Was there a late Archean biospheric explosion?

There is a growing body of evidence which suggests that the evolution of the planet drives the evolution of the biosphere. There have been 2 significant stages in Earth history when atmospheric oxygen levels rose rapidly, and both appear to be associated with supercontinent cycles. The earlier biospheric event, which extends across the Archean-Proterozoic boundary (ca. 3.0-2.2 Ga), has received little attention and is the focus of this study. Recent work on the Pilbara Craton of Western Australia has shown that concretion formed by microbial activity during the diagenesis of these sediments are absent from early Archean sediments but abundant in late Archean and early Paleoproterozoic successions of the Hamersley Basin, appearing abruptly in sedimentary rocks younger than 2.7 Ga. This study suggests that their internal architecture may have been defined by the diffusion of humic acids and the formation of polymer gels during diagenesis. The data imply that the biosphere expanded suddenly shortly after 3.0 Ga and may have begun to raise the oxygen levels of the oceanic water column earlier than thought-possibly as much as 300 my earlier.     

跨介质航行器波浪环境入水流场演变和运动特性研究

跨介质航行器是一种既可以在空中飞行又可以在水下潜航的新概念航行器,基于仿生学原理,提出一种通过改变外形实现水空介质跨越的航行器模型,通过入水试验装置和计算流体动力学方法,对航行器带攻角从空气到水的介质跨越过程进行了试验和数值仿真研究,得到了跨介质入水过程航行器的运动姿态和入水空泡形态,并通过数值仿真得到了航行器的升力、阻力、速度和加速度演化规律。同时基于数值模拟方法对有波浪情况和静水情况下航行器入水过程空泡演变以及运动特性进行对比。结果表明:提出的航行器构型在水中具有较好的姿态调整能力,波浪的有无和波高的不同都会对航行体入水运动特性造成影响。     

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.).     

Giant polygons and mounds in the lowlands of Mars: signatures of an ancient ocean?

This paper presents the hypothesis that the well-known giant polygons and bright mounds of the martian lowlands may be related to a common process-a process of fluid expulsion that results from burial of fine-grained sediments beneath a body of water. Specifically, we hypothesize that giant polygons and mounds in Chryse and Acidalia Planitiae are analogous to kilometer-scale polygons and mud volcanoes in terrestrial, marine basins and that the co-occurrence of masses of these features in Chryse and Acidalia may be the signature of sedimentary processes in an ancient martian ocean. We base this hypothesis on recent data from both Earth and Mars. On Earth, 3-D seismic data illustrate kilometer-scale polygons that may be analogous to the giant polygons on Mars. The terrestrial polygons form in fine-grained sediments that have been deposited and buried in passive-margin, marine settings. These polygons are thought to result from compaction/dewatering, and they are commonly associated with fluid expulsion features, such as mud volcanoes. On Mars, in Chryse and Acidalia Planitiae, orbital data demonstrate that giant polygons and mounds have overlapping spatial distributions. There, each set of features occurs within a geological setting that is seemingly analogous to that of the terrestrial, kilometer-scale polygons (broad basin of deposition, predicted fine-grained sediments, and lack of significant horizontal stress). Regionally, the martian polygons and mounds both show a correlation to elevation, as if their formation were related to past water levels. Although these observations are based on older data with incomplete coverage, a similar correlation to elevation has been established in one local area studied in detail with newer higher-resolution data. Further mapping with the latest data sets should more clearly elucidate the relationship(s) of the polygons and mounds to elevation over the entire Chryse-Acidalia region and thereby provide more insight into this hypothesis.     

Location and sampling of aqueous and hydrothermal deposits in martian impact craters

Do large craters on Mars represent sites that contain aqueous and hydrothermal deposits that provide clues to astrobiological processes? Are these materials available for sampling in large craters? Several lines of evidence strongly support the exploration of large impact craters to study deposits important for astrobiology. The great depth of impact craters, up to several kilometers relative to the surrounding terrain, can allow the breaching of local aquifers, providing a source of water for lakes and hydrothermal systems. Craters can also be filled with water from outflow channels and valley networks to form large lakes with accompanying sedimentation. Impact melt and uplifted basement heat sources in craters > 50 km in diameter should be sufficient to drive substantial hydrothermal activity and keep crater lakes from freezing for thousands of years, even under cold climatic conditions. Fluid flow in hydrothermal systems is focused at the edges of large planar impact melt sheets, suggesting that the edge of the melt sheets will have experienced substantial hydrothermal alteration and mineral deposition. Hydrothermal deposits, fine-grained lacustrine sediments, and playa evaporite deposits may preserve evidence for biogeochemical processes that occurred in the aquifers and craters. Therefore, large craters may represent giant Petri dishes for culturing preexisting life on Mars and promoting biogeochemical processes. Landing sites must be identified in craters where access to the buried lacustrine sediments and impact melt deposits is provided by processes such as erosion from outflow channels, faulting, aeolian erosion, or excavation by later superimposed cratering events. Very recent gully formation and small impacts within craters may allow surface sampling of organic materials exposed only recently to the harsh oxidizing surface environment.     

航行体高速入水问题研究综述

从理论研究、实验研究和数值仿真研究3个方面综述了航行体高速入水问题的研究进展。入水问题研究可分为入水冲击、空泡的形成演化以及入水弹道3个方向。在入水冲击研究方面,概述了入水冲击的理论计算方法、数值仿真方法以及入水冲击实验的研究进展;在入水空泡研究方面,概述了空泡的形成理论与形态演化模型、入水空泡实验以及数值仿真研究成果;在入水弹道研究方面,概述了入水弹道稳定性的实验、数值仿真研究情况。在此基础上,提出了后续入水研究发展重点方向。     

Impact craters as biospheric microenvironments, Lawn Hill Structure, Northern Australia

Impact craters on Mars act as traps for eolian sediment and in the past may have provided suitable microenvironments that could have supported and preserved a stressed biosphere. If this is so, terrestrial impact structures such as the 18-km-diameter Lawn Hill Structure, in northern Australia, may prove useful as martian analogs. We sampled outcrop and drill core from the carbonate fill of the Lawn Hill Structure and recorded its gamma-log signature. Facies data along with whole rock geochemistry and stable isotope signatures show that the crater fill is an outlier of the Georgina Basin and was formed by impact at, or shortly before, approximately 509-506 million years ago. Subsequently, it was rapidly engulfed by the Middle Cambrian marine transgression, which filled it with shallow marine carbonates and evaporites. The crater formed a protected but restricted microenvironment in which sediments four times the thickness of the nearby basinal succession accumulated. Similar structures, common on the martian surface, may well have acted as biospheric refuges as the planet's water resources declined. Low-pH aqueous environments on Earth similar to those on Mars, while extreme, support diverse ecologies. The architecture of the eolian crater fill would have been defined by long-term ground water cycles resulting from intermittent precipitation in an extremely arid climate. Nutrient recycling, critical to a closed lacustrine sub-ice biosphere, could be provided by eolian transport onto the frozen water surface.     

嫦娥一号卫星的近期科学探测成果

嫦娥一号月球探测卫星采用CCD相机和激光高度计,对月球表面参数特征进行了测量,获得了覆盖完整、分辨率高的全月球数字高程模型（DEM）。基于数字高程模型,可以鉴别中尺度的月球表面的地质地貌、盆地和火山等。这些新的研究成果将有益于对月球地质演化的深入研究。     

Mineralization of wastes of human vital activity and plants to be used in a Life Support System

Available methods for mineralizing wastes of human activity and inedible biomass of plants used in this country and abroad are divided into two types: dry mineralization at high temperatures up to 1270 K with subsequent partial dissolution of the ash and the other--wet oxidation by acids. In this case mineralization is performed at a temperature of 470-460 K and a pressure of 220-270 atmospheres in pure oxygen with the output of mineral solution and dissoluble sediments in the form of scale. The drawback of the first method is the formation of dioxins, CO, SO2, NO2 and other toxic compounds. The latter method is too sophisticated and is presently confined to bench testing. The here proposed method to mineralize the wastes is in mid-position between the thermal and physical chemical methods. At a temperature of 80-90 degrees C the mixture was exposed to a controlled electromagnetic field at normal atmospheric pressure. The method merits simplicity, reliability, produces no dissoluble sediment or emissions noxious for human and plants. The basic difference from the above said methods is to employ as an oxidizer atomic oxygen, its active forms including OH-radicals with hydrogen peroxide as the source. Hydrogen peroxide can be produced with electric power from water inside the Life Support System (LSS).     

空化对航行器垂向入水特性影响机理研究

航行器以一定速度入水过程中将发生空化现象,这对其受力特性及运动轨迹都有重要影响,是跨介质航行器的关键问题。针对航行器不同速度垂向入水中的空化现象开展了数值模拟研究,采用整体运动网格方法,分析了航行器垂向入水过程中,空化和入水速度对运动特性及流场演化的影响。研究结果表明,超空泡主要从航行器外形斜率改变处开始生成,空泡的闭合与溃灭都会造成受力曲线的较大波动。超空泡的减阻效果主要在航行器完全进入水面后体现,且航行器垂向入水速度越大,阻力系数越小。     

An estimate of the prevalence of biocompatible and habitable planets

A Monte Carlo computer model of extra-solar planetary formation and evolution, which includes the planetary geochemical carbon cycle, is presented. The results of a run of one million galactic disc stars are shown where the aim was to assess the possible abundance of both biocompatible and habitable planets. (Biocompatible planets are defined as worlds where the long-term presence of surface liquid water provides environmental conditions suitable for the origin and evolution of life. Habitable planets are those worlds with more specifically Earthlike conditions). The model gives an estimate of 1 biocompatible planet per 39 stars, with the subset of habitable planets being much rarer at 1 such planet per 413 stars. The nearest biocompatible planet may thus lie approximately 14 LY distant and the nearest habitable planet approximately 31 LY away. If planets form in multiple star systems then the above planet/star ratios may be more than doubled. By applying the results to stars in the solar neighbourhood, it is possible to identify 28 stars at distances of < 22 LY with a non-zero probability of possessing a biocompatible planet.     

Stability of amino acids and their oligomerization under high-pressure conditions: implications for prebiotic chemistry

The polymerization of amino acids leading to the formation of peptides and proteins is a significant problem for the origin of life. This problem stems from the instability of amino acids and the difficulty of their oligomerization in aqueous environments, such as seafloor hydrothermal systems. We investigated the stability of amino acids and their oligomerization reactions under high-temperature (180-400°C) and high-pressure (1.0-5.5?GPa) conditions, based on the hypothesis that the polymerization of amino acids occurred in marine sediments during diagenesis and metamorphism, at convergent margins on early Earth. Our results show that the amino acids glycine and alanine are stabilized by high pressure. Oligomers up to pentamers were formed, which has never been reported for alanine in the absence of a catalyst. The yields of peptides at a given temperature and reaction time were higher under higher-pressure conditions. Elemental, infrared, and isotopic analyses of the reaction products indicated that deamination is a key degradation process for amino acids and peptides under high-pressure conditions. A possible NH(3)-rich environment in marine sediments on early Earth may have further stabilized amino acids and peptides by inhibiting their deamination.     

Discrimination of aqueous and aeolian paleoenvironments by atomic force microscopy-- a database for the characterization of martian sediments

In the search for aqueous habitats on Mars direct proof of (ancient) flowing water is still lacking, although remote sensing has provided indications of young fluvial systems. To demonstrate that such proof can be given, we examined surface marks on recent terrestrial sand grains by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and applied a quantitative three-dimensional analysis that can numerically distinguish between aeolian and aquatic transport mechanisms in sedimentary deposits on Earth. The surfaces of natural quartz grains as well as olivine, feldspar pyroxene, and monazite sands of known origin were imaged, each image yielding a three-dimensional map of the mineral surface. A fully automated analysis of distribution patterns of the structural elements that constitute the grain surfaces shows that wind-transported quartz grains have short linear elements irregularly distributed on the surface. Linear elements on water-transported grains, however, are longer with orientations that reflect the mineral symmetry. Because the surface patterns found on aqueous grains are due to preferential etching, they can be used as diagnostic fingerprints for the existence of past or present aqueous transport systems. We used a cluster analysis of the cross-correlation distance of distribution patterns in the structures of aeolian and aquatic sand grains to build a phenogram that provides a map for the relationship of the various sediments found on earth. The analysis shows that the method is highly significant and that water and wind transport can clearly be differentiated. In particular, feldspar and olivine sands contributed even more to the discrimination than quartz grains, which indicated that the method is promising for its application on future missions to Mars. Assuming that martian aqueous sand grains exhibit similar erosional patterns to mineral grains on Earth, simple AFM experiments on a Mars lander would be capable of proving the activity of flowing water in modern runoff systems and of analyzing the paleoenvironments of Mars.     

高超声速边界层转捩特性试验探究

通过在激波风洞中开展转捩试验,选取来流马赫数分别为6和8,单位雷诺数分别为4.1×10 6m -1 、2.6×10 7m -1 和4.4×10 7m -1 的来流条件,研究马赫数、单位雷诺数以及攻角变化对钝锥边界层和平板边界层转捩位置的影响。结果表明,攻角增大使钝锥迎风面和背风面边界层转捩位置均前移,使平板边界层转捩位置也前移;钝锥边界层在低马赫数时更容易转捩,平板边界层转捩受马赫数影响在攻角有差异时有所不同;单位雷诺数的增大促进转捩,但对于钝锥边界层而言,该参数增加到试验选定的上限时,转捩位置的变化并不明显;在转捩过程中平板边界层的脉动压力系数与热流具有相同的变化趋势。试验捕捉到了第二模态扰动。     

Survey of mission evolution and flexibility in the Space Shuttle program

Given the diversity of missions it has accomplished and the myriad of adaptations it has undergone, the US Space Shuttle is widely regarded as a highly flexible space vehicle. With the Shuttle’s upcoming 2011 retirement, it is instructive to survey the history of this vehicle’s flexibility for the insights it can provide to the design and characterization of flexibility in future space systems. Data are presented on the evolution of mission requirements over time for 120 missions performed by the Space Shuttle over a period of some 27 years. Distinct trends in the time domain – as well as their causes – are identified and discussed, and early manifest plans from 1982 serve as a confirmation that these trends were not originally anticipated. Eight examples are then presented of engineering modifications that allowed the Shuttle to adapt and accommodate these requirement changes. Several additional instances of Shuttle flexibility are explored, such as post-Columbia disaster modification, upgrade programs and derived vehicles, and one case in which flexibility was inhibited by an early design decision.     

Radiolytic hydrogen and microbial respiration in subsurface sediments

Radiolysis of water may provide a continuous flux of an electron donor (molecular hydrogen) to subsurface microbial communities. We assessed the significance of this process in anoxic marine sediments by comparing calculated radiolytic H(2) production rates to estimates of net (organic-fueled) respiration at several Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Leg 201 sites. Radiolytic H(2) yield calculations are based on abundances of radioactive elements (uranium, thorium, and potassium), porosity, grain density, and a model of water radiolysis. Net respiration estimates are based on fluxes of dissolved electron acceptors and their products. Comparison of radiolytic H(2) yields and respiration at multiple sites suggests that radiolysis gains importance as an electron donor source as net respiration and organic carbon content decrease. Our results suggest that radiolytic production of H(2) may fuel 10% of the metabolic respiration at the Leg 201 site where organic-fueled respiration is lowest (ODP Site 1231). In sediments with even lower rates of organic-fueled respiration, water radiolysis may be the principal source of electron donors. Marine sedimentary ecosystems may be useful models for non-photosynthetic ecosystems on early Earth and on other planets and moons, such as Mars and Europa.     

Application of periodic solutions of three-dimensional three-body problem to designing the orbit of a space telescope

A method of constructing three-dimensional orbits with a necessary evolution in the system the Sun — (Earth + Moon) is described. The orbit (promising from the viewpoint of solving formulated research problems) of the Millimetron spacecraft is suggested. Feasibility of such an orbit is demonstrated, as well as a possibility to observe with its help the majority of objects on the celestial sphere and to transmit the data to the Earth.     

UDMH/NTO双组元凝胶推力器的初步探索

为了研制UDMH/NTO双组元凝胶推力器,利用理论分析、数值模拟及试验等手段对凝胶流变特性进行了初步研究;根据凝胶流变特性试验数据,利用最小二乘法拟合获得了凝胶流变特性参数;利用数值模拟研究了锥形流道锥角变化对凝胶流变特性的影响;设计了双组元凝胶推力器试验样机并完成了流量特性试验及热试车.结果表明,试验用UDMH/NTO两种凝胶推进剂流变特性较为接近;对于UDMH/NTO凝胶推进剂,通过数值模拟结果确定了最佳的锥角角度,可使凝胶平均表观粘度到达喷孔出口时降到最低;试验样机喷注器的流量特性数值模拟结果与试验值接近,说明该喷注器适合于凝胶的流动及雾化;热试车取得成功,获得了稳态、脉冲室压及结构温度等有效数据.     

K42O2高温合金激光选区熔化成形微观组织研究

为了实现激光选区熔化成形(SLM)这项新工艺在液体火箭发动机高温合金结构上的推广应用,明晰其强化机理以及研究相应的热处理制度,对激光选区熔化快速凝固条件下组织形成及演化规律、第二相析出特点进行了分析和讨论.采用SLM成形K4202镍基高温合金试样,通过光学显微镜(OM)、扫描电镜(SEM)及X射线衍射(XRD)等理化分析手段,将基于ANSYS生死单元技术的温度场数值模拟结果和经典凝固理论相结合,揭示了其组织特征及演化规律:沉积态表现为外延生长柱状晶,层间可见层带组织,顶部出现转向枝晶和二次枝晶臂,γ'强化相和碳化物的析出受到抑制.     

On the existence and stability of liquid water on the surface of mars today

The recent discovery of high concentrations of hydrogen just below the surface of Mars' polar regions by Mars Odyssey has enlivened the debate about past or present life on Mars. The prevailing assumption prior to the discovery was that the liquid water essential for its existence is absent. That assumption was based largely on the calculation of heat and mass transfer coefficients or theoretical climate models. This research uses an experimental approach to determine the feasibility of liquid water under martian conditions, setting the stage for a more empirical approach to the question of life on Mars. Experiments were conducted in three parts: Liquid water's existence was confirmed by droplets observed under martian conditions in part 1; the evolution of frost melting on the surface of various rocks under martian conditions was observed in part 2; and the evaporation rate of water in Petri dishes under Mars-like conditions was determined and compared with the theoretical predictions of various investigators in part 3. The results led to the conclusion that liquid water can be stable for extended periods of time on the martian surface under present-day conditions.