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| SPAT0035-1 | Space exploration
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| Duration : | 30h Th, 10h Pr |
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| Holder(s) : | Grégor Rauw |
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| Language : | French language |
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| Course contents : | Spacecraft (satellites or probes) have allowed to achieve considerable progress in many fields of space science including the exploration of the Solar System, geophysics as well as phenomena that occur far away in the distant Universe. This course provides an introduction to various concepts that play a role in modern space missions from the very early stage of the spacecraft design up to the exploitation of the scientific results.
We start with a short overview of the history of space exploration from the Spoutnik satellite to modern spacecraft. We then review some fundamental concepts of celestial mechanics necessary to understand the differents types of orbits used for different missions. The design of a space mission and the scientific exploitation of its results require a deep knowledge of the spacecraft environment and an accurate calibration of the instruments onboard. A major part of this course is therefore devoted to the study of the various external parameters that impact on the design of the mission as well as to the calibration methods (both on-ground and in-orbit). Several examples of modern space missions are presented to illustrate the different steps from their initial conception to the exploitation (and interpretation) of the data collected. The course ends with the presentation of new concepts for future spacecraft. |
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| Course objective : | At the end of this course, the students will be familiar with the specific concepts of scientific space missions. They will be able
- to understand the designe of the spacecraft and the choice of the best instrumentation depending on the mission's objectives and constraints,
- to analyse the various steps in a space mission, and
- to evaluate its scientific return.
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| Prerequisites : | Good knowledge of mathematics, physics, and classical mechanics. |
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| Workshops : | Several hands-on session are organised including one where the students simulate the conception of a space mission with a specific scientific objective. |
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| Organization : | About 30 hours of lectures followed by several hands-on sessions. The course takes place during the first semester. |
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| Written notes : | The lecture notes are provided in English. A hardcopy can be obtained for 6 euro. The students are encouraged to make extensive use of the on-line version of this course which is available under WebCT. This online course contains a pdf file with the lecture notes, copies of the ppt presentations, some instructions for the personal project as well as a test (not part of the assessment) that helps the students prepare their final exam. |
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| Assessment : | The assessment includes for 75% the evaluation of an original personal project (written report + oral presentation) on a past, present or future space mission, as well as for 25% the assessment of a MCQ test. |
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| Contacts : | Gregor Rauw
Institut d'Astrophysique et Géophysique, Bât. B5c,
Allée du 6 Août, 17
4000 Liège
Tel. +32-(0)4 366 9740
e-mail: rauw@astro.ulg.ac.be |
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| Remarks : | N/A |
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| Items online : |
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| Space exploration |
| The online version of the course contains the official notes (pdf document), the presentations used during the lectures, some hints for your personal work as well as a quiz that will help you prepare the MC assessment. |
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