Welcome to Luciano Iess's Homepage
On the left: the BepiColombo spacecraft, the MORE - Mercury Orbiter Radioscience Experiment - logo and team. BepiColombo is an ESA mission dedicated to the exploratcion of Mercury. Launch: 2014.
Messages
NEW: Work and stage opportunities - see link on the left. (19/3/2019).
Space Missions and Systems students: please download this zip file (Ex1.zip) on your laptop. You will need it for the 11 and 12 March classes.
Please read the Exams section (link on the left) for important changes in the Multiple Choice Test (26 February 2018)
Exams - Space Missions and Systems AND Space Environment
Next exam date is 29 March. Please let me know if you have a different preferred date.
[Link not active: MSS Students (exam's order - time will be notified after the MCT)]
[Link not active: AS Students (exam's order - time will be notified after the MCT)]
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**** Homework #2 and admission to the exam in easy mode
UPDATED LIST of students admitted to the exam in "easy mode".
Note: Student with ID 1452735 is admitted in easy mode. He was erroneously missing from the list.
Students whose name is associated with a (*) must contact the teacher. They will need to take the multiple choice test prior to the oral exam.
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**** Space Missions and Systems 2017/2018 - Homework #2:
Click here to download the test.
The solution (a pdf file) and the source code must be emailed by Saturday June 2 23:59 UTC to luciano.iess@uniroma1.it, AND paolo.cappuccio@uniroma1.it AND virginia.notaro@uniroma1.it. NO EXCEPTIONS!
Suggestions and remarks: Be concise and go right to the point. Plots convey information very effectively. Including a working source code is mandatory.
*** Space Missions and Systems - Challenge 2018
Results:
- Valeriani 3 pt
- Tornesi & Viviano 2 pt
- Fiore, Lazzaro, Messina 1 pt
Congratulations to the winners and all participants!
The challenge is a valid substitute for homework #1 for Fiore, Messina and Bernardini.
Click here to download the challenge.
Click here to download the data file.
The solution (a pdf file) and the source code must be emailed by Sunday May 13 23:59:59 UTC to luciano.iess@uniroma1.it AND daniele.durante@uniroma1.it.
Suggestions and remarks: Be concise and go right to the point. Plots convey information very effectively. Including a working source code is mandatory.
Winner: 3 additional points at the final exam.
2 second place prizes, 2 additional points each at the final exam.
3 third place prizes, 1 additional points each at the final exam.
GOOD LUCK TO ALL PARTICIPANTS!
Clarifications
1) Do not try to integrate the orbit of the moon or compute the period from the GM of the Earth or the reduced mass. The orbit of the moon is idealized! Use the data provided in the text.
2) The (vectorial) acceleration due to the gas leak is constant in the inertial frame. This assumption (not entirely realistic) has been made to simplify your task.
**** Space Missions and Systems 2017/2018 - Homework #1:
Results (Pass/Fail - pdf file) (updated 19 April 00:05)
Download an example of a well written solution report.
You find here the matrices H and Htilde for range (first four columns) and range rate observables (last four columns). The structure of the files is therefore:
[time, drho/dx, drho/dy, drho/du, drho/dv, drhodot/dx, drhodot/dy, drhodot/du, drhodot/dv]
This may help you spotting the errors in your code.
Click here to download the test (file Homework1_2018.zip, containing a pdf and the observables).
The solution (a pdf file) and the working source code must be emailed by Sunday 15 April 23:59:59 UTC to luciano.iess@uniroma1.it AND daniele.durante@uniroma1.it. NO EXCEPTIONS!
Suggestions and remarks: Be concise and go right to the point. Plots convey information very effectively. Including a working source code is mandatory. Explain your approach.
Note: the code must work and run correctly!
Should you need clarifications, send me an email. I will answer only through the website.
- June/July exam dates have been posted in the Exams page
- A code using Matlab's numerical integrator ODE113 has been posted in the page Class Notes
*** Plumbing the depth of Jupiter's winds
Here is the link to the recent paper on Nature and some of its echoes in the news:
Iess et al. "Measurement of Jupiter's asymmetric gravity field", Nature, 555, 220-222 (2018)
International coverage
Scientific American (really good)
The Hindustan Times (India)
Coverage in Italy
STAGE OPPORTUNITIES
A leader company in the space sector offers internship opportunities for young graduate engineers. Knowledge in signal analysis or, in general, in complex system management and algorithm development is an asset.
Email me for information (luciano.iess@uniroma1.it)
Posted 2 Oct. 2017
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Space Missions and Systems:
Students admitted to the exam in "Easy Mode"
Correction to Homework#2:
In the first part of the test, the angular momentum storage capacity is ± 523.6 N-m-s, NOT ± 5236 N-m-s.
Answers to emails received
There is no preferred method to solve the problems. You are completely free to use the tools you master better.
We cannot give any indication on how to solve the problems, or to let you know if you are doing things right.
The initial conditions in the second part of the test are the same as in part 1.
Second homework: Download the text (pdf) here.
Email a working computer code (Matlab, Python, Fortran 77 or 90 or 96, C or C++) and a short note (in pdf!) with the mathematical procedure, results, comments and figures by Tuesday May 30 23:59:59 UTC to luciano.iess@uniroma1.it AND mircojunior.mariani@uniroma1.it . In the note indicate your FIRST NAME, LAST NAME, AND STUDENT ID (aka “numero di matricola”). Be concise and go straight to the point.
Challenge 2016-2017: Results
Benedicter 3 pt
Di Stefano 2 pt
Moscianese 2 pt
Cascioli 1 pt
De Grossi 1 pt
Frezza 1 pt
The challenge is considered as a valid replacement for HW#1 for Capozzi, Foschi, Kappers, and Trinca.
Congratulations to all participants!
Download the zip file here.
*** Short course on Matlab: Download the full zip file here
(This is all the material shown in both days).
*** Guest Lectures (Space Environment / Space Missions and Systems):
"The Science and Engineering of the Juno Mission to Jupiter"
May 2 10:15-11:45 J. Connerney (Juno Deputy Principal Investigator, NASA-GSFC) Lecture hall 41
May 3 8:30-10:00 S. Bolton (Juno Principal Investigator, SWRI) Lecture hall 41
May 3 10:15-11:45 S. Bolton (Juno Principal Investigator, SWRI) Lecture hall 41
May 4 12:00-13:00 J. Connerney (Juno Deputy Principal Investigator, NASA-GSFC) Lecture hall 38 (TBC)
Attendence is open to everyone. Please tell your friends and colleagues.
Seminar: "Early Results from the Juno Mission" - S. Bolton (SWRI) and J. Connerney (NASA GSFC) - May 3, 3:30 pm.
Luciano Iess: "The Attraction of Gravity" - Jean Dominique Cassini Medal Lecture at the European Geosciences Union - Vienna, April 25, 2017. Video recording
*** See the updated exam dates on Infostud or in the Exams section.
*** Space Missions and Systems 2016/2017 - Homework #1:
Click here to download the test.
The solution (a pdf file) and the source code must be emailed by Sunday April 9 23:59:59 CEST to luciano.iess@uniroma1.it AND mircojunior.mariani@uniroma1.it. NO EXCEPTIONS!
Suggestions and remarks: Be concise and go right to the point. Plots convey information very effectively. Including a working source code is mandatory.
*** New supporting material:
Matlab codes for batch and sequential estimation (spring-mass system) in Class Notes - Supporting Material
*** Second home test 2016 (updated lists!!):
Students admitted to the exam in fast mode
*** Challenge 2016 - Winners
- Martini: 2 pt
- Cappuccio: 1 pt
Congratulations to all participants!
*** An interesting link: Cassini behind the scenes
**** Space Missions and Systems
Matlab code for the coherent demodulator
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For updated information you may follow me on Twitter (luciano_iess)
*** Seminars at Beijing Institute of Tracking and Telecommunications Technology (BITTT):
Seminar 1: Deep Space Navigation Systems: Where Do We Stand?
Seminar 2: The European Delta-DOR Correlator
Seminar 3: BepiColombo, the ESA Mission To Mercury; MORE: Geodesy, Geophysics, Navigation
Seminar 4 and 5: The Scientific Use of Deep Space Tracking Systems; Radio Science in Deep Space Missions
***Tour of Robledo's DNS facilities. The visit to the Robledo and Cebreros tracking complexes was an interesting and profitable experience for all of us. Follow the link to see some photos.
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Frequently Asked Question (FAQ)
Lunar gravity from GRAIL