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6. Conclusions
So far, the study of luminous transient phenomena on planetary bodies has
been very limited, due to the lack of an ad hoc instrumentation, and their
detection has been performed mainly on a serendipitous basis. The times
seem now mature to plan the development of a new generation of dedicated,
space-based observing platforms. Visible and infrared cameras should be
the primary sensors for these facilities, which do not require the launch of
independent satellites or space probes, since they might be carried aboard
of orbiters conceived to carry out also other activities, to reduce the overall
costs of the deployment of an observing network. As a purely speculative
example, for instance, one could think about the possibility of adding, as
piggy-back, dedicated cameras to some satellite of the fleet which will be
launched in the near future for the imminent European Global Navigation
Satellite System (Galileo) or on satellite constellations devoted to Earth
observation.
High-satellite orbits are better for sky covering issues, but there is also a
corresponding intrinsic reduction in sensitivity performances, and in preci-
sion in the determination of the entry trajectory of the bodies. For this rea-
son, an ideal space-based network would include also a number of satellites
on lower altitude orbits. In addition, also the International Space Station
could include some of the sensors of a more general network.
In practical terms, recently, ESA issued an announcement of opportu-
nity for the development of systems devoted to the detection of transient
events in the Earth atmosphere and on the dark side of other plane-
tary objects. One of such a detector has been designed and a prototype,
together with the relative operation software, has been constructed at
Galileo Avionica S.p.A. (Campi Bisenzio, Italy). The estimated cost for
a space qualified instrument is between 3 and 4 million US$.
Its characteristics are the following:
Field of view
120 .
Limit magnitude
+6 m V .
Size
10 cm
×
10 cm
×
10 cm .
Mass
1 , 560 g .
Power consumption
4 . 9W .
References
1. L. G. Adolfsson, S. Gustafson and C. D. Murray, Icarus
119
(1996) 144-152.
2. A. Bar-Nun, Icarus
24
(1975) 86-94.
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