural strengths were tested. The findings can help automatize the space construction in the future.

Geostationary Satellite Launch Site and Orbit Injection (정지궤도위성 발사위치와 궤도투입에 관한 고찰)

  • DONG-SUN KIM
    • Journal of Aerospace System Engineering
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    • v.18 no.3
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    • pp.27-33
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    • 2024
  • According to the success of the Nuri Space Launch Vehicle (KSLV-II) and the development goal of the next generation space launch vehicle (KSLV-III), it is expected that the domestic geostationary satellite capability will be increased from (1 to 3.7) ton. Also, it is predicted that substantial ability of about 1 ton can be provided for the space exploration of the Moon, Mars, asteroids, etc. The Goheung space launch site is optimized for sun-synchronous small satellites, and due to the essential precondition that the launch trajectory does not impinge another country's sovereign airspace, it is not satisfactory as a geostationary satellite launching site. Its latitude also requires more energy to shape the rotating orbital plane from the initial injection status. This results in a decreasing factor of economic feasibility, including the operating complexity. Therefore, in parallel with the development of a next generation space launch vehicle, the practical process for acquisition of oversea land or sea space launch site near the Earth's equator and research for the optimization of orbiting methods of geostationary satellite injection must be continued.

INNOVATIVE CONCEPT FOR AN ULTRA-SMALL NUCLEAR THERMAL ROCKET UTILIZING A NEW MODERATED REACTOR

  • NAM, SEUNG HYUN;VENNERI, PAOLO;KIM, YONGHEE;LEE, JEONG IK;CHANG, SOON HEUNG;JEONG, YONG HOON
    • Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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    • v.47 no.6
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    • pp.678-699
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    • 2015
  • Although the harsh space environment imposes many severe challenges to space pioneers, space exploration is a realistic and profitable goal for long-term humanity survival. One of the viable and promising options to overcome the harsh environment of space is nuclear propulsion. Particularly, the Nuclear Thermal Rocket (NTR) is a leading candidate for nearterm human missions to Mars and beyond due to its relatively high thrust and efficiency. Traditional NTR designs use typically high power reactors with fast or epithermal neutron spectrums to simplify core design and to maximize thrust. In parallel there are a series of new NTR designs with lower thrust and higher efficiency, designed to enhance mission versatility and safety through the use of redundant engines (when used in a clustered engine arrangement) for future commercialization. This paper proposes a new NTR design of the second design philosophy, Korea Advanced NUclear Thermal Engine Rocket (KANUTER), for future space applications. The KANUTER consists of an Extremely High Temperature Gas cooled Reactor (EHTGR) utilizing hydrogen propellant, a propulsion system, and an optional electricity generation system to provide propulsion as well as electricity generation. The innovatively small engine has the characteristics of high efficiency, being compact and lightweight, and bimodal capability. The notable characteristics result from the moderated EHTGR design, uniquely utilizing the integrated fuel element with an ultra heat-resistant carbide fuel, an efficient metal hydride moderator, protectively cooling channels and an individual pressure tube in an all-in-one package. The EHTGR can be bimodally operated in a propulsion mode of $100MW_{th}$ and an electricity generation mode of $100MW_{th}$, equipped with a dynamic energy conversion system. To investigate the design features of the new reactor and to estimate referential engine performance, a preliminary design study in terms of neutronics and thermohydraulics was carried out. The result indicates that the innovative design has great potential for high propellant efficiency and thrust-to-weight of engine ratio, compared with the existing NTR designs. However, the build-up of fission products in fuel has a significant impact on the bimodal operation of the moderated reactor such as xenon-induced dead time. This issue can be overcome by building in excess reactivity and control margin for the reactor design.

Magnetic Stability of Hematite on Low-temperature Magnetic Phase Transition (저온변환에 따른 적철석의 자화안정도)

  • Jang, Sujin;Yu, Yongjae
    • Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
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    • v.26 no.1
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    • pp.19-25
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    • 2013
  • Recent progress in Martian exploration identified hematite as the major candidate for the strong magnetic anomalies observed in Martian lithosphere. In the present study, grain-size dependence of thermoremanent magnetization and low-temperature stability of room-temperature saturation isothermal remanent magnetization (RTSIRM) were monitored using synthetic hematites. For hematite, the antiferromagnetic spin configuration is re-arranged from being perpendicular to the c-axis to be parallel to the c-axis below the Morin transition ($=T_M$). A large fraction of RTSIRM is demagnetized at $T_M$ (= 260 K) during zero-field cooling from 300 K to 10 K. About 37% of the initial RTSIRM is recovered on warming from 10 K to 300 K. Shallow Martian subsurface at 1~2 km depth would experience low-temperature cooling-warming of $T_M$ because average Martian surficial temperature is about 220 K. However in most Martian lithosphere whose temperatures are higher than 260 K, the very stable magnetic memory of hematite could be a contributor to Martian magnetic anomalies.

An Experimental Study on Blade Deformation of Coaxial Rotor System Using SPR(Stereo Pattern Recognition) Technique (SPR(Stereo Pattern Recognition) 기법을 이용한 동축 로터 블레이드의 변형에 대한 실험적 연구)

  • Yoo, Chanho;Yoon, Byung-Il;Chae, Sanghyun;Kim, Do-Hyung;Kim, Deog-Kwan
    • Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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    • v.48 no.8
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    • pp.597-609
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    • 2020
  • These days, the coaxial rotor system is used for various purposes like UAVs, Mars exploration helicopters, and the next-generation high-speed rotorcraft. A number of research projects on aerodynamic performance of rotor systems, including the coaxial configuration have been made previously. On the contrary, research on rotor blade deformation has been mainly carried out regarding the single rotor system, where such effort has not been enough on the coaxial system. Nonetheless, in case of the coaxial system, blade deformation analysis is much more important because of the complex air flow around the rotors, and that the distance between the two rotors is a key factor affects aerodynamic performance of the entire system. For these reasons, an experimental study on rotor blade deformation of the coaxial system was conducted using the Stereo Pattern Recognition(SPR) technique, one of the state-of-the-art of photogrammetry method. In this research, a small-scale coaxial rotor test stand designed by Korea Aerospace Research Institute(KARI) was used. With the same test stand, performance of the coaxial configuration had been studied before the experimental study on blade deformation, in order to find the relation between performance and blade deformation of the rotor system. Results of the performance test and the deformation study are presented in this article.

Opening New Horizons with the L4 Mission: Vision and Plan

  • Kyung-Suk Cho;Junga Hwang;Jeong-Yeol Han;Seong-Hwan Choi;Sung-Hong Park;Eun-Kyung Lim;Rok-Soon Kim;Jungjoon Seough;Jong-Dae Sohn;Donguk Song;Jae-Young Kwak;Yukinaga Miyashita;Ji-Hye Baek;Jaejin Lee;Jinsung Lee;Kwangsun Ryu;Jongho Seon;Ho Jin;Sung-Jun Ye;Yong-Jae, Moon;Dae-Young Lee;Peter H. Yoon;Thiem Hoang;Veerle Sterken;Bhuwan Joshi;Chang-Han Lee;Jongjin Jang;Jae-Hwee Doh;Hwayeong Kim;Hyeon-Jeong Park;Natchimuthuk Gopalswamy;Talaat Elsayed;John Lee
    • Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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    • v.56 no.2
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    • pp.263-275
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    • 2023
  • The Sun-Earth Lagrange point L4 is considered as one of the unique places where the solar activity and heliospheric environment can be observed in a continuous and comprehensive manner. The L4 mission affords a clear and wide-angle view of the Sun-Earth line for the study of the Sun-Earth and Sun-Moon connections from he perspective of remote-sensing observations. In-situ measurements of the solar radiation, solar wind, and heliospheric magnetic field are critical components necessary for monitoring and forecasting the radiation environment as it relates to the issue of safe human exploration of the Moon and Mars. A dust detector on the ram side of the spacecraft allows for an unprecedented detection of local dust and its interactions with the heliosphere. The purpose of the present paper is to emphasize the importance of L4 observations as well as to outline a strategy for the planned L4 mission with remote and in-situ payloads onboard a Korean spacecraft. It is expected that the Korean L4 mission can significantly contribute to improving the space weather forecasting capability by enhancing the understanding of heliosphere through comprehensive and coordinated observations of the heliosphere at multi-points with other existing or planned L1 and L5 missions.