Annual solar UV exposure and biological effective dose rates on the Martian surface.

The ultraviolet (UV) environment of Mars has been investigated to gain an understanding of the variation of exposure throughout a Martian year, and link this flux to biological effects and possible survival of organisms at the Martian surface. To gain an idea of how the solar UV radiation varies between different regions, including planned landing sites of two future Mars surface missions, we modelled the total solar UV surface flux throughout one Martian year for two different dust scenarios. To understand the degree of solar UV stress on micro-organisms and/or molecules essential for life on the surface of Mars, we also calculated the biologically effective dose (BED) for T7 and Uracil in relevant wavelength regions at the Martian surface as a function of season and latitude, and discuss the biological survival rates in the presence of Martian solar UV radiation. High T7/Uracil BED ratios indicate that even at high latitudes where the UV flux is significantly reduced, the radiation environment is still hostile for life due to the persisting UV-C component of the flux.     

Search for organic molecules at the Mars surface: The “Martian Organic Material Irradiation and Evolution” (MOMIE) project

The life on Mars remains an open question because of the lack of proof of its past emergence and its current presence. The only indices of a potential Martian life were provided by the Viking Landers, and the study of the Martian meteorite ALH84001 discovered in the Antarctic. In the two case, the results of experiments could be explained either by the presence of life forms or by abiotic processes. The recent data of Mars Express orbiter and Mars Exploration Rovers show different proofs of a past environment favourable for life. Among the targets we seek, the organic molecules are primordial because they are necessary to the origin of life. A key question is to know if they are present, in which concentration and under which form. Within the framework of a search for organic, we are developing an experimental setup simulating as close as possible the environmental conditions of Mars surface in order to determine how organic species evolve. We present here the first step of the development of this experiment which focuses on the study of the impact of the solar UV radiations reaching the Mars surface on glycine. First results show that glycine does not resist if directly exposed to UV radiations.     

Stability of nucleic acid under the effect of UV radiation.

Nucleic acids (combined with protein molecules) are essential constituents of the living systems playing an important role in the early evolution of life as well. A specific feature of these molecules has been found and directly confirmed recently: under the influence of short-wavelength UV radiation bipyrimidine photoproducts (cyclobutane dimers and 6-4 bipyrimidines) are induced and the reversion of them can be provoked by the same photons. However, reversion is preferred by the shorter wavelengths. With increasing ratio of the longer wavelength components of the radiation (using artificial UV sources and solar light on the Earth's surface) the impact of the reversible photoproducts in the harmful biological effect decreases and other photoproducts are dominant. Assuming the photoinduced reactions (dimerisation and reversion) are statistical events, during the irradiation the chance for a number of nucleoprotein molecules to survive the radiation damage can be reality. The theoretical and experimental basis of these assumptions will be discussed in the case of bacteriophage T7 nucleoprotein.     

Simulation of the environmental climate conditions on martian surface and its effect on Deinococcus radiodurans

The resistance of terrestrial microorganisms under the thermo-physical conditions of Mars (diurnal temperature variations, UV climate, atmospheric pressure and gas composition) at mid-latitudes was studied for the understanding and assessment of potential life processes on Mars. In order to accomplish a targeted search for life on other planets, e.g. Mars, it is necessary to know the limiting physical and chemical parameters of terrestrial life. Therefore the polyextremophile bacterium Deinococcus radiodurans was chosen as test organism for these investigations. For the simulation studies at the Planetary and Space Simulation Facilities (PSI) at DLR, Cologne, Germany, conditions that are present during the southern summer at latitude of 60° on Mars were applied.We could simulate several environmental parameters of Mars in one single experiment: vacuum/low pressure, anoxic atmosphere and diurnal cycles in temperature and relative humidity, energy-rich ultraviolet (UV) radiation as well as shielding by different martian soil analogue materials. These parameters have been applied both single and in different combinations in laboratory experiments. Astonishingly the diurnal Mars-like cycles in temperature and relative humidity affected the viability of D. radiodurans cells quite severely. But the martian UV climate turned out to be the most deleterious factor, though D. radiodurans is red-pigmented due to carotenoids incorporated in its cell wall, which have been assigned not only a possible role as free radical scavenger but also as a UV-protectant. An additional UV-protection was accomplished by mixing the bacteria with nano-sized hematite.     

Survival of microorganisms in space protected by meteorite material: results of the experiment 'EXOBIOLOGIE' of the PERSEUS mission.

During the early evolution of life on Earth, before the formation of a protective ozone layer in the atmosphere, high intensities of solar UV radiation of short wavelengths could reach the surface of the Earth. Today the full spectrum of solar UV radiation is only experienced in space, where other important space parameters influence survival and genetic stability additionally, like vacuum, cosmic radiation, temperature extremes, microgravity. To reach a better understanding of the processes leading to the origin, evolution and distribution of life we have performed space experiments with microorganisms. The ability of resistant life forms like bacterial spores to survive high doses of extraterrestrial solar UV alone or in combination with other space parameters, e.g. vacuum, was investigated. Extraterrestrial solar UV was found to have a thousand times higher biological effectiveness than UV radiation filtered by stratospheric ozone concentrations found today on Earth. The protective effects of anorganic substances like artificial or real meteorites were determined on the MIR station. In the experiment EXOBIOLOGIE of the French PERSEUS mission (1999) it was found that very thin layers of anorganic material did not protect spores against the deleterious effects of energy-rich UV radiation in space to the expected amount, but that layers of UV radiation inactivated spores serve as a UV-shield by themselves, so that a hypothetical interplanetary transfer of life by the transport of microorganisms inside rocks through the solar system cannot be excluded, but requires the shielding of a substantial mass of anorganic substances.     

Complex organics in laboratory simulations of interstellar/cometary ices.

We present the photochemical and thermal evolution of both non-polar and polar ices representative of interstellar and pre-cometary grains. Ultraviolet photolysis of the non-polar ices comprised of O2, N2, and CO produces CO2, N2O, O3, CO3, HCO, H2CO, and possibly NO and NO2. When polar ice analogs (comprised of H2O, CH3OH, CO, and NH3) are exposed to UV radiation, simple molecules are formed including: H2, H2CO, CO2, CO, CH4, and HCO (the formyl radical). Warming produces moderately complex species such as CH3CH2OH (ethanol), HC(=O)NH2 (formamide), CH3C(=O)NH2 (acetamide), R-CN and/or R-NC (nitriles and/or isonitriles). Several of these are already known to be in the interstellar medium, and their presence indicates the importance of grain processing. Infrared spectroscopy, 1H and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry demonstrate that after warming to room temperature what remains is an organic residue composed primarily of hexamethylenetetramine (HMT, C6H12N4) and other complex organics including the amides above and polyoxymethylene (POM) and its derivatives. The formation of these organic species from simple starting mixtures under conditions germane to astrochemistry may have important implications for the organic chemistry of interstellar ice grains, comets and the origins of life.     

Quantitative determination of the outgassing water vapor concentrations surrounding space vehicles from ion mass spectrometer measurements

Outgassing from materials as well as deliberate gaseous and liquid releases create contaminant clouds around spacecraft that can degrade both instrumentation and measurements. This paper describes a new method for estimating outgassing water vapor concentrations around space vehicles. Water vapor ions measured in the course of a rocket experiment performed at Eglin AFB, Florida, on December 12, 1980 at 2311 UT are utilized to demonstrate the technique. The H₂O concentration near the payload's surface is calculated using the rate coefficient for the fast charge transfer process, O⁺ + H₂O + H₂O⁺ + O, the source of the observed water vapor ions. It is found that the measured H₂O⁺ ions were produced within 3–4 cm of the sampling plate's surface and that the average H₂O pressure over this distance was relatively constant on ascent at 8 × 10^?6 torr, within a factor two, implying a steady outgassing rate.     

Life on Mars? II. Physical restrictions.

The primary physical factors important to life's evolution on a planet include its temperature, pressure and radiation regimes. Temperature and pressure regulate the presence and duration of liquid water on the surface of Mars. The prolonged presence of liquid water is essential for the evolution and sustained presence of life on a planet. It has been postulated that Mars has always been a cold dry planet; it has also been postulated that early mars possessed a dense atmosphere of CO2 (> or = 1 bar) and sufficient water to cut large channels across its surface. The degree to which either of these postulates is true correlates with the suitability of Mars for life's evolution. Although radiation can destroy living systems, the high fluxes of UV radiation on the martian surface do not necessarily stop the origin and early evolution of life. The probability for life to have arisen and evolved to a significant degree on Mars, based on the postulated ranges of early martian physical factors, is almost solely related to the probability of liquid water existing on the planet for at least hundreds of millions to billions of years.     

Biological space experiments for the simulation of Martian conditions: UV radiation and Martian soil analogues.

The survivability of resistant terrestrial microbes, bacterial spores of Bacillus subtilis, was investigated in the BIOPAN facility of the European Space Agency onboard of Russian Earth-orbiting FOTON satellites (BIOPAN I -III missions). The spores were exposed to different subsets of the extreme environmental parameters in space (vacuum, extraterrestrial solar UV, shielding by protecting materials like artificial meteorites). The results of the three space experiments confirmed the deleterious effects of extraterrestrial solar UV radiation which, in contrast to the UV radiation reaching the surface of the Earth, also contains the very energy-rich, short wavelength UVB and UVC radiation. Thin layers of clay, rock or meteorite material were shown to be only successful in UV-shielding, if they are in direct contact with the spores. On Mars the UV radiation climate is similar to that of the early Earth before the development of a protective ozone layer in the atmosphere by the appearance of the first aerobic photosynthetic bacteria. The interference of Martian soil components and the intense and nearly unfiltered Martian solar UV radiation with spores of B. subtilis will be tested with a new BIOPAN experiment, MARSTOX. Different types of Mars soil analogues will be used to determine on one hand their potential toxicity alone or in combination with solar UV (phototoxicity) and on the other hand their UV protection capability. Two sets of samples will be placed under different cut-off filters used to simulate the UV radiation climate of Mars and Earth. After exposure in space the survival of and mutation induction in the spores will be analyzed at the DLR, together with parallel samples from the corresponding ground control experiment performed in the laboratory. This experiment will provide new insights into the principal limits of life and its adaptation to environmental extremes on Earth or other planets which and will also have implications for the potential for the evolution and distribution of life.     

Development of an extreme ultraviolet imaging spectrometer for the BepiColombo mission

Extreme and far ultraviolet imaging spectrometers are proposed for the low-altitude orbiter of the BepiColombo mission. The UV instrument, consisting of the two spectrometers with common electronics, aims at measuring (1) emission lines from molecules, atoms and ions present in the Mercury’s tenuous atmosphere and (2) the reflectance spectrum of Mercury’s surface. The instrument pursues a complete coverage in UV spectroscopy. The extreme UV spectrometer covers the spectral range of 30–150 nm with the field of view of 5.0°, and the spectrum from 130 to 430 nm is obtained by the far UV spectrometer. The extreme UV spectrometer employs multi-layer coating technology to enhance its sensitivity at particular emission lines. This technology enables us to identify small ionospheric signatures such as He II (30.4 nm) and Na II (37.2 nm), which could not be detected with conventional optics.     

基于紫外纳米压印光刻的氟化混合物模板制备

不同特征尺度和不同周期的氟化混合物软复制模板通过使用硅主模板和紫外纳米压印光刻技术制备而成。与聚二甲基硅氧烷和其它聚合物材料比较,此处使用的光刻胶拥有优良的性能,比如优良的机械强度,低表面能和良好的热稳定性。在紫外和热纳米压印工艺中,主模板被用作印章。实验结果表明,转移到基底上的图案与主模板非常一致。所制备的氟化混合物复制模板不仅仅适合紫外纳米压印,也适用于热纳米压印,并且所加工的复制模板还被用于制备光电器件以实现传感、成像、探测、通信和数据存储等领域中的相关功能。     

太阳同步轨道真空紫外光电倍增管的高能粒子屏蔽方法研究

空间辐射环境是导致光电倍增管性能衰变甚至失效的主要原因, 由于空间辐射环境的复杂性以及飞行器在空间活动的轨道、设计寿命和光电倍增管的类型不同, 光电倍增管需要的抗辐射屏蔽要求不同. 以太阳同步轨道高能粒子辐射环境为例, 对真空紫外光电倍增管进行了辐射屏蔽的Monte-Carlo计算, 在此基础上提出了运行于该轨道上的真空紫外光电倍增管的高能粒子屏蔽优化组合. 模拟计算表明, 采用Al-W-Al三层结构的屏蔽组合形式, 其中Al层厚2mm, W厚 0.5mm,可将辐射剂量从原本的9.98× 106rad (Si)降低到 8.41× 102rad (Si), 能较好地满足实际使用要求.      

Peroxides and the survivability of microorganisms on the surface of Mars.

Results of the Viking mission seem to indicate that there is a ubiquitous layer of highly oxidizing aeolian material covering the Martian surface. This layer is thought to oxidize organic material that may settle on it, and is therefore responsible for the lack of detection of organic matter on the planet's surface by Viking. The mechanism that creates the oxidizing condition is not well understood, nor is the extent of the oxidation potential of this material. It has been suggested that the oxidizing nature of the soil is due to photochemical reactions which create hydrogen peroxide and superoxides in the surface soil. One question of importance to planetary protection regarding this material is, what is its potential for destroying terrestrial microorganisms, thus making the surface of Mars "self-sterilizing"? Using data obtained by the gas exchange experiment on Viking, and for simplicity assuming that all of the O2 released came from H2O2, the concentration range for H2O2 on the surface of Mars can be calculated to be 25-250 ppm. The microbial disinfection rate by H2O2 is concentration dependent, and is highly variable within the microbial community. Data from our laboratory indicate that certain soil bacteria survive and grow to stationary phase in 30,000 ppm H2O2. However, the total number of organisms decreases in the presence of H2O2. These results indicate that it is doubtful that the presence of H2O2 alone on Mars would make the surface "self-sterilizing".     

Voyager photopolarimeter observations of Saturn and Titan

The Voyager 2 photopolarimeter experiment observed the intensity and polarization of scattered sunlight from the atmospheres of Saturn and Titan in the near-UV at 2640 Å and in the near-IR at 7500 Å. Measurements of Saturn's limb brightening and polarization at several phase angles up to 70° indicate that a significant optical depth of UV absorbers are present in the top 100 mbar of Saturn's atmosphere in the Equatorial Zone and north polar region, and possibly at other latitudes as well. UV absorbers are prominent in polar regions, suggesting that charged particle precipitation from the magnetosphere may be important in their formation.The whole-body polarization of Titan is strongly positive in both the UV and near IR. If spherical particles are responsible for the polarization, no single size distribution or refractive index can account for the polarization at both wavelengths. The model atmosphere proposed by Tomasko and Smith [1], characterized by a gradient in particle size with altitude, seems capable of explaining the Voyager observations. If non-spherical particles predominate, the Voyager observations place important constraints on their scattering properties.     

A surface thermal model and exospheric ballistic transport code of planet Mercury

The atmosphere of Mercury is of an exospheric nature. Its formation is due to several physical mechanisms including meteoroid impact, surface sputtering by solar wind ions and photon sputtering by solar UV radiation. The molecules and atoms emitted from the surface materials of Mercury include H, He, O, Ar, and S, etc. It is important to study their spatial distributions across the planetary surface via ballistic random walk. We have developed a surface thermal model coupled with Hodges-type Monte Carlo calculations to simulate the exosphere of Mercury, which will be a major scientific target of the BepiColombo mission of ESA and JAXA.     

Biologically weighted measurement of UV radiation in space and on Earth with the biofilm technique.

Biological dosimetry has provided experimental proof of the high sensitivity of the biologically effective UVB doses to changes in atmospheric ozone and has thereby confirmed the predictions from model calculations. The biological UV dosimeter 'biofilm' whose sensitivity is based on dried spores of B. subtilis as UV target weights the incident UV radiation according to its DNA damaging potential. Biofilm dosimetry was applicated in space experiments as well as in use in remote areas on Earth. Examples are long-term UV measurements in Antarctica, measurements of diurnal UV profiles parallel in time at different locations in Europe, continuous UV measurements in the frame of the German UV measurement network and personal UV dosimetry. In space biofilms were used to determine the biological efficiency of the extraterrestrial solar UV, to simulate the effects of decreasing ozone concentrations and to determine the interaction of UVB and vitamin D production of cosmonauts in the MIR station.     

Spore dosimetry of solar UV radiation: applications to monitoring of daily irradiance and personal exposure.

Environmental UV radiation can be quantified using spore dosimetry, which measures the inactivation of repair-deficient Bacillus subtilis spores dried on a membrane filter. The system exhibits highly selective sensitivity to UV radiation, not being affected by various environmental adversities, such as high and low temperature and humidity. Biologically-effective dose rate and cumulative dose of ambient radiation are measurable under various conditions at various places on the earth, including tropical, temperate, and polar sites. Applications to monitor the exposure at the surface of organisms including humans and plants have also been advanced.     

Study of atmospheric air pollutants during the partial solar eclipse on 15 January 2010 over Udaipur: A semi-arid location in Western India

The paper describes behavior of surface ozone, its precursor gases, BC along with TOCC, TWVC, AOT1020 nm as well as UV and IR radiation intensities observed during the partial solar eclipse of 15th January, 2010 over Udaipur, where 52% solar disc is obscured due to the moon’s shadow. During the beginning to main eclipse phase, the deviation values of several air pollutants concentrations from eclipse to control day values vary in a small range from −9 to −2 ppb in case of surface ozone and −180 to −80 ppb for CO. The corresponding change in the values of BC observed from −3.3 to −.5 μg/m³. No significant change is found in NO₂, NO or in ratio of NO₂/NO values during the partial eclipse time. TOCC values decrease from 3 to 5 DU along with a reduction in UV radiation intensity from 20 to 35% from starting to the main eclipse phase. The AOT1020 nm values are found to increase from .2 to 1.0 along with a reduction in IR radiation intensity order of 50%. However, TWVC values decrease from .22 to .1 cm during the eclipse hours. The low level of dilution in surface ozone in eclipse period may be attributed with change in local atmospheric boundary layer dynamic conditions or limited air pollutants dispersion, in term of decreases in planetary boundary layer height, wind speed and hence ventilation coefficient in the same eclipse hours. Thus, present studies support the argument for the leading roles of photochemical reactions with its precursor gases under presence of solar radiation in surface ozone variability. Other possible controlling factors are advection of air pollutants from the polluted region as evident from backward wind trajectories and altering the local meteorological conditions.     

Biological dosimetry to determine the UV radiation climate inside the MIR station and its role in vitamin D biosynthesis

The vitamin D synthesis in the human skin, is absolutely dependent on UVB radiation. Natural UVB from sunlight is normally absent in the closed environment of a space station like MIR. Therefore it was necessary to investigate the UV radiation climate inside the station resulting from different lamps as well as from occasional solar irradiation behind a UV-transparent quartz window. Biofilms, biologically weighting and integrating UV dosimeters successfully applied on Earth (e.g. in Antarctica) and in space (D-2, Biopan I) were used to determine the biological effectiveness of the UV radiation climate at different locations in the space station. Biofilms were also used to determine the personal UV dose of an individual cosmonaut. These UV data were correlated with the concentration of vitamin D in the cosmonaut's blood and the dietary vitamin D intake. The results showed that the UV radiation climate inside the Mir station is not sufficient for an adequate supply of vitamin D, which should therefore be secured either by vitamin D supplementat and/or by the regular exposure to special UV lamps like those in sun-beds. The use of natural solar UV radiation through the quartz window for ‘sunbathing’ is dangerous and should be avoided even for short exposure periods.     

疏水改性ZSM-5吸附剂吸附CO2研究

传统方法采用5A沸石分子筛控制航天器舱内CO2浓度,因沸石与水蒸气的亲和力较大,在高湿度条件下将导致CO2吸附的失效。通过ZSM-5分子筛与无机硅粘结剂、助剂和水混合成面团状后挤压成形、干燥、焙烧,制备了一种分子筛吸附剂,经水蒸气/酸洗,疏水改性处理后,通过低温N2吸脱附、H2O/CO2吸附等温线、XRD等手段进行表征和评价。结果表明,所制备的疏水分子筛吸附剂比表面积达296m2/g,CO2的吸附性能略有提高,且疏水性优良,在90%相对湿度下吸水率只有约1%。