Engineering concepts for inflatable Mars surface greenhouses.

A major challenge of designing a bioregenerative life support system for Mars is the reduction of the mass, volume, power, thermal and crew-time requirements. Structural mass of the greenhouse could be saved by operating the greenhouse at low atmospheric pressure. This paper investigates the feasibility of this concept. The method of equivalent system mass is used to compare greenhouses operated at high atmospheric pressure to greenhouses operated at low pressure for three different lighting methods: natural, artificial and hybrid lighting.     

Planet-B mission to Mars - 1998

PLANET-B is the Japanese Mars orbiter program. The primary objective of the program is to study the Martian aeronomy, putting emphasis on the interaction of the Martian upper atmosphere with the solar wind. The launch of the spacecraft is scheduled for August, 1998. The periapsis altitude and the apoapsis are 150 km and 15 Mars radii, respectively. The dry weight of the orbiter is 186 kg including 14 science instruments. Advanced technologies are employed in the design of the spacecraft in order to overcome the weight limitation. This paper describes the scientific objectives of the PLANET-B program and outline of the spacecraft system.     

Modern aspects of planetary protection and requirements to sterilization of space hardware.

The viewpoint of working group of Russian experts on the problem of planetary protection for future manned and unmanned Mars mission is presented. Recent data of Martian environment and on survival of terrestrial microorganisms in extreme conditions were used for detailed analysis and overview of planetary protection measures in regard to all possible flight situations including accidental landing. The special emphasis on "Mars-94" mission was done. This analysis resulted in revised formulation of spacecraft sterilization requirements and possible measures for their best implementation. New general combined approach to spacecraft sterilization was proposed. It includes penetrating radiation and heat treatment of spacecraft parts and components which is to be carried out before the final assembly of spacecraft and gaseous radiation sterilization of the whole spacecraft during the flight to Mars (or from Mars for return missions).     

VEGA three-channel spectrometer experiment: Spectroscopy of comet Halley in the visible and near-ultraviolet ranges

A total of 3600 spectra of Comet Halley in the 275–710 nm were obtained on March, 8, 9, 10 and 11, 1986, from the VEGA 2 spacecraft. The emissions of OH, NH, CN, C₃, CH, C₂, NH₂ and H₂O⁺ are identified. From the OH intensity in the (0,0) band: 1.1 Megarayleigh at 5400 km from the nucleus, it can be inferred that the OH production rate was (1.4 ± 0.5)×10³⁰ molecules s⁻¹. The NH, C₃, CH and NH₂ bands became comparatively more intense at distances from the nucleus shorter than 3000km. At 06:40 U.T. when the instrument field of view was 6000×4500 km, two jets were observed. Spectra from the jets show significant differences with other spectra. Inside a jet NH, C₃ and NH₂ are comparatively more intense and the rotational distributions of OH, CN and C₂ are strongly distorted. This shows that part of the observed emissions probably comes from radicals directly produced in the excited state during the initial process of photolysis of the parent molecules.     

Changes in vacuolation in the root apex cells of soybean seedlings in microgravity.

Changes in the vacuolation in root apex cells of soybean (Glycine max L. [Merr.]) seedlings grown in microgravity were investigated. Spaceflight and ground control seedlings were grown in the absence or presence of KMnO4 (to remove ethylene) for 6 days. After landing, in order to study of cell ultrastructure and subcellular free calcium ion distribution, seedling root apices were fixed in 2.5% (w/v) glutaraldehyde in 0.1 M cacodylate buffer and 2% (w/v) glutaraldehyde, 2.5% (w/v) formaldehyde, 2% (w/v) potassium antimonate K[Sb(OH)6] in 0.1 M K2HPO4 buffer with an osmolarity (calculated theoretically) of 0.45 and 1.26 osmol. The concentrations of ethylene in all spaceflight canisters were significantly higher than in the ground control canisters. Seedling growth was reduced in the spaceflight-exposed plants. Additionally, the spaceflight-exposed plants exhibited progressive vacuolation in the root apex cells, particularly in the columella cells, to a greater degree than the ground controls. Plasmolysis was observed in columella cells of spaceflight roots fixed in solutions with relatively high osmolarity (1.26 osmol). The appearance of plasmolysis permitted the evaluation of the water status of cells. The water potential of the spaceflight cells was higher than the surrounding fixative solution. A decrease in osmotic potential and/or an increase in turgor potential may have induced increases in cell water potential. However, the plasmolysed (i.e. non-turgid) cells implied that increases in water potential were accompanied with a decrease in osmotic potential. In such cells changes in vacuolation may have been involved to maintain turgor pressure or may have been a result of intensification of other vacuolar functions like digestion and storage.     

Chemistry of the interstellar medium--an evolutionary dead end?

An analysis of the experimental data available and of the present theoretical concepts shows that even the initial physicochemical chemical precellular stages of biological evolution are impossible in the interstellar medium, while biomonomers possibly formed on asteroids and comets might have participated after transportation to the Earth in the final stages of the origin of the first precellular biological structures and then in the first living cells.     

An approach to the detection of microbe life in planetary environments through charge-coupled devices

The use of charge-coupled devices is suggested as a means for detecting growth of micro-organism colonies. The accuracy of the method is determined by channel width and the sensitivity by the signal/noise ratio. The method was tested on a dense nutrient medium, which is to be considered more suitable to micro-organisms of the dry Martian soil than the water solution of nutrients employed in the Viking's strategy.     

The Spacelab-Mir-1 "Greenhouse-2" experiment.

The Spacelab-Mir-1 (SLM-1) mission is the first docking of the Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-71) with the Orbital Station Mir in June 1995. The SLM-1 "Greenhouse-2" experiment will utilize the Russian-Bulgarian-developed plant growth unit (Svet). "Greenhouse-2" will include two plantings (1) designed to test the capability of Svet to grow a crop of Superdwarf wheat from seed to seed, and (2) to provide green plant material for post-flight analysis. Protocols, procedures, and equipment for the experiment have been developed by the US-Russian science team. "Greenhouse-2" will also provide the first orbital test of a new Svet Instrumentation System (SIS) developed by Utah State University to provide near real time data on plant environmental parameters and gas-exchange rates. SIS supplements the Svet control and monitoring system with additional sensors for substrate moisture, air temperature, IR leaf temperature, light, oxygen, pressure, humidity, and carbon-dioxide. SIS provides the capability to monitor canopy transpiration and net assimilation of the plants growing in each vegetation unit (root zone) by enclosing the canopy in separate, retractable, ventilated leaf chambers. Six times during the seed-to-seed experiment, plant samples will be collected, leaf area measured, and plant parts fixed and/or dried for ground analysis. A second planting initiated 30 days before the arrival of a U.S. Shuttle [originally planned to be STS-71] is designed to provide green material at the vegetative development stage for ground analysis. [As this paper is being edited, the experiment has been delayed until after the arrival of STS-71.]     

Transition region line-shifts in the rebound shock spicule model

Spectral emission lines created in the solar chromosphere — corona transition region show net red-shifts. It has been proposed that this may be the result of the return of spicular material. We simulate a spicule numerically using the rebound shock model and find that the resulting hydrodynamic evolution leads to a perceived up-flow in transition region spectral lines even though the average velocity in the line forming region is directed downward. The explanation for this apparent paradox is found in the correlation between density and velocity in the waves generated by the rebound shock spicule.