VEGA three-channel spectrometer experiment: Spectroscopy of comet Halley in the visible and near-ultraviolet ranges

A total of 3600 spectra of Comet Halley in the 275–710 nm were obtained on March, 8, 9, 10 and 11, 1986, from the VEGA 2 spacecraft. The emissions of OH, NH, CN, C₃, CH, C₂, NH₂ and H₂O⁺ are identified. From the OH intensity in the (0,0) band: 1.1 Megarayleigh at 5400 km from the nucleus, it can be inferred that the OH production rate was (1.4 ± 0.5)×10³⁰ molecules s⁻¹. The NH, C₃, CH and NH₂ bands became comparatively more intense at distances from the nucleus shorter than 3000km. At 06:40 U.T. when the instrument field of view was 6000×4500 km, two jets were observed. Spectra from the jets show significant differences with other spectra. Inside a jet NH, C₃ and NH₂ are comparatively more intense and the rotational distributions of OH, CN and C₂ are strongly distorted. This shows that part of the observed emissions probably comes from radicals directly produced in the excited state during the initial process of photolysis of the parent molecules.     

Radiation stability of organic matter in liquid and frozen H2O, NH3 and water-ammonia mixtures

The redox properties of irradiated liquid and frozen H₂O, NH₃ and H₂O/NH₃ mixtures at 298 K and 77 K, resp., towards some simple organic molecules have been checked by injecting carrierfree ¹¹C atoms and analyzing their chemical state by means of radiochromatography. The reactions and the stability of organic products versus radiation dose (in this study by MeV protons) depend on temperature, phase state, mobility of radicals, their concentration and reactivity. Especially dangerous are the reactive OH and O₂H radicals which oxidize organic material to inorganic CO₂. Highest stability has been found at low temperatures (solid state, reduced mobility of radicals) and for systems containing H-donors (H₂O/NH₃ mixtures), which reduce the concentration of oxidizing radicals. The fact that many bodies in space consist of H₂O-ice with NH₃ and CH₄ additives at temperatures between 10 and 150 K is promising in view of the survival of organic matter under high doses of radiation.     

Atmospheric photochemistry above possible martian hot spots

Considering the possibility of outgassing from some localized sources on Mars, we have developed a one-dimensional photochemical model that includes methane (CH₄), sulfur dioxide (SO₂) and hydrogen sulfide (H₂S). Halogens were considered but were found to have no significant impact on the martian atmospheric chemistry. We find that the introduction of methane into the martian atmosphere results in the formation of mainly formaldehyde (CH₂O), methyl alcohol (CH₃OH) and ethane (C₂H₆), whereas the introduction of the sulfur species produces mainly sulfur monoxide (SO) and sulfuric acid (H₂SO₄). Depending upon the flux of the outgassed molecules from possible hot spots, some of these species and the resulting new molecules may be detectable locally, either by remote sensing (e.g., with the Planetary Fourier Spectrometer on Mars Express) or in situ measurements.     

Hot atoms in cosmic chemistry

High energy chemical reactions and atom molecule interactions might be important for cosmic chemistry with respect to the accelerated species in solar wind, cosmic rays, colliding gas and dust clouds and secondary knock-on particles in solids. “Hot” atoms with energies ranging from a few eV to some MeV can be generated via nuclear reactions and consequent recoil processes. The chemical fate of the radioactive atoms can be followed by radiochemical methods (radio GC or HPLC). Hot atom chemistry may serve for laboratory simulation of the reactions of energetic species with gaseous or solid interstellar matter. Due to the effective measurement of 10⁸–10¹⁰ atoms only it covers a low to medium dose regime and may add to the studies of ion implantation which due to the optical methods applied are necessarily in the high dose regime.

Experimental results are given for the systems: C/H₂O (gas), C/H₂O (solid, 77 K), N/CH₄ (solid, 77K) and C/NH₃ (solid, 77 K). Nuclear reactions used for the generation of 2 to 3 MeV atoms are: ¹⁴N(p, ) ¹¹C, ¹⁶O(p, pn) ¹¹C and ¹²C(d,n) ¹³N with 8 to 45 MeV protons or deuterons from a cyclotron. Typical reactions products are: CO, CO₂, CH₄, CH₂O, CH₃OH, HCOOH, NH₃, CH₃NH₂, cyanamide, formamidine, guanidine etc. Products of hot reactions in solids are more complex than in corresponding gaseous systems, which underlines the importance of solid state reactions for the build-up of precursors for biomolecules in space. As one of the major mechanisms for product formation, the simultaneous or fast consecutive reactions of a hot carbon with two target molecules (reaction complex) is discussed.     

气相色谱法定量分析氧气中气体杂质方法研究

为寻找一种能够有效检测氧气中微量气体杂质的方法,采用配有氢火焰离子化检测器的气相色谱仪分析氧气中的微量气体杂质,研究了分析氧气中CO、CO₂及C₂H₂等气体杂质的操作参数,确定了氧气中微量气体杂质的分析方法,验证了该方法的可行性,该分析方法各组份分离效果良好,各种杂质组份定量精确度较高。     

密闭空间内氢气和二氧化碳甲醇化系统的非均相模型及反应特性

在载人密闭空间内通过电解水方式为乘员供氧会产生副产物氢气（H₂）。此外,乘员还呼出二氧化碳（CO₂）。将H₂和CO₂催化合成甲醇（CH₃OH）是消除载人密闭空间内富余H₂和CO₂的最优方式之一。对其开展反应过程建模及反应特性研究有助于进行反应过程的控制,更好地维持载人密闭空间内的大气平衡。本文采用微元法建立了H₂和CO₂催化合成甲醇的物料计算模型和温度一维非均相模型,研究了不同反应压力、冷却介质温度以及入口反应气体中CO₂与CO比值等反应条件下的反应特性变化规律。结果显示,反应压力的增加、冷却介质的温升以及入口气体中CO₂与CO比值的减小均能促进各反应速率增加,进而使得H₂和CO₂消除量增加、甲醇合成率上升以及催化剂和反应气体最高温度上升。在保证反应速率增加且催化剂最高温度不超过合理反应温度区间的最大值573.15 K时需维持反应压力不大于8 MPa,冷却介质温度不高于538.15 K以及CO₂与CO比值不小于1。      

The 2.5 to 5 microns spectrum of comet Halley from the IKS instrument of Vega

Results of the 2.5–5 micron spectroscopic channel of the IKS instrument on Vega are reported and the data reduction process is described. H₂O and CO₂ molecules have been detected with production rates of 10³⁰ s⁻¹ and 1.5 10²⁸ s⁻¹ respectively. Emission features between 3.3 and 3.7 microns are tentatively attributed to CH - bearing compounds - CO is marginally detected with a mixing ratio CO/H₂O 0.2. OH emission and H₂O - ice absorption might also be present in the spectra.     

Ion formation by high- and medium-velocities dust impacts from laboratory measurements and Halley results

The ion formation processes by dust impacts have been studied qualitatively as well as quantitatively by dust accelerator laboratory measurements. Iron, carbon and metallized glass particles in the femto- to nano-gram mass range had been impacted on various metal targets in a velocity regime of v = 2 - 64 km/s. In the high velocity regime as relevant for the (retrograde) Halley encounter more than 99% of the ions produced are singly charged atomic, the rest molecular ones. The ion/atom ratios are apparently modified SIMS yields, the modification parameter being impact velocity dependent. A semiempirical formula was deduced for the determination of mass and density of the impacting particle from target and projectile ion yields. When evaluating the Halley encounter results, the elemental distribution of p/Halley dust appeared nearly to be solar; the organic fraction (CHON) could be characterized in a rough manner as fairly unsaturated. Oligomers of the monomers C₂H₂ (65%), CH₂O (25%), and HCN (10%) are probable.

With medium velocities (for prograde comet encounter), i.e. v = 15-30 km/s molecular ion types govern the mass spectra. Consequently, more chemical information of the projectile can be expected in this case, additional to the elemental distribution. Mass and density of the impinging dust particles can be determined as well.     

释放不同化学物质对电离层扰动的比较

在电离层F区释放氢（H₂）、水（H₂O）、二氧化碳（CO₂）、六氟化硫（SF₆）、三氟溴甲烷（CF₃Br）、羰基镍（Ni（CO）₄）可以损耗局域等离子体电子密度,形成电子空洞,电离层电子密度的改变主要取决于释放物质的气态分子与电离层之间的离子化学反应.在电离层人工主动扰动实验中,应根据发射成本和扰动效果对释放物质进行选择.通过热力学原理和有限元模拟方法计算比较了上述6种物质对电离层的扰动影响.计算结果表明,6种物质中水的气化率最低,约为19%,其余5种物质都在60%以上,选择密度小的物质,例如H₂和CO₂,可以有效降低发射成本.另外,扩散较慢且化学反应较快的物质,例如SF₆和Ni（CO）₄,能够使得电离层电子密度减少得更多,并且受扰动区域更广、持续时间更长.     

Photochemistry of planetary ionospheres

The basic photochemical processes in the upper atmospheres and ionospheres of the various bodies in our solar system (planets, moons and comets) are similar. However, there are many different factors (e.g. gas composition, energy input, gravity) which control/change the relative importance of these controlling processes. The photo-chemistry of the inner planets is reasonably well understood at this time, thus there is good agreement between model calculations and most of the observational data base. The extremely limited information that we have available on the ionospheres of the outer planets leads to significant uncertainties about some of the controlling processes. Some important questions (e.g. Is the charge exchange process H⁺ + H₂(v≥4) → H₂⁺ + H important? Is water vapor influx from the rings important?) remain unanswered at this time. In cometary atmospheres the freshly evaporated parent molecules are rapidly photodissociated and photoionized, therefore most of the chemical kinetics of cometary ionospheres involve these rapidly moving and highly reactive ions and radicals.     

H2O对空间站5A分子筛CO2去除性能影响

为进一步研究分子筛CO2去除系统应用于空间站的工作可靠性和鲁棒性,针对空间站4床分子筛(4-BMS)系统中可能出现的湿度失效保护问题展开了实验研究.测试了两种载人航天分子筛材料TC-5A与PSA-5A,研究了不同相对湿度对CO2吸附性能的影响;比较了相同湿度条件下,进口气体CO2浓度、粒径及吸附温度的变化对分子筛吸附CO2性能的影响,采用不同实验方法探究了H2O和CO2在两种分子筛材料中的竞争吸附关系.结果表明:PSA-5A吸附CO2性能优于TC-5A,但对H2O的吸附率略低于TC-5A.H2O的存在对分子筛吸附CO2影响非常大,空气中相对湿度达到60%时,分子筛基本失去了吸附CO2的能力.此外,温度升高会造成CO2的吸附量显著下降,但对H2O的吸附量影响相对较小,尤其是当相对湿度较高时.这对中国未来长期运行的空间站分子筛CO2去除系统工作有效性与工作鲁棒性的评价具有指导意义.     

八水氢氧化钡相变材料储热性能实验

采用八水氢氧化钡（Ba（OH）₂·8H₂O）作为相变储热材料,经过150次熔化-凝固热循环实验,发现随着热循环次数的增加,Ba（OH）₂·8H₂O的相变点温度变化很小,但是该相变材料结晶时存在严重的过冷现象.通过扫描电子显微镜获得50次热循环后Ba（OH）₂·8H₂O与铝合金和紫铜金属材料之间的腐蚀情况图像,图像分析表明,Ba（OH）₂·8H₂O与紫铜有良好的相容性.搭建了含/未含泡沫铜的相变储能装置的实验台,对比实验结果表明,泡沫铜填充不仅可以提高相变材料的传热效率,而且能够有效地降低Ba（OH）₂·8H₂O的过冷度.      

太赫兹火星大气临边探测仿真研究

对火星大气进行连续高分辨率观测是研究火星大气物理和化学过程的重要手段.太赫兹临边探测技术通过测量火星大气中的风和光化学循环中的重要气体（CO,O₃,H₂O,H₂O₂等）提高对火星的认知.针对火星大气遥感的探测需求,分析了300～1000GHz频段的频谱特征.针对探测卫星对于载荷质量、功耗等参数的要求,提出一个560GHz频段的火星大气太赫兹临边探测仪设计方案,并利用辐射传输模型ARTS中的行星工具箱进行仿真.仿真结果显示:火星大气温度的反演精度优于4K,其中45km高度以下优于2K;H₂O丰度的反演精度在90km以下优于50%,30km以下优于2%;H₂O₂的反演精度在40km以下优于50%;O₃的反演精度在50km以下优于60%;大气风速度的反演精度在65km以上优于5m·s-1,最高可以达到2m·s-1.研究结果表明,利用太赫兹波段的吸收谱线可以很好地探测火星大气中各成分的丰度、变化趋势以及中高层大气的风,可为后续火星表面及大气探测提供参考.      

Rocket observation of the ultraviolet spectrum of comet Halley

An ultraviolet sounding rocket telescope/spectrograph experiment observed Comet Halley on 26 February 1986, 17 days after perihelion. From the long-slit spectra, the production rates of O, C, and CO are calculated. The derived water production rate is a lower limit of 5.0 × 10²⁹ s⁻¹ and the volume mixing ratio of CO to H₂O is 21%. The predicted brightness distribution from a radial outflow model with H₂O and CO as parent molecules are in accordance with the measured spatial profiles of OI and CO emissions. The ratio of the production rates of CO to C is 2.7 which is consistent with the carbon source being the photodissociation of CO. However, the radial outflow model which best fits the CO data predicts significantly weaker CI emissions than was observed. A better fit to the carbon data is found when an inner coma source of C at a rate of 3% of the water production rate is included in the model.     

The search for nitrogen compounds on the surface of Mars

Nitrogen is an essential element for life. Specifically, “fixed nitrogen” (i.e., NH₃, NH₄⁺, NO_x, or N that is chemically bound to either inorganic or organic molecules and is releasable by hydrolysis to NH₃ or NH₄⁺) is the form of nitrogen useful to living organisms. To date no direct analysis of Martian soil nitrogen content, or content of fixed nitrogen compounds has been done. Consequently, the planet's total inventory of nitrogen is unknown. What is known is that the N₂ content of the present-day Martian atmosphere is 0.2 mbar. It has been hypothesized that early in Mars' history (3 to 4 billion years ago) the Martian atmosphere contained much more N₂ than it does today. The values of N₂ proposed for this early Martian atmosphere, however, are not well constrained and range from 3 to 300 mbar of N₂. If the early atmosphere of Mars did contain much more N₂ than it does today the question to be answered is, Where did it go? The two main processes that could have removed it rapidly from the atmosphere include: 1) nonthermal escape of N-atoms to space; and 2) burial within the regolith as nitrates and nitrites. Nitrate will be stable in the highly oxidized surface soil of Mars, and will tend to accumulate in the soil. Such accumulations are observed in certain desert environments on Earth. Some NH₄⁺---N may also be fixed and stabilized in the soil by inclusion as a structural cation in the crystal lattices of certain phyllosilicates replacing K. Analysis of the Martian soil for traces of NO₃⁻ and NH₄⁺ during future missions will supply important information regarding the nitrogen abundance on Mars, its past climate as well as its potential for the evolution of life.     

Photochemical growing of complex organics in planetary atmospheres

UV induced syntheses of organic compounds from the main atmospheric constituents can be a very important source of organics in a given planetary environment provided the atmosphere is in a reduced state. The evolution of a CO₂ rich medium only produces very low yields of formaldehyde and related oxygenated compounds. Considering a CO rich atmosphere, the photochemical yield of O-organics formation is much higher, when the synthesis of N-organics remains difficult. The most favourable atmosphere as far as photochemical organic synthesis is concerned is a CH₄ rich milieu.. The photochemical evolution of such a CH₄ atmosphere under UV irradiation leads to a chain of various organics, the complexity of which increases together with the number of pathways involved in their formation. Their complexity also closely correlates with their UV photoabsorption spectrum: the more complex they are, the more shifted is their UV spectrum toward the visible range. Direct photodissociation of methane requires UV photon of wavelengths shorter than about 145 nm. It mainly produces ethane which absorbs UV at wavelengths shorter than about 160 nm, and acetylene, that presents an absorption spectrum extending up to 200 nm. This shift still continuously increases with further increase in number of C atoms. Unsaturated hydrocarbons with 4 and more C atoms have UV absorption characteristics including noticeable band structures in the 250–300 nm range. This trend has very important implication in the photochemical behaviour of a CH₄-rich planetary atmosphere, as it induces many catalytic processes. The occurrence of such processes is closely related to vertical atmospheric and energy deposition profiles. Titan provides a very good example of such a UV-directed organic atmospheric chemistry.     

Complex organics in laboratory simulations of interstellar/cometary ices.

We present the photochemical and thermal evolution of both non-polar and polar ices representative of interstellar and pre-cometary grains. Ultraviolet photolysis of the non-polar ices comprised of O2, N2, and CO produces CO2, N2O, O3, CO3, HCO, H2CO, and possibly NO and NO2. When polar ice analogs (comprised of H2O, CH3OH, CO, and NH3) are exposed to UV radiation, simple molecules are formed including: H2, H2CO, CO2, CO, CH4, and HCO (the formyl radical). Warming produces moderately complex species such as CH3CH2OH (ethanol), HC(=O)NH2 (formamide), CH3C(=O)NH2 (acetamide), R-CN and/or R-NC (nitriles and/or isonitriles). Several of these are already known to be in the interstellar medium, and their presence indicates the importance of grain processing. Infrared spectroscopy, 1H and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry demonstrate that after warming to room temperature what remains is an organic residue composed primarily of hexamethylenetetramine (HMT, C6H12N4) and other complex organics including the amides above and polyoxymethylene (POM) and its derivatives. The formation of these organic species from simple starting mixtures under conditions germane to astrochemistry may have important implications for the organic chemistry of interstellar ice grains, comets and the origins of life.     

基于锂离子电池温降指数的细水雾添加剂筛选方法

为对比细水雾添加剂抑制锂离子电池热失控多米诺效应的效果，提出锂离子电池火灾温降指数模型及其测试方法。利用自主设计的锂离子电池热失控实验平台开展含不同添加剂细水雾抑制多米诺效应实验，确定每种添加剂作用后的温降指数，对每种添加剂的作用机理进行分析。结果表明:加入添加剂后温降指数明显增大，表明添加剂可显著提高细水雾阻断热失控连续传播效果；无机盐类添加剂作用后抑制效果高于表面活性剂类添加剂，主要增强了细水雾的化学灭火作用；进一步对比温降指数发现，几类样品中NH₄H₂PO₄加入后细水雾抑制效果最好。利用温降指数对细水雾添加剂抑制热失控多米诺效应进行评估，为筛选细水雾添加剂灭火剂提供理论基础。      

Cometary atmosphere (gas and dust)

There is important progress now in the identifications and measurements of primary (parent) molecules in the inner coma of Comet Halley. H₂O, CO₂ and CO are definitely in the list, CH and some complicate organic molecules are suspected. Gas production rate for water vapor is Q_H2O 10³⁰ s⁻¹. The bulk of data doesn't contradict to the Whipple model of nucleus (with clathrate modification). Pronounced spatial structure of gaseous flow in the coma was observed, but in general measured properties of neutral gas in the coma of Comet Halley are not very different from predicted. Situation for dust is different. In situ dust measurements show that size spectrum and optical properties of particles in coma are substantively declining from predicted on the base of groundbased photometry. However there are discrepancies between Vega and Giotto dust counter data. Dust in the inner coma didn't prevent the succesful imaging of nucleus by TV on Vega 1 and 2.