月球表面热环境数值分析

月球表面热环境的研究对探月活动有重要意义,本文用数值方法分析了月球表面的热环境.首先计算了不同纬度地区地表辐射平衡温度的周期波动,然后建立了月球地表土壤的一维非稳态热传导模型,用此模型计算了不同纬度地区地表温度的波动、月壤温度的波动及恒温层温度和深度,并讨论了月壤热物性对温度波动的影响.结果表明白天的地表温度主要取决于地表的辐射平衡温度,而夜晚的地表温度受到月壤热物性的影响.     

Terraforming Mars: conceptual solutions to the problem of plant growth in low concentrations of oxygen

The widespread growth of higher plants on Mars following ecopoiesis has often been invoked as a method of generating atmospheric oxygen. However, one issue that has been overlooked in this regard is the fact that terrestrial plants do not thrive under conditions of low oxygen tension. A review of the relevant botanical literature reveals that the high oxygen demands of root respiration could limit the introduction of most plants on Mars until after terraforming has raised the atmospheric pO2 to 20-100 mbar. A variety of physiological strategies are discussed which, if it is possible to implement them in a genetically engineered plant specifically designed for life on Mars, might allow this problem to be overcome.     

Magnetism, iron minerals, and life on Mars

A short critical review is provided on two questions linking magnetism and possible early life on Mars: (1) Did Mars have an Earth-like internal magnetic field, and, if so, during which period and was it a requisite for life? (2) Is there a connection between iron minerals in the martian regolith and life? We also discuss the possible astrobiological implications of magnetic measurements at the surface of Mars using two proposed instruments. A magnetic remanence device based on magnetic field measurements can be used to identify Noachian age rocks and lightning impacts. A contact magnetic susceptibility probe can be used to investigate weathering rinds on martian rocks and identify meteorites among the small regolith rocks. Both materials are considered possible specific niches for microorganisms and, thus, potential astrobiological targets. Experimental results on analogues are presented to support the suitability of such in situ measurements.     

火星探测器表面材料催化特性数值模拟研究

针对火星探测器高超声速进入过程中的表面材料催化作用及其对气动热环境影响这一问题,建立了变壁面温度的火星大气表面材料催化作用模型,并基于火星大气物理化学模型和求解三维热化学非平衡N-S方程的数值方法,对典型火星探测器防热大底进行了数值模拟,获得了不同催化特性下的高超声速非平衡流场和气动热数据,分析了表面材料催化特性对气动热环境影响的规律性。研究结果表明：表面催化特性对壁面附近组分分布影响很大,催化反应进程主要受O原子浓度限制;有限催化热流随催化效率增大而增大,完全催化峰值热流比催化效率为1的有限催化峰值热流高25%~64%;表面温度随催化特性的变化规律与热流变化规律类似。有限催化模型能根据表面材料的催化特性精细化预测表面热流和温度,为防热设计提供更精确合理的参考标准。     

Brines in seepage channels as eluants for subsurface relict biomolecules on Mars?

Water, vital for life, not only maintains the integrity of structural and metabolic biomolecules, it also transports them in solution or colloidal suspension. Any flow of water through a dormant or fossilized microbial community elutes molecules that are potentially recognizable as biomarkers. We hypothesize that the surface seepage channels emanating from crater walls and cliffs in Mars Orbiter Camera images results from fluvial erosion of the regolith as low-temperature hypersaline brines. We propose that, if such flows passed through extensive subsurface catchments containing buried and fossilized remains of microbial communities from the wet Hesperian period of early Mars (approximately 3.5 Ga ago), they would have eluted and concentrated relict biomolecules and delivered them to the surface. Life-supporting low-temperature hypersaline brines in Antarctic desert habitats provide a terrestrial analog for such a scenario. As in the Antarctic, salts would likely have accumulated in water-filled depressions on Mars by seasonal influx and evaporation. Liquid water in the Antarctic cold desert analogs occurs at -80 degrees C in the interstices of shallow hypersaline soils and at -50 degrees C in salt-saturated ponds. Similarly, hypersaline brines on Mars could have freezing points depressed below -50 degrees C. The presence of hypersaline brines on Mars would have extended the amount of time during which life might have evolved. Phototrophic communities are especially important for the search for life because the distinctive structures and longevity of their pigments make excellent biomarkers. The surface seepage channels are therefore not only of geomorphological significance, but also provide potential repositories for biomolecules that could be accessed by landers.     

Subfreezing activity of microorganisms and the potential habitability of Mars' polar regions

The availability of water-ice at the surface in the Mars polar cap and within the top meter of the high-latitude regolith raises the question of whether liquid water can exist there under some circumstances and possibly support the existence of biota. We examine the minimum temperatures at which liquid water can exist at ice grain-dust grain and ice grain-ice grain contacts, the minimum subfreezing temperatures at which terrestrial organisms can grow or multiply, and the maximum temperatures that can occur in martian high-latitude and polar regions, to see if there is overlap. Liquid water can exist at grain contacts above about -20 degrees C. Measurements of growth in organisms isolated from Siberian permafrost indicate growth at -10 degrees C and metabolism at -20 degrees C. Mars polar and high-latitude temperatures rise above -20 degrees C at obliquities greater than ~40 degrees, and under some conditions rise above 0 degrees C. Thus, the environment in the Mars polar regions has overlapped habitable conditions within relatively recent epochs, and Mars appears to be on the edge of being habitable at present. The easy accessibility of the polar surface layer relative to the deep subsurface make these viable locations to search for evidence of life.     

Bacterial growth at the high concentrations of magnesium sulfate found in martian soils

The martian surface environment exhibits extremes of salinity, temperature, desiccation, and radiation that would make it difficult for terrestrial microbes to survive. Recent evidence suggests that martian soils contain high concentrations of MgSO? minerals. Through warming of the soils, meltwater derived from subterranean ice-rich regolith may exist for an extended period of time and thus allow the propagation of terrestrial microbes and create significant bioburden at the near surface of Mars. The current report demonstrates that halotolerant bacteria from the Great Salt Plains (GSP) of Oklahoma are capable of growing at high concentrations of MgSO? in the form of 2 M solutions of epsomite. The epsotolerance of isolates in the GSP bacterial collection was determined, with 35% growing at 2 M MgSO?. There was a complex physiological response to mixtures of MgSO? and NaCl coupled with other environmental stressors. Growth also was measured at 1 M concentrations of other magnesium and sulfate salts. The complex responses may be partially explained by the pattern of chaotropicity observed for high-salt solutions as measured by agar gelation temperature. Select isolates could grow at the high salt concentrations and low temperatures found on Mars. Survival during repetitive freeze-thaw or drying-rewetting cycles was used as other measures of potential success on the martian surface. Our results indicate that terrestrial microbes might survive under the high-salt, low-temperature, anaerobic conditions on Mars and present significant potential for forward contamination. Stringent planetary protection requirements are needed for future life-detection missions to Mars.     

火星表面热辐射环境模拟

为了对火星表面的热辐射环境进行模拟,以辅助火星探测等任务,建立了火星大气的一维模型和土壤的一维导热模型,并与NASA的一维火星大气辐射程序相结合,得到了一套整体模拟系统。模拟获得了火星地表温度及接收到的可见光、红外辐射热流密度,分析了季节、纬度、尘暴、云层的变化对地表温度和所受太阳辐射造成的影响。模拟结果表明,纬度和季节的变化影响着太阳高度角和日照时长等因素,进而对可见光辐射造成显著影响;尘埃光学厚度的增加会削弱可见光辐射并增强红外辐射,云层光学性质的改变造成的影响与之相似但较小;四者的改变都会对地表的温度及接收到的太阳辐射热流密度造成不同程度的影响。     

Oxidant enhancement in martian dust devils and storms: implications for life and habitability

We investigate a new mechanism for producing oxidants, especially hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), on Mars. Large-scale electrostatic fields generated by charged sand and dust in the martian dust devils and storms, as well as during normal saltation, can induce chemical changes near and above the surface of Mars. The most dramatic effect is found in the production of H2O2 whose atmospheric abundance in the "vapor" phase can exceed 200 times that produced by photochemistry alone. With large electric fields, H2O2 abundance gets large enough for condensation to occur, followed by precipitation out of the atmosphere. Large quantities of H2O2 would then be adsorbed into the regolith, either as solid H2O2 "dust" or as re-evaporated vapor if the solid does not survive as it diffuses from its production region close to the surface. We suggest that this H2O2, or another superoxide processed from it in the surface, may be responsible for scavenging organic material from Mars. The presence of H2O2 in the surface could also accelerate the loss of methane from the atmosphere, thus requiring a larger source for maintaining a steady-state abundance of methane on Mars. The surface oxidants, together with storm electric fields and the harmful ultraviolet radiation that readily passes through the thin martian atmosphere, are likely to render the surface of Mars inhospitable to life as we know it.     

火星探测器热环境模拟与试验技术探讨

为保证火星探测器的可靠运行,需要对其进行真空热试验和火星表面热环境模拟试验。文章通过对国外火星探测器热试验的调研,梳理出热试验所涉及的关键技术。并通过对行星际空间热环境和火星表面热环境特点的分析,结合国外相关热环境模拟设备的研制使用情况,探讨不同热环境的地面模拟方法,可为我国火星探测器热环境试验设备的研制及开展相关热试验提供技术参考。     

Survival of Bacillus subtilis endospores on ultraviolet-irradiated rover wheels and Mars regolith under simulated Martian conditions

Endospores of Bacillus subtilis HA101 were applied to a simulated Mars Exploration Rover (MER) wheel and exposed to Mars-normal UV irradiation for 1, 3, or 6 h. The experiment was designed to simulate a contaminated rover wheel sitting on its landing platform before rolling off onto the martian terrain, as was encountered during the Spirit and Opportunity missions. When exposed to 1 h of Mars UV, a reduction of 81% of viable endospores was observed compared to the non-UV irradiated controls. When exposed for 3 or 6 h, reductions of 94.6% and 96.6%, respectively, were observed compared to controls. In a second experiment, the contaminated rover wheel was rolled over a bed of heat-sterilized Mars analog soil; then the analog soil was exposed to full martian conditions of UV irradiation, low pressure (6.9 mbar), low temperature (-10°C), and an anaerobic CO(2) martian atmosphere for 24 h to determine whether endospores of B. subtilis on the contaminated rover wheel could be transferred to the surface of the analog soil and survive martian conditions. The experiment simulated conditions in which a rover wheel might come into contact with martian regolith immediately after landing, such as is designed for the upcoming Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover. The contaminated rover wheel transferred viable endospores of B. subtilis to the Mars analog soil, as demonstrated by 31.7% of samples showing positive growth. However, when contaminated soil samples were exposed to full martian conditions for 24 h, only 16.7% of samples exhibited positive growth-a 50% reduction in the number of soil samples positive for the transferred viable endospores.     

Active polar gullies on Mars and the role of carbon dioxide

The detection of geologically recent channels and gullies on Mars has been interpreted as evidence for recent water activity on this arid and cold planet. The presence of active water would have considerable implications for the history of Mars and for the potential for an active near-surface biota; however, water is not the only substance that can flow and may actually be one of the least likely candidates when the modern permafrost environment is considered. Here, a key site of recent gully and channel development on Mars is reported at 71 degrees S in Sisyphi Cavi, within the annual zone of polar CO2 ice and snow accumulation. Superposition of channel features over and/or through the defrosting CO2 snowpack shows that the channels are active at the present day and probably have fluid flows every spring during the annual defrosting. In itself, this is a significant observation as active fluid flows of any nature have not yet been proven on Mars. However, the ambient temperature at the time of gully activity appears to require a role for CO2 in the formation of the channels, rather than water. A model is proposed for gas-lubricated flow in the channels based on avalanching of CO2 snowpack and clastic debris. If similar mechanisms are responsible for all the recent gullies on Mars, then perhaps no near-surface astrobiological targets are available.     

The physics,biology, and environmental ethics of making mars habitable

The considerable evidence that Mars once had a wetter, more clement, environment motivates the search for past or present life on that planet. This evidence also suggests the possibility of restoring habitable conditions on Mars. While the total amounts of the key molecules--carbon dioxide, water, and nitrogen--needed for creating a biosphere on Mars are unknown, estimates suggest that there may be enough in the subsurface. Super greenhouse gases, in particular, perfluorocarbons, are currently the most effective and practical way to warm Mars and thicken its atmosphere so that liquid water is stable on the surface. This process could take approximately 100 years. If enough carbon dioxide is frozen in the South Polar Cap and absorbed in the regolith, the resulting thick and warm carbon dioxide atmosphere could support many types of microorganisms, plants, and invertebrates. If a planet-wide martian biosphere converted carbon dioxide into oxygen with an average efficiency equal to that for Earth's biosphere, it would take > 100,000 years to create Earth-like oxygen levels. Ethical issues associated with bringing life to Mars center on the possibility of indigenous martian life and the relative value of a planet with or without a global biosphere.     

The Urey instrument: an advanced in situ organic and oxidant detector for Mars exploration

The Urey organic and oxidant detector consists of a suite of instruments designed to search for several classes of organic molecules in the martian regolith and ascertain whether these compounds were produced by biotic or abiotic processes using chirality measurements. These experiments will also determine the chemical stability of organic molecules within the host regolith based on the presence and chemical reactivity of surface and atmospheric oxidants. Urey has been selected for the Pasteur payload on the European Space Agency's (ESA's) upcoming 2013 ExoMars rover mission. The diverse and effective capabilities of Urey make it an integral part of the payload and will help to achieve a large portion of the mission's primary scientific objective: "to search for signs of past and present life on Mars." This instrument is named in honor of Harold Urey for his seminal contributions to the fields of cosmochemistry and the origin of life.     

Thermal drilling in planetary ices: an analytic solution with application to planetary protection problems of radioisotope power sources

Abstract Thermal drilling has been applied to studies of glaciers on Earth and proposed for study of the martian ice caps and the crust of Europa. Additionally, inadvertent thermal drilling by radioisotope sources released from the breakup of a space vehicle is of astrobiological concern in that this process may form a downward-propagating "warm little pond" that could convey terrestrial biota to a habitable environment. A simple analytic solution to the asymptotic slow-speed case of thermal drilling is noted and used to show that the high thermal conductivity of the low-temperature ice on Europa and Titan makes thermal drilling qualitatively more difficult than at Mars. It is shown that an isolated General Purpose Heat Source (GPHS) "brick" can drill effectively on Earth or Mars, whereas on Titan or Europa with ice at 100 K, the source would stall and become stuck in the ice with a surface temperature of <200 K. Key Words: Planetary protection-Planetary environments-Ice-Titan. Astrobiology 12, 799-802.     

An inversion approach for lunar regolith layer thickness using optical albedo data and microwave emission simulation

An approach to inversion of the lunar regolith layer thickness by using multi-channel brightness temperature observation in passive microwave remote sensing is developed. To first make simulation of brightness temperature from the lunar layered media, the lunar regolith layer thickness (d) is proposed being constructed by available lunar DEM (digital elevation mapping) and on site measurements. The physical temperature distribution (T) over the lunar surface is also empirically assumed as a monotonic function of the latitude. Optical albedo of the lunar nearside from the telescopic observation is employed to construct the spatial distribution of the FeO+TiO₂ content (S) in the lunar regolith layer. A statistic relationship between the DEM and S of the lunar nearside is further extended to construction of S of the lunar farside. Thus, the dielectric permittivity (ε) of global lunar regolith layer can then be determined. Based on all these conditions (d,T,ε), brightness temperature of the lunar regolith layer in passive microwave remote sensing, which is planned for China's Chang-E lunar project, is numerically simulated by a parallel layering model using the strong fluctuation theory of random media.Then, taking these simulations with random noise as observations, an inversion method of the lunar regolith layer thickness is developed by using three- or two-channels brightness temperatures. When the S is low, and the four channels brightness temperatures in China's Chang-E project are well distinguishable, the regolith layer thickness and physical temperature of the underlying lunar rock media can be inverted by the three-channels approach. When the S becomes high that the brightness temperature at high frequency channels such as 19.35, 37 GHz are saturated, the regolith layer thickness is alternatively inverted only by the two-channels approach.Numerical simulation and inversion approach in this paper make an evaluation of the performance for lunar passive microwave remote sensing, and for future data calibration and validation.     

“CITHARE” thermal inertia and humidity cartography over Africa by geostationary satellite

The study of ground thermal behavior can give fruitful information on subsoil characteristics and soil moisture. Interest in this field has led to the definition of the CITHARE project, whose aim is to determine the feasibility of elaborating significant products for geological and hydrological purposes. The basis for such a study is to utilize many successive IR and visible pictures in order to assess thermal inertia over a given area. For that reason a meterological geosynchronous satellite, such as SMS or METEOSAT, with its high temporal and stable coverage appears as a first choice data source. Results, obtained with a preliminary set of SMS data demonstrate the influence of sensible heat, wind, surface roughness, topography on the determination of thermal inertia. The continuous observation of the Earth is required to properly discriminate such effects for a determination of thermal inertia.     

双探针法测量月壤热物性参数的影响因素分析

针对双探针法测量月壤热物性过程,建立了探针与月壤组成的多层介质在太阳辐照加 热与月表辐射散热作用下的二维非稳态传热模型。通过数值模拟,分析了探针长度、直径、 中心间距和加热功率等因素对测量结果的影响。结果表明,若月壤导热系数在0.01W／
(m·K)左右,则月壤的弱导热性是双探针探测设计中需考虑的主要因素。在上述分析的基 础上,设计了双探针结构,对一导热性能较差的松散介质进行了地面测量实验,通过试错法 反演测量数据得到该介质的热扩散率与导热系数,为进一步应用研究提供了参考。     

进入火星大气的高温真实气体效应与气动加热研究

针对火星和地球大气分子热力学和化学行为的差异性,采用理论分析和数值模拟两种手段,研究探测器进入过程高超声速流动的分子振动激发、离解反应及热力学和化学非平衡等真实气体效应,获得不同气体模型条件下的高超声速气动加热规律,探究引起地火差异的根本原因。分析认为,探测器进入火星大气层的稀薄气体效应明显;激波层内发生CO 2气体为主的大规模离解,在极高温环境下O 2和CO也将离解;沿进入轨道的高超声速流动基本处于化学非平衡但热力学平衡状态;激波层内能量储存和分配模式因分子振动激发和化学反应而改变,分子振动激发会增强气动加热量,但均介于化学反应模型的完全非催化和完全催化壁结果之间;相同来流条件下CO 2介质高超声速气动加热强于空气介质,但真实的火星进入热载荷因大气稀薄而弱于地球再入环境。相关研究为我国未来火星探测器热防护系统设计提供技术支持。     

Diurnal change of MW and IR thermal emissions from lunar craters with relevance to rock abundance

Abnormal “hot spots” during a total eclipse on the lunar surface were revealed by using a ground based infrared (IR) scanner and visible telescope in the early 1960s, which turned out to be “cold spots” on the microwave (MW) brightness temperature distribution at night according to the Chang'E (CE)-1 radiometer's observations. In this paper, a theoretical analysis of radiative transfer is presented to explain this abnormal phenomenon of diurnal changes. Two typical craters, representing the abnormal fresh craters rich in rock abundance and an old one almost free of rocks located at similar latitudes are chosen for comparison of the diurnal temperature change. Using the measurements of CE-1 multi-channel microwave radiometer, brightness temperatures from these two craters are presented and applied to inversions of the physical temperatures of lunar regolith media, based on a three-layer radiative transfer model. The correlation between the diurnal MW and IR thermal changes of the lunar surface and the rock abundance is discussed.