Hypersonic Meteoroid Entry Physics gives an overview of meteoroid atmospheric entry. It includes meteoroid observation in the outer space, the recovery of meteors on the earth surface and meteorite chemical analysis. For astrophysicists and aerospace engineering communities, this book will deliver a comprehensive overview of meteoroid atmospheric entry.

Hypersonic Meteoroid Entry Physics provides a fascinating overview of meteoroid atmospheric entry and covers meteoroid observations in outer space; the description of the chemical–physical phenomena during atmospheric entry; recovery of the meteor on the Earth’s surface and meteorite chemical analysis.

The book, based on the lectures given during the HyMEP course held in Erice in 2017, is addressed to students and researchers with an interest in plasma chemistry, astrophysics and aerospace engineering. It offers a comprehensive overview of the present status of the investigation on meteoroid entry physics while merging the knowledge of astrophysicists and the aerospace engineering communities.

Preface

Acknowledgments

About the Editors

Contributors

Chapter 1 – Considerations on Meteoroid entry physics

Part I – Meteoroid and Meteorite Science

Chapter 2 – The Trajectory, Structure and Origin of the Chelyabinsk Impactor

Chapter 3 – Properties of meteoroids from forward scatter radio observations

Chapter 4 – The flux of meteoroids over time: meteor emission spectroscopy and the delivery of volatiles and chondritic materials to Earth

Chapter 5 – Compositional, mineralogical and structural investigation of meteorites by XRD and LIBS

Part II – Hypersonic Entry Physics

Chapter 6 – Radiation gas dynamics of centimeter meteoric bodies at an altitude of 80 km

Chapter 7 – Super-orbital entry of artificial asteroids (Apollo, Hayabusa) and CFD/ Radiation Thermal analysis of the entry of Chelyabinsk meteorite

Chapter 8 – High Enthalpy Ionized Flows

Chapter 9 – Precursor Ionization during High-Speed Earth’s Entry

Chapter 10 – Response of the Meteoroid/Meteorite to Aerodynamic Forces and Ablation

Chapter 11 – Experimental Investigation of Meteorites: Ground Test Facilities

Chapter 12 – Advanced State-to-State and Multi-Temperature Models for Flow Regimes

Chapter 13 – State-to-State Kinetics in CFD Simulation of Hypersonic Flows Using GPUs

Part III – Elementary Processes in Hypersonic Flows

Chapter 14 – Thermodynamic and Transport properties of reacting air including ablated species

Chapter 15 – Electron-Molecule Processes

Chapter 16 – Heavy Particle Elementary Processes in Hypersonic Flows

Chapter 17 – Nonempirical Analytical Model of Nonequilibrium Dissociation in High-Temperature Air

Chapter 18 – The Role of Vibrational Activation and Bimolecular Reactions in Non Equilibrium Plasma Kinetics