17 citations · 61 across the 16 of their papers we have counts for
16 papers
Aerocapture Enabled Fast Uranus Orbiter Missions
Athul Pradeepkumar Girija
At the far reaches of the outer Solar System, the ice giants remain the last class of planets yet to be studied using orbiters. The 2023-2032 Planetary Science Decadal Survey has u…
Comparative Study of Planetary Atmospheric Uncertainties and Design Rules for Aerocapture Missions
Athul Pradeepkumar Girija
Aerocapture uses atmospheric drag to decelerate spacecraft and achieve orbit insertion. One of the significant risks associated with aerocapture is the uncertainty in the atmospher…
Launch Vehicle High-Energy Performance Dataset
Athul Pradeepkumar Girija
The choice of the launch vehicle is an important consideration during the preliminary planning of interplanetary missions. The launch vehicle must be highly reliable, capable of im…
Photon Spacecraft and Aerocapture: Enabling Small Low-Circular Orbiters at Mars and Venus
Athul Pradeepkumar Girija
With advancements in low-cost launchers and small interplanetary spacecraft, NASA has recognized the potential of small missions to perform focused planetary science investigations…
Comparison of Lift and Drag Modulation Control for Ice Giant Aerocapture Missions
Athul Pradeepkumar Girija
Aerocapture is an orbit insertion technique which uses atmospheric drag from a single pass to decelerate a spacecraft. Compared to conventional propulsive insertion, aerocapture ca…
Performance Benefit of Aerocapture for the Design Reference Mission Set
Athul Pradeepkumar Girija
Aerocapture is a maneuver which uses aerodynamic drag to slow down a spacecraft in a single pass through the atmosphere. All planetary orbiters to date have used propulsive orbit i…
Thermal Protection System Requirements for Future Planetary Entry and Aerocapture Missions
Athul Pradeepkumar Girija
Thermal protection systems are a critical component of planetary exploration, enabling probes to enter the atmosphere and perform in-situ measurements. The aero-thermal conditions…
Aerocapture Design Reference Missions for Solar System Exploration: from Venus to Neptune
Athul Pradeepkumar Girija
Aerocapture is the technique of using planetary atmospheres to decelerate a spacecraft in a single pass to achieve nearly fuel-free orbit insertion. Aerocapture has been extensivel…
Planetary Entry Probe Dataset: Analysis and Rules of Thumb for Future Missions
Athul Pradeepkumar Girija
Since the beginning of robotic interplanetary exploration nearly six decades ago, successful atmospheric entry has been accomplished at Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, and Titan. More…
A Survey of the Design Trade Space for Atmospheric Entry, Descent, and Landing Missions
Athul Pradeepkumar Girija
Over the history of planetary exploration, atmospheric entry vehicles have been used to deliver probes and landers to Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Titan. While the entry vehicles are…
Comparative Study of Planetary Atmospheres and Implications for Atmospheric Entry Missions
Athul Pradeepkumar Girija
The study of planetary atmospheres is critical to our understanding of the origin and evolution of the Solar System. The combined effect of various physical and chemical processes…
A Low Cost Mars Aerocapture Technology Demonstrator
Athul Pradeepkumar Girija
The ability to launch small secondary payloads to Mars on future science missions present an exciting opportunity for demonstration of advanced technologies for planetary explorati…
Aerocapture: A Historical Review and Bibliometric Data Analysis from 1980 to 2023
Athul Pradeepkumar Girija
Aerocapture is a technique which uses atmospheric drag to decelerate a spacecraft and achieve nearly fuel-free orbit insertion from an interplanetary trajectory. The present study…
ADEPT Drag Modulation Aerocapture: Applications for Future Titan Exploration
Athul Pradeepkumar Girija
The Cassini-Huygens mission has transformed our understanding of Titan from a hazy veiled moon to a place surprisingly like the Earth, with terrestrial physical processes such as w…
One EURO for Uranus: the Elliptical Uranian Relativity Orbiter mission
Lorenzo Iorio, Athul P. Girija, Daniele Durante
Recent years have seen increasing interest in sending a mission to Uranus, visited so far only by Voyager 2 in 1986. EURO (Elliptical Uranian Relativity Orbiter) is a preliminary m…
Mission Architecture to Characterize Habitability of Venus Cloud Layers via an Aerial Platform
Rachana Agrawal, Weston P. Buchanan, Archit Arora +8
Venus is known for its extreme surface temperature and its sulfuric acid clouds. But the cloud layers on Venus have similar temperature and pressure conditions to those on the surf…