NASA's MESSENGER mission, launched on 3 August, 2004 is the seventh mission in the Discovery series. MESSENGER encounters the planet Mercury four times, culminating with an insertion into orbit on 18 March 2011. It carries a comprehensive package of geophysical, geological, geochemical, and space environment experiments to complete the complex investigations of this solar-system end member begun with Mariner 10. The articles in this book, written by the experts in each area of the MESSENGER mission, describe the mission, spacecraft, scientific objectives, and payload. The book is of interest to all potential users of the data returned by the MESSENGER mission, to those studying the nature of Mercury, the planet closest to the Sun, and by all those interested in the design and implementation of planetary exploration missions.

The COSPAR Colloquium on Solar-Terrestrial Magnetic Activity and Space Environment (STMASE) was held in the National Astronomy Observatories of Chinese Academy of Sciences (NAOC) in Beijing, China in September 10-12, 2001. The meeting was focused on five areas of the solar-terrestrial magnetic activity and space environment studies, including study on solar surface magnetism; solar magnetic activity, dynamical response of the heliosphere; space weather prediction; and space environment exploration and monitoring. A hot topic of space research, CMEs, which are widely believed to be the most important phenomenon of the space environment, is discussed in many papers. Other papers show results of observational and theoretical studies toward better understanding of the complicated image of the magnetic coupling between the Sun and the Earth, although little is still known little its physical background. Space weather prediction, which is very important for a modern society expanding into out-space, is another hot topic of space research. However, a long way is still to go to predict exactly when and where a disaster will happen in the space. In that sense, there is much to do for space environment exploration and monitoring. The manuscripts submitted to this Monograph are divided into the following parts: (1) solar surface magnetism, (2) solar magnetic activity, (3) dynamical response of the heliosphere, (4) space environment exploration and monitoring; and (5) space weather prediction. Papers presented in this meeting but not submitted to this Monograph are listed by title as unpublished papers at the end of this book.

Every rock has a story tell, and none more so than those which have fallen from the sky: meteorites. Originating in the Asteroid Belt between Mars and Jupiter, these rocky fragments offer clues not just to the earliest origins of the Solar System but also to Earth's very survival into the future. Sky at Night presenter, Dr Tim Gregory takes us on a journey through the very earliest days of our Solar System to the spectacular meteorite falls that produced 'fiery rain' in 1792, to the pre-solar grains (literally stardust) that were blown in from other solar systems and are the oldest solid objects ever discovered on earth. Meteorites reveal a story much bigger than ourselves or our planet. As Tim says, 'it is an epic beyond compare'.

Spacecraft Collision Avoidance Technology presents the theory and practice of space collision avoidance. The title gives models of time and space environment, their impact on high-precision orbit prediction, considers optimal orbit determination methods and models in different warning stages, and establishes basic models for warning and avoidance. Chapters present an outline of spacecraft collision warning strategy, elaborate on the basics of orbital calculation for collision avoidance, consider space object detection technology, detail space environment and object orbit, give a method for spacecraft collision warning orbit calculation, and finally, demonstrate a strategy for spacecraft collision warning and avoidance.

'Bite-sized, cutting edge science delivered with enormous enthusiasm - all you need to travel the cosmos' CHRIS LINTOTT 'A lot of astrophysics is packed into this neat little book . . . I guarantee you will come away knowing your dark matter from your supermassive black holes' JIM AL-KHALILI This book is for anyone who wants to easily understand the mind-blowing fundamentals of our extraordinary, expanding universe. Written by Oxford astrophysicist Dr Becky Smethurst and composed of ten captivating, simple essays, it guides you swiftly through the galaxies, explaining the mysteries of black holes, dark matter and what existed before the Big Bang, presenting the evidence as to whether we really are alone, illuminating what we still don't know, and much more besides. If you have big questions about Space, this book will provide you with the answers in an engaging and succinct way.

Insightful, good-humored essays on the possibilities of alien life and the uses of space exploration, based on an astrobiologist's everyday conversations with his fellow humans-taxi drivers, to be precise. If you've ever sat in the back seat of a taxi, you know that cabbies like to talk. Sports or politics, your job or theirs, taxi drivers are fine conversationalists on just about any topic. And when the passenger is astrobiologist Charles Cockell, that topic is usually space and what, if anything, lives out there. Inspired by conversations with drivers all over the world, Taxi from Another Planet tackles the questions that everyday people have about the cosmos and our place in it. Will we understand aliens? What if there isn't life out in the universe? Is Mars our Plan B? And why is the government spending tax dollars on space programs anyway? Each essay in this genial collection takes questions like these as a starting point on the way to a range of insightful, even poignant, observations. Cockell delves into debates over the inevitability of life and looks to both human history and scientific knowledge to consider what first contact will be like and what we can expect from spacefaring societies. He also offers a forceful argument for the sympathies between space exploration and environmentalism. A shrewd and entertaining foray into the most fundamental mysteries, Taxi from Another Planet brings together the wisdom of scientific experts and their fellow citizens of Earth, the better to understand how life might unfold elsewhere.

Advanced Remote Sensing: Terrestrial Information Extraction and Applications, Second Edition, is a thoroughly updated application-based reference that provides a single source on the mathematical concepts necessary for remote sensing data gathering and assimilation. It presents state-of-the-art techniques for estimating land surface variables from a variety of data types, including optical sensors like RADAR and LIDAR. The book provides scientists in a number of different fields, including geography, geophysics, geology, atmospheric science, environmental science, planetary science and ecology with access to critically-important data extraction techniques and their virtually unlimited applications. While rigorous enough for the most experienced of scientists, the techniques presented are well designed and integrated, making the book's content intuitive and practical in its implementation.

This book highlights the technological and managerial fundamentals and frontier questions of space science. Space science is a new interdisciplinary and comprehensive subject that takes spacecraft as the main tools to study the planet Earth, the solar-terrestrial space, the solar system, and even the whole universe, to answer significant questions covering the formation and evolution of the solar system and the universe, the origin and evolution of life and the structure of the material. The book introduces major scientific questions in various branches of space science and provides related technological and managerial knowledge. It also discusses the necessity of international cooperation and elaborates on the strategic planning of space science in China. The book can be used as a reference book or textbook for scientists, engineers, college students, and the public participating in space science programs.

The Dynamical Ionosphere: A Systems Approach to Ionospheric Irregularity examines the Earth's ionosphere as a dynamical system with signatures of complexity. The system is robust in its overall configuration, with smooth space-time patterns of daily, seasonal and Solar Cycle variability, but shows a hierarchy of interactions among its sub-systems, yielding apparent unpredictability, space-time irregularity, and turbulence. This interplay leads to the need for constructing realistic models of the average ionosphere, incorporating the increasing knowledge and predictability of high variability components, and for addressing the difficulty of dealing with the worst cases of ionospheric disturbances, all of which are addressed in this interdisciplinary book. Borrowing tools and techniques from classical and stochastic dynamics, information theory, signal processing, fluid dynamics and turbulence science, The Dynamical Ionosphere presents the state-of-the-art in dealing with irregularity, forecasting ionospheric threats, and theoretical interpretation of various ionospheric configurations.

The Trans-Neptunian Solar System is a timely reference highlighting the state-of-the-art in current knowledge on the outer solar system. It not only explores the individual objects being discovered there, but also their relationships with other Solar System objects and their roles in the formation and evolution of the Solar System and other planets. Integrating important findings from recent missions, such as New Horizons and Rosetta, the book covers the physical properties of the bodies in the Trans-Neptunian Region, including Pluto and other large members of the Kuiper Belt, as well as dynamical indicators for Planet 9 and related objects and future prospects. Offering a complete look at exploration and findings in the Kuiper Belt and the rest of the outer solar system beyond Neptune, this book is an important resource to bring planetary scientists, space scientists and astrophysicists up-to-date on the latest research and current understandings.

Key features: Complete introductory overview of cosmic ray physics Covers the origins, acceleration, transport mechanisms and detection of these particles Mathematical and technical detail is kept separate from the main text

The Dynamic Loss of Earth's Radiation Belts: From Loss in the Magnetosphere to Particle Precipitation in the Atmosphere presents a timely review of data from various explorative missions, including the Van Allen Probes, the Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission (which aims to determine magnetopause losses), the completion of four BARREL balloon campaigns, and several CubeSat missions focusing on precipitation losses. This is the first book in the area to include a focus on loss, and not just acceleration and radial transport. Bringing together two communities, the book includes contributions from experts with knowledge in both precipitation mechanisms and the effects on the atmosphere. There is a direct link between what gets lost in the magnetospheric radiation environment and the energy deposited in the layers of our atmosphere. Very recently, NASA's Living With a Star program identified a new, targeted research topic that addresses this question, highlighting the timeliness of this precise science. The Dynamic Loss of Earth's Radiation Belts brings together scientists from the space and atmospheric science communities to examine both the causes and effects of particle loss in the magnetosphere.

The Sun as a Guide to Stellar Physics illustrates the significance of the Sun in understanding stars through an examination of the discoveries and insights gained from solar physics research. Ranging from theories to modeling and from numerical simulations to instrumentation and data processing, the book provides an overview of what we currently understand and how the Sun can be a model for gaining further knowledge about stellar physics. Providing both updates on recent developments in solar physics and applications to stellar physics, this book strengthens the solar-stellar connection and summarizes what we know about the Sun for the stellar, space, and geophysics communities.

Dynamic Mars: Recent and Current Landscape Evolution of the Red Planet presents the latest observations, interpretations, and explanations of geological change at the surface or near-surface of this terrestrial body. These changes raise questions about a decades-old paradigm, formed largely in the aftermath of very coarse Mariner-mission imagery in the 1960s, suggesting that much of the interesting geological activity on Mars occurred deep in its past, eons ago. The book includes discussions of (1) Mars' ever-changing atmosphere and the impact of this on the planet's surface and near-surface; (2) the possible involvement of water in relatively new, if not contemporary, gully-like flows and slope streaks (i.e. recurring slope lineae); and (3) the identification of a broad suite of agents and processes (i.e. glacial, periglacial, aeolian, meteorological, volcanic, and meteoric) that are actively revising surface and near-surface landscapes, landforms, and features on a local, regional, and hemispheric scale. Highly illustrated and punctuated by data from the most recent Mars missions, Dynamic Mars is a valuable resource for all levels of research in the geological history of Mars, as well as of the three other terrestrial planets.

Spatial Cognitive Engine Technology discusses the increase in user demand for satellite wireless communication services that has led to the increasing development of spectrum resources and the fixed spectrum allocation mode which makes the utilization rate of spectrum resources lower. As an intelligent spectrum sharing technology, cognitive radio has innovated the traditional spectrum management system and is one of the effective ways to solve the above-mentioned problems. As the core of satellite cognitive radio, the spatial cognitive engine can use artificial intelligence to dynamically configure working parameters according to changes in the communication environment and user needs.

This book focuses on the interrelationship of social, technical, and organizational aspects of and related to the product development process. It originated from activities in practice in industry and research laboratories. In order to ensure relative autonomy from the short-term economic interests of a given industrial branch or specific company, the research for this work was first conducted in pursuit of a PhD thesis intended to provide practice-oriented results. With the ansatz practice - theory - practice, a generalizable approach was achieved. It then evolved to cover additional issues brought forth by recent cases in the aerospace industry, among others. A combination of scientific methodologies is used to focus on the psychological factors that influence the quality of technical product development processes. The basic framework is provided by the grounded theory-a qualitative approach, in which data was not only collected by this author but is extended to cases from the history of technology described in the published literature. The inclusion of historical cases is possible, thanks to the availability of sufficiently detailed descriptions for examination in terms of the grounded theory principles. They appear in the Appendix. Cases cited were verified by comparing them with contrasting viewpoints from various sources. I was able to examine and complement some cases by contacting persons associated with the programs analyzed. Quantitative studies are also integrated in this research to verify the elements resulting from the grounded theory integration.

This timely resource provides a history of the development of space weapons and warfare strategies and a comprehensive reference guide to the growing literature on the subject. Space Warfare and Defense: A Historical Encyclopedia and Research Guide provides comprehensive coverage of the development of space as a possible arena for warfare, exploring the military uses of space-past, present, and future-and specific details of actual space weapons systems. The encyclopedia spans the breadth of U.S. military space policy; comparable programs in the Soviet Union, China, and the European Union; and the full array of international agreements designed to regulate the military uses of space. In addition, the encyclopedia includes an extensive reference guide (nearly 40 percent of the book) directing readers to the essential literature on space weapons and defense systems produced by the United States, other governments, research institutions, and additional sources. At a time when space is becoming an increasingly important place of military competition and potential conflict, Space Warfare and Defense dispels the myths and examines the realities of what may become humanity's ultimate battlefield. Over 375 alphabetically organized entries covering all aspects of military space initiatives, such as New World Vistas, the Air Force Counterspace Operations Doctrine, Project Corona, the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program, space-based infrared systems, and much more An exhaustive reference guide to current and historical literature on U.S., Russian, Chinese, and European military space policy and programs-an unprecedented resource for further study A detailed chronology of key events in the military development of space, from Eisenhower's approval of the "U.S. Policy on Outer Space" to China's recent launch of a military photoreconnaissance satellite A full glossary of terms and acronyms essential to the understanding of military space policies and technologies

Features The first book to unify the lumped-element modelling techniques for various inductively-coupled pulsed accelerator implementations. Discussion of modelling different accelerators in a coherent, rigorous manner, demonstrating the similarities and differences for each type. Authored by authorities in the field.

"Geostationary Satellites Collocation" aims to find solutions for deploying a safe and reliable collocation control. Focusing on the orbital perturbation analysis, the mathematical foundations for orbit and control of the geostationary satellite. The mathematical and physical principle of orbital maneuver and collocation strategies for multi geostationary satellites sharing with the same dead band is also stressed. Moreover, the book presents some applications using the above algorithms and mathematical models to help readers master the corrective method for planning station keeping maneuvers. Engineers and scientists in the fields of aerospace technology and space science can benefit from this book.

Hengnian Li is the Deputy Director of State Key Laboratory of Astronautic Dynamics, China.

Features * Provides a self-contained introduction to General Relativity and to its standar applications. * Presents readers with all the tools necessary for further learning and research in the field. * Accessible to readers with just foundational knowledge of linear algebra and Lagrangian mechanics.

How would Saturn’s rings look from a spaceship sailing just above them? If you were falling into a black hole, what’s the last thing you’d see before your spaghettification? What would it be like to visit the faraway places we currently experience only through high-powered telescopes and robotic emissaries? Faster-than-light travel may never be invented, but we can still take the scenic route through the universe with renowned astronomer and science communicator Philip Plait. On this lively, immersive adventure through the cosmos, Plait draws ingeniously on the latest scientific research to transport readers to ten spectacular sites, from our own familiar Moon to the outer reaches of our solar system and far beyond. Whether strolling through a dust storm under Mars’ butterscotch sky, witnessing the birth of a star or getting dizzy in a technicolour nebula, Plait is an illuminating, entertaining guide to the most otherworldly views in our universe.