The Mawrth Vallis region of Mars: A potential landing site for the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission

The primary objective of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission, which will launch in 2011, is to characterize the habitability of a site on Mars through detailed analyses of the composition and geological context of surface materials. Within the framework of established mission goals, we have evaluated the value of a possible landing site in the Mawrth Vallis region of Mars that is targeted directly on some of the most geologically and astrobiologically enticing materials in the Solar System. The area around Mawrth Vallis contains a vast (>1?×?10? km2) deposit of phyllosilicate-rich, ancient, layered rocks. A thick (>150?m) stratigraphic section that exhibits spectral evidence for nontronite, montmorillonite, amorphous silica, kaolinite, saponite, other smectite clay minerals, ferrous mica, and sulfate minerals indicates a rich geological history that may have included multiple aqueous environments. Because phyllosilicates are strong indicators of ancient aqueous activity, and the preservation potential of biosignatures within sedimentary clay deposits is high, martian phyllosilicate deposits are desirable astrobiological targets. The proposed MSL landing site at Mawrth Vallis is located directly on the largest and most phyllosilicate-rich deposit on Mars and is therefore an excellent place to explore for evidence of life or habitability.     

MArs Neutron Energy Spectrometer (MANES): an instrument for the Mars 2003 Lander

We describe the instrument design and detector development for MANES which has been selected to fly on the Mars 2003 Lander. Section 1 explains the need for the spectrometer in determining the increased risk of carcinogenesis for astronauts. Section 2 presents the instrument design including an outline drawing, a cross-sectional view and a detailed block diagram. Sections 3 and 4 describe the low and high energy detector components of the spectrometer and present responses to monoenergetic neutron beams. Sections 5 and 6 explain the design approaches to charged particle discrimination and instrument transfer function modeling.     

A new facility for fluid sciences: The liquid structure facility

The Liquid Structure Facility (LSF) is presently under development under ESA contract. It will be able to perform a wide range of fluid science experiments taking use of the determination of the velocity, temperature, concentration fields and the interface shape deformation. This facility will be activated by telecommands and/or manually by the crew. The key points of the LSF are the different diagnostic configuration capabilities, the modularity of the facility, and the accuracy of the control at the boundary conditions (and thus of the stimuli). The LSF is structured around four different modules:

• —the cell module which is exchangeable and is dedicated to an experiment or to a group of experiments, it allows to achieve a high accuracy level for the boundary conditions

• —the temperature control module using a liquid cooling loop which can impose a good thermal stability to the cell module

• —the diagnostic module

• —the electronic and data handling module.

The capabilities of the facility are described in terms of stimuli and diagnostic performances.     

Automation and Robotics for Human Mars Exploration (AROMA)

Automation and Robotics (A&R) systems are a key technology for Mars exploration. All over the world initiatives in this field aim at developing new A&R systems and technologies for planetary surface exploration. From December 2000 to February 2002 Kayser-Threde GmbH, Munich, Germany lead a study called AROMA (Automation and Robotics for Human Mars Exploration) under ESA contract in order to define a reference architecture of A&R elements in support of a human Mars exploration program. One of the goals of this effort is to initiate new developments and to maintain the competitiveness of European industry within this field.     

美国火星表面探测使命述评（下）

从1975年8月发射（1976年7月着陆火星）的海盗-1探测器以来,美国已成功执行了6次火星表面探测使命,即海盗-1与海盗-2轨道器/着陆器,＂火星探路者＂（MPF）着陆器/巡游车,＂勇气＂与＂机遇＂火星探测巡游车（MER）,以及＂凤凰＂着陆器;而推迟到2011年发射的火星科学实验室（MSL）将火星着陆技术与表面巡游车技术推向一个新的高度。从＂海盗＂着陆器到MSL＂好奇心＂巡游车、美国历经三种火星着陆系统与三代火星表面巡游车技术的发展。三种着陆系统为着陆腿着陆系统（＂海盗＂与＂凤凰＂）,气囊着陆系统（MPF与MER）,以及空中吊机着陆系统（MSL）。三代巡游车为MPF＂旅居者＂巡游车、MER＂勇气＂与＂机遇＂巡游车,以及MSL＂好奇心＂巡游车。现在,美国在火星进入、降落与着陆（EDL）运作与表面避障移动方面,已达到技术成熟与先进的水平,满足安全着陆与表面移动探测的要求。文章阐述美国上述七项火星表面探测使命的立项背景、科学目标与有效载荷、飞行系统组成,以及飞行运作程序;分析美国火星着陆技术与表面巡游车技术的发展。     

美国火星表面探测使命述评（上）

从1975年发射（1976年着陆火星）的海盗-1探测器以来,美国已成功执行了6次火星表面探测使命,即海盗-1与海盗-2轨道器/着陆器,＂火星探路者＂（MPF）着陆器/巡游车,＂勇气＂与＂机遇＂火星探测巡游车（MER）,以及＂凤凰＂着陆器;而推迟到2011年发射的＂好奇心＂火星科学实验室（MSL）将火星着陆技术与表面巡游车技术推向一个新的高度。从＂海盗＂着陆器到＂好奇心＂巡游车、美国历经三种火星着陆系统与三代火星表面巡游车技术的发展。三种着陆系统为着陆腿着陆系统（＂海盗＂与＂凤凰＂）,气囊着陆系统（MPF与MER）,以及空中吊机着陆系统（MSL）。三代巡游车为MPF＂旅居者＂巡游车、MER＂勇气＂与＂机遇＂巡游车,以及MSL＂好奇心＂巡游车。现在,美国在火星进入、降落与着陆（EDL）运作与表面避障移动方面,已达到技术成熟与先进的水平,满足安全着陆与表面移动探测的要求。文章阐述美国上述七项火星表面探测使命的立项背景、科学目标与有效载荷、飞行系统组成,以及飞行运作程序;分析美国火星着陆技术与表面巡游车技术的发展。     

月球低重力模拟设备位姿测控系统优化设计

为巡视器地面行走验证试验专门研制了月球低重力模拟设备。在验证试验中需要对巡视器的位姿进行测量,针对这一需求,文章提出了基于双相机的非接触测量方案,同时研制了相应的位姿测控系统,对其硬件和软件进行了优化设计。利用该位姿测控系统开展了巡视器的位姿测量,有效解决了位姿测量和控制过程中的问题。经充分测试验证,系统满足巡视器地面行走验证试验的要求。     

The Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons (DAN) experiment for NASA's 2009 Mars Science Laboratory

We present a summary of the physical principles and design of the Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons (DAN) instrument onboard NASA's 2009 Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission. The DAN instrument will use the method of neutron-neutron activation analysis in a space application to study the abundance and depth distribution of water in the martian subsurface along the path of the MSL rover.     

[Interior] Configuration options,habitability and architectural aspects of the transfer habitat module (THM) and the surface habitat on Mars (SHM)/ESA's AURORA human mission to Mars (HMM) study

This paper discusses the findings for [Interior] configuration options, habitability and architectural aspects of a first human spacecraft to Mars.In 2003 the space architecture office LIQUIFER was invited by the European Space Agency's (ESA) AURORA Program committee to consult the scientists and engineers from the European Space and Technology Center (ESTEC) and other European industrial communities with developing the first human mission to Mars, which will take place in 2030, regarding the architectural issues of crewed habitats.The task was to develop an interior configuration for a transfer vehicle (TV) to Mars, especially a transfer habitation module (THM) and a surface habitat module (SHM) on Mars. The total travel time Earth—Mars and back for a crew of six amounts to approximately 900 days. After a 200-day-flight three crewmembers will land on Mars in the Mars excursion vehicle (MEV) and will live and work in the SHM for 30 days. For 500 days before the 200-day journey back the spacecraft continues to circle the Martian orbit for further exploration. The entire mission program is based on our present knowledge of technology. The project was compiled during a constant feedback-design process and trans-disciplinary collaboration sessions in the ESA-ESTEC concurrent design facility.Long-term human space flight sets new spatial conditions and requirements to the design concept. The guidelines were developed from relevant numbers and facts of recognized standards, interviews with astronauts/cosmonauts and from analyses about habitability, sociology, psychology and configuration concepts of earlier space stations in combination with the topics of the individual's perception and relation of space.Result of this study is the development of a prototype concept for the THM and SHM with detailed information and complete plans of the interior configuration, including mass calculations. In addition the study contains a detailed explanation of the development of the Design process including all suggested design and configuration options.     

Public support for Mars missions: The importance of informing the next generation

This paper explores and compares the perceptions of the risks associated with Mars Sample Return (MSR) among schoolchildren and adults. Comparable surveys were constructed and administered to two sample groups; science students aged 11–15 and adults with an interest in science aged 18 and over. Contingency table analyses were used to quantify any differences in perception between the two groups. Schoolchildren were less likely to consider Mars exploration to be quite or very useful (44.7% vs. 68.9%; p=0.005) and recorded significantly higher levels of risk perception regarding both a MSR mission and also towards other societal risks. These results have important implications for policy-makers, as they can inform education programs now that will enhance the viability and public support for future missions.     

ELITE-S2: the multifactorial movement analysis facility for the International Space Station

Experimental observations of adaptation processes of the motor control system to altered gravity conditions can provide useful elements to the investigations on the mechanisms underlying motor control of human subject. The microgravity environment obtained on orbital flights represents a unique experimental condition for the monitoring of motor adaptation. The research in motor control exploits the changes caused by microgravity on the overall sensorimotor process, due to the impairment of the sensory systems whose function depends upon the presence of the gravity vector. Motor control in microgravity has been investigated during parabolic flights and short-term space missions, in particular for analysis of movement-posture co-ordination when equilibrium is no longer a constraint. Analysis of long-term adaptation would also be very interesting, calling for long-term body motion observations during the process of complete motor adaptation to the weightlessness environment. ELITE-S2 is an innovative facility for quantitative human movement analysis in weightless conditions onboard the International Space Station (ISS). ELITE-S2 is being developed by the Italian Space Agency, ASI is to be delivering the flight models to NASA to be included in an expressed rack in US Lab Module in February 2004. First mission is currently planned for summer 2004 (increment 10 ULF 2 ISS).     

Hydrothermal simulation experiments as a tool for studies of the origin of life on Earth and other terrestrial planets: a review

The potential of life's origin in submarine hydrothermal systems has been evaluated by a number of investigators by conducting high temperature-high pressure experiments involving organic compounds. In the majority of these experiments little attention has been paid to the importance of constraining important parameters, such as the pH and the redox state of the system. This is particularly revealed in the apparent difficulties in interpreting experimental data from hydrothermal organic synthesis and stability studies. However, in those cases where common mineral assemblages have been used in an attempt to buffer the pH and redox conditions to geologically and geochemically realistic values, theoretical and experimental data seem to converge. The use of mineral buffer assemblages provides a convenient way by which to constrain the experimental conditions. Studies at high temperatures and pressure in the laboratory have revealed a number of reactions that proceed rapidly in hydrothermal fluids, including the Strecker synthesis of amino acids. In other cases, the verification of postulated abiotic reaction mechanisms has not been possible, at least for large molecules such as large fatty acids and hydrocarbons. This includes the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis reaction. High temperature-high pressure experimental methods have been developed and used successfully for a long time in, for example, mineral solubility studies under hydrothermal conditions. By taking advantage of this experimental experience new and, at times, unexpected directions can be taken in bioorganic geochemistry, one being, for instance, primitive two-dimensional information coding. This article critically reviews some of the organic synthesis and stability experiments that have been conducted under simulated submarine hydrothermal conditions. We also discuss some of the theoretical and practical considerations that apply to hydrothermal laboratory studies of organic molecules related to the origin of life on Earth and probably also to the other terrestrial planets.     

A microbial oasis in the hypersaline Atacama subsurface discovered by a life detector chip: implications for the search for life on Mars

The Atacama Desert has long been considered a good Mars analogue for testing instrumentation for planetary exploration, but very few data (if any) have been reported about the geomicrobiology of its salt-rich subsurface. We performed a Mars analogue drilling campaign next to the Salar Grande (Atacama, Chile) in July 2009, and several cores and powder samples from up to 5?m deep were analyzed in situ with LDChip300 (a Life Detector Chip containing 300 antibodies). Here, we show the discovery of a hypersaline subsurface microbial habitat associated with halite-, nitrate-, and perchlorate-containing salts at 2?m deep. LDChip300 detected bacteria, archaea, and other biological material (DNA, exopolysaccharides, some peptides) from the analysis of less than 0.5?g of ground core sample. The results were supported by oligonucleotide microarray hybridization in the field and finally confirmed by molecular phylogenetic analysis and direct visualization of microbial cells bound to halite crystals in the laboratory. Geochemical analyses revealed a habitat with abundant hygroscopic salts like halite (up to 260?g kg(-1)) and perchlorate (41.13?μg g(-1) maximum), which allow deliquescence events at low relative humidity. Thin liquid water films would permit microbes to proliferate by using detected organic acids like acetate (19.14?μg g(-1)) or formate (76.06?μg g(-1)) as electron donors, and sulfate (15875?μg g(-1)), nitrate (13490?μg g(-1)), or perchlorate as acceptors. Our results correlate with the discovery of similar hygroscopic salts and possible deliquescence processes on Mars, and open new search strategies for subsurface martian biota. The performance demonstrated by our LDChip300 validates this technology for planetary exploration, particularly for the search for life on Mars.     

双脉冲发动机点火过程三维数值模拟

以喷射棒式双脉冲发动机燃烧室、级间隔离装置和喷管一体化为研究对象,采用数值仿真技术对Ⅱ脉冲点火过程三维流场特性进行分析研究。计算结果表明,点火初期燃气压力波峰超前于火焰峰到达级间隔离装置,并以压强冲击波形式传播,Ⅱ脉冲燃烧室相对高压区位置不断发生改变;级间孔打开过程对药柱末端压强影响较大,但对Ⅱ脉冲燃烧室压强整体上升过程影响较小;级间孔打开后,燃气经级间孔加速后形成高度欠膨胀射流,并在Ⅰ脉冲燃烧室内形成非对称带状低压区;级间孔分布的非对称性,导致压强及温度在发动机燃烧室中呈现显著的三维分布特性;高温区出现在隔板附近,而在装药前端、装药末端及外围级间孔轴线附近出现低温区。     

A hydrothermal system associated with the Siljan impact structure, Sweden--implications for the search for fossil life on Mars

The Siljan ring structure (368 +/- 1.1 Ma) is the largest known impact structure in Europe. It isa 65-km-wide, eroded, complex impact structure, displaying several structural units, including a central uplifted region surrounded by a ring-shaped depression. Associated with the impact crater are traces of a post-impact hydrothermal system indicated by precipitated and altered hydrothermal mineral assemblages. Precipitated hydrothermal minerals include quartz veins and breccia fillings associated with granitic rocks at the outer margin of the central uplift, and calcite, fluorite, galena, and sphalerite veins associated with Paleozoic carbonate rocks located outside the central uplift. Two-phase water/gas and oil/gas inclusions in calcite and fluorite display homogenization temperatures between 75 degrees C and 137 degrees C. With an estimated erosional unloading of approximately 1 km, the formation temperatures were probably not more than 10-15 degrees C higher. Fluid inclusion ice-melting temperatures indicate a very low salt content, reducing the probability that the mineralization was precipitated during the Caledonian Orogeny. Our findings suggest that large impacts induce low-temperature hydrothermal systems that may be habitats for thermophilic organisms. Large impact structures on Mars may therefore be suitable targets in the search for fossil thermophilic organisms.     

稳态加速度模拟试验设备：离心机设计（17）

文章分3篇10章详细介绍了稳态加速度模拟试验设备——离心机的设计。上篇对稳态加速度环境及其效应、试验方法和相关标准作了阐述;中篇（上）系统介绍国内外该类离心机发展的基本历程、概貌及典型离心机结构细节,并对其适当予以小结与点评;中篇（下）对离心机运动学进行基本理论分析,研究总体设计和部件设计问题,提出离心机设计原则及相应计算方法;下篇通过一个国家“七五”科技攻关项目的研制报告作为实例,提供读者进行具体设计时参考。文中,作者对多年累积的技术资料与实践心得进行了系统整理与归纳,力求梳理出一条研制稳态加速度模拟用离心机的设计思路与实用程序,使其兼具资料性、技术性与实用性。该文对相关领域的研究者和技术人员将有一定启发与助益,对其他类同设备设计也有某些触类旁通作用,对该专业有兴趣的读者也可作为参考读物。文章主要探讨的对象是中型、大型、特大型航空航天离心机,土工离心机和载人离心机。在第7章中介绍了离心机半径、功率、结构布置、实验室建设等总体设计问题。     

稳态加速度模拟试验设备：离心机设计（2）

文章分3篇10章详细介绍了稳态加速度模拟试验设备——离心机的设计。上篇对稳态加速度环境及其效应、相关试验方法和国家标准作了阐述;中篇（上）系统介绍了国内外离心机发展的历史,提供了较为全面具体的离心机结构概况,并对它们逐一进行小结与点评;中篇（下）对离心机进行基本理论分析,研究总体设计和部件设计问题,提出离心机设计原则及其计算方法;下篇通过一个国家“七五”科技攻关项目的实践作为实例,提供读者作设计参考。文章主要探讨的对象是中型、大型、特大型航空航天离心机,土工离心机和载人离心机。