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Radio tracking and astrometric data obtained by the JUICE mission, using the PRIDE, 3GM and JANUS instruments, will allow the dynamics of the Galilean moons to be measured to unprecedented accuracy. As a result, the dynamical models used for creating ephemerides from these data will most likely require the inclusion of various heretofore neglected physical effects. To determine which effects will need to be included, we perform a sensitivity analysis of the influence on the dynamics of the system for a wide array of gravitational, tidal and rotational characteristics of the system. We estimate the dynamics of the Galilean moons with a given perturbation turned off, using ideal three-dimensional measurements of the satellites' positions generated with these perturbations turned on. In doing so, we assess the capabilities of the nominal dynamical model to absorb the influence of this perturbations. We analyze the dynamical behaviour over a period of five years, and limit our analysis to effects that may be observable from JUICE radio tracking and optical astrometry data. Our simulations comprise a short-period (5 years) sensitivity analysis of the dynamics of the moons, and not a simulation of the tracking data inversion for JUICE. Our analysis indicates that the nominal dynamical model of the Galilean satellites can very efficiently absorb the influence of the current uncertainties in most of the physical parameters of the Jovian system, to a level where these uncertainties will not be influential for JUICE-derived ephemerides. An important exception is the influence of tidal dissipation: the k 2 / Q of Io will be clearly observable by JUICE tracking data, which will be strongly correlated with the weaker effect of Jupiter's k 2 / Q . The dissipation inside Europa may also be weakly constrained by JUICE tracking data. Without improvements in the Jovian gravity field from the Juno mission, the estimation of Jupiter zonal gravity field coefficients at degrees 2, 3 and 5 should be included in the ephemerides generation. The influence of the deviation from perfect tidal locking of the moons' rotation is at the limit of observability. Furthermore, we have verified that the present uncertainty in the a priori ephemeris of Jupiter will not influence the (Jupiter-centered) dynamics of the Galilean moons at an observable level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We discuss the general characteristics of the orbits of the Martian satellites, Phobos and Deimos. We provide a concise review of the various descriptions of the orbits by both analytical theories and direct numerical integrations of their equations of motion. After summarizing the observational data used to determine the orbits, we discuss the results of our latest orbits obtained from a least squares fit to the data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: GAIA will provide observations of some multiple asteroid and dwarf systems. These observations are a way to determine and improve the quantification of dynamical parameters, such as the masses and the gravity fields, in these multiple systems. Here we investigate this problem in the cases of Pluto''s and Eugenia''s system. We simulate observations reproducing an approximate planning of the GAIA observations for both systems, as well as the New Horizons observations of Pluto. We have developed a numerical model reproducing the specific behavior of multiple asteroid system around the Sun and fit it to the simulated observations using least-square method, giving the uncertainties on the fitted parameters. We found that GAIA will improve significantly the precision of Pluto''s and Charon''s mass, as well as Petit Prince''s orbital elements and Eugenia''s polar oblateness. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: We have developed a new dynamical model of the main Uranian satellites, based on numerical integration and fitted to astrometric observations. Old observations, as well as modern and Voyager observations have been included. This model has provided ephemerides that have already been used for predicting the mutual events during the PHE-URA campaign. It is updated here to improve the prediction of these events. We also tried to assess the real accuracy of our ephemerides by checking the distance differences of the Uranian satellites, using simultaneously our former and new model. It appears that both solutions are very close to each other (within few tens of kilometers), and most probably accurate at the level of few hundred of kilometers. Using new available meridian observations of the Uranian satellites, we have checked the Uranian ephemeris accuracy using DE406. An error of more than 0.1arcsec on the Uranian position is observed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The determination of the ephemeris of the Martian moons has benefited from observations of their plane-of-sky positions derived from images taken by cameras onboard spacecraft orbiting Mars. Images obtained by the Super Resolution Camera (SRC) onboard Mars Express (MEX) have been used to derive moon positions relative to Mars on the basis of a fit of a complete dynamical model of their motion around Mars. Since, these positions are computed from the relative position of the spacecraft when the images are taken, those positions need to be known as accurately as possible. An accurate MEX orbit is obtained by fitting two years of tracking data of the Mars Express Radio Science (MaRS) experiment onboard MEX. The average accuracy of the orbits has been estimated to be around 20–25m. From these orbits, we have re-derived the positions of Phobos and Deimos at the epoch of the SRC observations and compared them with the positions derived by using the MEX orbits provided by the ESOC navigation team. After fit of the orbital model of Phobos and Deimos, the gain in precision in the Phobos position is roughly 30m, corresponding to the estimated gain of accuracy of the MEX orbits. A new solution of the GM of the Martian moons has also been obtained from the accurate MEX orbits, which is consistent with previous solutions and, for Phobos, is more precise than the solution from the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) and Mars Odyssey (ODY) tracking data. It will be further improved with data from MEX-Phobos closer encounters (at a distance less than 300km). This study also demonstrates the advantage of combining observations of the moon positions from a spacecraft and from the Earth to assess the real accuracy of the spacecraft orbit. In turn, the natural satellite ephemerides can be improved and participate to a better knowledge of the origin and evolution of the Martian moons. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) mission will perform detailed measurements of the properties of the Galilean moons, with a nominal in-system science-mission duration of about 3.5 years. Using both the radio tracking data, and (Earth- and JUICE-based) optical astrometry, the dynamics of the Galilean moons will be measured to unprecedented accuracy. This will provide crucial input to the determination of the ephemerides and physical properties of the system, most notably the dissipation in Io and Jupiter. The data from Planetary Radio Interferometry and Doppler Experiment (PRIDE) will provide the lateral position of the spacecraft in the International Celestial Reference Frame (ICRF). In this article, we analyze the relative quantitative influence of the JUICE-PRIDE observables to the determination of the ephemerides of the Jovian system and the associated physical parameters. We perform a covariance analysis for a broad range of mission and system characteristics. We analyze the influence of VLBI data quality, observation planning, as well as the influence of JUICE orbit determination quality. This provides key input for the further development of the PRIDE observational planning and ground segment development. Our analysis indicates that the VLBI data are especially important for constraining the dynamics of Ganymede and Callisto perpendicular to their orbital planes. Also, the use of the VLBI data makes the uncertainty in the ephemerides less dependent on the error in the orbit determination of the JUICE spacecraft itself. Furthermore, we find that optical astrometry data of especially Io using the JANUS instrument will be crucial for stabilizing the solution of the normal equations. Knowledge of the dissipation in the Jupiter system cannot be improved using satellite dynamics obtained from JUICE data alone, the uncertainty in Io's dissipation obtained from our simulations is similar to the present level of uncertainty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When reconstructing natural satellites' ephemerides from space missions' tracking data, the dynamics of the spacecraft and natural bodies are often solved for separately, in a decoupled manner. Alternatively, the ephemeris generation and spacecraft orbit determination can be performed concurrently. This method directly maps the available data set to the estimated parameters' covariances while fully accounting for all dynamical couplings. It thus provides a statistically consistent solution to the estimation problem, whereas this is not directly ensured with the decoupled strategy. For the Galilean moons in particular, the JUICE mission provides a unique, although challenging, opportunity for ephemerides improvement. For such a dynamically coupled problem, choosing between the two state estimation strategies will be influential. This paper quantifies the Galilean moons' state uncertainties attainable when applying a coupled estimation strategy to simulated JUICE data, and discusses the challenges that remain to be addressed to achieve such a coupled solution from real observations. We first provide a detailed, explicit formulation for the coupled approach, which was still missing in the literature although already used in past studies. We then assessed the relative performances of the two ephemerides generation techniques for the JUICE test case. To this end, we used both decoupled and coupled models on simulated JUICE radiometric data. We compared the resulting covariances for the Galilean moons' states, and showed that the decoupled approach yields slightly lower formal errors for the moons' tangential positions. However, the coupled model can reduce the state uncertainties by more than one order of magnitude in the radial direction (i.e. towards the central body). It also proved more sensitive to the dynamical coupling between Io, Europa and Ganymede, allowing the state solutions for the first two moons to fully benefit from JUICE orbital phase around Ganymede. On the other hand, we showed that the choice of state estimation methods does not strongly affect the moons' gravity field determination. Many issues still remain to be solved before a concurrent estimation strategy can be successfully applied, especially to reconstruct the moons' dynamics over long timescales. Nonetheless, our analysis highlights promising ephemerides improvements and thus motivates future efforts to reach a coupled state solution for the Galilean moons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: After a CCD image of the four Galilean satellites of Jupiter is obtained by a long focal length telescope, we can compare the theoretical positions of these satellites with their pixel positions so as to obtain the calibration parameters of the CCD field of view. In theory, when two of the four satellites have small enough separation, their relative positional measurement will have a good accuracy since the error existing in the solved calibration parameters has a direct proportional effect on the separation of the two satellites. The 347 CCD images taken by 1-m long focal length telescope at Yunnan Observatory in 2002–2005 are used to perform the experimental test. After we improve the centroid algorithm for the satellites and our former halo-removal technique, the results show that the positional measurement of two small-separation satellites has an external precision as good as 0.01–0.03arcsec. This precision has comparability as that from rarely occurring mutual events of the Galilean satellites. This experiment confirms the finding of the “precision premium” firstly presented by Pascu [1994. An appraisal of the USNO program of photographic astrometry of bright planetary satellites. In: Morrison, L.V., Gilmore, G.F., (Eds.), Galatic and Solar System Optical Astrometry, pp. 304–311] using photographic observations. We believe that this type of observations, besides mutual event observations, might also be used to improve our knowledge of the orbital motions of the Galilean satellites because of its much more opportunities. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Phoebe is the only major satellite of Saturn with a retrograde orbit. The Cassini Imaging Science Subsystem (ISS) took a lot of Phoebe images between 2004 and 2017, but only a selection of them has been reduced. In this paper, we reduced the remaining ISS images of Phoebe. In the reduction, the Gaia EDR3 catalogue was used to provide the reference stars' positions, and the modified moment was used to measure the centre of image stars and Phoebe. Finally, a total of 834 ISS images of Phoebe have been reduced successfully. Compared with the JPL ephemeris SAT375, Phoebe's positions are consistent. The average residuals in the right ascension and declination are 0.08″ and −0.05′′, and the standard deviations of the residuals are about 0.2′′. In terms of residuals in linear units, the means in the right ascension and declination are about 5 ​km and −2 km, respectively; The standard deviations are about 11 ​km. Compared with the JPL ephemeris SAT427 and IMCCE ephemeris PH20, our measurements show a strong bias and a large dispersion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article intends to review the different studies of the Mars satellites Phobos and Deimos realized by means of ground-based telescopic observations as well in the astrometry and dynamics domain as in the physical one. This study spans the first period of investigations of the Martian satellites since their discovery in 1877 through the astrometry and the spectrometry methods, mainly before the modern period of the space era. It includes also some other observations performed thanks to the Hubble Space Telescope. The different techniques used and the main results obtained for the positionning, the size estimate, the albedo and surface composition are described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]