Lehrinhalte
This course lays the foundation for a thorough overview of the architecture of the Solar System. Topics include terrestrial planets and asteroid population, focusing on planetary geodesy and geophysics. The course covers the orbital motion, rotational dynamics, and other basic properties of Mercury, Venus, Mars, and the Moon. Results from recently completed (e.g. MESSENGER, Rosetta, and Dawn) and current missions (Mars Express, ExoMars, and Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter), as well as missions en route (e.g., Bepi Colombo) will be introduced. The course will also discuss the current activities in the exploration of Moon and Mars.
The lecture is accompanied by a series of exercises which will deal with the methods and techniques used to determine orbit, size, shape, and rotation of planetary bodies and to map their surface topography and gravity fields. We shall discuss in depth the basic instruments and techniques used in planetary geodesy such as telescopes, cameras, laser altimetry, laser ranging, radio science, and radar. One focus is on the applications of geodetic Lasers. One other focus is on photogrammetric procedures for construction of local or global topographic models from planetary stereo data.
Contents of Exercises:
- Models of Planetary Orbits, Rotations, and Interiors
- Design of Spacecraft Trajectories and Rover Traverses
- Performance Analysis of Laser Altimetry and Laser Ranging
- Performance Analysis of Imaging Experiments
- Discussion of Recent Publications and Conference Contributions
