Setting a standard: the limulus amebocyte lysate assay and the assessment of microbial contamination on spacecraft surfaces

Historically, colony-forming units as determined by plate cultures have been the standard unit for microbiological analysis of environmental samples, medical diagnostics, and products for human use. However, the time and materials required make plate cultures expensive and potentially hazardous in the closed environments of future NASA missions aboard the International Space Station and missions to other Solar System targets. The Limulus Amebocyte Lysate (LAL) assay is an established method for ensuring the sterility and cleanliness of samples in the meat-packing and pharmaceutical industries. Each of these industries has verified numerical requirements for the correct interpretation of results from this assay. The LAL assay is a rapid, point-of-use, verified assay that has already been approved by NASA Planetary Protection as an alternate, molecular method for the examination of outbound spacecraft. We hypothesize that standards for molecular techniques, similar to those used by the pharmaceutical and meat-packing industries, need to be set by space agencies to ensure accurate data interpretation and subsequent decision making. In support of this idea, we present research that has been conducted to relate the LAL assay to plate cultures, and we recommend values obtained from these investigations that could assist in interpretation and analysis of data obtained from the LAL assay.     

高温胁迫对岷江百合幼苗耐热指数和理化特性的影响

为了探明岷江百合幼苗在高温胁迫下的生理反应,以离体扩繁的岷江百合幼苗为研究材料,对其进行了不同高温(37 ℃/30 ℃、42 ℃/37 ℃)和不同时间(0、4、8、16、32、48 h)处理,研究了高温胁迫对其耐热指数和有关生理生化指标(叶绿素、丙二醛、游离脯氨酸、可溶性蛋白含量和SOD活性)的影响.结果表明:随着温度的升高和处理时间的延长,植株的耐热指数不断下降,叶绿素含量减少,丙二醛(MDA)含量增加;42 ℃胁迫32 h后,游离脯氨酸、可溶性蛋白含量、SOD活性均达到最大值,分别比对照增加了0.66倍、1.77倍和9.78倍.但胁迫48 h后,指标显著下降,这说明,42 ℃间断胁迫48 h对植株产生了不可逆的的热伤害作用.     

星载缝隙波导微波天线热控方案研究与验证

微波天线阵面的热变形是影响在轨指向精度的关键因素，如何解决大功率器件的散热问题至关重要。某微波天线热耗峰值近万瓦，在近20 m²的全阵面内，需要保证收发(TR)组件的温升和补偿加热器的功耗不能过高。针对某微波天线特有的工作模式和外热流情况，提出了机械泵驱动流体回路(MPFL)、双面散热和相变热管 3种热控方案，并分析了各自的特点和适用性。为解决天线内部狭小空间的辐射传导耦合问题，开展了单模块热阻实验分析与优化，并得到了在轨测试的验证。     

The MESSENGER Gamma-Ray and Neutron Spectrometer

A Gamma-Ray and Neutron Spectrometer (GRNS) instrument has been developed as part of the science payload for NASA’s Discovery Program mission to the planet Mercury. Mercury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) launched successfully in 2004 and will journey more than six years before entering Mercury orbit to begin a one-year investigation. The GRNS instrument forms part of the geochemistry investigation and will yield maps of the elemental composition of the planet surface. Major elements include H, O, Na, Mg, Si, Ca, Ti, Fe, K, and Th. The Gamma-Ray Spectrometer (GRS) portion detects gamma-ray emissions in the 0.1- to 10-MeV energy range and achieves an energy resolution of 3.5 keV full-width at half-maximum for ⁶⁰Co (1332 keV). It is the first interplanetary use of a mechanically cooled Ge detector. Special construction techniques provide the necessary thermal isolation to maintain the sensor’s encapsulated detector at cryogenic temperatures (90 K) despite the intense thermal environment. Given the mission constraints, the GRS sensor is necessarily body-mounted to the spacecraft, but the outer housing is equipped with an anticoincidence shield to reduce the background from charged particles. The Neutron Spectrometer (NS) sensor consists of a sandwich of three scintillation detectors working in concert to measure the flux of ejected neutrons in three energy ranges from thermal to ∼7 MeV. The NS is particularly sensitive to H content and will help resolve the composition of Mercury’s polar deposits. This paper provides an overview of the Gamma-Ray and Neutron Spectrometer and describes its science and measurement objectives, the design and operation of the instrument, the ground calibration effort, and a look at some early in-flight data.     

Cu对铝热法制备的Fe3Al-10％Ni块体纳米晶材料组织和性能影响

通过铝热法制备了Cu含量为2％,4％,6％(质量分数,下同)的Fe3Al-10％ Ni块体纳米晶材料,用光学显微镜(OM),电子探针(EPMA),X-射线衍射仪(XRD)和透射电镜(TEM)表征了材料的微观结构,并测定了材料的维氏硬度和室温压缩性能.结果表明:Cu含量低(2％)时,合金保持无序bcc结构,晶粒尺寸显著下...     

On halo orbits spacecraft stabilization

The paper deals with the application of recent non-linear control techniques to the problem of tracking and maintaining a given satellite on prescribed orbits around the so-called translunar libration point L₂. Such orbits, known in literature as Halo Orbits, have the property of ensuring visibility both from the dark side of the Moon and from Earth at any time. Their importance is strictly related to the placement of a base situated on the dark side of the Moon for advanced space missions as deep space observation, solar system exploration and scientific researches in a low gravity enviroment.

Because of the instability of the equilibrium L₂, such orbits cannot be maintained without an active control. In this paper we investigate the application of nonlinear control techniques to solve the problem. A comparison between linear and nonlinear methods is developed and simulation results are discussed.