The NASA Astrobiology Roadmap

The NASA Astrobiology Roadmap provides guidance for research and technology development across the NASA enterprises that encompass the space, Earth, and biological sciences. The ongoing development of astrobiology roadmaps embodies the contributions of diverse scientists and technologists from government, universities, and private institutions. The Roadmap addresses three basic questions: How does life begin and evolve, does life exist elsewhere in the universe, and what is the future of life on Earth and beyond? Seven Science Goals outline the following key domains of investigation: understanding the nature and distribution of habitable environments in the universe, exploring for habitable environments and life in our own solar system, understanding the emergence of life, determining how early life on Earth interacted and evolved with its changing environment, understanding the evolutionary mechanisms and environmental limits of life, determining the principles that will shape life in the future, and recognizing signatures of life on other worlds and on early Earth. For each of these goals, Science Objectives outline more specific high-priority efforts for the next 3-5 years. These 18 objectives are being integrated with NASA strategic planning.     

Challenges for coring deep permafrost on Earth and Mars

A scientific drilling expedition to the High Lake region of Nunavut, Canada, was recently completed with the goals of collecting samples and delineating gradients in salinity, gas composition, pH, pe, and microbial abundance in a 400 m thick permafrost zone and accessing the underlying pristine subpermafrost brine. With a triple-barrel wireline tool and the use of stringent quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) protocols, 200 m of frozen, Archean, mafic volcanic rock was collected from the lower boundary that separates the permafrost layer and subpermafrost saline water. Hot water was used to remove cuttings and prevent the drill rods from freezing in place. No cryopegs were detected during penetration through the permafrost. Coring stopped at the 535 m depth, and the drill water was bailed from the hole while saline water replaced it. Within 24 hours, the borehole iced closed at 125 m depth due to vapor condensation from atmospheric moisture and, initially, warm water leaking through the casing, which blocked further access. Preliminary data suggest that the recovered cores contain viable anaerobic microorganisms that are not contaminants even though isotopic analyses of the saline borehole water suggests that it is a residue of the drilling brine used to remove the ice from the upper, older portion of the borehole. Any proposed coring mission to Mars that seeks to access subpermafrost brine will not only require borehole stability but also a means by which to generate substantial heating along the borehole string to prevent closure of the borehole from condensation of water vapor generated by drilling.     

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.     

代理成本与效益“黑洞”

本文针对生产增长、效益下降现象，对经营代价的三个组成部分：生产成本、必要的管理成本和代理成本进行了分析，证明在现行管理体制下，代理成本是效益严重流失的主要渠道。但现行管理方法对此不仅无有效的控制手段，而且在很多方面还促使代理成本泛滥。本文提出了一些解决措施。     

航天器天基测控技术仿真研究

天基测控技术是航天测控系统的发展方向，是弥补地基（陆基＋海基）测控系统缺陷、缓解地基测控资源紧张的有效办法。本文提出了基于“北斗一号”系统的航天器天基测控技术仿真方法，设计并建立了相应的仿真系统。基于建立的仿真系统、按照设计的仿真方法对航天器天基测控技术进行了全面仿真。仿真结果表明，基于“北斗一号”系统的天基测控技术可行，性能指标可以满足中低轨道航天器实际测控需要。     

激光快速成形镍基高温合金研究

在单道熔覆及薄壁墙试样制备的基础上 ,大致确定出Rene′95激光快速成形时的工艺参数和每层沉积高度 ,根据此高度对零件的CAD模型进行分层切片处理 ,生成二维平面信息 ,经过数据后处理并加入加工参数 ,生成数控信息输入成形系统 ,控制成形系统的沉积过程顺序完成各层的成形制造 ,直至加工出与CAD模型相一致的具有复杂外形的致密的金属零件。成形所用激光功率 16 0 0W ,扫描速度 3mm/s ,送粉速率 6 2g/min ,载气流量 0 3m3 /h ,所制零件总高 112mm(共沉积 380层 ) ,壁厚约 3mm ,每层沉积高度为 0 3mm ,零件具有良好的外形和尺寸精度。结果表明 :激光快速成形Rene′95镍基合金组织致密 ,成分均匀 ,沿成型高度方向具有定向凝固组织特征 ,具有较高的力学性能 但由于成型时存在很高的残余应力 ,容易导致开裂 ,通过基板预热可减缓应力。     

Radiation exposure predictions for short-duration stay Mars missions

The human radiation environment for several short-duration stay manned Mars missions is predicted using the Mission Radiation Calculation (MIRACAL) program, which was developed at NASA Langley Research Center. This program provides dose estimates for galactic cosmic rays (GCR) and large and ordinary solar proton flare events for various amounts of effective spacecraft shielding (both operational and storm shelter thicknesses) and a given time history of the spacecraft's heliocentric position. The results of this study show that most of the missions can survive the most recent large flares (if they were to occur at the missions' perihelion) if a 25 g/cm2 storm shelter is assumed. The dose predictions show that missions during solar minima (when solar flare activity is the lowest) are not necessarily the minimum dose cases, due to increased GCR contribution during this time period. The direct transfer mission studied has slightly lower doses than the outbound Venus swingby mission [on the order of 10-20 centi-Sieverts (cSv) lower], with the greatest dose differences for the assumed worst case scenario (when the large flares occur at perihelion). The GCR dose for a mission can be reduced by having the crew spend some fraction of its day nominally in the storm shelter (other than during flare events).