Relativistic time transfer for a Mars lander: from Areocentric Coordinate Time to Barycentric Coordinate Time

As the second step of relativistic time transfer for a Mars lander,we investigate the transformation between Areocentric Coordinate Time(TCA)and Barycentric Coordinate Time(TCB)in the framework of IAU Resolutions.TCA is a local time scale for Mars,which is analogous to the Geocentric Coordinate Time(TCG)for Earth.This transformation has two parts:contributions associated with gravitational bodies and those depending on the position of the lander.After setting the instability of an onboard clock to 10~(-13)and considering that the uncertainty in time is about 3.2 microseconds after one Earth year,we find that the contributions of the Sun,Mars,Jupiter and Saturn in the leading term associated with these bodies can reach a level exceeding the threshold and must be taken into account.Other terms can be safely ignored in this transformation for a Mars lander.     

Relativistic algorithm for time transfer in Mars missions under IAU Resolutions: an analytic approach

With tremendous advances in modern techniques, Einstein's general relativity has become an inevitable part of deep space missions. We investigate the relativistic algorithm for time transfer between the proper time τ of the onboard clock and the Geocentric Coordinate Time, which extends some previous works by including the effects of propagation of electromagnetic signals. In order to evaluate the implicit algebraic equations and integrals in the model, we take an analytic approach to work out their approximate values. This analytic model might be used in an onboard computer because of its limited capability to perform calculations. Taking an orbiter like Yinghuo-1 as an example, we find that the contributions of the Sun, the ground station and the spacecraft dominate the outcomes of the relativistic corrections to the model.     

On possible release of microbe-containing particulates from a Mars lander spacecraft

Due to possible planet contamination, before Earth-departure, Mars landers and/or rovers are subject to strict requirements on the maximum number of attached spores or particles that carry viable microbes. Estimates of the release rates of these particles on Mars are made considering the three mechanisms of wind shear, collision with suspended dust, and collision with saltating sand particles. The first mechanism is found to apply only to particles of size greater than , the second mechanism has a characteristic particle adhesion half life that is so long as to be of no concern, and the third mechanism is deemed of possible importance, vitally depending on attached particle size and detailed surface characteristics of sand and spacecraft. While not investigated in detail, dust devils are shown to be possible contributors to release of microbe-containing particles.     

Biological experiments: The viking Mars lander

Biological interest in the exploration of Mars is briefly described as is the biological experiments package to be flown as part of the Viking 1975 lander payload.     

Study of Mars dynamics from lander tracking data analysis

After the touchdown of the two Viking landers on Mars, radio tracking measurements have been performed between them and Earth-based stations. With use of the first 9 months of data, we have improved the rotation rate and the mean orientation of the spin axis of Mars, referred to its mean orbit. For the first time, some nutations terms have also been estimated. Nevertheless the precise determination of the spin axis motion will require additional data collected during the extended mission. Our solution includes also the lander locations and the relativistic parameter .Paper presented at the European Workshop on Planetary Sciences, Organised by the Laboratorio di Astrofisica Spaziale di Frascati, and held between April 23–27, 1979, at the Accademia Nazionale del Lincei in Rome, Italy.     

Mars reconnaissance lander: Vehicle and mission design

There is enormous potential for more mobile planetary surface science. This is especially true in the case of Mars because the ability to cross challenge terrain, access areas of higher elevation, visit diverse geological features and perform long traverses of up to 200 km supports the search for past water and life. Vehicles capable of a ballistic ‘hop’ have been proposed on several occasions, but those proposals using in-situ acquired propellants are the most promising for significant planetary exploration. This paper considers a mission concept termed Mars Reconnaissance Lander using such a vehicle. We describe an approach where planetary science requirements that cannot be met by a conventional rover are used to derive vehicle and mission requirements.The performance of the hopper vehicle was assessed by adding estimates of gravity losses and mission mass constraints to recently developed methods. A baseline vehicle with a scientific payload of 16.5 kg and conservatively estimated sub-system masses is predicted to achieve a flight range of 0.97 km. Using a simple consideration of system reliability, the required cumulative range of 200 km could be achieved with a probability of around 80%. Such a range is sufficient to explore geologically diverse terrains. We therefore plot an illustrative traverse in Hypanis Valles/Xanthe Terra, which encounters crater wall sections, periglacial terrain, aqueous sedimentary deposits and a traverse up an ancient fluvial channel. Such a diversity of sites could not be considered with a conventional rover. The Mars Reconnaissance Lander mission and vehicle presents some very significant engineering challenges, but would represent a valuable complement to rovers, static landers and orbital observations.     

An efficient autofocus algorithm for a visible microscope on a Mars lander

The limited depth of focus of microscope optics precludes the observation of a three-dimensional surface in a single view. For an efficient operation of a planetary microscope observing a highly irregular surface, an autofocus algorithm must detect partially focused views and merge them into a completely focused image (extended depth of focus). In this paper we investigate the suitability of different algorithms for autonomous image focusing onboard a Mars lander. We show that all methods under study, except for the Variance method, produce reasonable results and that their performance depends (amongst other factors) on sample morphology. For reasons of simplicity and reduced computational requirements we favor Gradient and Roberts methods and present an efficient implementation thereof.     

Coordinate Additional Perturbations to Mars Orbiters and Choice of Corresponding Coordinate System

Similar to the study of the related problems of Earth satellites, in the research of the motion of Mars orbiter especially for low-orbit satellites, it is more appropriate to choose an epoch Mars-centered and Mars-equator reference system, which indeed is called the Mars-centered celestial coordinate system. In this system, the xy-plane and the direction of the x-axis correspond to the mean equator and mean equinox. Similar to the precession and nutation of the Earth, the wiggling of instantaneous Mars equator causes the coordinate additional perturbations in this Mars coordinate system. The paper quotes a method which is similar to the one used in dealing with the coordinate additional perturbations of Earth. According to this method, based on the IAU2000 Mars orientation model and under the precondition of a certain accuracy, we are able to figure out the precession part of the change of Mars gravitation. This lays the foundation for further study of its influence on the Mars orbiter's orbit of precession and the solution of the corresponding coordinate additional perturbations. The obtained analytical solution is easy to use. Compared with the numerical solution with higher accuracy, the result shows that the accuracy of this analytical solution could satisfy the general requirements in use. Therefore, our result verifies that a unified coordinate system, the Mars-centered celestial system in which J2000.0 is chosen as its current initial epoch, could be applied to deal with the relative problems of Mars orbiters, especially for low-orbit satellites. It is different from the method we previously used in dealing with the corresponding problems of Earth satellites, where we adopted the instantaneous equator and epoch (J1950.0) mean equinox as xy-plane and the direction of x -axis. In contrast, the coordinate transformation brings heavy workload and certain inconvenience in relative former works in which the prior system is used. If adopting the unified coordinate system, the transformation could be simply avoided and the computation load could be decreased significantly.     

T2L2 - Time transfer by Laser link: a new optical time transfer generation

The T2L2 experiment allows the synchronisation of remote clocks on Earth, and the monitoring of a satellite clock with an accuracy in the 50 ps range. It is based on the propagation of light pulses in space which is better controlled than the radio waves propagation. Some new optical timer and the definition of a new time origin allow direct accurate time transfer without external calibration. The time equations and the uncertainty budget are presented so as to justify the announced performance. This optical time transfer associated to an ultra-stable clock in space has many scientific application as the study of some aspects of the gravitation.     

A sophisticated lander for scientific exploration of Mars: scientific objectives and implementation of the Mars-96 Small Station

A mission to Mars including two Small Stations, two Penetrators and an Orbiter was launched at Baikonur, Kazakhstan, on 16 November 1996. This was called the Mars-96 mission. The Small Stations were expected to land in September 1997 (Ls approximately 178 degrees), nominally to Amazonis-Arcadia region on locations (33 N, 169.4 W) and (37.6 N, 161.9 W). The fourth stage of the Mars-96 launcher malfunctioned and hence the mission was lost. However, the state of the art concept of the Small Station can be applied to future Martian lander missions. Also, from the manufacturing and performance point of view, the Mars-96 Small Station could be built as such at low cost, and be fairly easily accommodated on almost any forthcoming Martian mission. This is primarily due to the very simple interface between the Small Station and the spacecraft. The Small Station is a sophisticated piece of equipment. With the total available power of approximately 400 mW the Station successfully supports an ambitious scientific program. The Station accommodates a panoramic camera, an alpha-proton-x-ray spectrometer, a seismometer, a magnetometer, an oxidant instrument, equipment for meteorological observations, and sensors for atmospheric measurement during the descent phase, including images taken by a descent phase camera. The total mass of the Small Station with payload on the Martian surface, including the airbags, is only 32 kg. Lander observations on the surface of Mars combined with data from Orbiter instruments will shed light on the contemporary Mars and its evolution. As in the Mars-96 mission, specific science goals could be exploration of the interior and surface of Mars, investigation of the structure and dynamics of the atmosphere, the role of water and other materials containing volatiles and in situ studies of the atmospheric boundary layer processes. To achieve the scientific goals of the mission the lander should carry a versatile set of instruments. The Small Station accommodates devices for atmospheric measurements, geophysical and geochemical studies of the Martian surface and interior, and cameras for descent phase and panoramic views. These instruments would be able to contribute remarkably to the process of solving some of the scientific puzzles of Mars.     

Relativistic transformation between y and TCG for Mars missions under IAU Resolutions

Considering the fact that the general theory of relativity has become an in- extricable part of deep space missions, we investigate the relativistic transformation between the proper time of an onboard clock τ and the Geocentric Coordinate Time （TCG） for Mars missions. By connecting τ with this local timescale associated with the Earth, we extend previous works which focus on the transformation between τ and the Barycentric Coordinate Time （TCB）. （TCB is the global coordinate time for the whole solar system.） For practical convenience, the relation between τ and TCG is recast to directly depend on quantities which can be read from ephemerides. We find that the difference between τ and TCG can reach the level of about 0.2 seconds in a year. To distinguish various sources in the transformation, we numerically calculate the contributions caused by the Sun, eight planets, three large asteroids and the space- craft. It is found that if the threshold of 1 microsecond is adopted, this transformation must include effects due to the Sun, Venus, the Moon, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and the velocities of the spacecraft and Earth.     

Transformation from proper time on Earth to coordinate time in solar system barycentric space-time frame of reference

In order to obtain accurate computed values of Earth-based range and Doppler observables of a beep space probe, an expression is required for the time differencet–, wheret is coordinate time in the solar system barycentric space-time frame of reference and is proper time recorded on a fixed atomic clock on earth. This paper is part 1 of a two-part article which obtains an expression fort– which is suitable for use in obtaining computed values of observations of a spacecraft or celestial body located anywhere in the solar system. The expression can also be used in the computation of Very Long Baseline Interferometry data types. Part 1 obtains an expression fort– which is a function of position and velocity vectors of the major celestial bodies of the solar system and the atomic clock on Earth which reads . In Part 2, this expression will be transformed to a function of time and the Earth-fixed coordinates of the atomic clock.This paper presents the results of one phase of research carried out at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under NASA Contract No. NAS 7-100.     

Relativistic reference frames including time scales: Questions and answers

The subject of relativistic reference frames in astronomy is discussed with respect to the problems and needs of the various user groups. For didactical reasons the discussion is presented in form of a sequence of questions and answers.     

太阳系天体地面VLBI观测的相对论时延模型

以太阳系质心参考系为基础，根据太阳系的质心参考系和非旋转地球质心参考系的坐标转换关系，推导了太阳系天体地面VLBI观测的相对论时间延迟模型，给出了一个通用的解析表达式．根据这一公式可以得到平劲松博士所采用的公式，以及当地心与源的距离无限大时，可得河外射电源VLBI观测的Zhu—Groten模型、Shapiro模型和IERS(92，96)推荐模型．所推导的公式严格解析且无误差，在实际应用中建议采用这一公式．同时详细地讨论了所推导公式的实用范围和各种舍掉项的量级估计，并详细给出了时间延迟理论模型的计算步骤．     

Preface: The Chang'e-3 lander and rover mission to the Moon

The Chang'e-3(CE-3) lander and rover mission to the Moon was an intermediate step in China's lunar exploration program, which will be followed by a sample return mission. The lander was equipped with a number of remote-sensing instruments including a pair of cameras(Landing Camera and Terrain Camera) for recording the landing process and surveying terrain, an extreme ultraviolet camera for monitoring activities in the Earth's plasmasphere, and a first-ever Moon-based ultraviolet telescope for astronomical observations. The Yutu rover successfully carried out close-up observations with the Panoramic Camera, mineralogical investigations with the VIS-NIR Imaging Spectrometer, study of elemental abundances with the Active Particle-induced X-ray Spectrometer, and pioneering measurements of the lunar subsurface with Lunar Penetrating Radar. This special issue provides a collection of key information on the instrumental designs, calibration methods and data processing procedures used by these experiments with a perspective of facilitating further analyses of scientific data from CE-3 in preparation for future missions.     

Mars: a small terrestrial planet

Mars is characterized by geological landforms familiar to terrestrial geologists. It has a tenuous atmosphere that evolved differently from that of Earth and Venus and a differentiated inner structure. Our knowledge of the structure and evolution of Mars has strongly improved thanks to a huge amount of data of various types (visible and infrared imagery, altimetry, radar, chemistry, etc) acquired by a dozen of missions over the last two decades. In situ data have provided ground truth for remote-sensing data and have opened a new era in the study of Mars geology. While large sections of Mars science have made progress and new topics have emerged, a major question in Mars exploration—the possibility of past or present life—is still unsolved. Without entering into the debate around the presence of life traces, our review develops various topics of Mars science to help the search of life on Mars, building on the most recent discoveries, going from the exosphere to the interior structure, from the magmatic evolution to the currently active processes, including the fate of volatiles and especially liquid water.     

Mars: Evidence for dynamic processes from mariners 6 and 7

Mariners 6 and 7 photographs of the equatorial region of Mars document a three-stage evolution of that part of the Martian surface: (1) High- and intermediate-albedo cratered terrains in Meridiani Sinus, Margaritifer Sinus-Thymiamata, Deucalionis Regio-Sabaeus Sinus, and Hellespontus; (2) low-albedo moderately cratered terrain and dark crater fill in Meridiani Sinus, Thymiamata, and Deucalionis Regio-Sabaeus Sinus and possible volcanism in the Hellas-Hellespontus border; and (3) high-albedo surficial deposits, banked-up crater fill, a possible bright-ray crater in Meridiani Sinus, chaotic terrain on the edge of the Margaritifer Sinus mesa, featureless terrain in Hellas and Edom, sinuous channel-like reentrants on scarps at the Hellas-Hellespontus boundary. Regional faulting seems to have occurred following formation of the old cratered plains and prior to formation of low-albedo plains in Meridiani Sinus and also prior to formation of canyon-like reentrants and featureless terrain along the Hellas-Hellespontus boundary.Mars has had a complex history of dynamic evolution, possibly analogous to the more stable regions of Earth. Its geochemical differentiation and thermal regime should account for long-term postaccretional tectonic and volcano-tectonic processes as well as for fluid media on its surface sufficient to cause erosion, including the cutting of large canyons.     

Electromagnetic Field of a Cylinder with a Periodic Current: Energy Flux from a Relativistic Jet

An exact solution is obtained for the electromagnetic field surrounding an infinitely long, conducting cylinder with a periodic axial electric current. The solution simultaneously gives the field near the cylinder and in the transition to the wave zone. The flux of electromagnetic radiation emitted by the cylinder is calculated for oscillations with long wavelengths greatly exceeding the radius of the cylinder. This solution can be used to describe the electromagnetic field around narrowly collimated jets from active galactic nuclei and quasars.     

Hydrovolcanic features on Mars: Preliminary observations from the first Mars year of HiRISE imaging

We provide an overview of features indicative of the interaction between water and lava and/or magma on Mars as seen by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera during the Primary Science Phase of the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) mission. The ability to confidently resolve meter-scale features from orbit has been extremely useful in the study of the most pristine examples. In particular, HiRISE has allowed the documentation of previously undescribed features associated with phreatovolcanic cones (formed by the interaction of lava and groundwater) on rapidly emplaced flood lavas. These include “moats” and “wakes” that indicate that the lava crust was thin and mobile, respectively [Jaeger, W.L., Keszthelyi, L.P., McEwen, A.S., Dundas, C.M., Russel, P.S., 2007. Science 317, 1709-1711]. HiRISE has also discovered entablature-style jointing in lavas that is indicative of water-cooling [Milazzo, M.P., Keszthelyi, L.P., Jaeger, W.L., Rosiek, M., Mattson, S., Verba, C., Beyer, R.A., Geissler, P.E., McEwen, A.S., and the HiRISE Team, 2009. Geology 37, 171-174]. Other observations strongly support the idea of extensive volcanic mudflows (lahars). Evidence for other forms of hydrovolcanism, including glaciovolcanic interactions, is more equivocal. This is largely because most older and high-latitude terrains have been extensively modified, masking any earlier 1-10 m scale features. Much like terrestrial fieldwork, the prerequisite for making full use of HiRISE’s capabilities is finding good outcrops.