The seasonal cycle of water on Mars

A review of the behavior of water in the Mars atmosphere and subsurface is appropriate now that data from the Mariner and Viking spacecraft have been analyzed and discussed for several years following completion of those missions. Observations and analyses pertinent to the seasonal cycle of water vapor in the atmosphere of Mars are reviewed, with attention toward transport of water and the seasonal exchange of water between the atmosphere and various non-atmospheric reservoirs. Possible seasonally-accessible sources and sinks for water include water ice on or within the seasonal and residual polar caps; surface or subsurface ice in the high-latitude regions of the planet; adsorbed or chemically-bound water within the near-surface regolith; or surface or subsurface liquid water. The stability of water within each of these reservoirs is discussed, as are the mechanisms for driving exchange of the water with the atmosphere and the timescales for exchange. Specific conclusions are reached about the distribution of water and the viability of each mechanism as a seasonal reservoir. Discussion is also included of the behaviour of water on longer timescales, driven by the variations in solar forcing due to the quasi-periodic variations of the orbital obliquity. Finally, specific suggestions are made for future observations from spacecraft which would further define or constrain the seasonal cycle of water.     

Dust in and Around the Heliosphere and Astrospheres

Space Science Reviews - The ESA Swarm mission, launched on 22 November 2013, consists of three spacecraft each equipped with a Micro Advanced Stellar Compass ( $\mu $ ASC) from the Technical...     

Kinetics of gas-Grain Reactions in the Solar Nebula

Thermochemical equilibrium calculations predict gas phase, gas-grain, and solid phase reactions as a function of pressure and temperature in the solar nebula. However, chemical reactions proceed at different rates, which generally decrease exponentially with decreasing temperature. At sufficiently low temperatures (which vary depending on the specific reaction) there may not have been enough time for the predicted equilibrium chemistry to have taken place before the local environment cooled significantly or before the gaseous solar nebula was dispersed. As a consequence, some of the high temperature chemistry established in sufficiently hot regions of the solar nebula may be quenched or frozen in without the production of predicted low temperature phases. Experimental studies and theoretical models of three exemplary low temperature reactions, the formation of troilite (FeS), magnetite (Fe₃O₄), and hydrous silicates, have been done to quantify these ideas. A comparison of the chemical reaction rates with the estimated nebular lifetime of 0.1-10 million years indicates that troilite formation proceeded to completion in the solar nebula. Magnetite formation was much slower and only thin magnetite rims could have formed on metal grains. Hydrous silicate formation is predicted to be even slower, and hydrous silicates in meteorites and interplanetary dust particles probably formed later on the parent bodies of these objects, instead of in the solar nebula. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

GPS monitoring of vertical seafloor motion at Platform Harvest

We describe results from two decades of monitoring vertical seafloor motion at the Harvest oil platform, NASA’s prime verification site for the TOPEX/Poseidon and Jason series of reference altimeter missions. Using continuous GPS observations, we refine estimates of the platform subsidence—due most likely to fluid withdrawal linked to oil production—and describe the impact on estimates of stability for the altimeter measurement systems. The cumulative seafloor subsidence over 20 yrs is approximately 10 cm, but the rate does not appear constant. The apparent non-linear nature of the vertical motion, coupled with long-period GPS errors, implies that the quality of the seafloor motion estimates is not uniform over the 20-yr period. For the Jason-1 era (2002–2009), competing estimates for the subsidence show agreement to better than 1 mm yr⁻¹. Longer durations of data are needed before the seafloor motion estimates for the Jason-2 era (2008–present) can approach this level of accuracy.     

High accuracy satellite drag model (HASDM)

The dominant error source in force models used to predict low-perigee satellite trajectories is atmospheric drag. Errors in operational thermospheric density models cause significant errors in predicted satellite positions, since these models do not account for dynamic changes in atmospheric drag for orbit predictions. The Air Force Space Battlelab’s High Accuracy Satellite Drag Model (HASDM) estimates and predicts (out three days) a dynamically varying global density field. HASDM includes the Dynamic Calibration Atmosphere (DCA) algorithm that solves for the phases and amplitudes of the diurnal and semidiurnal variations of thermospheric density near real-time from the observed drag effects on a set of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) calibration satellites. The density correction is expressed as a function of latitude, local solar time and altitude. In HASDM, a time series prediction filter relates the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) energy index E_10.7 and the geomagnetic storm index a_p, to the DCA density correction parameters. The E_10.7 index is generated by the SOLAR2000 model, the first full spectrum model of solar irradiance. The estimated and predicted density fields will be used operationally to significantly improve the accuracy of predicted trajectories for all low-perigee satellites.     

A numerical optimization of high altitude testing facility for wind tunnel experiments

High altitude test facilities are required to test the high area ratio nozzles operating at the upper stages of rocket in the nozzle full flow conditions.It is typically achieved by creating the ambient pressure equal or less than the nozzle exit pressure.On average,air/GN2is used as active gas for ejector system that is stored in the high pressure cylinders.The wind tunnel facilities are used for conducting aerodynamic simulation experiments at/under various flow velocities and operating conditions.However,constructing both of these facilities require more laboratory space and expensive instruments.Because of this demerit,a novel scheme is implemented for conducting wind tunnel experiments by using the existing infrastructure available in the high altitude testing(HAT)facility.This article presents the details about the methods implemented for suitably modifying the sub-scale HAT facility to conduct wind tunnel experiments.Hence,the design of nozzle for required area ratio A/A*,realization of test section and the optimized configuration are focused in the present analysis.Specific insights into various rocket models including high thrust cryogenic engines and their holding mechanisms to conduct wind tunnel experiments in the HAT facility are analyzed.A detailed CFD analysis is done to propose this conversion without affecting the existing functional requirements of the HAT facility.     

Adaptations of the vestibular system to short and long-term exposures to altered gravity.

Long-term space flight creates unique environmental conditions to which the vestibular system must adapt for optimal survival of a given organism. The development and maintenance of vestibular connections are controlled by environmental gravitational stimulation as well as genetically controlled molecular interactions. This paper describes the effects of hypergravity on axonal growth and dendritic morphology, respectively. Two aspects of this vestibular adaptation are examined: (1) How does long-term exposure to hypergravity affect the development of vestibular axons? (2) How does short-term exposure to extremely rapid changes in gravity, such as those that occur during shuttle launch and landing, affect dendrites of the vestibulocerebellar system? To study the effects of longterm exposures to altered gravity, embryonic rats that developed in hypergravity were compared to microgravity-exposed and control rats. Examination of the vestibular projections from epithelia devoted to linear and angular acceleration revealed that the terminal fields segregate differently in rat embryos that gestated in each of the gravitational environments.To study the effects of short-term exposures to altered gravity, mice were exposed briefly to strong vestibular stimuli and the vestibulocerebellum was examined for any resulting morphological changes. My data show that these stimuli cause intense vestibular excitation of cerebellar Purkinje cells, which induce up-regulation of clathrin-mediated endocytosis and other morphological changes that are comparable to those seen in long-term depression. This system provides a basis for studying how the vestibular environment can modify cerebellar function, allowing animals to adapt to new environments.