Ultraviolet-stimulated fluorescence and phosphorescence of aromatic hydrocarbons in water ice

A principal goal of astrobiology is to detect and inventory the population of organic compounds on extraterrestrial bodies. Targets of specific interest include the wealth of icy worlds that populate our Solar System. One potential technique for in situ detection of organics trapped in water ice matrices involves ultraviolet-stimulated emission from these compounds. Here, we report a preliminary investigation into the feasibility of this concept. Specifically, fluorescence and phosphorescence of pure benzene ice and 1% mixtures of benzene, toluene, p-xylene, m-xylene, and o-xylene in water ice, respectively, were studied at temperatures ranging from ～17 K up to 160 K. Spectra were measured from 200-500 nm (50,000-20,000 cm(-1)) while ice mixtures were excited at 248.6 nm. The temperature dependence of the fluorescence and phosphorescence intensities was found to be independent of the thermal history and phase of the ice matrix in all cases examined. All phosphorescent emissions were found to decrease in intensity with increasing temperature. Similar behavior was observed for fluorescence in pure benzene, while the observed fluorescence intensity in water ices was independent of temperature.     

On laboratory simulation and the effect of small temperature oscillations about the freezing point and ice formation on the evaporation rate of water on Mars

We report measurements of the evaporation rate of water under Mars-like conditions (CO2 atmosphere at 7 mbar and approximately 0 degrees C) in which small temperature oscillations about the freezing point repeatedly formed and removed a thin layer of ice. We found that the average evaporation at 2.7 +/- 0.5 degrees C without an ice layer (corrected for the difference in gravity on Earth and on Mars) was 1.24 +/- 0.12 mm/h, while at -2.1 +/- 0.3 degrees C with an ice layer the average evaporation rate was 0.84 +/- 0.08 mm/h. These values are in good agreement with those calculated for the evaporation of liquid water and ice when it is assumed that evaporation only depends on diffusion and buoyancy. Our findings suggest that such differences in evaporation rates are entirely due to the temperature difference and that the ice layer has little effect on evaporation rate. We infer that the formation of thin layers of ice on pools of water on Mars does not significantly increase the stability of water on the surface of Mars.     

Subcritical water extractor for Mars analog soil analysis

Abstract Technologies that enable rapid and efficient extraction of biomarker compounds from various solid matrices are a critical requirement for the successful implementation of in situ chemical analysis of the martian regolith. Here, we describe a portable subcritical water extractor that mimics multiple organic solvent polarities by tuning the dielectric constant of liquid water through adjustment of temperature and pressure. Soil samples, collected from the Yungay region of the Atacama Desert (martian regolith analogue) in the summer of 2005, were used to test the instrument's performance. The total organic carbon was extracted from the samples at concentrations of 0.2-55.4 parts per million. The extraction data were compared to the total organic carbon content in the bulk soil, which was determined via a standard analytical procedure. The instrument's performance was examined over the temperature range of 25-250 degrees C at a fixed pressure of 20.7 MPa. Under these conditions, water remains in a subcritical fluid state with a dielectric constant varying between approximately 80 (at 25 degrees C) and approximately 30 (at 250 degrees C).     

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.     

传输/反射法测量复介电常数的三个方程研究

介绍了利用传输／反射参数测量复介电常数的三个方程。利用奇偶模方法分析传输线与二端口网络，得到传播常数与归一化特性阻抗的解析解。进而得到确定复介电常数的三个方程。利用这些方程仅用一次测量解决已有传输／反射法中存在的低损耗材料的厚度谐振问题、多值性问题及其它问题。讨论了利用这三个方程通过一次测量解决上述问题的方法并分析了这些方程的测量不确定度。最后给出了实验结果。     

航天器表面电荷激发空间静电场规律研究

从带电表面微元出发，通过求解泊松方程，得到带电介质平板表面邻近空间静电势的解析表达式，建立介质表面电位-介电常数模型，求得了带电介质平板表面电位、表面带电量和介质介电常数三者之间的关系式。结合典型的航天器表面介质材料带电案例，对此类圆盘结构介质平板带电问题进行了仿真分析，结果表明，在介质材料表面电位一定的情况下，表面电荷激发的空间静电势值随距离的增大而减小，并且距离介质表面越近，电势的空间变化率越大；在介质材料带电量相等的情况下，介质表面电位随着介质介电常数的增大而减小，并逐渐趋于一个稳定值，所以在一定范围内选择介电常数较大的介质材料可以降低介质的表面电位，减小介质间发生静电放电的几率。     

Determination of the density and percentage of metal oxides in the lunar soil based on radar data

Results of laboratory measurements of the dielectric characteristics of lunar soil samples returned to the Earth by the Luna and Apollo missions have been analyzed. The feasibility of determining the density of the upper cover of the Moon from the permittivity, which is restored as a result of solving the inverse problem of radiolocation, has been discussed. A formula has been proposed for approximating the frequency dependence of the loss tangent for the regolith and bedrock. Relationships have been deduced for estimating the percentage of metal oxides in the lunar soil.     

甲烷-乙烷混合推进剂深度过冷技术的实验研究

针对甲烷采用液氮过冷可能发生甲烷冰堵风险,提出了在甲烷中添加乙烷,制备凝固温度更低的甲烷-乙烷混合推进剂的新方案,搭建实验系统测试了甲烷-乙烷凝固温度变化规律。研究发现,随着甲烷含量提高,混合推进剂凝固温度先降低后升高。当甲烷、乙烷比例为0.71∶0.29时,混合推进剂达到最低凝固温度,约73.0 K。当采用常压饱和液氮对混合推进剂过冷时,控制甲烷含量在0.52~0.81间可避免推进剂冻结。相较于常压饱和甲烷,防冻结区的混合推进剂密度提高了24.0%~38.4%,液相存在温区增大至35.7 K~40.5 K。此外,甲烷-乙烷混合推进剂具有理论比冲高、再生冷却性能佳、结焦与积碳小等优势。所提出的甲烷-乙烷混合推进剂在火星探测等任务中具有可观的应用前景。     

星用FR-4材料本征介电性能随温度的变化研究

卫星内带电效应是引起航天器故障的重要原因之一。地面试验模拟和分析评估是内带电效应研究的主要手段,而介质材料的介电性能参数是分析评估的必要输入条件。文章系统介绍了FR-4材料的电导率、介电常数、介电强度3种本征介电参数的测量方法,并通过试验测量了不同温度下FR-4的介电参数。研究发现,FR-4本征介电参数并非固定值,而会随温度发生规律性的变化。     

月壤含水特性原位快速预判传感器设计与验证

基于月壤和水冰对不同谱段近红外激光存在吸收/反射差异性的特点,提出了采用多模近红外激光光强差异反演月壤含水特性的水冰原位快速预判方法。通过发射/接收光路同轴设计及多模激光光路分时复用设计,实现了多模激光光学系统轻小型化设计,研制出基于多模近红外激光的月壤水冰原位快速预判传感器工程样机,并开展了针对低含水率极区模拟月壤的含水特性原位预判试验。试验结果表明：该传感器水冰检测限可达0.39%,单次预判时间可优于1 s,光斑直径@检测距离为5 cm@500 mm,传感器具备对地面模拟月壤含水特性进行原位快速预判的能力。     

Venus, Mars, and the ices on Mercury and the moon: astrobiological implications and proposed mission designs

Venus and Mars likely had liquid water bodies on their surface early in the Solar System history. The surfaces of Venus and Mars are presently not a suitable habitat for life, but reservoirs of liquid water remain in the atmosphere of Venus and the subsurface of Mars, and with it also the possibility of microbial life. Microbial organisms may have adapted to live in these ecological niches by the evolutionary force of directional selection. Missions to our neighboring planets should therefore be planned to explore these potentially life-containing refuges and return samples for analysis. Sample return missions should also include ice samples from Mercury and the Moon, which may contain information about the biogenic material that catalyzed the early evolution of life on Earth (or elsewhere). To obtain such information, science-driven exploration is necessary through varying degrees of mission operation autonomy. A hierarchical mission design is envisioned that includes spaceborne (orbital), atmosphere (airborne), surface (mobile such as rover and stationary such as lander or sensor), and subsurface (e.g., ground-penetrating radar, drilling, etc.) agents working in concert to allow for sufficient mission safety and redundancy, to perform extensive and challenging reconnaissance, and to lead to a thorough search for evidence of life and habitability.     

Rainbows, polarization, and the search for habitable planets

Current proposals for the characterization of extrasolar terrestrial planets rest primarily on the use of spectroscopic techniques. While spectroscopy is effective in detecting the gaseous components of a planet's atmosphere, it provides no way of detecting the presence of liquid water, the defining characteristic of a habitable planet. In this paper, I investigate the potential of an alternative technique for characterizing the atmosphere of a planet using polarization. By looking for a polarization peak at the "primary rainbow" scattering angle, it is possible to detect the presence of liquid droplets in a planet's atmosphere and constrain the nature of the liquid through its refractive index. Single scattering calculations are presented to show that a well-defined rainbow scattering peak is present over the full range of likely cloud droplet sizes and clearly distinguishes the presence of liquid droplets from solid particles such as ice or dust. Rainbow scattering has been used in the past to determine the nature of the cloud droplets in the Venus atmosphere and by the POLarization and Directionality of Earth Reflectances (POLDER) instrument to distinguish between liquid and ice clouds in the Earth atmosphere. While the presence of liquid water clouds does not guarantee the presence of water at the surface, this technique could complement spectroscopic techniques for characterizing the atmospheres of potential habitable planets. The disk-integrated rainbow peak for Earth is estimated to be at a degree of polarization of 12.7% or 15.5% for two different cloud cover scenarios. The observation of this rainbow peak is shown to be feasible with the proposed Terrestrial Planet Finder Coronograph mission in similar total integration times to those required for spectroscopic characterization.     

LIFE: Life Investigation For Enceladus A Sample Return Mission Concept in Search for Evidence of Life

Abstract Life Investigation For Enceladus (LIFE) presents a low-cost sample return mission to Enceladus, a body with high astrobiological potential. There is ample evidence that liquid water exists under ice coverage in the form of active geysers in the "tiger stripes" area of the southern Enceladus hemisphere. This active plume consists of gas and ice particles and enables the sampling of fresh materials from the interior that may originate from a liquid water source. The particles consist mostly of water ice and are 1-10?μ in diameter. The plume composition shows H(2)O, CO(2), CH(4), NH(3), Ar, and evidence that more complex organic species might be present. Since life on Earth exists whenever liquid water, organics, and energy coexist, understanding the chemical components of the emanating ice particles could indicate whether life is potentially present on Enceladus. The icy worlds of the outer planets are testing grounds for some of the theories for the origin of life on Earth. The LIFE mission concept is envisioned in two parts: first, to orbit Saturn (in order to achieve lower sampling speeds, approaching 2 km/s, and thus enable a softer sample collection impact than Stardust, and to make possible multiple flybys of Enceladus); second, to sample Enceladus' plume, the E ring of Saturn, and the Titan upper atmosphere. With new findings from these samples, NASA could provide detailed chemical and isotopic and, potentially, biological compositional context of the plume. Since the duration of the Enceladus plume is unpredictable, it is imperative that these samples are captured at the earliest flight opportunity. If LIFE is launched before 2019, it could take advantage of a Jupiter gravity assist, which would thus reduce mission lifetimes and launch vehicle costs. The LIFE concept offers science returns comparable to those of a Flagship mission but at the measurably lower sample return costs of a Discovery-class mission. Key Words: Astrobiology-Habitability-Enceladus-Biosignatures. Astrobiology 12, 730-742.     

Suppression of the water ice and snow albedo feedback on planets orbiting red dwarf stars and the subsequent widening of the habitable zone

M stars comprise 80% of main sequence stars, so their planetary systems provide the best chance for finding habitable planets, that is, those with surface liquid water. We have modeled the broadband albedo or reflectivity of water ice and snow for simulated planetary surfaces orbiting two observed red dwarf stars (or M stars), using spectrally resolved data of Earth's cryosphere. The gradual reduction of the albedos of snow and ice at wavelengths greater than 1 μm, combined with M stars emitting a significant fraction of their radiation at these same longer wavelengths, means that the albedos of ice and snow on planets orbiting M stars are much lower than their values on Earth. Our results imply that the ice/snow albedo climate feedback is significantly weaker for planets orbiting M stars than for planets orbiting G-type stars such as the Sun. In addition, planets with significant ice and snow cover will have significantly higher surface temperatures for a given stellar flux if the spectral variation of cryospheric albedo is considered, which in turn implies that the outer edge of the habitable zone around M stars may be 10-30% farther away from the parent star than previously thought.     

不同密度弹丸对水冰的超高速撞击成坑实验

为了研究冰冻天体表面撞击坑的形成与演化，开展了水冰的超高速撞击成坑实验。使用二级轻气炮发射1.0 mm直径的球形弹丸，以3 km/s、5 km/s和7 km/s速度对圆柱状冰块进行撞击。弹丸材料包括聚碳酸酯和不锈钢两种，冰块温度为253 K。实验观察到了不同弹丸和不同速度条件下，冰块中撞击坑的形貌特征。对撞击坑直径、深度和剖面形状进行了测量，并与文献中铝弹丸对水冰的撞击坑进行了比较分析。获得了水冰撞击坑特征随撞击参数的变化规律，结果表明：撞击坑直径和深度的主导机制不同，坑深主要由弹丸侵彻作用形成，而坑径主要由冰块的剥落所致；坑深比坑径具有更强的对于弹丸密度的依赖性，高密度弹丸撞击坑直径具有比低密度弹丸更强的对于撞击速度的依赖性；撞击坑体积与撞击能量成正比，高密度弹丸形成的撞击坑直径表现出“能量缩比”行为，而低密度弹丸形成的撞击坑直径表现出“动量缩比”行为。     

Nitrogen fixation on early Mars and other terrestrial planets: experimental demonstration of abiotic fixation reactions to nitrite and nitrate

Understanding the abiotic fixation of nitrogen is critical to understanding planetary evolution and the potential origin of life on terrestrial planets. Nitrogen, an essential biochemical element, is certainly necessary for life as we know it to arise. The loss of atmospheric nitrogen can result in an incapacity to sustain liquid water and impact planetary habitability and hydrological processes that shape the surface. However, our current understanding of how such fixation may occur is almost entirely theoretical. This work experimentally examines the chemistry, in both gas and aqueous phases, that would occur from the formation of NO and CO by the shock heating of a model carbon dioxide/nitrogen atmosphere such as is currently thought to exist on early terrestrial planets. The results show that two pathways exist for the abiotic fixation of nitrogen from the atmosphere into the crust: one via HNO and another via NO(2). Fixation via HNO, which requires liquid water, could represent fixation on a planet with liquid water (and hence would also be a source of nitrogen for the origin of life). The pathway via NO(2) does not require liquid water and shows that fixation could occur even when liquid water has been lost from a planet's surface (for example, continuing to remove nitrogen through NO(2) reaction with ice, adsorbed water, etc.).     

Hydroelectrolytic and hormonal modifications related to prolonged bedrest in antiorthostatic position

The effects of prolonged bedrest in antiorthostatic position (-4 degrees head down) on electrolyte balance were studied in 4 young volunteers. An increase was noted in sodium excretion during the first 4 days. Plasma renin activity and plasma aldosterone varied in parallel manner during the same period. Potassium balance and creatinine clearance were not significantly modified. In light of these data we feel that prolonged bedrest in antiorthostatic position constitutes an effective way to simulate on earth metabolic and hormonal modifications occurring in man under weightlessness conditions.     

Production of oxidants by ion irradiation of water/carbon dioxide frozen mixtures

We present new experimental results on the formation of oxidants, such as hydrogen peroxide, ozone, and carbonic acid, under ion irradiation of icy mixtures of water/carbon dioxide at different ratios and temperatures (16 and 80 K). Pure water ice layers and mixtures with carbon dioxide were irradiated by 200 keV He+ ions. We found that the CO(2)/H(2)O ratio progressively decreased to a value of about 0.1, the H(2)O(2) production increased with increasing CO(2) abundance at both 16 and 80 K, and the CO and H(2)CO(3) production increased with increasing CO(2) abundance at 16 K. At 80 K, the synthesis of CO was less efficient because of the high volatility of the molecule that partially sublimed from the target. The production of carbonic acid was connected with the production of CO(3). O(3) was detected only after ion irradiation of CO(2)-rich mixtures. The experimental results are discussed with regard to the relevance they may have in the production of an energy source for a europan or a martian biosphere.     

一种基于氧化锆陶瓷的宽带圆极化双环天线

随着射频系统工作频率的不断提高,介质天线因不受导体损耗影响而备受关注。基于高介电常数介质波导在其高次模截止区的漏波辐射以及陶瓷三维打印技术,提出了一种宽带圆极化双环介质天线。相比于同样是工作于行波模式的金属宽带圆极化环天线,该介质天线的漏波辐射更易产生。探究了介质波导的辐射机理,并详细展示了该介质天线的设计过程：先将漏波辐射的直介质波导弯曲成单环以实现圆极化,再把单环结构拓展为双环,从而展宽天线的工作带宽。通过对比单环与双环介质天线可以发现,双环结构的轴比带宽大约是单环的3倍,且两天线在工作频段内均具有良好的右旋圆极化特性。为了验证该天线设计的有效性,利用陶瓷光固化工艺（一种三维打印技术）制作了天线实物,其实测轴比带宽为3.94~5.1GHz,最大增益为8.6dBic。     

卫星介质深层充放电模拟实验装置研制进展

文章介绍了深层充放电研究的国内外现状及中科院空间中心在研的卫星深层充放电实验模拟装置进展情况。锶90/钇90β放射源和5～100 keV电子枪被设计到一个真空系统内,分别作为介质深层充电及介质电导率的测试手段。分别用β放射源和电子枪对介质样品进行了辐照试验,观察到了kV级的充电电位和放电现象。在辐照样品之前进行的辐照空靶的实验均未观测到放电信号。该装置可为我国发展长寿命、高可靠的新一代通信、气象等中高轨卫星提供深层放电防护设计的基础数据、理论和技术支撑。