Far-UVC light as a new tool to reduce microbial burden during spacecraft assembly

This work aims to investigate far-UVC light at 222 nm as a new microbial reduction tool for planetary protection purposes which could potentially be integrated into the spacecraft assembly process. The major advantage of far-UVC (222 nm) compared to traditional germicidal UVC (254 nm) is the potential for application throughout the spacecraft assembly process in the presence of humans without adverse health effects due to the limited penetration of far-UVC light into biological materials. Testing the efficacy of 222-nm light at inactivating hardy bacterial cells and spores isolated from spacecraft and associated surfaces is a necessary step to evaluate this technology. We assessed survival of Bacillus pumilus SAFR-032 and Acinetobacter radioresistens 50v1 exposed to 222-nm light on proxy spacecraft surfaces simulated by drying the bacteria on aluminum coupons. The survival fraction of both bacteria followed a single stage decay function up to 60 mJ/cm², revealing similar susceptibility of both species to 222-nm light, which was independent of the exposure rate. Irradiation with far-UVC light at 222 nm is an effective method to decontaminate the proxy spacecraft materials tested in this study.     

Space–Time Structure of Energetic Electron Precipitations according to the Data of Balloon Observations and Polar Satellite Measurements on February 1–6, 2015

Cosmic Research - The results of an analysis of the space–time characteristics and dynamics of precipitations of magnetospheric electrons with energies in the range from 0.1 to 0.7 MeV are...     

Facile Fabrication of Hierarchical Porous N/O Functionalized Carbon Derived from Blighted Grains Towards Electrochemical Capacitors

The hierarchical porous N/O co-functionalized carbon(HPNOC)was scalably prepared by using the lowcost and renewable blighted grains as the raw material coupled with mild KHCO_3 activation for electrochemical capacitors(ECs).The elemental N was in situ doped in the obtained HPNOC without any N-containing additives.Remarkably,the obtained HPNOC was endowed with a large specific surface area(about 2 624m~2·g~(-1)),high pore volume(about 1.35cm~3·g~(-1)),as well as high-content N/O functionalization(about 1.9%(in atom)N and about 10.2%(in atom)O.Furthermore,the as-resulted HPNOC electrode with a high mass loading of 5mg·cm~(-2 )exhibited competitive gravimetric capacitances of about 373.6F·g~(-1 )at 0.5A·g~(-1),and even about 260.4F·g~(-1 )at a high rate of 10A·g~(-1);superior capacitance retention of about 98.8%at 1A·g~(-1 )over 10 000consecutive cycles;and high specific energy of about 9.6W·h·kg~(-1 )at a power of 500W·kg~(-1),when evaluated as a promising electrode in 6mol KOH for advanced electrochemical supercapacitors.More encouragingly,the green synthetic strategy we developed holds a huge promise in generalizing for other biomass-derived carbon materials for versatile energy-related applications.     

Local Path Planning and Tracking Control of Vehicle Collision Avoidance System

Automotive collision avoidance technology can effectively avoid the accidents caused by dangerous traffic conditions or driver's manipulation errors.Moreover,it can promote the development of autonomous driving for intelligent vehicle in intelligent transportation.We present a collision avoidance system,which is composed of an evasive trajectory planner and a path following controller.Considering the stability of the vehicle in the conflict-free process,the evasive trajectory planner is designed by polynomial parametric method and optimized by genetic algorithm.The path following controller is proposed to make the car drive along the designed path by controlling the vehicle's lateral movement.Simulation results show that the vehicle with the proposed controller has good stability in the collision process,and it can ensure the vehicle driving in accordance with the planned trajectory at different speeds.The research results can provide a certain basis for the research and development of automotive collision avoidance technology.     

Water Partitioning in Planetary Embryos and Protoplanets with Magma Oceans

The water content of magma oceans is widely accepted as a key factor that determines whether a terrestrial planet is habitable. Water ocean mass is determined as a result not only of water delivery and loss, but also of water partitioning among several reservoirs. Here we review our current understanding of water partitioning among the atmosphere, magma ocean, and solid mantle of accreting planetary embryos and protoplanets just after giant collisions. Magma oceans are readily formed in planetary embryos and protoplanets in their accretion phase. Significant amounts of water are partitioned into magma oceans, provided the planetary building blocks are water-rich enough. Particularly important but still quite uncertain issues are how much water the planetary building blocks contain initially and how water goes out of the solidifying mantle and is finally degassed to the atmosphere. Constraints from both solar-system explorations and exoplanet observations and also from laboratory experiments are needed to resolve these issues.     

Advanced Pulsed Plasma Thrusters and Their Application as a Part of Small Spacecraft Propulsion Systems

The paper presents the research results of the effect of a capacitor energy storage device configuration on the specific characteristics of advanced modern propulsion systems based on the ablative pulsed plasma thrusters (APPT). These thrusters are designed to perform specific tasks within the small spacecrafts with the onboard power capacity up to 200 W.     

Features of whistling electromagnetic wave propagation descending from above upon the night ionosphere

The results of numerical solution of the wave equations for the oblique incidence of whistling electromagnetic waves upon the night ionosphere from above have been obtained and analyzed. In the studied region of altitudes, within the wavelength scale, charged particle concentration varies drastically, and damping caused by collisions between the charged and neutral particles decreases considerably. Below, the sharp lower boundary of the ionosphere, the refractive index of the whistler wave approaches unity, and plasma turbulence transform into atmospheric electromagnetic waves. The dependences of the whistler reflection factor are found in terms of energy and horizontal magnetic component of the electromagnetic wave near the Earth’s surface on the frequency and the wave vector transverse component for the plain-layered medium model at two values of latitude. Strong dependences have been found on the wave angle of incidence and frequency. At rather small angles of incidence, the wave disturbances reach the Earth’s surface, and the module of reflection coefficient logarithm is in the range of 0.4–1. At large angles of incidence, the reflection coefficient module varies over a wide range depending on specific conditions. The obtained results explain the absence of oscillation modes of plasma magnetosphere maser in the night magnetosphere.     

The Role and Contributions of Energetic Neutral Atom (ENA) Imaging in Magnetospheric Substorm Research

Energetic Neutral Atom (ENA) imaging has contributed substantially to substorm research. This technique has allowed significant advances in areas such as observation and quantification of injected particle drift as a function of energy, observation of dynamics in the tail that are directly related to the effects of imposed (growth phase) and induced (expansion phase) electric fields on the plasma, the prompt extraction of oxygen from the ionosphere during substorms, the relationship between storms and substorms, and the timing of substorm ENA signatures. We present discussion of the advantages and shortcomings of the ENA technique for studying space plasmas. Although the technique is in its infancy, it is yielding results that enrich our understanding of the substorm process and its effects.