Rock surfaces as life indicators: new ways to demonstrate life and traces of former life

Life and its former traces can only be detected from space when they are abundant and exposed to the planetary atmosphere at the moment of investigation by orbiters. Exposed rock surfaces present a multifractal labyrinth of niches for microbial life. Based upon our studies of highly stress-resistant microcolonial fungi of stone monument and desert rock surfaces, we propose that microbial biofilms that develop and become preserved on rock surfaces can be identified remotely by the following characteristics: (1) the existence of spectroscopically identifiable compounds that display unique adsorption, diffraction, and reflection patterns characteristic of biogenerated organic compounds (e.g., chlorophylls, carotenes, melanins, and possibly mycosporines), (2) demonstrably biogenic geomorphological features (e.g., biopitting, biochipping, and bioexfoliation), and (3) biominerals produced in association with biofilms that occupy rock surfaces (e.g., oxalates, forsterite, and special types of carbonates, sulfides, and silicates). Such traces or biosignatures of former life could provide macroscopically visible morphotypes and chemically identifiable products uniquely indicative of life.     

Russian space programmes and industry: Defining the new institutions for new conditions

The aim of this article is to define the major elements of the institutional design process for the Russian rocket and space industry, a process which must take account of the changed economic conditions in the country and provide for the industry's integration into the wider national economy. The article does this by demonstrating the features that need to be understood, highlighting the problems that need to be resolved, and arguing that an institutional design process will have to be based on compromise and accommodation of all the different actors involved. The article deals with a number of particular problems challenging the managers and methodologists of the Russian national space programme of today.     

Ionizing radiation and life

Ionizing radiation is a ubiquitous feature of the Cosmos, from exogenous cosmic rays (CR) to the intrinsic mineral radioactivity of a habitable world, and its influences on the emergence and persistence of life are wide-ranging and profound. Much attention has already been focused on the deleterious effects of ionizing radiation on organisms and the complex molecules of life, but ionizing radiation also performs many crucial functions in the generation of habitable planetary environments and the origins of life. This review surveys the role of CR and mineral radioactivity in star formation, generation of biogenic elements, and the synthesis of organic molecules and driving of prebiotic chemistry. Another major theme is the multiple layers of shielding of planetary surfaces from the flux of cosmic radiation and the various effects on a biosphere of violent but rare astrophysical events such as supernovae and gamma-ray bursts. The influences of CR can also be duplicitous, such as limiting the survival of surface life on Mars while potentially supporting a subsurface biosphere in the ocean of Europa. This review highlights the common thread that ionizing radiation forms between the disparate component disciplines of astrobiology.     

LEO卫星通信系统模糊逻辑动态位置区方案

文章在基于自主定位的动态位置区方案的基础上提出了模糊逻辑动态位置区方案,通过对用户在给定时间内运动模式的判定来动态改变用户的更新半径,并仿真比较了用户在不同初始更新半径下两种方案的更新和寻呼开销,以及用户在不同模糊逻辑统计时间下的更新和寻呼开销。仿真结果表明用户在该方案下的位置管理总开销相对于普通动态位置区有了明显的降低,提高了位置管理效率。     

Desperately seeking life on Mars

Humans appear to be obsessed with the idea of finding life on Mars and have latched on to any evidence—however improbable—that might support its existence. Charting the history of the often deceptive scientific (not to mention literary) findings made about Mars, this viewpoint suggests that our desire to find extraterrestrial life says more about the human need for companionship and communication than about the true past of the planet. Nevertheless, ESA's Mars Express should give us a better understanding of the true likelihood of life ever having existed there after its launch in 2003.     

Preparing for life in space

The third team to inhabit the Advanced Life Support Test Chamber at the Johnson Space Center participated in an interview about life in the test chamber and program goals. Questions examine the air and water systems; human factors such as life in confinement, privacy, health, and training; and exercise. The test chamber is used to test life support systems for the International Space Station, lunar bases, and manned missions to Mars.     

The evolution of complex life

In considering the probabilities that intelligent life might exist elsewhere in the Universe, it is important to ask questions about the factors governing the emergence of complex living organisms in the context of evolutionary biology, planetary environments and events in space. Two important problems arise. First, what can be learned about the general laws governing the evolution of complex life anywhere in space by studying its history on the Earth? Second, how is the evolution of complex life affected by events in space? To address these problems, a series of Science Workshops on the Evolution of Complex Life was held at the Ames Research Center. Included in this paper are highlights of those workshops, with particular emphasis on the first question, namely the evolution of complex extraterrestrial life.     

加速老化试验方法评估典型橡胶密封材料贮存寿命的准确性研究

根据密封结构产品延寿工程需求,基于8106 乙丙橡胶等6 种典型运载火箭密封橡胶材料的加速老化试验数据,外推计算其在贮存温度下性能退化至设定值所需的老化时间,并与实际自然老化数据相比较来评价加速老化试验评估橡胶密封材料贮存寿命的准确性。结果表明,加速老化方法可准确用于橡胶密封材料的寿命评估工作。     

Earth benefits from space life sciences

Contributions of space exploration which are widely recognized are those dealing with the impact of space technology on public health and medical services in both urban and remote rural areas. Telecommunications, image enhancement, 3-dimensional image reconstructions, miniaturization, automation, and data analysis, have transformed the delivery of medical care and have brought about a new impetus to the field of biomedicine. Many areas of medical care and biological research have been affected. These include technological breakthroughs in such areas as: (1) diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of cardiovascular diseases, (2) new approaches to the understanding of osteoporosis, (3) early detection of genetic birth defects, (4) emergency medical care, and (5) treatment of chronic metabolic disorders. These are but a few examples where technology originally developed to support space medicine or space research has been applied to solving medical and health care delivery problems on Earth.     

A non-earthcentric approach to life detection

The ultimate goal of a comprehensive life detection strategy is never to miss life when we encounter it. To accomplish this goal, we must define life in universal, that is, non-Earthcentric, measurable terms. Next, we must understand the nature of biosignatures observed from the measured parameters of life. And finally, we must have a clear idea of the end-member states for the search--what does life, past life, or no life look like (in terms of the measured parameters) at multiple spatial and temporal scales? If we can approach these problems both in the laboratory and in the field on Earth, then we have a chance of being able to detect life elsewhere in our solar system. What are the required limits of detection at each of those scales? What spatial, spectral, and temporal resolutions are necessary to detect life? These questions are actively being investigated in our group, and in this report, we present our strategy and approach to non-Earthcentric life detection.     

Trends in space life support.

Considerable progress has been made in recent years on development of candidate physico-chemical components for use in regenerative life support systems (LSS) for future extended-duration-mission spacecraft; these life support systems provide air revitalization including carbon dioxide reduction, water reclamation, and limited waste management. For still longer duration manned space flights, such as a permanently inhabited space station, it is generally recognized that development of biological life support systems capable of generating food and regenerating wastes will be essential to reduce logistics costs.     

Defining a European space research policy: The role of the European Space Science Committee

The willingness of the European Union (EU) to acquire an important position by defining a well articulated space policy for Europe requires a redefinition of the roles of the various actors of this policy. This has been demonstrated at the last ESA Ministerial Conference despite the financial difficulties encountered by all spacefaring European countries. The European Space Science Committee (ESSC), an associated Committee of the European Science Foundation (ESF), actively participated in the elaboration of such a policy by presenting the point of view of the space scientific community and making recommendations to ensure that scientific space research is appropriately accounted for in overall European space policy. The ESSC is briefly described along with its activities and contributions to the definition of a European space policy.     

新疆地区J325航线与B215航路横向间隔确定的探讨

一、前言新疆地区J325航线(奇台NDB-敦煌VOR)与B215航路是航空器进出及飞越本区的主要通道。受导航台布局限制,J325航线与B215航路(哈密-奇台段)在奇台汇聚,同时与B215航路(哈密-阜康段)相交叉。(见图1)。自2003年起,新疆地区飞行流量出现跨越式增长,平均年增幅达35%。J325航线     

Long-duration space mission regenerative life support.

The paper deals with the construction of physical/chemical life support systems of orbiting space station Mir and the Russian segment of the international space station (ISS). Based on experience gained in development and long-term operation of systems for water recovery and air revitalization balance and energy/mass characteristics of promising life support systems (LSS) are analyzed. Physical/chemical life support systems with regenerative systems updated as a result of the operation on the ISS may be used at an initial phase of manned interplanetary missions.     

Operational life improvement of SSME high-pressure turbopumps

The current Space Shuttle Main Engine Phase I engine has demonstrated excellent flight performance at power levels up to 104% of rated power level. Early certification testing at 109% power level showed the operational life of the high pressure turbopumps to be limited. A development program, Phase II, has been under way since 1983 to increase the operational life and provide additional margin. The history of the SSME Phase I engine and the design and results of the SSME Phase II Program are presented. Operational life limits and high-maintenance areas of the high-pressure turbopumps are identified. The Phase II design improvements, supporting analyses, and test results are described. The formal certification test program is discussed. Modifications have been made to the high-pressure fuel turbopump to reduce turbine operating temperature, to extend the life of the first- and second-stage turbine blades, and to reduce sheet metal maintenance. Modifications have been made to the high-pressure oxidizer turbopump to improve bearing life and to eliminate subsynchronous whirl. These are discussed in detail, as is the design and use of special instrumentation to provide for rapid evaluation of merit.     

Post mission life plan for FORMOSAT-2

This paper presents the enhancement in mission operations, the mission life state-of-health (SOH) trending analysis, and the post mission life plan of the FORMOSAT-2 (or FS2, Formosa satellite #2, was called ROCSAT-2, or RS2, Republic of China satellite #2, previously) during its five years mission life from 20 May 2004 to 20 May 2009. There are two payloads onboard FS2: a remote sensing instrument (RSI) with nadir ground sampling distance (GSD) of 2 m for panchromatic (PAN) and GSD of 8 m for multi-spectral (MS, 4 bands) as the primary payload, and an imager for sprite and upper atmospheric lightning (ISUAL) as the secondary payload. It was launched on 20 May 2004. The design life is 7 years while the mission life is 5 years. In other words, the end of mission life date of FS2 is 20 May 2009. Generally speaking, FS2 is still at very good condition in its SOH. Post mission life plan for FS2 consists of: the practice of orbit transfer for global coverage and better resolution, the development of gyroless attitude control, and the method for life extension. It is expected that the working life of FS2 can be extended 3–5 years.     

Microbial life in a liquid asphalt desert

Pitch Lake in Trinidad and Tobago is a natural asphalt reservoir nourished by pitch seepage, a form of petroleum that consists of mostly asphaltines, from the surrounding oil-rich region. During upward seepage, pitch mixes with mud and gases under high pressure, and the lighter portion evaporates or is volatilized, which produces a liquid asphalt residue characterized by low water activity, recalcitrant carbon substrates, and noxious chemical compounds. An active microbial community of archaea and bacteria, many of them novel strains (particularly from the new Tar ARC groups), totaling a biomass of up to 10(7) cells per gram, was found to inhabit the liquid hydrocarbon matrix of Pitch Lake. Geochemical and molecular taxonomic approaches revealed diverse, novel, and deeply branching microbial lineages with the potential to mediate anaerobic hydrocarbon degradation processes in different parts of the asphalt column. In addition, we found markers for archaeal methane metabolism and specific gene sequences affiliated with facultative and obligate anaerobic sulfur- and nitrite-oxidizing bacteria. The microbial diversity at Pitch Lake was found to be unique when compared to microbial communities analyzed at other hydrocarbon-rich environments, which included Rancho Le Brea, a natural asphalt environment in California, USA, and an oil well and a mud volcano in Trinidad and Tobago, among other sites. These results open a window into the microbial ecology and biogeochemistry of recalcitrant hydrocarbon matrices and establish the site as a terrestrial analogue for modeling the biotic potential of hydrocarbon lakes such as those found on Saturn's largest moon Titan.     

基于PSO-VMD算法的生命探测方法研究

生命探测雷达在航空航天领域有着重要的应用,通过探测飞行员的呼吸、心跳、肢体动作等微弱信号,实现对飞行员的生命监测。针对实际场景中生命体微弱信号检测困难的问题,提出一种将包络熵作为粒子群算法适应度函数的变分模态分解(variational mode decomposition, VMD)参数优化算法。首先,利用粒子群算法对适应度函数进行选择,确定VMD算法中固有模态分量的分解层数以及惩罚因子个数的组合;其次,通过频谱分析选择特定层数的固有模态分量并重构雷达回波信号;最终达到去除噪声,提取生命体弱信号的目的。对比实验表明,所提出的方法相比经验模态分解算法能够更加准确地提取生命体信息,仿真结果验证了算法的有效性。