Space Activities Research Articles

NASA’s astrophysics cross-observatory science support (ACROSS) initiative: enabling time-domain and multimessenger astrophysics

The Astro2020 Decadal Survey recommended an investment in Time-Domain and Multimessenger Astrophysics (TDAMM) as the top-priority sustaining activity in space for the coming decade. One aspect of NASA’s response to this recommendation is a pilot project, the Astrophysics Cross-Observatory Science Support (ACROSS) initiative, designed to provide support to both missions and observers as they pursue TDAMM science. Here, we present our observations of needs in the community and initial plans for ACROSS activities, including services to facilitate and improve cross-mission follow-up planning and execution; a multimessenger web portal with links to existing mission resources, community tools, and information targeted for TDAMM general observers; development of “Smart target-of-opportunity submission page” proof-of-concepts; and ongoing development of a potential TDAMM general observing competitive grant solicitation. As the ACROSS pilot phase begins, we invite discussion of our plans with both missions and observers to better understand their needs and concerns.

How can robots facilitate physical, cognitive, and social engagement in skilled nursing facilities?

As people live longer, the population of older adults in need of support continues to expand relative to the available workforce of caregivers, necessitating new solutions to supplement caregiver availability for the physical, cognitive, and social needs of older adults. Robotics and automation present strong possible solutions. Past solutions have typically supported short-term rehabilitation and aging in place, yet many older adults live in skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), a setting reached by relatively little research to date. In this paper, we examine the unique needs of staff and residents at SNFs, after which we begin an iterative design process of robot-mediated wellness activities for the SNF space. We worked closely with domain experts in exercise science and physical therapy for older adults and a local SNF to design and test a series of robot-mediated activity prototypes with residents, visitors, and staff. We found that while both residents and staff highly value physical activity, there are nuanced challenges associated with supporting resident activity (one important element of overall wellbeing). As a result, we considered and tested a wide range of intervention options from usual approaches (e.g., mirroring movements) to creative approaches (e.g., social engagement via lewd humor). Our final design insights can inform practitioners who wish to use robots to support resident wellbeing in SNFs.

Intercellular junction-driven stromal cell stacking in a confined 3D microcavity.

Understanding the detailed mechanisms driving fibroblast migration within native tissue settings during pathophysiological events presents a critical research challenge. In this study, we elucidate how stromal cells migrate and contribute to the development of three-dimensional (3D) cellular aggregates within confined microcavities. Integrin α5β1 and β-catenin (β-cat) are central in guiding this collective migration and achieving optimal filling of the microcavity. When β-cat is suppressed, cells tend to migrate more sporadically, leading to less efficient cellular organization. Furthermore, we also detail the pivotal roles of Cx43 and N-cadherin (N-cad) in orchestrating collective migration and in shaping efficient cellular stacking. Suppressing gap junctions, especially Cx43, significantly impacts the extracellular matrix expression, integrin α5 and β1, and other elements in the 3D construct, emphasizing the importance of physicochemical cell-cell interactions. The distribution patterns of N-cad and focal adhesion kinase (FAK) further corroborate the essential roles in forming cell-cell junctions and FAK in establishing the foundational layer that underpins the cell stacking within the microcavity. Interestingly, neither Rho-associated protein kinase (ROCK) nor RhoA significantly alter the cell migration pattern toward microcavity. These findings provide fresh perspectives on fibroblast activities in 3D space, enriching our understanding and offering implications for advancements in wound healing and tissue engineering.

Associations Between Biodiversity, Forest Characteristics, Distance to Blue Space and Accelerometer-Measured Physical Activity—Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966 Study

We studied how the quantity and quality of residential green spaces and distance to different types of blue spaces are associated with the accelerometer-measured physical activity (PA) among adults with different levels of total daily PA. The associations of the participants’ socio-demographic and personal characteristics and environmental features with light PA (LPA) and moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) were analyzed using linear mixed models (n = 5470). The results indicated that greater residential forest area was associated with higher LPA among those with high level of total daily PA and with less MVPA among those with low level of total daily PA. Environments with high tree stand structure diversity or close to sea were associated with higher MVPA in high PA group. Varied natural environment can encourage leisure time activities in nearby nature, but individuals’ personal and socioeconomic variables seemed to be more strongly associated with LPA and MVPA than environmental characteristics.

A primer to new space business - Beyond “Business in space: The new frontier” (Goodrich, Kitmacher and Amtey, 1987)

The purpose of this article is to serve as a primer and gateway to contemporary developments around New Space as an entrepreneurial phenomenon. Despite its media-presence, commercial space activity in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) has been mostly absent from the management literature. We use considerations that Goodrich et al. had voiced in Business Horizons in 1987 with their piece “Business in Space: The New Frontier” to pick up on earlier thinking around venturing into space, update highlighted themes, and go beyond those. Our article follows the structure set out in 1987 and covers the current state of space commercialization, obstacles to space commercialization, opportunities in space, marketing and managerial implications, and concludes with research avenues. We find that entrepreneurship in space is currently in a phase overcoming many of the previously voiced obstacles, embracing the opportunities that space offers beyond catering to government agencies as main clients. We call this contemporary period for space Transition Space, which is situated between Old government-driven and venture-driven New Space. We argue that space is a critical new context not only for entrepreneurial activity but for entrepreneurship research as well. Our article contributes to the nascent space management literature.

ASAT Weapons and Their Compliance With IHL and Environmental Law

This article examines the use and testing of anti-satellite (ASAT) missiles as a potential environmental war crime under international humanitarian law (IHL). Such weapons’ production of large quantities of difficult-to-track, hypervelocity orbital debris makes them a serious and long-lasting threat to the productive human use of space.While jurisprudence on environmental war crimes is sparse, there is potentially relevant law that has, thus far, avoided scholarly examination. The 1976 Environmental Modification Convention (ENMOD), while not intended to deal with ASAT weapons, contains language specifically inclusive of space activities. This paper makes the novel argument that Low Earth Orbit (LEO) constitutes a part of the ‘environment’ as delineated in ENMOD, and that ENMOD’s particular language renders the use of ASAT weapons to destroy on-orbit objects a per se violation of international law, in wartime and peacetime alike.

Editorial Introduction

The choice of the concept of “resistance” to the inaugural issue of Aion. Journal of Philosophy and Science is no accident. It comes in line with Aion’s commitment to developing its critical activity and presence in the public space.

The Archaeology of Early Cities: “What Is the City but the People?”

The archaeology of early urbanism is a growing and dynamic field of research, which has benefited in recent years from numerous advances at both a theoretical and a methodological level. Scholars are increasingly acknowledging that premodern urbanization was a much more diverse phenomenon than traditionally thought, with alternative forms of urbanism now identified in numerous parts of the world. In this article, we review recent developments, focusing on the following main themes: (a) what cities are (including questions of definitions); (b) what cities do (with an emphasis on the concentration of people, institutions, and activities in space); (c) methodological advances (from LiDAR to bioarchaeology); (d) the rise and fall of cities (through a focus on persistence); and (e) challenges and opportunities for urban archaeology moving forward. Our approach places people—with their activities and networks—at the center of analysis, as epitomized by the quotation from Shakespeare used as the subtitle of our article.

Exposure to useable green space and physical activity during active travel: A longitudinal GPS and accelerometer study before and after retirement

Green spaces may serve as population level interventions encouraging active travel. We examined the associations between exposure to useable green space (CORINE Land Cover categories) and physical activity during active travel (GPS and accelerometer) among late middle-aged participants from the Finnish Retirement and Aging study (n = 102). Greater proportion of useable green space was associated with higher physical activity during active travel on days off (+11 min/day per 1 SD increase in exposure) and on retirement days (+12 min/day), but not on workdays. Thus, it appears that in leisure time, people prefer to engage into active travel in green spaces.

Analysis And Evaluation of The Budgetary Effectiveness of The Introduction of The Customs Procedure of The Customs Warehouse in The Implementation of Cross-Border Electronic Commerce

In the context of the modern approach to organized cross-border electronic commerce, it becomes obvious that a sufficient level of demand for goods supplied from foreign Internet sites and distributed for the purposes of personal consumption of citizens is being formed. However, at this stage of regulation of cross-border trade, the following tasks remain unresolved: assessment of the applied practice of cross-border electronic commerce using customs warehouses in foreign countries; assessment of export-import potential for conducting cross-border operations in the Russian Federation, implemented in conditions of cross-border electronic sales. It is also necessary to have a bond policy for storing, saving and declaring goods imported from international trading platforms in Russia. In connection with the above, the article presents some results of the analysis of foreign practice in the fi eld of foreign cross-border trade. Problems have been identifi ed in the organization of foreign trade between Russia and the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union. The intermediate facts of the customs experiment in the EAEU are outlined, including the need for duty-free storage of foreign goods placed under the customs warehouse procedure. A new system of indicators is needed to assess the budgetary and socio-economic eff ectiveness of measures for the functioning of customs warehouses. As a result of the research, the article proposes algorithms for calculating the budgetary efficiency of introducing the customs procedure of a customs warehouse within the framework of activities in the single economic space.

Middle spacepowers’ integration with the global supply chain for the space industry: Taiwan and Thailand

Abstract Space as a domain of economic and security competition between great powers has risen to become an arena of active statecraft for middle powers in the twenty-first century. It has set a high-stake stage for not only continuing struggles for catch-up industrialization of late developers but also offering opportunities to capture commercial gains of technological breakthroughs and globalization of markets. We examine these challenges for Taiwan and Thailand, surveying major trends in the emerging space industry and exploring four analytical perspectives on how government-business relations shape adaptive national industrial policies in high-technology sectors with proliferating end-users. We argue that the Asian developmental state model is evolving in response to specific challenges of a global supply chain for commercial space activities dominated by leading space firms and government regulatory actions in the United States. Significant differences in Taiwan’s and Thailand’s space and industrial policy approaches will likely create divergent technological trajectories and reinforce current constraints on improving national security. The longer-term prospect for middle spacepowers remains contingent on the space race between the United States and the People’s Republic of China.

Development and Prospect of Space Debris Protection Structures for Spacecraft

Background: As the pace of human conquest of space continues to accelerate, the number of spacecraft carrying out various activities in space continues to increase, so that the available orbital space continues to decrease, the amount of space debris continues to increase, and thus the probability of orbiting spacecraft being impacted by space debris is also increasing. Research on the development of protective structures in the current state is conducive to improving the protection performance of spacecraft protective structures against space debris, reducing the occurrence of spacecraft disintegration events and spacecraft collision events, and may also promote the development of many fields through the development of new technologies. Aim: Through the latest application and development of spacecraft, the advantages and disadvantages of various protection structures are summarized, and the development trend of academic and aerospace protection engineering is analyzed. Methods: Through the latest representative patent research methods for spacecraft space debris, research content, and creative structure, the principle and characteristics of the protective structure are demonstrated. Results: By comparing the application of different spacecraft space debris protection structures, the existing problems of the current protection structures are listed, and the potential development paths and research topics are put forward Conclusion: The development of aerospace, military, and other industries benefit from the development of protective structures, and the composite spacecraft space debris protection structures have broad development prospects.

The “Sense of Place” and Spatial Consciousness

The article considers two issues: the “sense of place” (G. Rose) as a way of self-identification of the citizen within urban space, and spatial consciousness, which is a three-part structure (includes phenomenological, representative and intentional levels of organization) in accordance with which urban planning strategies are embodied. It is shown that there is a close relationship between the political ontology of the city, the symbolic systems of the city and the struggle for the territorialization of cities. The article also analyses the connection between the scientific method and the ways of western self-identification. Moreover, it indicates the role of utopian cities, language and urban mythologies in the political activity of urban space.

Assessing the Principle of Equitable Access versus Non-Appropriation in the Era of Mega-Constellations

In the 21st century, mega-constellations and interconnected satellite constellations deployed at various orbital altitudes, such as LEO, MEO, and GEO, with low Earth orbits (LEOs) being the most commonly used, have emerged as a trend, aiming to enhance the productivity and reduce the costs in space service delivery. The UNOOSA has noted the uncertainty in the exact number of satellites but conducted simulations based on a substantial sample, projecting a significant increase from the 2075 satellites recorded in orbit in 2018. This surge in the launch of mega-constellations poses profound challenges to existing international space laws, originally formulated with limited consideration for private space actors, who are increasingly engaging in space activities, particularly with the cost-effective utilization of mega-constellations. This study critically analyzes the compatibility of mega-constellations with the current international space laws by examining the applicability of mega-constellations concerning equitable access and the non-appropriation principle, addressing their potential occupation of substantial orbital spaces during activities, and analyzing whether the acquisition of orbital slot licenses violates these two principles. Following an in-depth analysis, this study proposes recommendations to amend the existing laws, aiming to resolve ambiguities and address emerging challenges. Recognizing the time-consuming process of amending international space laws, this study suggests practical recommendations for supplementary rules of the road, prompting reflection on the potential obsolescence of the current international space laws in the face of evolving space activities.

Legal Implications of Artificial Intelligence in Outer Space Activities and Explorations

Legal Implications of Artificial Intelligence in Outer Space Activities and Explorations

Social Space Ratio: Calculating the Rate of Public Space Activities That Enhance Social Interaction on a Pedestrian Street in Karlstad, Sweden

William H. Whyte took on the challenge of assessing the amount of public space in a city based on its carrying capacity, pointing out that popular public spaces offer more room for social activities. However, the absence of qualitative characteristics makes this assessment even more challenging to implement. This study aims to find a method to gauge the carrying capacity of urban public spaces by calculating the social space ratio for pedestrian-only streets in Karlstad, Sweden, and quantifying this relationship. The social space ratio represents the proportion of public spaces that foster social interaction throughout their entire area. The method began by selecting the most relevant conceptual framework for social public spaces and then sought theory-based characteristics to assign to seven social activities on Karlstad’s pedestrian-only streets. The authors performed a comprehensive search of the literature utilizing the PRISMA approach, gathering information from credible references, placemaking toolkits, transportation toolkits, and academic sources. This was performed to determine the weighting factors and effective social areas by evaluating these activities in terms of nine categories of the chosen framework: accessibility, traffic, social infrastructure, security, places to meet, senses and experience, architecture and aesthetics, development and maintenance, and control and programming. We devised a method to calculate the carrying capacity and social space ratio of Karlstad’s pedestrian-only streets, resulting in a ratio of 0.38. The research led to the development of eight quality-control tools to analyze the seven social activities in public places. This innovative approach helps researchers and municipal planners evaluate the benefits and drawbacks of these spaces, contributing significantly to Swedish urban planning and enabling future studies to create a social area factor.

Legal challenges of attributing malicious cyber activities against space activities

Abstract Malicious cyber activities against space activities (MCASAs) add to the complexities of the legal attribution of malicious cyber activities violating international law. The ‘space’ implies the possibility of applying international space law considering the lex specialis derogat legi generali (more specific rules will prevail over more general rules) principle. However, neither the attribution rules of international space law nor of general international law could completely tackle this dilemma. This study categorizes MCASAs into three categories based on the role of the involved space activities and analyses the crux of legal attribution in each scenario. It proposes different coping approaches, including a four-pronged way, introducing a peculiarity test, and specifying substantive international obligations of the states responsible for space activities.

China's Space Activities: Drivers, Trends, and Progress

China's Space Activities: Drivers, Trends, and Progress

The value of space activity

The value of space activity

МОДЕЛЬ ФОРМУВАННЯ ГОТОВНОСТІ МАЙБУТНІХ ФАХІВЦІВ З ТУРИЗМУ ДО ДІЯЛЬНОСТІ У ПРОФЕСІЙНОМУ ІНФОРМАЦІЙНОМУ ПРОСТОРІ

The presented material of this study is a justification and experimental verification of the effectiveness of the model of training future tourism specialists for activities in the professional information space. The basis of the developed model of training future specialists is their readiness for activities within the information space of tourism. According to the hypothesis and purpose of the research, the readiness of future specialists to work in the professional infospace is a multidimensional phenomenon and includes a number of individual components, including motivational, cognitive, technological, personal, and complex indicators. The results of checking the effectiveness of the developed model of formation of readiness are presented through indicators of the level of formation of the components of the readiness of future tourism specialists for activities in the professional information space and a comprehensive indicator. The distribution of students according to the following levels of formation of readiness components at the ascertainment and control stages of the research was determined: creative, reconstructive, reproductive. The probability of differences in the results of students in the control and experimental groups at both stages of the study was assessed using the Fisher angular transformation criterion. It has been proven that, according to the results of the control section, the indicators of the formation of the components and the comprehensive indicator of the readiness of future specialists of the control and experimental groups at the end of the study have statistically significant differences. This indicates the presence of a close relationship between the implemented measures of the formative experiment (theoretical and practical mastering of the special course, individual content modules and topics from information systems and technologies in tourism) and the improvement of the formation of the components of the readiness of future tourism specialists to work within the professional space of tourism. The average indicators of the formation of readiness components and the corresponding complex indicator were significantly higher among the students of the experimental group. The effectiveness of the hypothesis formulated at the beginning of the research and the effectiveness of the model of training future tourism specialists for activities in the professional information space have been fully confirmed.