New SPACE AND PLANETARY PHYSICS concentration

Over the years, research in planetary science and space physics in the Department has been growing steadily. That is why the Department of Physics at UL Lafayette is introducing a new undergraduate concentration entitled "Space and Planetary Physics." The principal objective of the new direction is to give students the opportunity to learn the physics behind the current topics of interest to the space exploration community. Some of the courses will also introduce the students to the public repositories of astronomical and space physics data from NASA, NOAA, ESA, and JAXA, as well as NIST's Chemistry Webbook database.

The concentration will include the following new courses:

• Planetary Formation and Interiors
  • Solar System overview. Accretion. Minerals, rocks, and meteorites. Melting and core formation. Heat flow. Planetary magnetism.
• Aerodynamics and Orbital Mechanics
  • The two-body problem. Kepler orbits. Orbital maneuvers (orbit transfer, gravity assists etc.). Orbital perturbations. Numerical simulations.
• Planetary Atmospheres
  • Fluid mechanics and atmospheric structure . Radiative transfer, chemistry. Atmosphetic dynamics (resonances, acoustic, gravity, acousto-gravity waves etc.). 
• Space Physics and Aeronomy
  • Solar wind. Magnetospheres, ionospheres, and upper atmospheres. Plasma physics, space weather. Elements of magnetohydrodynamics.
• Spacraft Environments and Mission Design
  • The space environment (radiation, plasma, heat, debris etc.) and its effects on materials and electronics. Spacecraft instrumentation; mission requirements and limitations.