Testing a Mars science outpost in the Antarctic dry valleys.

Field research conducted in the Antarctic has been providing insights about the nature of Mars in the science disciplines of exobiology and geology. Located in the McMurdo Dry Valleys of southern Victoria Land (160 degrees and 164 degrees E longitude and 76 degrees 30' and 78 degrees 30' S latitude), research outposts are inhabited by teams of 4-6 scientists. We propose that the design of these outposts be expanded to enable meaningful tests of many of the systems that will be needed for the successful conduct of exploration activities on Mars. Although there are some important differences between the environment in the Antarctic dry valleys and on Mars, the many similarities and particularly the field science activities, make the dry valleys a useful terrestrial analog to conditions on Mars. Three areas have been identified for testing at a small science outpost in the dry valleys; 1) studying human factors and physiology in an isolated environment; 2) testing emerging technologies (e.g., innovative power management systems, advanced life support facilities including partial bioregenerative life support systems for water recycling and food growth, telerobotics, etc.); and 3) conducting basic scientific research that will enhance our understanding of Mars while contributing to the planning for human exploration. We suggest that an important early result of a Mars habitat program will be the experience gained by interfacing humans and their supporting technology in a remote and stressful environment.     

美国载人太空探索的艰难进程

正奥巴马政府中止了重返月球的载人航天计划以后,其提出的载人登火星构想给美国载人航天出了一个大难题。虽然咬住了低地球轨道以远的大方向未曾放松,但遥远的火星如何去,美国经历了关于未来载人航天的争论和艰难抉择。现在,以载人登火星为背景的小行星探索计划又遇到了新问题—2016年4月提出的"太空复兴"法案对该计划提出了质疑,特朗普政府的决策仍很艰难。1"灵活性途径"显示美国低地球轨道以远载人航天的无奈过渡     

美国太空探索技术公司:商业公司书写业界传奇

美国太空探索技术公司是一家员工总数只有千余人的私营航天企业。自2002年建立至今八年多的时间内,该公司接连独立研制并成功发射了低成本的"猎鹰"1号和"猎鹰"9号运载火箭,赢得了美国航宇局的商业轨道运输服务合同,并有望     

美国未来太空政策的 颠覆与维持之斗

1 唐纳德·特朗普——颠覆现有太空政策唐纳德·特朗普曾一度表达对现有太空政策的不满,认为就像是第三世界国家.他提出美国需要一个全新的太空政策,需要将公共任务、商业手段,以及快速及时地解决现实威胁和把握现实机会三者结合起来.唐纳德·特朗普要求其竞选政策顾问罗伯特·沃克,为竞选活动提出一个有远见的、颠覆性的、合作性的、具有弹性的、具有实质性改变的太空政策.     

梦想从这里开始——2010年赴美太空营训练夏令营

<正>2010年8月10日～23日,由中国宇航学会组织承办的赴美国太空营训练夏令营在美国举行,来自北京、上海、西安、苏州、无锡的56位师生参加了本次活动。在阿拉巴马太空营训练中心,营员们按年龄分成4组,由教官带领分别进     

美国商业航天发展分析

当前,美国商业航天正处于快速发展的新阶段,其业务范围正从传统的商业卫星发射、商业卫星应用,扩展到政府从私营企业购买商业发射服务和发展商业载人航天飞行等领域,以美国太空探索技术公司（SpaceX）、轨道科学公司（OSC,现更名为轨道-阿连特技术系统公司,简称轨道-ATK公司）、天空盒子成像公司（Skybox Imaging）等为代表的新兴航天企业快速崛起,以谷歌公司（Google）为代表的互联网巨头也开始进军航天。商业航天发展的新思维、新理念与新模式对传统航天产业产生了巨大冲击和影响。     

美国太空高新装备的发展与前景展望

正太空是关系国家战略安全的高边疆。早在20世纪60年代初期,时任美国总统肯尼迪就公开宣称:谁能控制太空,谁就能控制地球。今天,太空的军事、政治、民用、商业价值愈发凸显,主要航天强国均大力发展空间装备,谋求更好地实现进入太空、利用太空、控制太空的目标。     

美国“扩展空间传感器体系结构”研发及应用分析

正用于空间监视的传感器水平十分重要,因其决定着所获取空间态势感知数据的多少。空间态势感知数据的传输与共享技术在空间作战中也同样扮演着重要角色,受限时也会导致数据无法充分利用。由于空间资产在国家安全中的重要性日益提升,美国对空间态势感知越来越重视。为了保护美国的空间资产免于自然灾害和人为     

美军空间态势感知装备发展重要动向及影响

空间态势感知的主要任务是为太空攻防提供基础和保障,它包括探测跟踪和识别太空目标、监测太空环境、进行太空威胁告警和为太空攻击提供目标信息。为了强化太空控制能力,美国近期高度重视空间态势感知的能力建设,不但将空间态势感知提升为独立的太空任务领域,而且加快装备建设,提升指挥与控制能力,强化国际合作,多条腿走路,快速提升能力。2014年,美军多颗高轨空间态势感知卫星入轨,并继续研发立方体卫星与通用传感器技术,发展一体化指挥与控制能力,普遍加强与盟国的空间态势感知数据共享与能力共建,新型地基太空监视系统建造工作取得了实质性进展。     

天军起步——评美国空军X-37空天飞机

美国空军多年以来一直希望成为一支全球空军,具有全球力量投送和打击能力。读者或许会奇怪,作为世界上最强大的美国空军,几乎是横行于全世界,想打败谁就能打败谁,怎么还不算全球空军呢?其实,美国的全球空军概念,是能随时要从美国本土起飞,或者把特种兵投放到世界上任何角落,或者把炸弹扔向任何目标,而不依赖任何海外机场。就人类当前的技术水平来说,想要实现这种能力,非空天飞机莫属。     

俄美竞相计划近距离探测太阳大气层

<正>近年来地球气候反常,灾变频传,地球末日之说更是造成人心惶惶。2010年8月,美国航宇局就提出警告,地球可能遭遇强烈的太阳风暴,到时候全球的网络电子通信将受到极大影响,甚至无法使用。因此,越来越多     

美国在“国际空间站”上的技术开发与验证应用研究

正作为全球最大的在轨航天器,"国际空间站"(ISS)已实现连续有人驻留超过15年,并在空间应用领域取得了众多成果。"国际空间站"成员国一致认为,最大限度地提高"国际空间站"研究能力可能带来新的探索机遇、促进商业发展并对教育事业产生积极影响。"国际空间站"已在人体学研究、生物学与生物技术、物理科学、技术开发与验证、地球与空间科学、教育等六大领域发挥了重要作用,技术开发领域的应用是其重点。由于美国对"国际空间站"应用的组织管理、项目规划和实施最为系统,因此本文以美国为主,介绍应用情况。     

美国陆军航天战术应用能力建设的变革和启示

正美国是当今世界部署军用卫星最多的国家。在历次现代战争中,军用卫星系统对其取得战争胜利发挥了重要作用。美国大多数航天系统的建设和运行主要由空军负责,陆军是这些系统的用户。而陆军近年来转变发展思路,开始重视面向战术应用的航天能力建设,并表示陆军将为国防部航天能力作贡献,不只是利用国防部提     

HUMEX, a study on the survivability and adaptation of humans to long-duration exploratory missions, part I: lunar missions.

The European Space Agency has recently initiated a study of the human responses, limits and needs with regard to the stress environments of interplanetary and planetary missions. Emphasis has been laid on human health and performance care as well as advanced life support developments including bioregenerative life support systems and environmental monitoring. The overall study goals were as follows: (i) to define reference scenarios for a European participation in human exploration and to estimate their influence on the life sciences and life support requirements; (ii) for selected mission scenarios, to critically assess the limiting factors for human health, wellbeing, and performance and to recommend relevant countermeasures; (iii) for selected mission scenarios, to critically assess the potential of advanced life support developments and to propose a European strategy including terrestrial applications; (iv) to critically assess the feasibility of existing facilities and technologies on ground and in space as testbeds in preparation for human exploratory missions and to develop a test plan for ground and space campaigns; (v) to develop a roadmap for a future European strategy towards human exploratory missions, including preparatory activities and terrestrial applications and benefits. This paper covers the part of the HUMEX study dealing with lunar missions. A lunar base at the south pole where long-time sunlight and potential water ice deposits could be assumed was selected as the Moon reference scenario. The impact on human health, performance and well being has been investigated from the view point of the effects of microgravity (during space travel), reduced gravity (on the Moon) and abrupt gravity changes (during launch and landing), of the effects of cosmic radiation including solar particle events, of psychological issues as well as general health care. Countermeasures as well as necessary research using ground-based test beds and/or the International Space Station have been defined. Likewise advanced life support systems with a high degree of autonomy and regenerative capacity and synergy effects were considered where bioregenerative life support systems and biodiagnostic systems become essential. Finally, a European strategy leading to a potential European participation in future human exploratory missions has been recommended.     

Issues of exploration: human health and wellbeing during a mission to Mars.

Today, the tools are in our hands to enable us to travel away from our home planet and become citizens of the solar system. Even now, we are seriously beginning to develop the robust infrastructure that will make the 21st century the Century of Space Travel. But this bold step must be taken with due concern for the health, safety and wellbeing of future space explorers. Our long experience with space biomedical research convinces us that, if we are to deal effectively with the medical and biomedical issues of exploration, then dramatic and bold steps are also necessary in this field. We can no longer treat the human body as if it were composed of muscles, bones, heart and brain acting independently. Instead, we must lead the effort to develop a fully integrated view of the body, with all parts connected and fully interacting in a realistic way. This paper will present the status of current (2000) plans by the National Space Biomedical Research Institute to initiate research in this area of integrative physiology and medicine. Specifically, three example projects are discussed as potential stepping stones towards the ultimate goal of producing a digital human. These projects relate to developing a functional model of the human musculoskeletal system and the heart.     

美国,西德和意大利的真空计量

近几年来,我们先后访问了美国NBS、西德PTB和意大利IMGC,他们都是国际上重要的计量学研究中心。本文将着重介绍他们的真空计量工作,由此也可以了解到国际真空计量学研究的一些动向和趋势。NBS超声干涉仪水银压力计,为国际最高水平。PTB的超高真空计量标准——分子束法(10~(-10)P_a)为国际最好水平。IMGC建有从10~5～10~(-5)Pa区间的各种标准。     

Radiation situation determining the possibility of a manned flight to Mars and back.

Possible manned flights toward Mars are discussed from the viewpoint of radiation hazard. A standard situation is considered for the fast two times crossing of the Earth radiation belts. The flight to Mars is shown to be practically impossible without a special system of radiation shelters, because of the effect of penetrating galactic and solar radiations which are responsible for almost maximum permissible doses. But even in case there were radiation shelters on board the spacecraft their flights are undesirable in the periods of maximum and minimum solar activity. It would obviously be worthwhile to schedule Martian flights for intervals in between minima and maxima of 11-year cycles of solar activity when primary cosmic rays levels are considerable reduced and flare activity is not yet sufficiently high. It should be mentioned that it would not be easy to select such allowed intervals. Further studies of that aspect are discussed.     

美空军准备发射第二架X-37B

2010年12月8日,空军太空项目副部长理查德·麦金尼称,第二架X-37B将在2011年3月到4月之间由宇宙神5火箭发射。这次X-37B轨道试验飞行器(OTV-1)任务将扩展运行包线,以试验横向飞行范围的回收特性,并在更极端的天气条件下尝试回收。OTV-1的着陆是自1988年苏联暴     

Estimating irrigation water use and withdrawal of ground water on the High Plains,U.S.A.

In four decades following the Dust Bowl days of the 1930's, extensive areas of dry farming and rangeland on the semi-arid U.S. High Plains were transformed into a vast region of irrigated oases, producing meat and grain for much of the world. The agricultural economy has experienced such rapid growth in part because of the availability of ground water and because of development of new irrigation technology to use that water for agriculture. However, more water is being used than is being replaced. To estimate both the volume of water withdrawn and the regional scope of the problem a technique has been developed that combines multispectral data from Earth-orbiting satellite with known pumpage data for the same growing season. The location and extent of irrigated cropland—some with different crops watered at different times—is inventoried using computer-assisted analysis of the data from Landsat. The amount of water used is estimated by multiplying and summing surface area of irrigated agriculture and the average measured pumpage from sampled sites. Published findings to date are cited in the Selected References. All suggest transferability of a promising technology to the study of land transformation processes elsewhere.