The South America VLF NETwork (SAVNET)

In this paper we present the South America VLF NETwork (SAVNET), a new observing facility at very low frequencies. It has been recently installed at different locations spread over Latin America, in Brazil, Peru and Argentina. It consists of a network of seven Very Low Frequency (VLF) receivers with the main scientific objective of monitoring the solar activity on short (minutes to hours) and long (years) time scales. Other objectives include a better understanding of the spatial structure of the South Atlantic Magnetic Anomaly, the study of atmospheric phenomena and the search for genuine seismic-electromagnetic effects. After discussing the scientific goals, the details of the installation are presented as well as the first results recently obtained.     

Performance evaluation of lunar penetrating radar onboard the rover of CE-3 probe based on results from ground experiments

Lunar Penetrating Radar(LPR) onboard the rover that is part of the Chang'e-3(CE-3) mission was firstly utilized to obtain in situ measurements about geological structure on the lunar surface and the thickness of the lunar regolith, which are key elements for studying the evolutional history of lunar crust. Because penetration depth and resolution of LPR are related to the scientific objectives of this mission,a series of ground-based experiments using LPR was carried out, and results of the experimental data were obtained in a glacial area located in the northwest region of China. The results show that the penetration depth of the first channel antenna used for LPR is over 79 m with a resolution of 2.8 m, and that for the second channel antenna is over 50.8 m with a resolution of 17.1 cm.     

Comprehensive studies of solar activity on the CORONAS-F satellite

The first results of comprehensive CORONAS-F observations of solar activity are presented. The CORONAS-F instrumentation and principal scientific objectives are briefly described and examples of the first results of data reduction are given.     

A New Approach for Scientific Data Dissemination in Developing Countries: A Case of Indonesia

This short paper is a progress report on our experiences in Indonesia of collecting, integrating and disseminating both global and local scientific data across the country through the web. Our recent efforts are concentrated on improving local public access to global scientific data, and encouraging local scientific data to be more accessible for global communities. We have maintained a well-connected infrastructure and web-based information management systems to realize these objectives. This paper is especially focused on introducing the ARSIP system for mirroring global data and sharing local scientific data, and the newly developed Indonesian Scientific Index for integrating local scientific data through an automated intelligent indexing system.     

The SORCE Mission

The Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment (SORCE) satellite carries four scientific instruments that measure the solar radiation at the top of the Earth's atmosphere. The mission is an important flight component of NASA's Earth Observing System (EOS), which in turn is the major observational and scientific element of the U.S. Global Change Research Program. The scientific objectives of SORCE are to make daily measurements of the total solar irradiance and of spectral solar irradiance from 120 to 2000 nm with additional measurements of the energetic X-rays. Solar radiation provides the dominant energy source for the Earth system and detailed understanding of its variation is essential for atmospheric and climate studies. SORCE was launched on January 25, 2003 and has an expected lifetime through the next solar minimum in about 2007. The spacecraft and all instruments have operated flawlessly during the first 2 years, and this paper provides an overview of the mission and discusses the contributions that SORCE is making to improve understanding of the Sun's influence on the Earth environment.     

Project “phobos-grunt”: Instruments for scientific research

This article provides an overview of the scientific objectives of the project Phobos-Grunt. The set of scientific instruments installed on board the spacecraft is discussed and the main problems to be resolved using these devices.     

Modeling the effects of vegetation on Mediterranean climate during the Roman Classical Period: Part II. Model simulation

The purpose of this study is to perform a high-resolution general circulation model (GCM) experiment to quantify the sensitivity of regional climate to change in vegetation around the Mediterranean basin, corresponding to vegetation change during the Roman Classical Period (RCP), about 2000 years BP. First, an RCP vegetation distribution based on fossil pollen maps and historical records was defined. Second, the RCP vegetation inferred from palynology and other proxies was converted to the 12 vegetation types required by the biosphere model implemented in the GCM. The albedo change due to the change in vegetation significantly alters the atmospheric circulation over northern Africa and the Mediterranean. The consequences of this change involve a northward shift of the ITCZ in the African continent and a coupled circulation between northwestern Africa and the Mediterranean Sea. A large increase of precipitation occurs over the Sahel, the Nile valley and northwestern Africa. A smaller increase of precipitation occurs also over the Iberian Peninsula and the region corresponding to the south of the Caucasus range (Armenia). The increase of precipitation over northern Africa, the Iberian Peninsula and the Armenian region are consistent with the pollen, historical and geographical data. These results suggest that deforestation around the Mediterranean during the last 2000 years contributed to the dryness of the current climate.     

Project of the mission to Phobos

This article provides the main scientific objectives and characteristics of the Phobos-Soil project, intended to fly to the Martian satellite Phobos, deliver its soil samples to the Earth, as well as explore Phobos, Mars, and the Martian environment with onboard scientific instruments. We give the basic parameters of the ballistic scenario of the mission, spacecraft, and some scientific problems to be solved with the help of the scientific instruments installed on the spacecraft.     

VIRGO: Experiment for helioseismology and solar irradiance monitoring

The scientific objective of the VIRGO experiment (Variability of solar IRradiance and Gravity Oscillations) is to determine the characteristics of pressure and internal gravity oscillations by observing irradiance and radiance variations, to measure the solar total and spectral irradiance and to quantify their variability over periods of days to the duration of the mission. With these data helioseismological methods can be used to probe the solar interior. Certain characteristics of convection and its interaction with magnetic fields, related to, for example, activity, will be studied from the results of the irradiance monitoring and from the comparison of amplitudes and phases of the oscillations as manifest in brightness from VIRGO, in velocity from GOLF, and in both velocity and continuum intensity from SOI/MDI. The VIRGO experiment contains two different active-cavity radiometers for monitoring the solar constant, two three-channel sunphotometers (SPM) for the measurement of the spectral irradiance at 402, 500 and 862 nm, and a low-resolution imager (LOI) with 12 pixels, for the measurement of the radiance distribution over the solar disk at 500 um. In this paper the scientific objectives of VIRGO are presented, the instruments and the data acquisition and control system are described in detail, and their measured performance is given.died 13 October 1994     

Venera-D: A Design of an Automatic Space Station for Venus Exploration

Solar System Research - The paper focuses on a future mission to Venus, Venera-D, which is presently at the stage of defining the scientific objectives and shaping the preliminary mission...     

欧空局"火星登陆器"和"火星电离层和测地实验"计划

该文全面介绍了欧洲空间局的“火星登陆器(NetLander)”及其“火星电离层和测地实验(NEIGE)”项目。具体叙述了项目的科学目标与内容、实现途径、组织机构、工程技术方面的框架,以及目前最新的进展状况。希望借此能为我国开展相关工作提供参考与借鉴．     

Scientific Objectives of China-Russia Joint Mars Exploration Program YH-1

Compared with other planets, Mars is a planet most similar with the earth and most possible to find the extraterrestrial life on it, and therefore especially concerned about by human beings. In recent years, some countries have launched Mars probes and announced their manned Mars exploration programs. China has become the fifth country in the world to launch independently artificial satellites, and the third country able to carry out an independent manned space program. However, China is just at the beginning of deep space explorations. In 2007, China and Russia signed an agreement on a joint Mars exploration program by sending a Chinese micro-satellite Yinghuo-1 (YH-1) to the Mars orbit. Once YH-1 enters its orbit, it will carry out its own exploration, as well as the joint exploration with the Russian Phobos-Grunt probe. This paper summarizes the scientific background and objectives of YH-1 and describes briefly its payloads for realizing these scientific objectives. In addition, the main exploration tasks of YH-1 and a preliminary prospect on its exploration results are also given.     

Phobos sample return mission: Scientific substantiation

The goals and the main scientific objectives of the Phobos-Grunt space mission are considered. The content of the investigations of the main task of the mission—to return a sample of Phobos material to the Earth in order to answer the question about the origin of this satellite of Mars and to reconstruct its history—is discussed.     

Erratum: Comprehensive studies of solar activity on the CORONAS-F satellite [<Emphasis Type="Italic">Astronomy letters</Emphasis> 28, 401–410 (2002)]

The first results of comprehensive CORONAS-F observations of solar activity are presented. The CORONAS-F instrumentation and principal scientific objectives are briefly described and examples of the first results of data reduction are given. This article was republished due to two color figures (nos. 4 and 5) missed in the original translation. Our apologies to the authors and the readers of the journal. The online version of the original article can be found at     

The miniaturized Möessbauer spectrometer MIMOS II for the Phobos-Grunt mission

Möessbauer spectroscopy is a powerful tool for the mineralogical analysis of Fe-bearing materials. The miniaturized Möessbauer spectrometer MIMOS II has already been working on the surface of Mars for 6 years as part of the NASA Mars Exploration Rovers mission. The improved version of the instrument is a component of the scientific payload of the Phobos-Grunt mission. The scientific objectives of the instrument are the following: to identify the iron-bearing phases, to determine the quantitative distribution of iron among these phases, and to determine the distribution of iron among its oxidation states.     

The scientific rationale for the C1XS X-ray spectrometer on India's Chandrayaan-1 mission to the moon

The UK-built Chandrayaan-1 X-ray Spectrometer (C1XS) will fly as an ESA instrument on India's Chandrayaan-1 mission to the Moon, launched in October 2008. C1XS builds on experience gained with the earlier D-CIXS instrument on SMART-1, but will be a scientifically much more capable instrument. Here we describe the scientific objectives of this instrument, which include mapping the abundances of the major rock-forming elements (principally Mg, Al, Si, Ti, Ca and Fe) in the lunar crust. These data will aid in determining whether regional compositional differences (e.g., the Mg/Fe ratio) are consistent with models of lunar crustal evolution. C1XS data will also permit geochemical studies of smaller scale features, such as the ejecta blankets and central peaks of large impact craters, and individual lava flows and pyroclastic deposits. These objectives all bear on important, and currently unresolved, questions in lunar science, including the structure and evolution of any primordial magma ocean, as revealed by vertical and lateral geochemical variations in the crust, and the composition of the lunar mantle, which will further constrain theories of the Moon's origin, thermal history and internal structure.     

The Japanese National Large Telescope (JNLT) project

The astronomical community in Japan is promoting a national project to construct a large optical infrared telescope on Mauna Kea in Hawaii. The scientific objectives and the basic concept of the project are briefly presented, as they stand in September 1984.Paper presented at the IAU Third Asian-Pacific Regional Meeting, held in Kyoto, Japan, between 30 September–6 October, 1984.     

Advanced Russian Mission <Emphasis Type="Italic">Laplace-P</Emphasis> to Study the Planetary System of Jupiter: Scientific Goals,Objectives, Special Features and Mission Profile

The advanced Russian project Laplace-P is aimed at developing and launching two scientific spacecraft (SC)—Laplace-P1 (LP1 SC) and Laplace-P2 (LP2 SC)—designed for remote and in-situ studies of the system of Jupiter and its moon Ganymede. The LP1 and LP2 spacecraft carry an orbiter and a lander onboard, respectively. One of the orbiter’s objectives is to map the surface of Ganymede from the artificial satellite’s orbit and to acquire the data for the landing site selection. The main objective of the lander is to carry out in-situ investigations of Ganymede’s surface. The paper describes the scientific goals and objectives of the mission, its special features, and the LP1 and LP2 mission profiles during all of the phases—from the launch to the landing on the surface of Ganymede.