Searcharxiv⌕ Search

arXiv subjects

Nathan Strange

Publications and source records attributed to Nathan Strange.

5 recordsLinked to original sources
arXiv2026

Data-Oriented Modeling for Spacecraft Design

Spacecraft development costs remain high despite falling launch costs, in part because Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) tools carry the complexity of the object-oriented programming paradigm: tightly coupled data and logic, mutable state, and rigid class hierarchies that resist integration with discipline-specific analysis tools. This paper presents a data-oriented approach to MBSE that adapts the Entity-Component-System (ECS) architecture from the video game industry. Design data is stored as immutable, format-agnostic components in a generic data system; stateless analysis functions operate on this data through templates and containerized tools within a continuous integration pipeline. A prototype implementation, VVERDAD (https://github.com/VisVivaSpace/vverdad-prototype), demonstrates the approach on an example interplanetary mission concept, showing how data-oriented principles can reduce deployment complexity, simplify testing, and preserve the traceability benefits of document-based systems engineering.

cs.SE↗
arXiv2018

Solar System Ice Giants: Exoplanets in our Backyard

Future remote sensing of exoplanets will be enhanced by a thorough investigation of our solar system Ice Giants (Neptune-size planets). What can the configuration of the magnetic field tell us (remotely) about the interior, and what implications does that field have for the structure of the magnetosphere; energy input into the atmosphere, and surface geophysics (for example surface weathering of satellites that might harbour sub-surface oceans). How can monitoring of auroral emission help inform future remote observations of emission from exoplanets? Our Solar System provides the only laboratory in which we can perform in-situ experiments to understand exoplanet formation, dynamos, systems and magnetospheres.

astro-ph.EP↗
arXiv2018

Recognizing the Value of the Solar Gravitational Lens for Direct Multipixel Imaging and Spectroscopy of an Exoplanet

The Solar Gravitational Lens (SGL) allows for major brightness amplification ($\sim 10^{11}$ at wavelength of $1~\mu$m) and extreme angular resolution ($\sim10^{-10}$ arcsec) within a narrow field of view. A meter-class telescope, with a modest coronagraph to block solar light with 1e-6 suppression placed in the focal area of the SGL, can image an exoplanet at a distance of 30 parsec with few kilometer-scale resolution on its surface. Notably, spectroscopic broadband SNR is $\sim 10^{-6}$ in two weeks of integration time, providing this instrument with incredible remote sensing capabilities. A mission capable of exploiting the remarkable optical properties of the SGL allows for direct high-resolution imaging/spectroscopy of a potentially habitable exoplanet. Such missions could allow exploration of exoplanets relying on the SGL capabilities decades, if not centuries, earlier than possible with other extant technologies.

astro-ph.IM↗
arXiv2018

Direct Multipixel Imaging and Spectroscopy of an Exoplanet with a Solar Gravity Lens Mission

The remarkable optical properties of the solar gravitational lens (SGL) include major brightness amplification (~1e11 at wavelength of 1 um) and extreme angular resolution (~1e-10 arcsec) in a narrow field of view. A mission to the SGL carrying a modest telescope and coronagraph opens up a possibility for direct megapixel imaging and high-resolution spectroscopy of a habitable Earth-like exoplanet at a distance of up to 100 light years. The entire image of such a planet is compressed by the SGL into a region with a diameter of ~1.3 km in the vicinity of the focal line. The telescope, acting as a single pixel detector while traversing this region, can build an image of the exoplanet with kilometer-scale resolution of its surface, enough to see its surface features and signs of habitability. We report here on the results of our initial study of a mission to the deep outer regions of our solar system, with the primary mission objective of conducting direct megapixel high-resolution imaging and spectroscopy of a potentially habitable exoplanet by exploiting the remarkable optical properties of the SGL. Our main goal was to investigate what it takes to operate spacecraft at such enormous distances with the needed precision. Specifically, we studied i) how a space mission to the focal region of the SGL may be used to obtain high-resolution direct imaging and spectroscopy of an exoplanet by detecting, tracking, and studying the Einstein ring around the Sun, and ii) how such information could be used to detect signs of life on another planet. Our results indicate that a mission to the SGL with an objective of direct imaging and spectroscopy of a distant exoplanet is challenging, but possible. We composed a list of recommendations on the mission architectures with risk and return tradeoffs and discuss an enabling technology development program.

astro-ph.IM↗