Efficient Star Identification Using a Neural Network.

The required precision for attitude determination in spacecraft is increasing, providing a need for more accurate attitude determination sensors. The star sensor or star tracker provides unmatched arc-second precision and with the rise of micro satellites these sensors are becoming smaller, faster and more efficient. The most critical component in the star sensor system is the lost-in-space star identification algorithm which identifies stars in a scene without a priori attitude information.

A Survey of Lost-in-Space Star Identification Algorithms since 2009.

The lost-in-space star identification algorithm is able to identify stars without a priori attitude information and is arguably the most critical component of a star sensor system. In this paper, the 2009 survey by Spratling and Mortari is extended and recent lost-in-space star identification algorithms are surveyed. The covered literature is a qualitative representation of the current research in the field.

The ALTEA/ALTEINO projects: studying functional effects of microgravity and cosmic radiation.

The ALTEA project investigates the risks of functional brain damage induced by particle radiation in space. A modular facility (the ALTEA facility) is being implemented and will be operated in the International Space Station (ISS) to record electrophysiological and behavioral descriptors of brain function and to monitor their time dynamics and correlation with particles and space environment. The focus of the program will be on abnormal visual perceptions (often reported as "light flashes" by astronauts) and the impact on retinal and brain visual structures of particle in microgravity conditions.

The Sileye-3/Alteino experiment for the study of light flashes, radiation environment and astronaut brain activity on board the International Space Station.

In this work we describe the instrument Sileye-3/Alteino, placed on board the International Space Station in April 2002. The instrument is constituted by an Electroencephalograph and a cosmic ray silicon detector. The scientific aims include the investigation of the Light Flash phenomenon, the measurement of the radiation environment and the nuclear abundance inside the ISS and the study of astronaut brain activity in space when subject to cosmic rays.

ALTEA: anomalous long term effects in astronauts. A probe on the influence of cosmic radiation and microgravity on the central nervous system during long flights.

The ALTEA project participates to the quest for increasing the safety of manned space flights. It addresses the problems related to possible functional damage to neural cells and circuits due to particle radiation in space environment. Specifically it aims at studying the functionality of the astronauts' Central Nervous Systems (CNS) during long space flights and relating it to the peculiar environments in space, with a particular focus on the particle flux impinging in the head.