A procedure for benchmarking laboratory exposures with 1 A GeV iron ions.

A new version of the HZETRN code capable of simulating HZE ions with either laboratory or space boundary conditions is under development. The computational model consists of combinations of physical perturbation expansions based on the scales of atomic interaction, multiple scattering, and nuclear reactive processes with use of asymptotic/Neumann expansions with non-perturbative corrections. The code contains energy loss with straggling, nuclear attenuation, nuclear fragmentation with energy dispersion and downshifts, and off-axis dispersion with multiple scattering under preparation. The present benchmark is for a broad directed beam for 1 A GeV iron ion beams with 2 A MeV width and four targets of polyethylene, polymethyl metachrylate, aluminum, and lead of varying thickness from 5 to 30 g/cm2. The benchmark quantities will be dose, track averaged LET, dose averaged LET, fraction of iron ion remaining, and fragment energy spectra after 23 g/cm2 of polymethyl metachrylate.     

Does the lunar surface still offer value as a site for astronomical observatories?

Current thinking about the Moon as a destination has revitalized interest in lunar astronomical observatories. Once seen by a large scientific community as a highly enabling site, the dramatic improvement in capabilities for free-space observatories prompts reevaluation of this interest. Whereas the lunar surface offers huge performance advantages for astronomy over terrestrial sites, free-space locales such as Earth orbit or Lagrange points offer performance that is superior to what could be achieved on the Moon. While astronomy from the Moon may be cost-effective once infrastructure is there, it is in many respects no longer clearly enabling compared with free space.     

Radiation climate map for analyzing risks to astronauts on the mars surface from galactic cosmic rays

The potential risks for late effects including cancer, cataracts, and neurological disorders due to exposures to the galactic cosmic rays (GCR) is a large concern for the human exploration of Mars. Physical models are needed to project the radiation exposures to be received by astronauts in transit to Mars and on the Mars surface, including the understanding of the modification of the GCR by the Martian atmosphere and identifying shielding optimization approaches. The Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) mission has been collecting Martian surface topographical data with the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA). Here we present calculations of radiation climate maps of the surface of Mars using the MOLA data, the radiation transport model HZETRN (high charge and high energy transport), and the quantum multiple scattering fragmentation model, QMSFRG. Organ doses and the average number of particle hits per cell nucleus from GCR components (protons, heavy ions, and neutrons) are evaluated as a function of the altitude on the Martian surface. Approaches to improve the accuracy of the radiation climate map, presented here using data from the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission, are discussed.     

Effect of Processing and Composition on the Structure and Properties of P/M EP741NP Type Alloys

A study was carried out on the effects of processing and composition on the structure and properties of P/M EP741NP type alloys. The objectives of this study were to understand the role of Hf in a P/M superalloy containing high niobium used in aircraft engines and to determine the effects of extrusion and forging the powders as contrasted to HIPing (hot isostatic pressing) only. Two alloys of the P/M EP741NP composition were atomized: one alloy contained 0.26%Hf and the other was Hf free. After the as-atomized powders from both alloys were characterized, the powders were extruded into billets, forged and heat treated. After each process, the microstructures were characterized by SEM and the phases were extracted and identified by X-ray diffraction. The presence of Hf in the residues was probed by EDS (energy dispersive spectroscopy). The alloys were given the published Russian heat treatment as well as a more conventional heat treatment more typical of western powder alloys. Tensile, creep and stress rupture mechanical property tests were run. Results of the structural behavior of the alloys after each processing step will be presented and discussed. The role of the Hf on the mechanical proper- ties will be discussed.     

Monitoring Changes in Continental Water Storage with GRACE

The Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment, GRACE , will enable the recovery of monthly estimates of changes in water storage, on land and in the ocean, averaged over arbitrary regions having length scales of a few hundred km and larger. These data will allow the examination of changes in the distribution of water in the ocean, in snow and ice on polar ice sheets, and in continental water and snow storage. Extracting changes in water storage from the GRACE dataset requires the use of averaging kernels which can isolate a particular region. To estimate the accuracy to which continental water storage changes in a few representative regions may be recovered, we construct a synthetic GRACE dataset from global, gridded models of surface-mass variability. We find that regional changes in water storage can be recovered with rms error less than 1 cm of equivalent water thickness, for regions having areas of 4 × 10⁵ km² and larger. Signals in smaller regions may also be recovered; however, interpretations of such results require a careful consideration of model resolution, as well as the nature of the averaging kernel. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Prediction of the LISA-Pathfinder release mechanism in-flight performance

In the LISA Pathfinder mission, the grabbing positioning and release mechanism will perform a critical phase, which is the injection of a test mass into a perfect free-fall condition (also called geodesic trajectory). A possible failure is the test mass remaining adhered to the mechanism or released with an excessive velocity, which would hinder the subsequent capacitive control to the desired geodesic status.     

Key ecological challenges for closed systems facilities

Closed ecological systems are desirable for a number of purposes. In space life support systems, material closure allows precious life-supporting resources to be kept inside and recycled. Closure in small biospheric systems facilitates detailed measurement of global ecological processes and biogeochemical cycles. Closed testbeds facilitate research topics which require isolation from the outside (e.g. genetically modified organisms; radioisotopes) so their ecological interactions and fluxes can be studied separate from interactions with the outside environment. But to achieve and maintain closure entails solving complex ecological challenges. These challenges include being able to handle faster cycling rates and accentuated daily and seasonal fluxes of critical life elements such as carbon dioxide, oxygen, water, macro- and mico-nutrients. The problems of achieving sustainability in closed systems for life support include how to handle atmospheric dynamics including trace gases, producing a complete human diet, recycling nutrients and maintaining soil fertility, the maintenance of healthy air and water and preventing the loss of critical elements from active circulation. In biospheric facilities, the challenge is also to produce analogues to natural biomes and ecosystems, studying processes of self-organization and adaptation in systems that allow specification or determination of state variables and cycles which may be followed through all interactions from atmosphere to soils. Other challenges include the dynamics and genetics of small populations, the psychological challenges for small isolated human groups and backup technologies and strategic options which may be necessary to ensure long-term operation of closed ecological systems.     

Collisional and Radiative Processes in Optically Thin Plasmas

Most of our knowledge of the physical processes in distant plasmas is obtained through measurement of the radiation they produce. Here we provide an overview of the main collisional and radiative processes and examples of diagnostics relevant to the microphysical processes in the plasma. Many analyses assume a time-steady plasma with ion populations in equilibrium with the local temperature and Maxwellian distributions of particle velocities, but these assumptions are easily violated in many cases. We consider these departures from equilibrium and possible diagnostics in detail.     

Longitudinal differences in the equatorial spread F characteristics between Vietnam and Brazil

We present the results of a comparative study of the equatorial spread F (ESF) and the F layer critical parameter, the base height of the F layer bottomside (h′F) over the two equatorial sites, Ho Chi Minh City – HCM (dip latitude: 2.9°N) in Vietnam and Sao Luis – SL (dip latitude: ∼2°S) in Brazil. The study utilizes simultaneous data collected by a CADI at HCM and a digisonde at SL during the year 2002 with the monthly mean solar 10.7 cm flux (F10.7) varying from ∼120 to ∼185. This study focuses on the quiet time seasonal behavior of the F layer parameters in the two widely separated longitude sectors, and addresses the question as to what can we learn from such comparative studies with respect to the ambient ionospheric and thermospheric parameters that are believed to control the ESF generation and hence its longitudinal occurrence pattern. The observed differences/similarities in the diurnal and seasonal patterns of the F Layer height vis-à-vis the ESF occurrences are evaluated in terms of the known longitudinal differences in the F layer heights, thermospheric meridional winds and the geomagnetic peculiarities of the two sites.     

Numerical study of the generation of linear energy transfer spectra for space radiation applications

In analyzing charged particle spectra in space due to galactic cosmic rays (GCR) and solar particle events (SPE), the conversion of particle energy spectra into linear energy transfer (LET) distributions is a convenient guide in assessing biologically significant components of these spectra. The mapping of LET to energy is triple valued and can be defined only on open energy subintervals where the derivative of LET with respect to energy is not zero. Presented here is a well-defined numerical procedure which allows for the generation of LET spectra on the open energy subintervals where, in spite of their singular nature, the spectra are integrable. The efficiency of the numerical procedures is demonstrated by providing examples of computed differential and integral LET spectra and their equilibrium components for historically large SPEs and 1977 solar minimum GCR environments. Due to the biological significance of tissue, all simulations are done with tissue as the target material.