Meteors do not break exogenous organic molecules into high yields of diatomics

Meteoroids that dominate the Earth's extraterrestrial mass influx (50-300 microm size range) may have contributed a unique blend of exogenous organic molecules at the time of the origin of life. Such meteoroids are so large that most of their mass is ablated in the Earth's atmosphere. In the process, organic molecules are decomposed and chemically altered to molecules differently from those delivered to the Earth's surface by smaller (<50 microm) micrometeorites and larger (>10 cm) meteorites. The question addressed here is whether the organic matter in these meteoroids is fully decomposed into atoms or diatomic compounds during ablation. If not, then the ablation products made available for prebiotic organic chemistry, and perhaps early biology, might have retained some memory of their astrophysical nature. To test this hypothesis we searched for CN emission in meteor spectra in an airborne experiment during the 2001 Leonid meteor storm. We found that the meteor's light-emitting air plasma, which included products of meteor ablation, contained less than 1 CN molecule for every 30 meteoric iron atoms. This contrasts sharply with the nitrogen/iron ratio of 1:1.2 in the solid matter of comet 1P/Halley. Unless the nitrogen content or the abundance of complex organic matter in the Leonid parent body, comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle, differs from that in comet 1P/Halley, it appears that very little of that organic nitrogen decomposes into CN molecules during meteor ablation in the rarefied flow conditions that characterize the atmospheric entry of meteoroids approximately 50 microm-10 cm in size. We propose that the organics of such meteoroids survive instead as larger compounds.     

Search for the OH (X(2)Pi) Meinel band emission in meteors as a tracer of mineral water in comets: detection of N(2)(+) (A-X)

We report the discovery of the N(2)(+) A-X Meinel band in the 780-840 nm meteor emission from two Leonid meteoroids that were ejected less than 1000 years ago by comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle. Our analysis indicates that the N(2)(+) molecule is at least an order of magnitude less abundant than expected, possibly as a result of charge transfer reactions with meteoric metal atoms. This new band was found while searching for rovibrational transitions in the X(2)Pi electronic ground state of OH (the OH Meinel band), a potential tracer of water bound to minerals in cometary matter. The electronic A-X transition of OH has been identified in other Leonid meteors. We did not detect this OH Meinel band, which implies that the excited A state is not populated by thermal excitation but by a mechanism that directly produces OH in low vibrational levels of the excited A(2)Sigma state. Ultraviolet dissociation of atmospheric or meteoric water vapor is such a mechanism, as is the possible combustion of meteoric organics.     

Hydrogen emission in meteors as a potential marker for the exogenous delivery of organics and water

We detected hydrogen Balmer-alpha (H(alpha)) emission in the spectra of bright meteors and investigated its potential use as a tracer for exogenous delivery of organic matter. We found that it is critical to observe the meteors with high enough spatial resolution to distinguish the 656.46 nm H(alpha) emission from the 657.46 nm intercombination line of neutral calcium, which was bright in the meteor afterglow. The H(alpha) line peak stayed in constant ratio to the atmospheric emissions of nitrogen during descent of the meteoroid. If all of the hydrogen originates in the Earth's atmosphere, the hydrogen atoms are expected to have been excited at T = 4400 K. In that case, we measured an H(2)O abundance in excess of 150 +/- 20 ppm at 80-90 km altitude (assuming local thermodynamic equilibrium in the air plasma). This compares with an expected <20 ppm from H(2)O in the gas phase. Alternatively, meteoric refractory organic matter (and water bound in meteoroid minerals) could have caused the observed H(alpha) emission, but only if the line is excited in a hot T approximately 10000 K plasma component that is unique to meteoric ablation vapor emissions such as Si(+). Assuming that the Si(+) lines of the Leonid spectrum would need the same hot excitation conditions, and a typical [H]/[C] = 1 in cometary refractory organics, we calculated an abundance ratio [C]/[Si] = 3.9 +/- 1.4 for the dust of comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle. This range agreed with the value of [C]/[Si] = 4.4 measured for comet 1P/Halley dust. Unless there is 10 times more water vapor in the upper atmosphere than expected, we conclude that a significant fraction of the hydrogen atoms in the observed meteor plasma originated in the meteoroid.     

Meteor wake in high frame-rate images--implications for the chemistry of ablated organic compounds

Extraterrestrial organic matter may have been chemically altered into forms more ameanable for prebiotic chemistry in the wake of a meteor after ablation. We measured the rate of cooling of the plasma in the meteor wake from the intensity decay just behind a meteoroid by freezing its motion in high frame-rate 1000 frames/s video images, with an intensified camera that has a short phosphor decay time. Though the resulting cooling rate was found to be lower than theoretically predicted, our calculations indicated that there would have been insufficient collisions to break apart large organic compounds before most reactive radicals and electrons were lost from the air plasma. Organic molecules delivered from space to the early Earth via meteors might therefore have survived in a chemically altered form. In addition, we discovered that relatively small meteoroids generated far-ultraviolet emission that is absorbed in the immediate environment of the meteoroid, which may chemically alter the atmosphere over a much larger region than previously recognized.     

Venus surface power and cooling systems

A mission to the surface of Venus would have high scientific value, but most electronic devices and sensors cannot operate at the 450 °C ambient surface temperature of Venus. Power and cooling systems were analyzed for Venus surface operation. A radioisotope power and cooling system was designed to provide electrical power for a probe operating on the surface of Venus. For a mission duration of substantial length, the use of thermal mass to maintain an operable temperature range is likely impractical, and active refrigeration may be required to keep components at a temperature below ambient. Due to the high thermal convection of the high-density atmosphere, the heat rejection temperature was assumed to be at a 500 °C radiator temperature, 50 °C above ambient. The radioisotope Stirling power converter designed produces a thermodynamic power output capacity of 478.1 W, with a cooling power of 100 W. The overall efficiency is calculated to be 23.36%. The mass of the power converter is estimated at approximately 21.6 kg.     

液体运载火箭舱段防结露吹除流量控制技术研究

常温推进剂液体火箭在炎热季节加注后往往容易产生结露现象,结露后形成的积水严重影响舱内仪器设备及电缆的使用安全。给出防结露吹除用量精确计算方法,通过对吹除入口压力、舱内达到压力、入口及出口面积等方面影响因素进行分析,得出吹除用量与上述因素的关联关系,提出火箭吹除量化控制措施,达到了稳定的控制效果。     

Venus surface power and cooling systems

A mission to the surface of Venus would have high scientific value, but most electronic devices and sensors cannot operate at the 450 °C ambient surface temperature of Venus. Power and cooling systems were analyzed for Venus surface operation. A radioisotope power and cooling system was designed to provide electrical power for a probe operating on the surface of Venus. For a mission duration of substantial length, the use of thermal mass to maintain an operable temperature range is likely impractical, and active refrigeration may be required to keep components at a temperature below ambient. Due to the high thermal convection of the high-density atmosphere, the heat rejection temperature was assumed to be at a 500 °C radiator temperature, 50 °C above ambient. The radioisotope Stirling power converter designed produces a thermodynamic power output capacity of 478.1 W, with a cooling power of 100 W. The overall efficiency is calculated to be 23.36%. The mass of the power converter is estimated at approximately 21.6 kg.     

Physical Prerequisites of the Antimeteoric Net Protection for Spacecraft

The problem of spacecraft protection against the impact effect of meteorites and man-made (technogenous) particles has become especially topical in connection with the necessity of long-duration flights in space. The probability of spacecraft collision with meteoric and technogenous particles has already considerably increased on the widely used, but strongly contaminated near-Earth orbits. Russian specialists (the author included) proposed to use multilayer spaced barriers for spacecraft protection as early as the beginning of the 1960s. However, further studies on decreasing the mass of antimeteoric shields are required nowadays. The safety net application is one promising approach in this respect. This paper outlines the physical prerequisites for using a net (a system of strings) as one of a package of antimeteoric shields. The simplest models of meteoric particle destruction at impact on the safety net are presented. The hydrodynamic models, as most suitable for modeling the process, are mainly analyzed. The role of the interaction of shock waves and of cumulative effects upon meteorite impact with the net is emphasized. The net is shown to play an important part in forming the nonuniform field of stresses in a meteorite even at high impact velocities, which are accompanied by phase transitions and by the generation of plasma. The role of a safety net for retaining and absorbing the momentum of a plasma cloud, formed upon the impact of meteoric particles, is considered. The advisability of applying two (or several) net barriers is substantiated. It is noted that the safety net can also be useful as a means for mitigating the action of shock waves from explosions.     

燃气涡轮性能试验台的控制因素敏感度分析

针对某燃气涡轮性能试验台,选择空气流量、燃油流量、水流量以及涡轮背压作为控制系统的主要控制量。通过建立工作点附近的线性“小偏差”方程,讨论了以上四种因素对于涡轮的入口压强、入口温度和转速这三个状态变量的影响程度。压强主要取决于空气流量．温度对空气和燃油均有一定的敏感性,转速则主要由水流量来控制。基于以上判断确定了试验台的手动调节规律。     

电弧放电等离子体对超声速边界层影响的数值模拟

基于电弧放电等离子体热阻塞机理,对等离子体超声速流动控制过程进行了数值模拟,研究了等离子体对边界层的影响,分析了放电区大小、温度等对其作用效果的影响。结果显示：在高温等离子体放电区的上下游近区发生了边界层分离及漩涡运动;在放电区内有两种边界层,即高温等离子体与外界低温气流之间的温度边界层和气流与壁面之间的粘性边界层;放电区内形成漩涡运动的原因有两个,即内外压差和边界层分离;上游边界层的分离点y轴坐标随温度的增大而减小;增大来流速度,放电区上游分离点y轴坐标呈先增大后减小的趋势、放电区内漩涡运动加剧、下游近区边界层分离点y轴坐标减小。     

Monopropellant droplet decomposition for large activation energies

The quasi-steady decomposition of a monopropellant droplet in a quiescent atmosphere is analyzed, in the limit of large activation energy, for a gas phase decomposition reaction of the Arrhenius type.An analytical relation is obtained for the pre-exponential rate constant, or the Damköhler number, as a function of the droplet vaporization rate. The curve giving the vaporization rate in terms of the Damköhler number has, for low values of the temperature at infinity, an S shaped form which exhibits ignition-extinction characteristics.With increasing values of the droplet vaporization rate above the pure vaporization value we pass from a nearly frozen regime, under which ignition conditions occur due to the large temperature sensitivity of the reaction rate, to a complete decomposition regime, in which practically all the fuel is decomposed in a thin reactive-diffusion zone, separated from the droplet surface by a transport region of lower temperature. For sufficiently large Damköhler numbers, the thin reaction zone is located close to the droplet surface, so that the flame structure becomes planar: a linear relation between the droplet radius and time is obtained in this case. The non planar effects are responsible for the extinction of the flame at low Damköhler numbers and ambient temperatures below the adiabatic flame temperature. For sufficiently low values of the ambient temperature, an intermediate regime exists in which the enhancement of the vaporization rate is due only to the fraction of the vaporized fuel decomposed at a thin reaction zone, not far from the droplet, where the temperature reaches its maximum value; the remaining fuel is decomposed very far from the droplet.     

航天器表面环境散射返回流污染数值模拟和影响因素分析

针对航天器表面出气分子形成的环境散射返回流污染问题,利用试验粒子Monte Carlo方法对圆球和圆柱体简化航天器表面环境散射返回流进行数值模拟。其中,圆球出气表面的计算结果与已有的DSMC(Direct Simulation Monte Carlo)方法计算结果一致,验证了该方法的正确性。此外,对不同长径比的圆柱表面环境散射进行了计算和分析,结果表明:来流方向垂直于圆柱对称轴时,返回分子主要分布在圆柱体侧面的迎风部位;返回通量比随来流与出气分子质量之比的增加逐渐减小,随来流与出气表面温度之比、来流分子速度比和数密度的增加而增大;不同长径比条件下返回通量比相对于上述4个参数的变化具有相似性和递变性,短粗体的返回通量比最小,长细体的最大,正常圆柱体的则居中;返回通量比相对来流攻角的变化在不同长径比条件下不再具有相似性,而是取决于有效迎风面积。     

Common freshwater cyanobacteria grow in 100% CO2

Cyanobacteria and similar organisms produced most of the oxygen found in Earth's atmosphere, which implies that early photosynthetic organisms would have lived in an atmosphere that was rich in CO2 and poor in O2. We investigated the tolerance of several cyanobacteria to very high (>20 kPa) concentrations of atmospheric CO2. Cultures of Synechococcus PCC7942, Synechocystis PCC7942, Plectonema boryanum, and Anabaena sp. were grown in liquid culture sparged with CO2-enriched air. All four strains grew when transferred from ambient CO2 to 20 kPa partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2), but none of them tolerated direct transfer to 40 kPa pCO2. Synechococcus and Anabaena survived 101 kPa (100%) pCO2 when pressure was gradually increased by 15 kPa per day, and Plectonema actively grew under these conditions. All four strains grew in an anoxic atmosphere of 5 kPa pCO2 in N2. Strains that were sensitive to high CO2 were also sensitive to low initial pH (pH 5-6). However, low pH in itself was not sufficient to prevent growth. Although mechanisms of damage and survival are still under investigation, we have shown that modern cyanobacteria can survive under Earth's primordial conditions and that cyanobacteria-like organisms could have flourished under conditions on early Mars, which probably had an atmosphere similar to early Earth's.     

直接加热对固冲发动机地面模拟性能影响的理论分析

为了模拟飞行状态下进入补燃室的空气总温,在地面模拟试验中要对空气加热。通过直连模拟计算,研究了常用加热器燃料(氢气、煤油、甲烷和酒精等)对含硼贫氧推进剂固体火箭冲压发动机性能的影响。结果表明,当按照气流中含氧量与纯净空气一样进行补氧时,气流中的含氧量能模拟纯净空气中的含氧量;直接加热、补氧的直连模拟计算所得的发动机真空比冲相对偏差与加热空气的燃料种类有关,以氢气为燃料的相对偏差大于0,而其它3种燃料的相对偏差小于0;从污染空气对真空比冲相对偏差的影响分析,污染空气对发动机性能的影响很小。     

Determination of lethality rate constants and D-values for heat-resistant Bacillus spores ATCC 29669 exposed to dry heat from 125°C to 200°C

Exposing flight hardware to dry heat is a NASA-approved sterilization method for reducing microbial bioburden on spacecraft. The existing NASA specification only allows heating the flight hardware between 104°C and 125°C to reduce the number of viable microbes and bacterial spores. Also, the NASA specifications only allow a four log reduction by dry heat microbial reduction because very heat-resistant spores are presumed to exist in a diverse population (0.1%). The goal of this research was to obtain data at higher temperatures than 125°C for one of the most heat-resistant microorganisms discovered in a spacecraft assembly area. These data support expanding the NASA specifications to temperatures higher than 125°C and relaxing the four log reduction specification. Small stainless steel vessels with spores of the Bacillus strain ATCC 29669 were exposed to constant temperatures between 125°C and 200°C under both dry and ambient room humidity for set time durations. After exposures, the thermal spore exposure vessels were cooled and the remaining spores recovered and plated out. Survivor ratios, lethality rate constants, and D-values were determined at each temperature. The D-values for the spores exposed under dry humidity conditions were always found to be shorter than those under ambient humidity. The temperature dependence of the lethality rate constants was obtained by assuming that they obeyed Arrhenius behavior. The results are compared to those of B. atrophaeus ATCC 9372. In all cases, the D-values of ATCC 29669 are between 20 and 50 times longer than those of B. atrophaeus ATCC 9372.     

The carbonate-silicate cycle and CO2/climate feedbacks on tidally locked terrestrial planets

Atmospheric gaseous constituents play an important role in determining the surface temperatures and habitability of a planet. Using a global climate model and a parameterization of the carbonate-silicate cycle, we explored the effect of the location of the substellar point on the atmospheric CO(2) concentration and temperatures of a tidally locked terrestrial planet, using the present Earth continental distribution as an example. We found that the substellar point's location relative to the continents is an important factor in determining weathering and the equilibrium atmospheric CO(2) level. Placing the substellar point over the Atlantic Ocean results in an atmospheric CO(2) concentration of 7 ppmv and a global mean surface air temperature of 247 K, making ～30% of the planet's surface habitable, whereas placing it over the Pacific Ocean results in a CO(2) concentration of 60,311 ppmv and a global temperature of 282 K, making ～55% of the surface habitable.     

Chaotic exchange of solid material between planetary systems: implications for lithopanspermia

Abstract We examined a low-energy mechanism for the transfer of meteoroids between two planetary systems embedded in a star cluster using quasi-parabolic orbits of minimal energy. Using Monte Carlo simulations, we found that the exchange of meteoroids could have been significantly more efficient than previously estimated. Our study is relevant to astrobiology, as it addresses whether life on Earth could have been transferred to other planetary systems in the Solar System's birth cluster and whether life on Earth could have been transferred from beyond the Solar System. In the Solar System, the timescale over which solid material was delivered to the region from where it could be transferred via this mechanism likely extended to several hundred million years (as indicated by the 3.8-4.0?Ga epoch of the Late Heavy Bombardment). This timescale could have overlapped with the lifetime of the Solar birth cluster (～100-500?Myr). Therefore, we conclude that lithopanspermia is an open possibility if life had an early start. Adopting parameters from the minimum mass solar nebula, considering a range of planetesimal size distributions derived from observations of asteroids and Kuiper Belt objects and theoretical coagulation models, and taking into account Oort Cloud formation models, we discerned that the expected number of bodies with mass>10?kg that could have been transferred between the Sun and its nearest cluster neighbor could be of the order of 10(14) to 3·10(16), with transfer timescales of tens of millions of years. We estimate that of the order of 3·10(8)·l (km) could potentially be life-bearing, where l is the depth of Earth's crust in kilometers that was ejected as the result of the early bombardment. Key Words: Extrasolar planets-Interplanetary dust-Interstellar meteorites-Lithopanspermia. Astrobiology 12, 754-774.     

基于Modelica的载人航天器环热控系统建模仿真

为了给载人航天器乘员营造一个良好的生活工作环境,需要将众多空气环境参数控制在指标范围内。文章结合载人航天器专业知识,基于Modelica统一建模语言建立了一种载人航天器环热控系统仿真分析模型;利用该模型仿真分析了温湿度控制风机取不同转速时,载人航天器空气环境参数随乘员代谢水平的变化趋势。结果表明:在其他参数不变的情况下,温湿度控制风机转速越大,空气温度越低,相对湿度越高;乘员代谢水平变化对空气环境参数有显著影响,通过调节系统运行参数可将各空气参数有效控制在指标范围内。舱体温度与氧分压、二氧化碳分压、舱体相对湿度有密切关系且相互影响,不可单独分析。     

高精度光纤陀螺温度实验研究

温度是影响光纤陀螺(FOG)输出特性的主要因素,对于高精度光纤陀螺更是如此。从实验入手,在常温、低温和高温三种状态下进行研究,采用热敏电阻分别对陀螺的六个重要部位的温度进行监测,得出光纤陀螺启动阶段至稳定以后的输出曲线、零偏变化曲线、温度变化曲线。对输出曲线、零偏变化曲线、温度变化曲线分析,发现不仅光纤陀螺自身热效应会影响光纤环,而且环境温度变化也会对光纤环产生影响。针对上述现象,对陀螺采取温度控制,经实验证明,能有效地改善陀螺的输出特性。     

固冲发动机补燃室内强迫对流条件下硼颗粒燃烧速率研究

硼颗粒在通过固体火箭冲压发动机的燃气发生器喷管进入补燃室的过程中,颗粒通常都会受到高速气流的作用。此时,静止条件下硼颗粒的燃烧模型不再适应。对强迫对流条件下的硼颗粒燃烧的二维问题建立了数学模型,通过物理、数学简化,将偏微分方程组化为易于求解的常微分方程组,最后得到燃烧速率的显示表达式,并进行了求解,给出了硼颗粒周围边界层内温度场、浓度场及颗粒燃烧速率随雷诺数Re的变化规律。