Papers by marco quadrelli
Cornell University - arXiv, May 11, 2022
The Cosmic Dark Ages represent the period in the early evolution of the Universe, starting immedi... more The Cosmic Dark Ages represent the period in the early evolution of the Universe, starting immediately after the decoupling of CMB photons from matter, and ending with the formation of the first stars and galaxies. The HI signal from the neutral hydrogen atoms is the only mechanism for us to understand this crucial phase in the cosmological history of the Universe and answer fundamental questions about the validity of the standard cosmological model, dark matter physics, and inflation. Due to cosmological redshift, this signal is now only observable in the 3-30 MHz frequency band, which is blocked from reaching the surface of the Earth by the ionosphere. In this paper, we present the design of the Lunar Crater Radio Telescope that intends to carry out unprecedented measurements of this signal by deploying a kilometer-sized parabolic reflector mesh inside a lunar crater on the far side of the Moon and suspending a receiver at its focus.
Pasadena, CA: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 2018, Mar 29, 2018
2017 IEEE Aerospace Conference, 2017
The purpose of this paper is to investigate robotic mobility solutions for long-duration (∼years)... more The purpose of this paper is to investigate robotic mobility solutions for long-duration (∼years), in-situ scientific missions to the Jupiter atmosphere. In particular, this paper is focused on aerostatic-based mechanisms, utilizing buoyancy principles to maintain flight. Three primary aerostat types were investigated; Charliere (light-gas), Montgolfier (heated gas), and Vacuum aerostats. Supplemental systems to the aerostats were also investigated to assist with mobility control within the Jupiter atmosphere. The systems include the Balloon Guidance System (BGS) previously investigated for planetary balloons, and buoyancy controlled gliders. A Charliere would provide the most reliable lift, however one needs to ensure 13 kg of H2 for every 1 kg of payload. A Montgolfier would not require supplemental hydrogen; further analysis is needed to evaluate flight equilibrium dynamics. A BGS would provide the increased mobility otherwise unachievable with a conventional aerostat, offering s...
AIAA SPACE 2012 Conference & Exposition, 2012
The objective of this study is to investigate the potential of using the bright and nearuniform E... more The objective of this study is to investigate the potential of using the bright and nearuniform Earth thermal infrared (or long wavelength infrared, LWIR) signature as a stable reference for accurate (micro-rad or less) inertial pointing and tracking on-board an space vehicle, including the determination of the fundamental limits of applicability of the proposed method for space missions. We demonstrate sub-micro radian level pointing accuracy under a representative set of disturbances experienced by the spacecraft in orbit. I. Introduction n this paper we investigate the potential of using the bright and near-uniform Earth thermal infrared (or long wavelength infrared, LWIR) signature as a stable reference for accurate (micro-rad or less) inertial pointing and tracking of an optical communication beacon on-board an space vehicle, including the determination of the fundamental limits of applicability of the proposed method for space missions in LEO and deep space. In the thermal Infrared Earth’s emission appears relatively uniform and it is independent of the Sun Illumination. Therefore it can be used as a stable pointing reference. Up to the present time, when a space vehicle requires a reference signal for inertial pointing the choices are: a signal beacon from an Earth location, the Earth radiance in the visible, or a star tracker. However, limitations can arise from using the above techniques. For example, the signal beacon suffers from limited signal power (either in RF or optical) and will constrain the application to limited ranges, errors due to stray-light and centroiding limit the accuracy of a star tracker, and the spatial/temporal variability of the Earth’s albedo and its illumination by the Sun introduces limitations when used in the visible or near infrared. To by-pass these limitations, we consider to use the bright and near-uniform image of the Earth in the LWIR (8-13 ∝m), Fig. 1, to obtain a reference signal for inertial stabilization and pointing of a spacecraft platform. Advantages in using this approach are twofold: the radiance of Earth in the LWIR is not only much more uniform and with less variability compared to the one in the visible, as shown in Figure 1, but its radiance is near independent of the Sun illumination phase [1], with the consequence that the emission of the Earth in the thermal infrared is roughly
An integrated modeling tool has been developed to include multi-body dynamics, orbital dynamics, ... more An integrated modeling tool has been developed to include multi-body dynamics, orbital dynamics, and touch-and-go dynamics for spacecraft covering three types of end-effectors: a sticky pad, a brush-wheel sampler, and a pellet gun. Several multi-body models of a free-flying spacecraft with a multi-link manipulator driving these end-effectors have been tested with typical contact conditions arising when the manipulator arm is to sample the surface of an asteroidal body. The test data have been infused directly into the dynamics formulation including such information as the mass collected as a function of end-effector longitudinal speed for the brush-wheel and sticky-pad samplers, and the mass collected as a function of projectile speed for the pellet gun sampler. These data represent the realistic behavior of the end effector while in contact with a surface, and represent a low-order model of more complex contact conditions that otherwise would have to be simulated. Numerical results...
2020 IEEE Aerospace Conference
In this paper, we investigate the feasibility of calibrating an orbiting phased array composed of... more In this paper, we investigate the feasibility of calibrating an orbiting phased array composed of CubeSat class spacecraft together with a larger reference (or “chief”) spacecraft, comprising an overall Swarm Array. Considered as an analog to the Deep Space Network (DSN) Uplink Arraying problem [1], [2], a spaceborne Swarm Array can potentially deliver comparable or even greater operational performance than large monolithic spacecraft (such as increased datarates for telecommunications, or greater baselines for improved spatial resolution), thus increasing future mission capability but with significantly enhanced flexibility, evolvability and robustness.
2020 IEEE Aerospace Conference, 2020
Titan's dense atmosphere, low gravity, and high winds at high altitudes create descent times ... more Titan's dense atmosphere, low gravity, and high winds at high altitudes create descent times of >90 minutes with standard entry/descent/landing (EDL) architectures and result in large unguided landing ellipses, with 99% values of ~110x110 km and 149x72 km in recent Titan lander proposals. Enabling precision landing on Titan could increase science return for the types of missions proposed to date and make additional types of landing sites accessible, opening up new possibilities for science investigations. Precision landing on Titan has unique challenges, because the hazy atmosphere makes it difficult to see the surface and because it requires guided descent with divert ranges that are one to two orders of magnitude larger than needed for other target bodies, i.e. up to on the order of 100 km. It is conceivable that such a divert capability could be provided economically by a parafoil or other steerable aerodynamic decelerator deployed several 10s of km above the surface. The long descent times lead to large inertial navigation errors, hence a need for terrain relative navigation (TRN). This would require a TRN capability that can operate at such altitudes, despite challenges of seeing the surface sufficiently clearly and of depending on map products that are two orders of magnitude lower in spatial resolution than those for Mars and airless bodies. This paper addressed the TRN problem for Titan guided descent, assuming parafoil deployment at an altitude around 40 km. We define a notional sensor suite including an inertial measurement unit (IMU), a radar altimeter, and two descent cameras, with spectral responses in the visible/near infrared (VNIR) (~0.5 to 1 um) and short wave infrared (SWIR) (~2.0 to 2.1 um), Due to the low resolution of current Titan map products, we define two altitude regimes (above and below ~ 20 km) that need different navigation techniques. Map matching is applicable in the upper regime, but challenging or infeasible in the lower one. Feature tracking with decent imagery is desirable in the lower regime, but challenging in the upper one. We derive image contrast requirements for TRN from prior literature and create models of achievable image contrast by radiative transfer modeling; this shows that the requirements should be achievable for a SWIR descent camera in the upper regime, and that a VNIR descent camera is preferable in the lower regime. We then develop algorithms for map matching and feature tracking with descent images and test these with synthetic images created from Cassini/Huygens data sets and our radiative transfer model. We also introduce new possibilities for TRN based on the potential to discriminate some specific types of terrain onboard in descent imagery, such as lake vs adjacent ground and dune vs interdune. We use sensor measurement noise models in simulations of state estimation with an extended Kalman filter that includes coordinates of a set of tracked features in the state vector. Case studies were done for two notional landing sites, one in a site with only dry ground and one in a Titan lake district. In both cases, the filter error model shows 3σ position error at touchdown on the order of 2 km. More work is needed to validate these results with higher fidelity camera models and larger data sets, but this is very promising.
2018 IEEE Aerospace Conference, 2018
A radio telescope on the far-side of the Moon has tremendous advantages compared to Earth-based t... more A radio telescope on the far-side of the Moon has tremendous advantages compared to Earth-based telescopes because it could observe the universe at wavelengths that are hitherto poorly explored by humans so far and the Moon acts as a physical shield that isolates the telescope from the radio interference and noises from Earth. This paper presents a novel concept for building a radio telescope on the far-side of the Moon. The main idea is to shape a suitable existing lunar crater (1–50km in diameter) on the far-side of the Moon into a spherical reflecting dish. The proposed Lunar Crater Radio Telescope (LCRT) would be able to observe the universe in the 5–100m wavelength band (i.e., 3–60MHz radio frequency band). The key innovations of this concept are: (1) LCRT will be the largest filled-aperture radio telescope in the Solar System. (2) LCRT could potentially make tremendous scientific discoveries in fields of cosmology and extrasolar planets by observing the universe in the 5–100m λ band (i.e., 3–60MHz ν band) that has been hitherto poorly explored. (3) It would require only a few robots from Earth and autonomously modify an existing lunar crater to build the LCRT; thereby significantly reducing launch weight and cost compared to all previous lunar-surface telescope mission concepts. (4) Furthermore, the Earth-based robots are not consumed during construction of LCRT. Therefore, they could create a network of LCRTs to (i) observe different regions of the universe, and (ii) enable lunar Very-Long-Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) astronomy. We envisage that this concept would unlock the potential for ground-breaking scientific discoveries in radio astronomy.
2021 IEEE Aerospace Conference (50100), 2021
An ultra-long-wavelength radio telescope on the far side of the Moon has significant advantages c... more An ultra-long-wavelength radio telescope on the far side of the Moon has significant advantages compared to Earth-based and Earth-orbiting telescopes, including: 1. Enabling observations of the Universe at wavelengths longer than 10 meters (i.e., frequencies below 30 MHz), wavelengths at which critical cosmological or extrasolar planetary signatures are predicted to appear, yet cannot be observed from the ground due to absorption from the Earth's ionosphere; and 2. The Moon acts as a physical shield that isolates a far-side lunar-surface telescope from radio interference from sources on the Earth's surface, the ionosphere, Earth-orbiting satellites, and the Sun's radio emission during the lunar night. In this paper, we present the conceptual design of the Lunar Crater Radio Telescope (LCRT) on the far side of the Moon. We propose to deploy a wire mesh using wall-climbing DuAxel robots in a 3–5 km diameter crater, with a suitable depth-to-diameter ratio, to form a parabolic reflector with a 1 km diameter. LCRT will be the largest filled-aperture radio telescope in the Solar System; larger than the former Arecibo telescope (305 m diameter, 3 cm - 1 m wavelength band, 0.3-10 GHz frequency band) and the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST) (500 m diameter, 0.1-4.3 m wavelength band, 60–3000 MHz frequency band). LCRT's science objective is to track the evolution of the neutral intergalactic medium before and during the formation of the first stars in the 10–100 m wavelength band (3–30 MHz frequency band), which is consistent with priorities identified in the Astrophysics decadal survey. We describe LCRT's science objectives and the key technology challenges that need to be overcome to make this concept a reality. We envisage that LCRT will open a new window for humanity's exploration of the Universe.
Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics, 2021
AIAA SPACE 2009 Conference & Exposition, 2009
International Balloon Technology Conference, 1999
The Mars Balloon Validation Program
AIAA Guidance, Navigation, and Control Conference, 2011
2014 IEEE Aerospace Conference, 2014
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is currently considering an Asteroid Redirect M... more The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is currently considering an Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM), the goal of which is to bring a near-Earth asteroid into lunar orbit for inspection by a team of human astronauts. In this paper we present the results of a simulation study that focuses on the challenge of capturing a target asteroid using a robotic spacecraft. This simulation study was conducted in parallel with an ongoing mechanical design process, with the goal of providing feedback on specific design concepts, deriving high-level design targets via optimization, and exploring the trade space of the capture problem independently. We present and discuss several simulation models, the results of which have influenced the evolution of the ARM project to date.
Lighter-than-air planetary missions continued attract growing interest in Mars exploration due to... more Lighter-than-air planetary missions continued attract growing interest in Mars exploration due to unique combination of proximity to the surface and mobility that far surpasses capability of surface vehicles. Following the experience with the Sojourner rover and subsequent development of powerful rovers for Mars 2003 and 2005 missions it became clear that on Mars surface rover mobility is quite restricted. Realistic travel distances may be limited to tens of kilometers per year on relatively obstacle-free plains and a few kilometers or less on the more rugged terrains. Many areas on Mars will be inaccessible to rovers. Several concepts for a Mars aerobot (robotic balloon) mission have been pursued in the last decade. Additional information is contained in the original extended abstract.
A parameterized linear mathematical model of the longitudinal dynamics of an airship is undergoin... more A parameterized linear mathematical model of the longitudinal dynamics of an airship is undergoing development. This model is intended to be used in designing control systems for future airships that would operate in the atmospheres of Earth and remote planets. Heretofore, the development of linearized models of the longitudinal dynamics of airships has been costly in that it has been necessary to perform extensive flight testing and to use system-identification techniques to construct models that fit the flight-test data. The present model is a generic one that can be relatively easily specialized to approximate the dynamics of specific airships at specific operating points, without need for further system identification, and with significantly less flight testing. The approach taken in the present development is to merge the linearized dynamical equations of an airship with techniques for estimation of aircraft stability derivatives, and to thereby make it possible to construct a linearized dynamical model of the longitudinal dynamics of a specific airship from geometric and aerodynamic data pertaining to that airship. (It is also planned to develop a model of the lateral dynamics by use of the same methods.) All of the aerodynamic data needed to construct the model of a specific airship can be obtained from wind-tunnel testing and computational fluid dynamics
AIAA/AAS Astrodynamics Specialist Conference and Exhibit, 2006
In this paper the equations of motion of a formation of n spacecraft in Earth orbit, at least one... more In this paper the equations of motion of a formation of n spacecraft in Earth orbit, at least one of which is a drag-free spacecraft, are derived in a coordinatefree manner using the balance of momentum and direct tensor notation. A tensorial version of the linearlized relative translational and rotational dynamics are also presented. A drag-free spacecraft consists of a spacecraft bus and a proof mass shielded from external disturbances in an internal cavity. By controlling the spacecraft so that the proof mass remains centered in the cavity, the spacecraft follows a purely gravitational orbit. The dynamic equations described in this paper provide the first step toward coupling drag-free c ontrol technology with formation flying in order to mitigate the effect of diffe rential aerodynamic drag on precision formation flying missions (e.g., Earth ima ging applications) in low Earth orbit.
Volume 2: 32nd Computers and Information in Engineering Conference, Parts A and B, 2012
ABSTRACT This paper describes the software infrastructure needed to enable massive multi-body sim... more ABSTRACT This paper describes the software infrastructure needed to enable massive multi-body simulation using multiple GPUs. Utilizing a domain decomposition approach, a large system made up of billions of bodies can be split into self-contained subdomains which are then transferred to different GPUs and solved in parallel. Parallelism is enabled on multiple levels, first on the CPU through OpenMP and secondly on the GPU through NVIDIA CUDA (Compute Unified Device Architecture). This heterogeneous software infrastructure can be extended to networks of computers using MPI (Message Passing Interface) as each subdomain is self-contained. This paper will discuss the implementation of the spatial subdivision algorithm used for subdomain creation along with the algorithms used for collision detection and constraint solution.
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Papers by marco quadrelli