地外生命之源

地外生命之源云立中彗星、小行星与星际星云之间的红外匹配可以显示小行星和彗星含有起源于在初期太阳系聚集到一起之前的星际微粒的有机物的第一个直接证据。但也有资料显示出相反的解释——早期太阳星云中形成的有机物一部分聚集在小行星和彗星中，而一部分被太阳抛到星...     

空间风化对C型小行星的光谱影响研究概述

C型小行星主要由硅酸盐矿物和含碳有机质组成，保存了太阳系形成初期的原始物质，是认识太阳系形成初期的重要物质，对研究水和生命起源与演化具有重要科学意义。目前对小行星物质组成的认识主要基于光谱特征分析，但长期的空间风化作用会改变小行星表面物质的光谱特征，所以认识小行星的物质组成需要准确厘清空间风化对光谱的影响。随着中国小行星探测工程的推进，迫切需要深入认识C型小行星的光谱特征及对空间风化的响应规律。为此，分析了C型小行星的反射率、水和有机质吸收等光谱特征以及空间风化的影响，提出研究存在的主要问题，进而指出了该研究方向的未来发展趋势和研究重点。     

小行星与陨石的光谱联系

Bus-DeMeo光谱分类系统中有24种小行星光谱类型以及约27种陨石矿物学类型。小行星和陨石之间的光谱联系在质量和可靠性上差异很大原因主要是某些矿物学中缺乏诊断特征和空间风化作用。将回顾从可见光和近红外光谱中远程获取的小行星矿物学信息,讨论如何从地质学家的角度理解小行星的光谱辨识。     

小行星与陨石的光谱联系（英文）

Bus-De Meo光谱分类系统中有24种小行星光谱类型以及约27种陨石矿物学类型。小行星和陨石之间的光谱联系在质量和可靠性上差异很大原因主要是某些矿物学中缺乏诊断特征和空间风化作用。将回顾从可见光和近红外光谱中远程获取的小行星矿物学信息,讨论如何从地质学家的角度理解小行星的光谱辨识。     

近地小行星观测技术分析

数量庞大的近地小行星对地球安全构成了重大潜在威胁,受现阶段小天体观测技术水平限制,仍有大量危险性小行星尚未发现。瞄准我国近地小行星空间观测技术发展需求,通过综合分析国内外近地小行星观测现状及相关技术水平,并结合天/地基小行星观测平台能力对比,从我国近地小天体观测技术基础出发,提出了我国空间红外小行星观测技术方案。采用可见–红外融合探测的技术方案开展小行星搜寻与光谱详察,并通过空间小行星观测平台与地面观测装备网络协同观测,为推动形成我国天体一体化小行星观测体系奠定基础;同时通过对多种小行星撞击地球的防御策略以及小行星利用价值综合分析,为我国开展近地小行星观测、预警、防御等任务提出了初步建议。     

用于火星表面生命信息探测的激光拉曼技术进展

生命信息探测一直是深空探测中重要的一个部分。简要介绍了拉曼光谱技术探测有机物的优势和火星生命信息探测进展,以及常见的火星生命信息探测技术;重点概述了国内外用于火星有机物和生命信息探测的激光拉曼光谱技术的进展,分析总结了火星表面有机物质探测技术的发展趋势;最后简要概述了拉曼光谱技术在火星探测领域的发展前景。     

主带彗星探测的科学目的及光谱仪设计构想

由于主带彗星富含水冰等挥发分并且位于火星与木星之间的小行星带区域,因此很可能是给早期地球带来水资源的天体,自从20世纪初期被发现以来引起了行星科学界的极大兴趣,是未来绕飞探测的重要候选目标。总结了主带彗星133P光谱探测的科学目标,并根据不同成分光谱特征分析和热特性研究需求,提出光谱仪的主要指标构想。谱段需覆盖可见至甚长波红外(0.4～50μm),通过可见红外成像光谱仪和热辐射光谱仪两台载荷分别覆盖0.4～5μm和5～50μm的波段范围。可见红外成像光谱仪采用紧凑型光栅分光系统设计,光谱分辨率在可见光谱段优于5 nm,红外谱段优于10 nm,5 km探测距离下空间分辨优于0.5 m,通过低温制冷抑制背景辐射噪声,保证信噪比优于100。热辐射光谱仪采用时间调制型干涉分光方案,由一台双角镜摆臂式干涉仪实现5～50μm的分光,光谱分辨率8 cm~(-1),5 km探测距离下空间分辨率优于10 m,采用非制冷热释电探测器。通过对两台光谱仪研制过程中涉及的关键技术进行分析,为后续开展工程研制奠定基础。     

谷神星陨石坑内发现有机物

正NASA“黎明”号探测器在谷神星表面发现了有机物存在的证据。谷神星是一颗矮行星,也是位于火星与木星之间的小行星带中最大的天体。尽管此次发现的有机物数量不多,但这些物质是构成生命的必要元素,太阳系内已被证实存在有机物质的天体名单列表再次扩展。科学家认为,谷神星与地球上获取的陨石样本,尤其是碳质球粒陨石存在着诸多相似之处。这些有机物并非外     

小行星探测科学目标进展与展望

由于较好地保留了太阳系早期形成和演化历史的遗迹,小行星,尤其是近地小行星,已成为国际深空探测领域的研究热点。介绍了小行星的定义、分类和主要探测方式,指出目前小行星探测已进入空间探测的新时代;总结了国际小行星探测的现状,包括已实施和正在实施的小行星探测任务的科学目标、科学载荷配置,以及获取的主要科学数据等;探讨了未来小行星探测的发展趋势和主要科学问题,并对我国未来自主小行星探测任务科学目标的制定进行了展望。     

小行星探测的"中国行动"

身价不菲的小行星 宇宙中存在大量小行星,仅太阳系中就有上百万颗.1991年美国发射的"伽利略"木星探测器对951号加斯帕拉小行星进行了飞越探测,这是人类第一次近距离观测小行星.到目前国际上小天体探测已有近30年历史. 小行星探测具有重大意义.一方面,针对小行星组成物质、物理特征等进行科学探测,可以更好了解太阳系演化、地...     

Survivability of biomolecules during extraterrestrial delivery: new results on pyrolysis of amino acids and poly-amino acids.

The hypothesis on exogenous origin of organic matter on the early Earth is strongly supported by the detection of a large variety of organic compounds (including amino acids and nucleobases) in carbonaceous chondrites. Whether such complex species can be successively delivered by other space bodies (comets, asteroids and interplanetary dust particles) is unclear and depends primarily on capability of the biomolecules to survive high temperatures during atmospheric deceleration and impacts to the terrestrial surface. Recent simulation experiments on amino acid and nucleic acid base pyrolysis under oxygen-free atmosphere demonstrated that simple representatives of these (considered thermally unstable) compounds can survive at 1-10% level a rapid heating at 500-600 degrees C. In the present work, we report on new data on the pyrolysis of amino acids and their homopolymers and discuss implications of their thermal behavior for extraterrestrial delivery.     

Life in the solar system.

Life, defined as a chemical system capable of transferring its molecular information via self-replication and also capable of evolving, must develop within a liquid to take advantage of the diffusion of complex molecules. On Earth, life probably originated from the evolution of reduced organic molecules in liquid water. Organic matter might have been formed in the primitive Earth's atmosphere or near hydrothermal vents. A large fraction of prebiotic organic molecules might have been brought by extraterrestrial-meteoritic and cometary dust grains decelerated by the atmosphere. Any celestial body harboring permanent liquid water may therefore accumulate the ingredients that generated life on the primitive Earth. The possibility that life might have evolved on early Mars when water existed on the surface marks it as a prime candidate in a search for bacterial life beyond the Earth. Europa has an icy carapace. However, cryovolcanic flows at the surface point to a possible water subsurface region which might harbor a basic life form. The atmosphere and surface components of Titan are also of interest to exobiology for insight into a hydrocarbon-rich chemically evolving world. One-handed complex molecules and preferential isotopic fractionation of carbon, common to all terrestrial life forms, can be used as basic indicators when searching for life beyond the Earth.     

Diviner红外温度与嫦娥卫星微波探测仪月表亮温的比较分析

提出使用高分辨率的Diviner辐射计红外温度作为月壤热传导的边界输入条件,使得月壤物理温度廓线的模拟更接近月表真实情况. 利用Diviner物理温度廓线模拟的微波亮温与嫦娥二号卫星微波探测仪（CELMS2）的实测亮温匹配,来分析CELMS2数据的有效性和稳定性,为月壤微波特性的反演奠定基础. 以哥白尼坑区域为例,对比分析了Diviner辐射计红外通道温度与CELMS1实测微波亮温的变化趋势. 选择月球虹湾地区内一位置点（45.1°-45.5°N,33.1°-33.5°W）,分析了CELMS2在该位置点内5个月球时刻的亮温数据. 通过对实测亮温与模拟亮温在经纬度和太阳高度角的匹配分析得到,在高频微波通道内两者的相关性达到96%以上,表明嫦娥二号微波探测仪亮温数据具有较高的稳定性,可以为月壤特性反演研究提供可靠数据来源.      

The seeding of life by comets.

The evidence that living organisms were already extant on the earth almost 4 Gyr ago and that early bombardment by comets and asteroids created a hostile environment up to about this time has revived the question of how it was possible for prebiotic chemical evolution to have provided the necessary ingredients for life to have developed in the short intervening time. The actual bracketed available temporal space is no more than 0.5 Gyr and probably much less. Was this sufficient time for an earth-based source of the first simple organic precursor molecules to have led to the level of the prokaryotic cell? If not, then the difficulty would be resolved if the ancient earth was impregnated by organic molecular seed from outer space. Curiously, it seems that the most likely source of such seeds was the same a one of the sources of the hostile enviroment, namely the comets which bombarded the earth. With the knowledge of comets gained by the space missions it has become clear that a very large fraction of the chemical composition of comet nuclei consists of quite complex organic molecules. Furthermore it has been demonstrated that comets consist of very fluffy aggregates of interstellar dust whose chemistry derives from photoprocessing of simple ice mixtures in space. Thus, the ultimate source of organics in comets comes from the chemical evolution of interstellar dust. An important and critical justification for assuming that interstellar dust is the ultimate source of prebiotic molecular insertion on the earth is the proof that comets are extremely fluffy aggregates, which have the possibility of breaking up into finely divided fragments when the comet impacts the earth's atmosphere. In the following we will summarize the properties of interstellar dust and the chemical and morphological structure of comets indicated by the most recent interpretations of comet observations. It will be shown that the suitable condition for comets having provided abundant prebiotic molecules as well as the water in which they could have further evolved are consistent with theories of the early earth environment.     

低纬电离层等离子体块相关等离子体泡演化期间的虚高变化

针对东亚地区地磁低纬度南北半球Vanimo台站(地理2.7°S,141.3°E;地磁11.2°S,146.2°W)和海南台站(地理19.5°N,109.1°E;地磁9.1°N,179.1°W)上空的3个电离层等离子体块与等离子体泡相关联的事件,利用地面台站的电离层测高仪连续观测数据,研究等离子体泡演化期间的电离层虚高变...     

The influence of gravity on structure and function of animals

Gravity is the only environmental parameter that has remained constant during the period of evolution of living matter on Earth. Thus, it must have been a major force in shaping livimg things. The influence of gravitational loading on evolution of the vertebrate skeleton is well recognized, and scale effects have been studied. This paper, however, considers in addition four pivotal events in early evolution that would seem to have been significant for the later success and diversification of animal life. These are evolution of the cytoskeleton, cell motility (flagellae and cilia), gravity detecting devices (accelerometers), and biomineralization. All are functionally calcium dependent in eukaryotes and all occurred or were foreshadowed in prokaryotes. A major question is why calcium was selected as an ion of great importance to the structure and function of living matter; another is whether gravity played a role in its selection.     

Comets and life.

Some of the chemical species which have been detected in comets include H2O, HCN, CH3CN, CO, CO2, NH3, CS, C2 and C3. All of these have also been detected in the interstellar medium, indicating a probable relationship between interstellar dust and gas clouds and comets. Laboratory experiments carried out with different mixtures of these molecules give rise to the formation of the biochemical compounds which are necessary for life, such as amino acids, purines, pyrimidines, monosaccharides, etc. However, in spite of suggestions to the contrary, the presence of life in comets is unlikely. On the other hand, the capture of cometary matter by the primitive Earth is considered essential for the development of life on this planet. The amount of cometary carbon-containing matter captured by the Earth, as calculated by different authors, is several times larger than the total amount of organic matter present in the biosphere (10(18)g). The major classes of reactions which were probably involved in the formation of key biochemical compounds are discussed. Our tentative conclusions are that: 1) comets played a predominant role in the emergence of life on our planet, and 2) they are the cosmic connection with extraterrestrial life.     

Hydrogen cyanide polymers on comets.

The original presence on cometary nuclei of frozen volatiles such as methane, ammonia and water makes them ideal sites for the formation and condensed-phase polymerization of hydrogen cyanide. We propose that the non-volatile black crust of comet Halley consists largely of such polymers. Dust emanating from Halley's nucleus, contributing to the coma and tail, would also arise partly from these solids. Indeed, secondary species such as CN have been widely detected, as well as HCN itself and particles consisting only of H, C and N. Our continuing investigations suggest that the yellow-orange-brown-black polymers are of two types: ladder structures with conjugated -C=N- bonds, and polyamidines readily converted by water to polypeptides. These easily formed macromolecules could be major components of the dark matter observed on the giant planets Jupiter and Saturn, as well as on outer solar system bodies such as asteroids, moons and other comets. Implications for prebiotic chemistry are profound. Primitive Earth may have been covered by HCN polymers either through cometary bombardment or by terrestrial happenings of the kind that brought about the black crust of Halley. The resulting proteinaceous matrix could have promoted the molecular interactions leading to the emergence of life.     

METHIS: Mercury thermal infrared spectrometer

The BepiColombo mission to Mercury is devoted to the thorough exploration of Mercury and its environment, with the aim to understand the processes of planetary formation and evolution in the hottest part of the protoplanetary nebula. This mission represents an unique opportunity for the European community to extend the understanding of the Solar Nebula evolution from its outer edge – ideally represented by comets – to its inner and warmer edge. Obviously this exploration asks for a detailed knowledge of the main constituents of the matter present in the different Solar System areas. Spectroscopy is a powerful tool to acquire this knowledge. We have participated with a large consortium of European researchers to the development of the Rosetta imaging spectrometer. We propose here to use our experience to develop a newly designed spectrometer to investigate the mineralogical composition of the Mercurial surface. Given the particular thermodynamical situation of the Mercurial surface, we have developed a concept that combines a medium IR low spectral resolution imager with a moderate spectral resolution NIR point spectrometer. The main goal of METHIS is to provide the mineralogical characterisation of the surface with sufficient spectral resolution in a scientifically diagnostic spectral range.     

Physical study of outer belt asteroids

Located in the proximity of Jovian resonances, the outer belt asteroids are kept from interacting with other asteroids and are likely to represent a population of primitive bodies. The systematic investigation of the physical properties of these objects and the subsequent understanding of their nature and origin, will have a direct implication for any theoretical study on the evolution of the solar system. In the last decade the information on the spectral and photometric properties of distant asteroids has strongly increased, leading to the formulation of specific questions, the answer to which will enable a comprehensive picture of this class of bodies. Since 1988 our group is carrying out a program devoted to the physical study of the Trojans and outer belt asteroids (Hilda and Cybele groups) to characterize their rotational properties, composition and shapes. During several observing campaigns, carried out at different observatories, reliable rotational periods and light curve amplitudes have been determined for eight distant asteroids using both CCD and photoelectric photometry. We will here present some preliminary results of our campaigns.