The roles of humans and robots in exploring the solar system

Historically, advocates of solar system exploration have disagreed over whether program goals could be entirely satisfied by robotic missions. Scientists tend to argue that robotic exploration is most cost-effective. However, the human space program has a great deal of support in the general public, thereby enabling the scientific element of exploration to be larger than it might be as a stand-alone activity. A comprehensive strategy of exploration needs a strong robotic component complementing and supporting human missions. Robots are needed for precursor missions, for crew support on planetary surfaces, and for probing dangerous environments. Robotic field assistants can provide mobility, access to scientific sites, data acquisition, visualization of the environment, precision operations, sample acquisition and analysis, and expertise to human explorers. As long as space exploration depends on public funds, space exploration must include an appropriate mix of human and robotic activity.     

中美环保团体在环境立法中的作用之比较分析

本文首先从美国流行的两种环境立法理论基础出发,分析了环保团体在美国环境立法中存在的意义与作用。其次,从我国公众参与环境立法的现状出发,论证了环保团体在我国环境立法中存在的必要性。最后,对环保团体在我国环境立法中的定位进行总结分析。     

The possible origin and persistence of life on Enceladus and detection of biomarkers in the plume

The jets of icy particles and water vapor issuing from the south pole of Enceladus are evidence for activity driven by some geophysical energy source. The vapor has also been shown to contain simple organic compounds, and the south polar terrain is bathed in excess heat coming from below. The source of the ice and vapor, and the mechanisms that accelerate the material into space, remain obscure. However, it is possible that a liquid water environment exists beneath the south polar cap, which may be conducive to life. Several theories for the origin of life on Earth would apply to Enceladus. These are (1) origin in an organic-rich mixture, (2) origin in the redox gradient of a submarine vent, and (3) panspermia. There are three microbial ecosystems on Earth that do not rely on sunlight, oxygen, or organics produced at the surface and, thus, provide analogues for possible ecologies on Enceladus. Two of these ecosystems are found deep in volcanic rock, and the primary productivity is based on the consumption by methanogens of hydrogen produced by rock reactions with water. The third ecosystem is found deep below the surface in South Africa and is based on sulfur-reducing bacteria consuming hydrogen and sulfate, both of which are ultimately produced by radioactive decay. Methane has been detected in the plume of Enceladus and may be biological in origin. An indicator of biological origin may be the ratio of non-methane hydrocarbons to methane, which is very low (0.001) for biological sources but is higher (0.1-0.01) for nonbiological sources. Thus, Cassini's instruments may detect plausible evidence for life by analysis of hydrocarbons in the plume during close encounters.     

Energy dependence of the fraction of protons of ionospheric origin in the ring current

The energy dependence of a fraction of ring current protons of ionospheric origin is calculated using the AMPTE/CCE data for a typical strong magnetic storm (max|D _st | ≈ 120 nT). It is shown that this fraction monotonically decreases from ～ 83 to 25–30% with an increase in proton energy from 5 to 315 keV at L = 6–7 (L is the McIlwain parameter) and is 30–40% at energy 40–50 keV corresponding to the maximum of proton energy density at L = 6–7. It is demonstrated that the core of the ring current (L = 3.7–4.7) was enriched by solar protons with E ≈ 10–200 keV during the active phase of the storm (the maximum effect is reached at E ≈ 20–50 keV).     

Experimentally tracing the key steps in the origin of life: The aromatic world

Life is generally believed to emerge on Earth, to be at least functionally similar to life as we know it today, and to be much simpler than modern life. Although minimal life is notoriously difficult to define, a molecular system can be considered alive if it turns resources into building blocks, replicates, and evolves. Primitive life may have consisted of a compartmentalized genetic system coupled with an energy-harvesting mechanism. How prebiotic building blocks self-assemble and transform themselves into a minimal living system can be broken into two questions: (1) How can prebiotic building blocks form containers, metabolic networks, and informational polymers? (2) How can these three components cooperatively organize to form a protocell that satisfies the minimal requirements for a living system? The functional integration of these components is a difficult puzzle that requires cooperation among all the aspects of protocell assembly: starting material, reaction mechanisms, thermodynamics, and the integration of the inheritance, metabolism, and container functionalities. Protocells may have been self-assembled from components different from those used in modern biochemistry. We propose that assemblies based on aromatic hydrocarbons may have been the most abundant flexible and stable organic materials on the primitive Earth and discuss their possible integration into a minimal life form. In this paper we attempt to combine current knowledge of the composition of prebiotic organic material of extraterrestrial and terrestrial origin, and put these in the context of possible prebiotic scenarios. We also describe laboratory experiments that might help clarify the transition from nonliving to living matter using aromatic material. This paper presents an interdisciplinary approach to interface state of the art knowledge in astrochemistry, prebiotic chemistry, and artificial life research.     

ATP弹性体的制备及其热分解特性和机理研究

以ATP为粘合剂、N-100为固化剂制备出ATP弹性体,并进行了性能表征.采用DSC/TG-FTIR-MS联用技术、高压DSC技术和热裂解快速扫描傅里叶变换红外技术(RSC/FITR),研究了叠氮类粘合剂ATP弹性体热分解过程,获得了ATP弹性体的热反应动力学参数,并提出了可能的分解机理.结果表明,ATP弹性体的热分解...     

GNSS服务空域空间信号可用性比较与分析

通过基本参数对全球卫星导航系统（GPS、GLONASS、Galileo和北斗）空间信号可用性影响实验,得出四系统的A knee 值分别为3800km、1100km、3800km和1000km,对应的平均可见卫星数为25、16、22和14/22（亚太地区、MEO星座/混合星座）。分析了三种典型轨道用户的卫星可见性,北斗和GLONASS对MEO和HEO用户的空间信号可用性能较GPS和Galileo稍差,而在LEO用户的应用中,北斗空间信号可用性能却表现最优,平均可见卫星数约为20颗,可用性时间分布比较均匀。最后对GNSS空间有效持续时间段进行统计,随着用户高度的增加,有效持续时间段数增多、总有效持续时间减少;四系统提供全弧段有效服务空间分别为地面至6100km、1600km、6100km和1700km。     

Formation of nucleobases from formamide in the presence of iron oxides: implication in chemical evolution and origin of life

Simple compounds like HCN, which have one C and one N, are proposed as the probable precursors for biomonomers. Formamide, a hydrolysis product of HCN, is known as the precursor of various biologically important compounds, for example, nucleobases (purines and pyrimidines). In this paper, we report our results on the synthesis of nucleobases, adenine, cytosine, purine, 9-(hydroxyacetyl) purine, and 4(3H)-pyrimidinone from formamide, using iron oxide (hematite) and oxide hydroxides (goethite and akaganeite) as a catalyst. Goethite and hematite produced purine in higher yield. The products formed were characterized by high-performance liquid chromatography and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry techniques. Results of our study reveal that iron oxides might have worked as efficient prebiotic catalysts.     

Archaeal genome organization and stress responses: implications for the origin and evolution of cellular life

For DNA to be used as an informational molecule it must exist in the cell on the edge of stability because all genomic processes require local controlled melting. This presents mechanistic opportunities and problems for genomic DNA from hyperthermophilic organisms, whose unpackaged DNA could melt at optimal temperatures for growth. Hyperthermophiles are suggested to employ the novel positively supercoiling topoisomerase enzyme reverse gyrase (RG) to form positively supercoiled DNA that is intrinsically resistant to thermal denaturation. RG is presently the only archaeal gene that is uniquely found in hyperthermophiles and therefore is central to hypotheses suggesting a hypothermophilic origin of life. However, the suggestion that RG has evolved by the fusion of two pre-existing enzymes has led to hypotheses for a lower temperature for the origin of life. In addition to the action of topoisomerases, DNA packaging and the intracellular ionic environment can also manipulate DNA topology significantly. In the Euryarchaeota, nucleosomes containing minimal histones can adopt two alternate DNA topologies in a salt-dependent manner. From this we hypothesize that since internal salt concentrations are increased following an increase in temperature, the genomic effects of temperature fluctuations could also be accommodated by changes in nucleosome organization. In addition, stress-induced changes in the nucleoid proteins could also play a role in maintaining the genome in the optimal topological state in changing environments. The function of these systems could therefore be central to temperature adaptation and thus be implicated in origin of life scenarios involving hyperthermophiles.     

四唑类盐的制备及其在固体推进剂中的应用初探

合成了5-苯基四唑、5-亚甲基二四唑，并通过元素分析及质谱方法对其进行了分析鉴定，制备了其铜、铅、锶盐；对3种金属盐在改性双基推进剂配方中的应用进行了探索性研究。初步研究表明，四唑类的金属盐类可以作为复合改性双基推进剂(CMDB)的含能燃烧催化剂。     

中美民航气象服务之对比

一、美国民航气象服务在美国,为民用航空飞行提供气象服务是由多个部门联合完成的,包括了国家气象服务中心、联邦航空总署、国防部以及其他一些针对航空气象服务市场的商业公司和机构。服务机构!措施包括飞行     

Formation of replicating saponite from a gel in the presence of oxalate: implications for the formation of clay minerals in carbonaceous chondrites and the origin of life

The potential role of clay minerals in the abiotic origin of life has been the subject of ongoing debate for the past several decades. At issue are the clay minerals found in a class of meteorites known as carbonaceous chondrites. These clay minerals are the product of aqueous alteration of anhydrous mineral phases, such as olivine and orthopyroxene, that are often present in the chondrules. Moreover, there is a strong correlation in the occurrence of clay minerals and the presence of polar organic molecules. It has been shown in laboratory experiments at low temperature and ambient pressure that polar organic molecules, such as the oxalate found in meteorites, can catalyze the crystallization of clay minerals. In this study, we show that oxalate is a robust catalyst in the crystallization of saponite, an Al- and Mg-rich, trioctahedral 2:1 layer silicate, from a silicate gel at 60°C and ambient pressure. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy analysis of the saponite treated with octadecylammonium (n(C)=18) cations revealed the presence of 2:1 layer structures that have variable interlayer charge. The crystallization of these differently charged 2:1 layer silicates most likely occurred independently. The fact that 2:1 layer silicates with variable charge formed in the same gel has implications for our understanding of the origin of life, as these 2:1 clay minerals most likely replicate by a mechanism of template-catalyzed polymerization and transmit the charge distribution from layer to layer. If polar organic molecules like oxalate can catalyze the formation of clay-mineral crystals, which in turn promote clay microenvironments and provide abundant adsorption sites for other organic molecules present in solution, the interaction among these adsorbed molecules could lead to the polymerization of more complex organic molecules like RNA from nucleotides on early Earth.     

Turbo码中SOVA算法和Log-MAP算法的比较

Turbo码解码器中通常使用的是最大后验概率译码算法(MAP算法)和软输出Viterbi算法(SOVA算法)[1]。文章介绍了一种Log-MAP解码器,它是以次最优的MAP算法为基础的。通过理论分析和计算机仿真,可以得到Log-MAP算法的性能要优于SOVA算法。     

深空辐射环境及其效应的分析与比较

深空辐射环境对深空探测活动将带来严重的威胁。文章首先对深空辐射环境及效应进行了分析,接着对月球、火星、木星和土星等不同星体的辐射环境及效应进行了详细的探讨及比较。文章得到的结论可为深空探测器的设计和航天员的防护设计提供重要的指导与帮助。     

The origin of the smaller, faster, cheaper approach in NASA’s solar system exploration program

The current emphasis on smaller, faster, cheaper (SFC) spacecraft in NASA’s solar system exploration program is the product of a number of interacting – even interdependent – factors. The SFC concept as applied to NASA’s solar system exploration program can be viewed as the vector sum of (1) the space science community’s desire for more frequent planetary missions to plug the data gaps, educate the next generation of scientists, provide missions to targets of opportunity, and enable programmatic flexibility in times of budgetary crisis; (2) the poor publicity garnered by NASA in the early 1990s and the resultant atmosphere of public criticism (creating an opportunity for reform); (3) The Strategic Defense Initiative Organization’s and the National Space Council community’s desire to advance the Space Exploration Initiative and their perception that the NASA culture at the time represented a barrier to the effective pursuit of space exploration; (4) the effective leadership of NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin; and (5) the diminishing budget profile for space sciences in the early 1990s. This paper provides a summary of the origin of the smaller, faster, cheaper approach in the planetary program. A more through understanding of the history behind this policy will enable analysts to assess more accurately the relative successes and failures of NASA’s new approach to solar system exploration.     

Comparison of the rocket engines efficiency in the case of low thrust orbit-to-orbit transfers

The main task of this paper is to compare two types of low thrust rocket engines: constant thrust vs. variable-thrust engines. We will be concerned with efficiency, where efficiency is evaluated in the case of the orbit-to-orbit transfer with maximum payload mass in the central Newtonian gravity field. The launch mass of the space vehicle is supposed to be fixed. The traditional solution is the decomposition of the problem into parametric and dynamical parts. The corresponding variational problems differ for two rocket thruster types under consideration. We propose change of variables, which makes it possible to reduce averaged equations of optimal motion of a spacecraft with the mentioned engines to the unified form. Using this unified form comparison of the performance of constant- and variable-thrust engines is conducted.     

PLL与DDS的比较及新型DDS PLL的设计

论文针对传统的锁相环(PLL)频率合成方式和直接数字合成(DDS)方式的各自结构原理与优点来进行比较,指出他们的主要难点是在应用中实现宽频带、高分辩率及快速换频的性能,从而提出一种新型的宽频带、换频快、分辨力高的DDS与PLL相结合(DDS&PLL)的频率合成方案,它能在2～30MHz的频率范围内以不大于2ms的时间实现最小间隔为10Hz的换频.     

不同性质课程学生学习成绩与授课状况比较分析

为考察合班教学对学生学习成绩的影响，本研究抽取不同性质课程、不同授课形式6个班级学生的学习成绩。通过对学习成绩进行独立样本t检验，结果发现：小班授课情况下，学生公共课与专业课成绩之间无显著差异。在大班授课情况下，公共课的成绩明显优于专业课成绩。以掌握知识为主的公共课，大班授课的成绩明显优于小班授课的成绩。以掌握技能为主的专业课，小班授课的成绩明显优于大班授课的成绩。     

不同性质课程学生学习成绩与授课状况比较分析

为考察合班教学对学生学习成绩的影响,本研究抽取不同性质课程、不同授课形式6个班级学生的学习成绩。通过对学习成绩进行独立样本t检验,结果发现：小班授课情况下,学生公共课与专业课成绩之间无显著差异。在大班授课情况下,公共课的成绩明显优于专业课成绩。以掌握知识为主的公共课,大班授课的成绩明显优于小班授课的成绩。以掌握技能为主的专业课,小班授课的成绩明显优于大班授课的成绩。