Mission-constrained design drivers and technical solutions for the MAGIA satellite

The Mission MAGIA (Missione Altimetrica Geofisica GeochImica lunAre) was proposed in the framework of the ??Bando per Piccole Missioni?? of ASI (Italian Space Agency) in 2007. The mission was selected for a phase A study by ASI on February 7th 2008. The tight budget allocation, combined with quite ambitious scientific objectives, set challenging requirements for the satellite design. The paper gives a fast overview of the payloads complement and of the mission-constrained design drivers, including cost minimization, risk reduction, and AIT flexibility. The spacecraft architecture is then outlined, along with an overview of the key subsystems and trade-offs. Some details are given of a Moon gravitometric experiment based on a mother?Cdaughter satellite configuration with the daughter being a subsatellite released from the MAGIA satellite and intended to circle the Moon at a very low altitude. Budgets are appended at the end of the paper showing the key study results.     

A test-bed implementation of an acquisition system for indoor positioning

Indoor GNSS signals are typically received with poor signal-to-noise ratio, which impairs the acquisition stage of common global positioning system (GPS) receivers. Extending the coherent integration time increases the acquisition sensitivity, but the data-bit-rate limits the maximum achievable performance. Non-coherent processing also improves the detection performance, but indoor signals require a large amount of accumulations resulting in significant squaring loss. Moreover, both strategies have high computational complexity which fixes demanding requirements for stand alone mass-market terminals operating in real time. A sensitivity–complexity trade-off is therefore mandatory. Assisted-GPS, which is included in 3GPP specifications, reduces the overall acquisition complexity and enhances sensitivity. In this paper we describe a low-complexity-assisted data-wipe-off technique that enables the high-sensitivity acquisition of GPS signals. The method is based on the acquisition of the strongest signal in order to obtain information that eases the acquisition of the weaker ones. The analysis also addresses sources of sensitivity loss, such as Doppler effects and local oscillator inaccuracies. A test campaign with real signals and integration times up to 2 s validates the method, demonstrating the effectiveness of the proposed technique in indoor environments.     

Identifying Wrinkle Ridges from Mars MGS and Viking Mission Data: Using GRASS GIS in Planetary Geology

During the past few decades, numerous missions to Mars have sent information about the red planet. The missions have shown that Mars has ice on its poles and that ice could be present all over the planet subsurface. The presence of ice on the subsurface could drive particular geological structures called ‘wrinkle ridges’. In this work, Viking image data and the latest Mars Global Suveyor (MGS) data have been imported and stored in a common geospatial database using GRASS GIS as a tool for planetary geology. This study has focused on a subregion of Solis Planum where wrinkle ridges have been localised and both Viking images and MGS altimetry and imagery data are available. Raster data at different resolutions and with different projection parameters have been imported into GRASS GIS and projected in a common reference system. Raw, unprojected data have been processed and rectified using the GRASS image modules. Imagery data have been used to detect planimetric features, whereas basic morphometrical analysis has been performed from the gridded elevation data coming from MGS Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter.     

Domains of spit evolution in the Goro area, Po Delta, Italy

Goro lagoon was formed during the 19th century in the southern part of the Po Delta. Its origin is related to the growth of a spit system, which progressively occluded the southernmost interdistributary bay from the sea. The development of the spits is due to the morphological prominence of the Po Delta which causes a divergent littoral drift, enhanced by wave refraction over the delta front. During the last century the spit was abandoned, destroyed, and re-constructed several times because of the development of newer spits seawards. Using historical maps and aerial photographs, three different periods are recognised, featuring distinctive spit growth styles: parallel, fan-shaped and branched. The different domains of spit evolution are related to several factors, mainly to the mutual influence of sediment discharge, sand mining along the Po river, wave action over the delta front, human-induced subsidence and direct human interventions along the spits and for flood-control.     

Sponges boring into precious corals: an overview with description of a new species of Alectona (Demospongiae, Alectonidae) and a worldwide identification key for the genus

Precious corals represent peculiar substrata for several species of boring sponges that exploit their carbonatic scleraxis, strongly decreasing their commercial value. Here we describe a new species of the genus Alectona from Japan recorded in a colony of Paracorallium japonicum (Kishinouye, 1903). The spicular complement of the new species consists of diactinal spicules covered by mushroom-like tubercles, often modified into styloid forms, and fusiform amphiasters with two or sometimes four verticils, each generally made up of six short tubercled rays. A complete survey of the literature on boring sponges recorded in precious corals in the Mediterranean Sea and Pacific Ocean indicates that the species of the family Alectonidae are the most strictly associated to this kind of substratum. Their world distribution, in fact, partially or totally overlap that of their coral hosts.     

Effects of turbulence development in solar surges

Several authors have claimed for correlations between surges (dark features) and various kinds of solar emissions (radio, microwave, X-ray). In this paper we propose a model to explain such correlations, in particular presenting the properties of the instabilities resulting from the coupling between material flow, connected to the appearance of a surge, and magnetic field topology. As a consequence of such instability a turbulent energy cascade to small characteristic lengths grows up. Depending of the relevant parameters of the surge (dark feature), different regimes can be found, producing different levels of electrons acceleration and mass motion deceleration. We try then to correlate the different developments of the instability with the behavior observed in type I and type III radio bursts related to surges.Proceedings of the Second CERSA Workshop on Particle Acceleration and Trapping in Solar Flares, held at Aubigny-sur-Nère (France), 23–26 June, 1986.     

Chandra unveils a binary active galactic nucleus in Mrk 463

We analyse Chandra , XMM–Newton and Hubble Space Telescope ( HST ) data of the double-nucleus Ultraluminous Infrared Galaxy (ULIRG), Mrk 463. The Chandra detection of two luminous  ( L _2–10 keV= 1.5 × 10⁴³  and  3.8 × 10⁴² erg cm⁻² s⁻¹)  , unresolved nuclei in Mrk 463 indicates that this galaxy hosts a binary active galactic nucleus (AGN), with a projected separation of ≃3.8 kpc (  3.83 ± 0.01  arcsec). While the East nucleus was already known to be a type 2 Seyfert (and this is further confirmed by our Chandra detection of a neutral iron line), this is the first unambiguous evidence in favour of the AGN nature of the West nucleus. Mrk 463 is therefore the clearest case so far for a binary AGN, after NGC 6240.     

Galileo’s telescope: history, scientific analysis, and replicated observations

In the summer of 1609, Galileo Galilei started to improve upon the Dutch spyglass. Only a few months were needed to increase the magnifying power of the instrument up to 30 times. This transformation allowed Galileo to perform astronomical observations destined to change the traditional Universe. At present, the Institute and Museum of History of Science of Florence is conducting a research programme on the lenses of early telescopes. Historical research is combined with scientific analyses conducted by the National Institute of Applied Optics in Arcetri, the National Institute of Nuclear Physics in Florence, and the Glass Experimental Station in Murano. The shape and composition of the lenses are studied by applying different techniques. Moreover, the composition of early lenses and scientific glass objects are compared. Finally, Galileo’s observations are checked with an optical replica of Galileo’s telescope held at the Astrophysical Observatory in Arcetri.     

A semi-analytic theory for the motion of a lunar satellite

A semi-analytical solution to the problem of the motion of a satellite of the moon is presented. Perturbative effects which are considered include those due to the attraction of the moon, earth, and sun, the non-sphericity of the moon's gravitational field, coupling of lower-order terms, solar radiation pressure, and physical libration. Short-period terms and intermediate-period terms, terms with the period of the moon's longitude, are produced by means of von Zeipel's method; it is proposed to obtain the secular perturbations, and those depending only on the argument of perilune, by numerical integration of the equations of motions. The short-period terms and intermediate-period terms are developed up to second order, where first order is 10^–2. The secular perturbations and perturbations dependent on the argument of perilune are obtained to third order.