Description:

Title: Conversations on space debris

Zoom Link: https://zoom.us/j/99394040992?pwd=ZaeP84wiKHi6nFVbwBf2mKB7zfguxw.1

Abstract:  Since the beginning of the era of space exploration in 1957, artificial objects have been left behind in the near-Earth environment. At velocities of 10 km s$^{-1}$, even small objects pose a significant risk to human activity in outer space. This debris population continues to grow due to ground launches, loss of external parts from spaceships, and uncontrollable collisions between objects. There is a surprising similarity to the mathematical modeling of spatially structured biological populations that are subject to birth and death processes, diffusion, as well as inter-species interactions. In the first part, we propose a diffusion-collision model for the evolution of debris density in Low-Earth Orbit (LEO, 200 - 2000 km altitude) and its dependence on ground-launch policy. We parametrize this model and test it against data from publicly available object catalogs to examine timescales for uncontrolled growth. In the second part, we will report on ongoing work to elucidate the somewhat cryptic title. 

Bio: Peter Hinow is a Professor of Mathematical Sciences at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee.

The Midwest Mathematical Biology Seminar will be a series of virtual talks on mathematical biology featuring speakers from the Midwest region and beyond. All areas of mathematical biology will be represented in the seminar series, and a goal for this seminar is to build connections and foster research collaborations.

More information - https://sites.google.com/view/midwest-mathbio-seminar/home