ARDEA—An MAV with skills for future planetary missions

Nanopore-based instruments as biosensors for future planetary missions.

Data from automated orbiters and landers have dashed humankind's hopes of finding complex life-forms elsewhere in the Solar System. The focus of exobiological research was thus forced to shift from the detection of life through simple visual imaging to complex biochemical experiments aimed at the detection of microbial activity. Searching for biosignatures over interplanetary distances is a for...

Optimal Trajectories for Planetary Pole-Sitter Missions

Workshop on Instrumentation for Planetary Missions ( 2012 )

Introduction: The Juno mission is the second mission in NASA’s New Frontiers program. Launched in August 2011, Juno arrives at Jupiter in 2016 for a one year prime mission. Juno science goals include the study of Jupiter’s origin, interior structure, deep atmosphere, aurora and magnetosphere. Juno’s orbit around Jupiter is a polar elliptical orbit with perijove approximately 5000 km above the v...

NASA's Optical Communications Program for Future Planetary and Near-Earth Missions

Introduction: NASA’s Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) Program within the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate (HEOMD) at NASA HQ is pursuing a vibrant and wide-ranging optical communications program for future planetary and near-Earth missions following the spectacular success of NASA’s Lunar Laser Communication Demonstration (LLCD) from the LADEE spacecraft orbiting t...

The Future of Nasa’s Deep Space Network and Applications to Planetary Probe Missions

NASA’s Deep Space Network (DSN) has been an invaluable tool in the world’s exploration of space. It has served the space-faring community for more than 45 years. The DSN has provided a primary communication pathway for planetary probes, either through direct-to-Earth links or through intermediate radio relays. In addition, its radiometric systems are critical to probe navigation and delivery to...