阵列天线雷达截面的预估

从理论预估和实际测量两方面讨论阵列天线的雷达截面。阐述了雷达截面对于频率、终端阻抗、阵列单元数、功率分配器以及接地平面的依赖关系。     

Cave biosignature suites: microbes,minerals, and Mars

Earth's subsurface offers one of the best possible sites to search for microbial life and the characteristic lithologies that life leaves behind. The subterrain may be equally valuable for astrobiology. Where surface conditions are particularly hostile, like on Mars, the subsurface may offer the only habitat for extant lifeforms and access to recognizable biosignatures. We have identified numerous unequivocally biogenic macroscopic, microscopic, and chemical/geochemical cave biosignatures. However, to be especially useful for astrobiology, we are looking for suites of characteristics. Ideally, "biosignature suites" should be both macroscopically and microscopically detectable, independently verifiable by nonmorphological means, and as independent as possible of specific details of life chemistries--demanding (and sometimes conflicting) criteria. Working in fragile, legally protected environments, we developed noninvasive and minimal impact techniques for life and biosignature detection/characterization analogous to Planetary Protection Protocols. Our difficult field conditions have shared limitations common to extraterrestrial robotic and human missions. Thus, the cave/subsurface astrobiology model addresses the most important goals from both scientific and operational points of view. We present details of cave biosignature suites involving manganese and iron oxides, calcite, and sulfur minerals. Suites include morphological fossils, mineral-coated filaments, living microbial mats and preserved biofabrics, 13C and 34S values consistent with microbial metabolism, genetic data, unusual elemental abundances and ratios, and crystallographic mineral forms.     

利用互耦合校准相控阵天线

在相控阵天线的制造过程中一般要对其阵列实施一次校准，并且校准需要大的近场或远场天线距离。技术服务公司（TSC）利用阵元间的互耦合特性，对仅用现有的阵列元作为（信号）源就可以精确地校准现代阵列的技术进行了验证。因此用机上自动化程序可以对阵列实施校准和再校准，无须在维护时取出天线。本文讨论了利用互耦合校准的理论，并给出了利用互耦合技术调谐现代808阵元试制天线的成功结果。     

联合实施超分辨率动目标特征提取及静态杂波抑制

对于许多涉及到杂波背景下的动目标探测和分类的军事与民事应用，高距离分辨率（HRR）动目标显示雷达正变得日益重要，对于地面高距离分辨率雷达，当目标慢动或沿近正侧向运动且相干处理间隔或驻留时间不太长时，距离徒动和距离特征失真的影响可忽略不计。基于这种假设，建议对存在静态杂波时由距离向间距很近的散射体组成的动目标的HRR特征提取采用稳健且计算简单的基于松驰的算法。数值仿真实例表明这种算法具有超分辨率和良好的估计性能。     

折射传播对机载雷达的影响

本文给出了折射传播对机械雷达数学建模影响的结果。由于大气的折射率不断变化，导致电磁波辐射的路径一般为曲线，在文中将看到这种情况对雷达性能的影响，以及如何对这种影响进行建模。本文推导的等效地球半径系数k对所有高度的机载雷达都适用，该系数在低空近似为k=4／3的常值；分析计算了地平线距离；确定了曲率半径，讨论了电磁波的曲线路径对俯仰角波束形状的损害及对距离选通的影响；提出了对损耗的计算；总结了建模要顾及的条件。     

Microbial fuel cells applied to the metabolically based detection of extraterrestrial life

Since the 1970s, when the Viking spacecrafts carried out experiments to detect microbial metabolism on the surface of Mars, the search for nonspecific methods to detect life in situ has been one of the goals of astrobiology. It is usually required that a methodology detect life independently from its composition or form and that the chosen biological signature point to a feature common to all living systems, such as the presence of metabolism. In this paper, we evaluate the use of microbial fuel cells (MFCs) for the detection of microbial life in situ. MFCs are electrochemical devices originally developed as power electrical sources and can be described as fuel cells in which the anode is submerged in a medium that contains microorganisms. These microorganisms, as part of their metabolic process, oxidize organic material, releasing electrons that contribute to the electric current, which is therefore proportional to metabolic and other redox processes. We show that power and current density values measured in MFCs that use microorganism cultures or soil samples in the anode are much larger than those obtained with a medium free of microorganisms or sterilized soil samples, respectively. In particular, we found that this is true for extremophiles, which have been proposed as potential inhabitants of extraterrestrial environments. Therefore, our results show that MFCs have the potential to be used for in situ detection of microbial life.     

Comparative survival analysis of Deinococcus radiodurans and the haloarchaea Natrialba magadii and Haloferax volcanii exposed to vacuum ultraviolet irradiation

The haloarchaea Natrialba magadii and Haloferax volcanii, as well as the radiation-resistant bacterium Deinococcus radiodurans, were exposed to vacuum UV (VUV) radiation at the Brazilian Synchrotron Light Laboratory. Cell monolayers (containing 10(5) to 10(6) cells per sample) were prepared over polycarbonate filters and irradiated under high vacuum (10(-5) Pa) with polychromatic synchrotron radiation. N. magadii was remarkably resistant to high vacuum with a survival fraction of (3.77±0.76)×10(-2), which was larger than that of D. radiodurans (1.13±0.23)×10(-2). The survival fraction of the haloarchaea H. volcanii, of (3.60±1.80)×10(-4), was much smaller. Radiation resistance profiles were similar between the haloarchaea and D. radiodurans for fluences up to 150?J m(-2). For fluences larger than 150?J m(-2), there was a significant decrease in the survival of haloarchaea, and in particular H. volcanii did not survive. Survival for D. radiodurans was 1% after exposure to the higher VUV fluence (1350?J m(-2)), while N. magadii had a survival lower than 0.1%. Such survival fractions are discussed regarding the possibility of interplanetary transfer of viable microorganisms and the possible existence of microbial life in extraterrestrial salty environments such as the planet Mars and Jupiter's moon Europa. This is the first work to report survival of haloarchaea under simulated interplanetary conditions.