Molecular spectroscopy of planetary atmospheres

Summary Clearly spectroscopy has already provided considerable insight into the nature of the planetary atmospheres. Several molecular constituents have been positively identified and upper limits have been placed on the abundances of others which are of particular significance in devising planetary models. But, equally clearly, the inadequacy of the spectral data, due to low spectral and/or spatial resolution, renders deductions of abundances, temperatures and pressures very uncertain. With the sole exception of the Martian CO₂ abundance, knowledge of the concentrations of planetary atmospheric constituents is unsatisfactory, and all numbers given must be regarded as only crude estimates. This latter comment applies equally well to the derived temperatures and pressures.What is urgently needed is the development of a reasonably complete theory of line formation in planetary atmospheres. This, coupled with more detailed spectroscopic work, should produce numerical values of atmospheric parameters which can be used with assurance.This work was performed with the aid of NASA Grant NsG-101-61 with funds administered by the University of California.     

Tracking of planetary terrains

The AFAST project (Autonomously Feature And Star Tracking) at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology is engaged in the attitude determination and tracking of the CCD camera pointing direction on future spacecraft missions. Ground based attitude determination is time-consuming and costly. This implies that the attitude determination and the tracking of the pointing direction must be autonomous and rely exclusively on the CCD sensor. Also, distant observations call for autonomy, as relay times to Earth make ground control infeasible. This paper presents a strategy to track the pointing direction on planetary terrains. The strategy utilizes multiple closed contours in a planetary image. It accomplishes tracking by recognizing a constellation of the closed contours. The strategy is adaptable to both spacecraft and missile applications     

Fourier spectroscopy in planetary research

The application of Fourier Transform Spectroscopy (FTS) to planetary research is reviewed. The survey includes FTS observations of the Sun, all the planets except Uranus and Pluto, the Galilean satellites and Saturn's rings. Instrumentation and scientific results are considered. The prospects and limitations of FTS for planetary research in the forthcoming years are discussed.     

Communication system architecture for planetary exploration

Future human missions to Mars will require effective communications supporting exploration activities and scientific field data collection. Constraints on cost, size, weight, and power consumption for all communications equipment make optimization of these systems very important. These information and communication systems connect people and systems together into coherent teams performing the difficult and hazardous tasks inherent in planetary exploration. The communication network supporting vehicle telemetry data, mission operations, and scientific collaboration must have excellent reliability and flexibility. We propose hybrid communication architectures consisting of space-based links, a surface-based deployable mid-range communications network and a cluster of short-range links to solve the problems of connectivity and bandwidth, while meeting the other constraints of weight and power. A network of orbiting satellites could cover much of the planet surface, but this space-based capability may not be optimal for cost or performance. Specifically, a minimal space-based capability can be augmented using mobile cellular repeaters deployable by robots and human EVA. This method results in an increase in the number of radio nodes, but the distances separating them is decreased. This results in a significant increase in bandwidth and decrease in radio power, and therefore, node size, complexity, and power consumption. This paper will discuss the results of field testing such hybrid radio systems for the support of scientific surveys. System analysis of design tradeoffs will yield insight into optimal solutions that will be compared to other approaches providing a method of effectively evaluating new candidate architectures     

The dynamics of the atmospheres of the major planets

The literature on the dynamics of Jupiter's atmosphere is reviewed and used as a basis for suggesting what observations would yield useful information about Jovian Dynamics. The atmospheres of Saturn, Uranus and Neptune are discussed from the same point of view.This is one of the publications by the Science Advisory Group.     

行星机构的可靠性分析与计算

行星机构的结构设计缺陷、制造与安装误差、支撑构件刚度不足等原因可能会使系统发生一定程度的偏载,从而会影响整个机构的使用寿命与可靠性。利用最小次序统计量的概念建立了行星齿轮系的可靠度计算模型,模型反映了偏载对齿轮系可靠性的影响。首先,对行星机构进行了详细的运动学和力学分析,计算得到了各个齿轮的随机载荷历程。根据Miner线性疲劳累积损伤法则,将随机载荷历程转化为等效恒幅载荷谱,并将其作为可靠性模型的载荷输入变量。然后,将特定齿轮的疲劳寿命数据进行统计处理,将统计结果作为可靠性模型的强度输入变量。最后,根据模型的计算结果定量地说明了偏载对行星齿轮系可靠性的影响程度,同时利用随机截尾数据处理方法对可靠性模型的有效性进行了验证。     

Origin of Sunspots

Sunspots, seen as cool regions on the surface of the Sun, are a thermal phenomenon. Sunspots are always associated with bipolar magnetic loops that break through the solar surface. Thus to explain the origin of sunspots we have to understand how the magnetic field originates inside the Sun and emerges at its surface. The field predicted by mean-field dynamo theories is too weak by itself to emerge at the surface of the Sun. However, because of the turbulent character of solar convection the fields generated by dynamo are intermittent – i.e., concentrated into ropes or sheets with large spaces in between. The intermittent fields are sufficiently strong to be able to emerge at the solar surface, in spite of the fact that their mean (average) value is weak. It is suggested here that magnetic fields emerge at the solar surface at those random times and places when the total magnetic field (mean field plus fluctuations) exceeds the threshold for buoyancy. The clustering of coherently emerged loops results in the formation of a sunspot. A non-axisymmetric enhancement of the underlying magnetic field causes in the clustering of sunspots forming sunspot groups, clusters of activity and active longitudes. The mean field, which is not directly observable, is also important, being responsible for the ensemble regularities of sunspots, such as Hale's law of sunspot polarities and the 11-year periodicity.     

直升机行星传动轮系故障诊断研究进展

行星传动轮系是直升机传动系统的核心部件,是直升机健康和使用监测系统(HUMS)重要的监测对象。直升机行星传动轮系具有结构复杂紧凑、组件繁多、工况瞬时多变以及使用环境恶劣等特点,导致直升机行星传动轮系振动信号污染严重、成分复杂,具有较强的非平稳性和耦合调制特征。另外复杂的故障模式、较少的故障样本,也都增加了直升机行星传动轮系故障诊断的难度。面对这些难题,研究人员在基于信号降噪与信号分离、时频分析与解耦解调、数学建模与模式识别的故障诊断技术上取得了丰硕的成果。面对仍然存在的一些亟待研究和解决的问题,提出了直升机行星传动轮系故障诊断技术的研究方向以及未来的发展趋势。     

Touring the saturnian system: the atmospheres of titan and saturn

This report follows the presentation originally given in the ESA Phase A Study for the Cassini Huygens Mission. The combination of the Huygens atmospheric probe into Titan's atmosphere with the Cassini orbiter allows for both in-situ and remote-sensing observations of Titan. This not only provides a rich harvest of data about Saturn's famous satellite but will permit a useful calibration of the remote-sensing instruments which will also be used on Saturn itself. Composition, thermal structure, dynamics, aeronomy, magnetosphere interactions and origins will all be investigated for the two atmospheres, and the spacecraft will also deliver information on the interiors of both Titan and Saturn. As the surface of Titan is intimately linked with the atmosphere, we also discuss some of the surface studies that will be carried out by both probe and orbiter. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Observations of the atmospheres and winds of O-stars,LBVs and Wolf-Rayet stars

This review summarises recent studies of O-stars, Luminous Blue Variables (LBVs) and Wolf-Rayet (WR) stars, emphasising observations and analyses of their atmospheres and stellar winds yielding determinations of their physical and chemical properties. Studies of these stellar groups provide important tests of both stellar wind theory and stellar evolution models incorporating mass-loss effects. Quantitative analyses of O-star spectra reveal enhanced helium abundances in Of and many luminous O-supergiants, together with CNO anomalies in OBN and Ofpe/WN9 stars, indicative of evolved objects. Enhanced helium, and CNO-cycle products are observed in several LBVs, implying a highly evolved status, whilst for the WR stars there is strong evidence for the exposition of CNO-cycle products in WN stars, and helium-burning products in WC and WO stars. The observed wind properties and mass-loss rates derived for O-stars show, in general terms, good agreement with predictions from the latest radiation-driven wind models, although some discrepancies are apparent. Several LBVs show similar mass-loss rates at maximum and minimum states, contrary to previous expectations, with the mechanism responsible for the variability and outbursts remaining unclear. WR stars exhibit the most extreme levels of mass-loss and stellar wind momenta. Whilst alternative mass-loss mechanisms have been proposed, recent calculations indicate that radiation pressure alone may be sufficient, given the strong ionization stratification present in their winds.     

Line blanketing by iron group elements in non-LTE model atmospheres of hot stars

We report on our recent progress in modeling non-LTE atmospheres of O-stars including blanketing by lines from the iron group elements. The numerical method to account for the huge number of atomic levels and line transitions is presented. Results of exploratory model calculations examining the effects on the temperature structure, the hydrogen and helium line profiles and UV/EUV fluxes are discussed.     

建筑卷扬机摆线针轮行星减速器优化设计

本文采用复合形法对摆线行星机构以摆线轮和输出轴圆盘体积之和最小为目标函数进行优化设计，并给出某快速电动卷扬机优化设计实例。     

Origin of Comet Nuclei and Dynamics

We present a review of the main physical features of comet nuclei, their birthplaces and the dynamical processes that allow some of them to reach the Sun’s neighborhood and become potentially detectable. Comets are thought to be the most primitive bodies of the solar system although some processing—for instance, melting water ice in their interiors and collisional fragmentation and reaccumulation—could have occurred after formation to alter their primordial nature. Their estimated low densities (a few tenths g?cm^?3) point to a very fluffy, porous structure, while their composition rich in water ice and other highly volatile ices point to a formation in the region of the Jovian planets, or the trans-neptunian region. The main reservoir of long-period comets is the Oort cloud, whose visible radius is ～3.3×10⁴ AU. Yet, the existence of a dense inner core cannot be ruled out, a possibility that would have been greatly favored if the solar system formed in a dense galactic environment. The trans-neptunian object Sedna might be the first discovered member that belongs to such a core. The trans-neptunian population is the main source of Jupiter family comets, and may be responsible for a large renovation of the Oort cloud population.