Discrimination of aqueous and aeolian paleoenvironments by atomic force microscopy-- a database for the characterization of martian sediments

In the search for aqueous habitats on Mars direct proof of (ancient) flowing water is still lacking, although remote sensing has provided indications of young fluvial systems. To demonstrate that such proof can be given, we examined surface marks on recent terrestrial sand grains by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and applied a quantitative three-dimensional analysis that can numerically distinguish between aeolian and aquatic transport mechanisms in sedimentary deposits on Earth. The surfaces of natural quartz grains as well as olivine, feldspar pyroxene, and monazite sands of known origin were imaged, each image yielding a three-dimensional map of the mineral surface. A fully automated analysis of distribution patterns of the structural elements that constitute the grain surfaces shows that wind-transported quartz grains have short linear elements irregularly distributed on the surface. Linear elements on water-transported grains, however, are longer with orientations that reflect the mineral symmetry. Because the surface patterns found on aqueous grains are due to preferential etching, they can be used as diagnostic fingerprints for the existence of past or present aqueous transport systems. We used a cluster analysis of the cross-correlation distance of distribution patterns in the structures of aeolian and aquatic sand grains to build a phenogram that provides a map for the relationship of the various sediments found on earth. The analysis shows that the method is highly significant and that water and wind transport can clearly be differentiated. In particular, feldspar and olivine sands contributed even more to the discrimination than quartz grains, which indicated that the method is promising for its application on future missions to Mars. Assuming that martian aqueous sand grains exhibit similar erosional patterns to mineral grains on Earth, simple AFM experiments on a Mars lander would be capable of proving the activity of flowing water in modern runoff systems and of analyzing the paleoenvironments of Mars.     

Mining Spatial Associations with Limited Sensory Information

Abstract

Human navigation in an unknown environment requires an understanding of the spatial relationships of the terrain. For example, a soldier who is on a reconnaissance mission in a new city needs to “know” the spatial layout of the surroundings with high confidence. Oftentimes, this understanding must be acquired within a very short amount of time and with limited sensory inputs. The soldier would benefit from a digital avatar that draws inferences about the spatial layout of the city based on an initial set of observations and guides the soldier either in further exploring the environment or in making decisions based on these inferences. In this paper, we present and evaluate an inductive approach to learning spatial associations using sensory data that is available from the simulation environment of a computer game, Unreal Tournament. We study two kinds of spatial relationships between nodes on a level of a game map: nodes that are placed near each other to satisfy some spatial requirement and nodes that are placed near each other to satisfy the design preferences of a level architect. We show that we can infer both kinds of relationships using an association rule mining algorithm. Furthermore, we show how to use an ontology to distinguish between these relationships in order to discover different types of spatial arrangements on a specific map. We discuss how the inferred associations can be used to control an avatar that makes recommendations for navigating unexplored areas on a map. We conclude with some thoughts on the applicability of our methods to scenarios in the real world, beyond the simulation environment of a game, and on how the learned associations can be represented and queried by a simple question-answer type system.     

The physics,biology, and environmental ethics of making mars habitable

The considerable evidence that Mars once had a wetter, more clement, environment motivates the search for past or present life on that planet. This evidence also suggests the possibility of restoring habitable conditions on Mars. While the total amounts of the key molecules--carbon dioxide, water, and nitrogen--needed for creating a biosphere on Mars are unknown, estimates suggest that there may be enough in the subsurface. Super greenhouse gases, in particular, perfluorocarbons, are currently the most effective and practical way to warm Mars and thicken its atmosphere so that liquid water is stable on the surface. This process could take approximately 100 years. If enough carbon dioxide is frozen in the South Polar Cap and absorbed in the regolith, the resulting thick and warm carbon dioxide atmosphere could support many types of microorganisms, plants, and invertebrates. If a planet-wide martian biosphere converted carbon dioxide into oxygen with an average efficiency equal to that for Earth's biosphere, it would take > 100,000 years to create Earth-like oxygen levels. Ethical issues associated with bringing life to Mars center on the possibility of indigenous martian life and the relative value of a planet with or without a global biosphere.     

The ethics of treading on Neil Armstrong''s footprints

The Moon landings of the Apollo programme irrevocably changed the way we see ourselves. Most significantly, this was the first time that humans had set foot on a celestial body other than Earth. The program has left a number of sites on the Moon as well as on Earth. While the management of the sites and artefacts on Earth is fairly straightforward as they are subject to national heritage legislation, it is not so simple with the sites and artefacts on the lunar surface. Moreover, the sites on the Moon differ in one unique aspect from all other heritage sites on Earth: the absence of a lunar atmosphere of any note means that all foot- and track prints of the astronauts are preserved providing a total record of the pioneering phases of human exploration of the Moon. The nascent developments of space tourism, including proposals for lunar heritage tourism, however, threaten the preservation of these traces on the Moon. This paper discusses the terrestrial and in particular the extraterrestrial heritage of the Apollo programme. Set out are the management ethics that need to apply on the lunar surface if this unique heritage is to have a future.     

Survival of methanogens during desiccation: implications for life on Mars

The relatively recent discoveries that liquid water likely existed on the surface of past Mars and that methane currently exists in the martian atmosphere have fueled the possibility of extant or extinct life on Mars. One possible explanation for the existence of the methane would be the presence of methanogens in the subsurface. Methanogens are microorganisms in the domain Archaea that can metabolize molecular hydrogen as an energy source and carbon dioxide as a carbon source and produce methane. One factor of importance is the arid nature of Mars, at least at the surface. If one is to assume that life exists below the surface, then based on the only example of life that we know, liquid water must be present. Realistically, however, that liquid water may be seasonal just as it is at some locations on our home planet. Here we report on research designed to determine how long certain species of methanogens can survive desiccation on a Mars soil simulant, JSC Mars-1. Methanogenic cells were grown on JSC Mars-1, transferred to a desiccator within a Coy anaerobic environmental chamber, and maintained there for varying time periods. Following removal from the desiccator and rehydration, gas chromatographic measurements of methane indicated survival for varying time periods. Methanosarcina barkeri survived desiccation for 10 days, while Methanobacterium formicicum and Methanothermobacter wolfeii were able to survive for 25 days.     

挠性航天器大角度机动的全系数自适应控制

本文研究全系数自适应控制方法在挠性航天器大角度机动控制中的应用，针对中心刚体带挠性板的航天器，设计了包括黄金分割控制、逻辑微分控制和逻辑积分控制的全系数自适应控制方案，并进行了挠性结构卫星单轴气浮台全物理仿真实验。实验结果表明，所设计的控制方案具有机动速度快、超调小，在机动过程中能抑制挠性板振动等优点。     

Reactions to receipt of a message from extraterrestrial intelligence: a cross-cultural empirical study

If we ever receive a message from extraterrestrial intelligence (ETI), the societal impact may be significant. To date, several authors have speculated on factors that may predict people’s reactions, but there have been no systematic empirical studies on the range of responses. One obstacle to conducting such studies is that there has been no questionnaire to assess such reactions. In the current study we have designed a psychometrically sound set of scales to assess six beliefs: (1) that extraterrestrial life exists, (2) that ETI would be benevolent and that we should respond to a message, (3) that ETI would be malevolent, (4) that message receipt would be unsettling, (5) that message receipt would be religiously significant and (6) that experts should determine the content of a reply. We report on the construction and use of these new scales, drawing on data gathered from American and Chinese undergraduate students. Respondents also completed measures of alienation, optimism, anthropocentrism and religiosity. This allowed us to predict beliefs about ETI based on personal characteristics and beliefs of the respondents.     

Thermal drilling in planetary ices: an analytic solution with application to planetary protection problems of radioisotope power sources

Abstract Thermal drilling has been applied to studies of glaciers on Earth and proposed for study of the martian ice caps and the crust of Europa. Additionally, inadvertent thermal drilling by radioisotope sources released from the breakup of a space vehicle is of astrobiological concern in that this process may form a downward-propagating "warm little pond" that could convey terrestrial biota to a habitable environment. A simple analytic solution to the asymptotic slow-speed case of thermal drilling is noted and used to show that the high thermal conductivity of the low-temperature ice on Europa and Titan makes thermal drilling qualitatively more difficult than at Mars. It is shown that an isolated General Purpose Heat Source (GPHS) "brick" can drill effectively on Earth or Mars, whereas on Titan or Europa with ice at 100 K, the source would stall and become stuck in the ice with a surface temperature of <200 K. Key Words: Planetary protection-Planetary environments-Ice-Titan. Astrobiology 12, 799-802.     

Framing holes within a loop hierarchy

We investigate the relation between nontrivial spatial concepts such as holes and string loops from a qualitative spatial reasoning perspective. In particular, we concentrate on a family of puzzles dealing with this kind of objects and explain how a loop formed in a string shows a similar behavior to a hole in an object, at least regarding the qualitative constraints it imposes on the solution of the puzzle. Unlike regular holes, however, we describe how string loops can be dynamically created and destroyed depending on the actions on the string. Furthermore, under a Knowledge Representation point of view, we provide a formalization that allows the different puzzle states to be described in terms of string crossings and loops, together with the actions that can be executed for a state transition and the complex effects they cause on the state representation. This implies the consideration of a formal representation of the side effects of actions that create or destroy string loops and the soundness of this representation with respect to the more general representation of string states in knot theory.     

Does life's rapid appearance imply a Martian origin?

The hypothesis that life's rapid appearance on Earth justifies the belief that life is widespread in the universe has been investigated mathematically by Lineweaver and Davis (Astrobiology 2002;2:293-304). However, a rapid appearance could also be interpreted as evidence for a nonterrestrial origin. I attempt to quantify the relative probabilities for a non-indigenous versus indigenous origin, on the assumption that biogenesis involves one or more highly improbable steps, using a generalization of Carter's well-known observer-selection argument. The analysis is specifically applied to a Martian origin of life, with subsequent transfer to Earth within impact ejecta. My main result is that the relatively greater probability of a Martian origin rises sharply as a function of the number of difficult steps involved in biogenesis. The actual numerical factor depends on what is assumed about conditions on early Mars, but for a wide range of assumptions a Martian origin of life is decisively favored. By contrast, an extrasolar origin seems unlikely using the same analysis. These results complement those of Lineweaver and Davis.     

Planetary preservation: the need for legal provision

The Earth has been hit by NEOs many times in its history and there is always a risk that this will happen again. While we are beginning to acquire the technology that could warn of and divert a future collision, the legal instruments needed to facilitate a global response to the problem are lacking, especially given that the most likely means of diverting a NEO would involve nuclear weapons that could also be used on Earth. An analysis of the current legal situation is used to support the argument that new rules must be created. The author also discusses US Air Force policy on the subject and whether planetary defense is consistent with its goal of achieving and sustaining US superiority in space.     

From space medicine to preventive and personalized health care on earth

The experience of human spaceflight has taught us that aging can be modulated, accelerated and decelerated. This is also confirmed by a number of experiments on animal models. However in order to be effective in managing aging and maintaining quality of life, a new approach needs to be adopted, one that many today call functional medicine or anti-aging medicine that in its essence is very similar to the medical approach provided to the astronauts by space agencies. Space medicine therefore can become a vehicle for the promotion of a new way of doing medicine on Earth.     

Potential of cathodoluminescence microscopy and spectroscopy for the detection of prokaryotic cells on minerals

Detecting mineral-hosted ecosystems to assess the extent and functioning of the biosphere from the surface to deep Earth requires appropriate techniques that provide, beyond the morphological criteria, indubitable clues of the presence of prokaryotic cells. Here, we evaluate the capability of cathodoluminescence microscopy and spectroscopy, implemented on a scanning electron microscope, to identify prokaryotes on mineral surfaces. For this purpose, we used, as a first step, a simple model of either unstained or stained cultivable cells (Escherichia coli, Deinococcus radiodurans) deposited on minerals that are common in the oceanic crust (basaltic glass, amphibole, pyroxene, and magnetite). Our results demonstrate that the detection of cells is possible at the micrometric level on the investigated minerals through the intrinsic fluorescence of their constituting macromolecules (aromatic amino and nucleic acids, coenzymes). This allows us to distinguish biomorph inorganic phases from cells. This easily implemented technique permits an exploration of colonized rock samples. In addition, the range of spectrometric techniques available on a scanning electron microscope can provide additional information on the nature and chemistry of the associated mineral phases, which would lead to a simultaneous characterization of cells, their microhabitats, and a better understanding of their potential relationships.     

In situ microbial detection in Mojave Desert soil using native fluorescence

We report on the use of a portable instrument for microbial detection in the Mojave Desert soil and the potential for its use on Mars. The instrument is based on native fluorescence and employs four excitation wavelengths combined with four emission wavelengths. A soil dilution series in which known numbers of Bacillus subtilis spores were added to soil was used to determine the sensitivity of the instrument. We found that the fluorescence of the biological and organic components of the desert soil samples studied can be as strong as the fluorescence of the mineral component of these soils. Using the calibration derived from B. subtilis spores, we estimated that microbial content at our primary sampling site was 10(7) bacteria per gram of soil, a level confirmed by phospholipid fatty acid analysis. At a nearby site, but in a slightly different geological setting, we tested the instrument's ability to map out microbial concentrations in situ. Over a ～50 m diameter circle, soil microbial concentrations determined with the B. subtilis calibration indicate that the concentrations of microorganisms detected varies from 10(4) to 10(7) cells per gram of soil. We conclude that fluorescence is a promising method for detecting soil microbes in noncontact applications in extreme environments on Earth and may have applications on future missions to Mars.     

Carbon dioxide removal system for closed loop atmosphere revitalization,candidate sorbents screening and test results

Due to the difficulty and expense it costs to resupply manned-spacecraft habitats, a goal is to create a closed loop atmosphere revitalization system, in which precious commodities such as oxygen, carbon dioxide, and water are continuously recycled. Our aim is to test other sorbents for their capacity for future spacecraft missions, such as on the Orion spacecraft, or possibly lunar or Mars mission habitats to see if they would be better than the zeolite sorbents on the 4-bed molecular sieve. Some of the materials being tested are currently used for other industry applications. Studying these sorbents for their specific spacecraft application is different from that for applications on earth because in space, there are certain power, mass, and volume limitations that are not as critical on Earth. In manned-spaceflight missions, the sorbents are exposed to a much lower volume fraction of CO₂ (0.6% volume CO₂) than on Earth.LiLSX was tested for its CO₂ capacity in an atmosphere like that of the ISS. Breakthrough tests were run to establish the capacities of these materials at a partial pressure of CO₂ that is seen on the ISS. This paper discusses experimental results from benchmark materials, such as results previously obtained from tests on Grade 522, and the forementioned candidate materials for the Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) system.     

The photochemical stability of carbonates on Mars

Carbonates, predominately MgCO3, have been spectroscopically identified at a level of 2-5% in martian dust. However, in spite of this observation, and a large number of climate studies that suggest 1 to several bars of CO2 should be sequestered in carbonate rocks, no outcrop-scale exposures of carbonate have been detected anywhere on Mars to date. To address one hypothesis for this long-standing puzzle, the effect of ultraviolet (UV) light on the stability of calcium carbonate in a simulated martian atmosphere was experimentally investigated. Using 13C-labeled calcite, we found no experimental evidence of the UV photodecomposition of calcium carbonate in a simulated martian atmosphere. Extrapolating the lower limit of detection of our experimental system to an upper limit of carbonate decomposition on Mars yields a quantum efficiency of 3.5 x 10(-8) molecules/photon over the wavelength interval of 190-390 nm and a maximum UV photodecomposition rate of 1.2 x 10(-13) kg m(-2) s(-1) from a calcite surface. The maximum loss of bulk calcite due to this process would be 2.5 nm year(-1) (Mars year). However, calcite is expected to be thermodynamically stable on the surface of Mars, and potential UV photodecomposition reaction mechanisms indicate that, though calcium carbonate may decompose under vacuum, it would be stable in a CO2 atmosphere. Given the expected stability of carbonate on Mars and our inability to detect carbonate decomposition, we conclude that it is unlikely that the apparent absence of extensive carbonate deposits on the martian surface is due to UV photodecomposition in the current environment.     

Quantitative habitability

A framework is proposed for a quantitative approach to studying habitability. Considerations of environmental supply and organismal demand of energy lead to the conclusions that power units are most appropriate and that the units for habitability become watts per organism. Extreme and plush environments are revealed to be on a habitability continuum, and extreme environments can be quantified as those where power supply only barely exceeds demand. Strategies for laboratory and field experiments are outlined that would quantify power supplies, power demands, and habitability. An example involving a comparison of various metabolisms pursued by halophiles is shown to be well on the way to a quantitative habitability analysis.     

Experimental hypervelocity impacts: Implication for the analysis of material retrieved after exposure to space environment: Part I. Impacts on aluminium targets

During the last three decades a wide variety of surfaces have been brought back to Earth after being exposed to space environment. The impact features found on these surfaces are used to evaluate the damages caused to spacecraft and can give clues to the characteristics of the orbital debris and meteoroids that created them. In order to derive more precisely the particle parameters and to improve the analysis of projectile remnants, we have performed an extensive analysis of craters caused by the impact of high velocity particles on thick ductile targets, using a micro-particle accelerator. We show that from the geometry of the craters and from the analysis of the remnants it is possible to derive the main characteristics of the projectiles. In particular, using up-to-date instrumentation, scanning electron microscope (SEM) and Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectrometer, we found that even small residues inside craters can be identified. However, this study shows that a velocity resolution better than 1 km/s would be appropriate to obtain a fair calibration of the impact processes on a ductile target. This would allow to decipher with precision impact features on ductile surfaces exposed to space environment.     

Gathering news from space

Developments in remote-sensing technology have prompted suggestions that the news media could soon make routine use of newsgathering from space. A satellite system dedicated to this purpose (a ‘Mediasat’) could supply critical information. Government policy makers, however, fear that the media's use of such technology could affect national security, foreign relations and personal privacy. This article assesses US government policy on current and future newsgathering from space, and the technical potential for a Mediasat system. The authors raise doubts about the commercial viability of Mediasat, and point out that existing media sources already provide information on news stories. They conclude that concerns over the use of data from space will have to be met on a case-by-case basis as the media gain experience, using the same criteria now applied to balance the right of freedom of information with the need for national security.     

Influence of freezing rate oscillations and convection on eutectic microstructure

As discussed in our review paper (Wilcox, W. R. and Regel, L. L., Microgravity Quarterly, 1994, 4, 147–156), the influence of microgravity on eutectic microstructure has been rather erratic and largely unexplained. Directional solidification in microgravity sometimes coarsened the structure, sometimes made it finer, and sometimes, even on the same system, had no measurable effect. Theoretical models predicted no influence of the weak buoyancy-driven convection that occurs in the vertical Bridgman technique on earth. Thus, we hypothesized that freezing rate fluctuations due to irregular convection might be responsible. For example, with a fibrous microstructure an increase in freezing rate must cause new fibers to form, either by branching or by nucleation. A decrease in freezing rate would cause fibers to terminate by overgrowth of the matrix phase. If the kinetics of fiber formation differs from that for fiber termination, an oscillatory freezing rate would cause the average fiber spacing to deviate from that at a steady freezing rate. We have been investigating this hypothesis both experimentally and theoretically. Vertical Bridgman experiments were performed on the MnBi–Bi eutectic with freezing rate oscillations caused by periodic electric current pulses passed through the material. With increased current amplitude, more and more grains exhibited irregular microstructures. Of the grains with continued quasi-regular rod structure, the microstructure became finer. This result was contrary to that expected from our hypothesis for this system. Numerical modeling also predicted that an oscillatory freezing rate should yield a finer microstructure. It was also predicted that freezing interface oscillations should cause the average melt composition at the freezing rate to deviate from the eutectic. This results in the formation of a composition boundary layer of sufficient thickness that it would become sensitive to convection. Hence we have arrived at a revised hypothesis. On earth, irregular convection causes freezing rate fluctuations that change the interfacial melt composition, leading to a thick composition boundary layer. Convection interacts with this boundary layer to change the interfacial melt composition, thereby altering the response of the system to freezing rate fluctuations.