Lichens survive in space: results from the 2005 LICHENS experiment

This experiment was aimed at establishing, for the first time, the survival capability of lichens exposed to space conditions. In particular, the damaging effect of various wavelengths of extraterrestrial solar UV radiation was studied. The lichens used were the bipolar species Rhizocarpon geographicum and Xanthoria elegans, which were collected above 2000 m in the mountains of central Spain and as endolithic communities inhabiting granites in the Antarctic Dry Valleys. Lichens were exposed to space in the BIOPAN-5 facility of the European Space Agency; BIOPAN-5 is located on the outer shell of the Earth-orbiting FOTON-M2 Russian satellite. The lichen samples were launched from Baikonur by a Soyuz rocket on May 31, 2005, and were returned to Earth after 16 days in space, at which time they were tested for survival. Chlorophyll fluorescence was used for the measurement of photosynthetic parameters. Scanning electron microscopy in back-scattered mode, low temperature scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy were used to study the organization and composition of both symbionts. Confocal laser scanning microscopy, in combination with the use of specific fluorescent probes, allowed for the assessment of the physiological state of the cells. All exposed lichens, regardless of the optical filters used, showed nearly the same photosynthetic activity after the flight as measured before the flight. Likewise, the multimicroscopy approach revealed no detectable ultrastructural changes in most of the algal and fungal cells of the lichen thalli, though a greater proportion of cells in the flight samples had compromised membranes, as revealed by the LIVE/DEAD BacLight Bacterial Viability Kit. These findings indicate that most lichenized fungal and algal cells can survive in space after full exposure to massive UV and cosmic radiation, conditions proven to be lethal to bacteria and other microorganisms. The lichen upper cortex seems to provide adequate protection against solar radiation. Moreover, after extreme dehydration induced by high vacuum, the lichens proved to be able to recover, in full, their metabolic activity within 24 hours.     

Nonlinear eddy viscosity and algebraic stress models for solving complex turbulent flows

Nonlinear eddy viscosity and algebraic stress models are currently providing an invaluable link between the more common linear eddy viscosity turbulence models and the full differential Reynolds stress forms. With the increased popularity has come an abundance of different formulations. The purpose of this review is to provide a cohesive framework for the variety of models proposed and to highlight the various similarities and differences among the models. Their link with differential Reynolds stress models and their improved predictive capability over linear eddy-viscosity models is also highlighted.     

CCD互相关粒子图像测速及其在对抗流流场测量中的应用

在常规自相关粒子图像测速（ＰＩＶ）系统的基础上,发展了一个采用ＣＣＤ像机的互相关粒子图像测速系统。用这一新系统测量了对抗流流场的结果表明,这一技术克服了自相关粒子图像测速技术在测量具有滞止点的流场中的困难。实验说明,与自相关粒子图像测速技术相比,这一技术更快捷有效。     

Fuel mass penalty due to generators and fuel cells as energy source of the all-electric aircraft

The paper presents the results of an assessment of the fuel mass penalty due to generators and fuel cell systems. Based on the simulation tool SysFuel, fuel mass penalties for different mission ranges and fuel cell architectures are calculated and compared to a conventional reference architecture. Different fuel cell architectures using ram air or cabin exhaust air and different options of energy recovery are considered. As a result of the studies, target values are presented for the mass to power ratio of fuel cell systems to achieve fuel mass reductions compared to conventional generator and auxiliary power unit systems.     

Microorganisms metabolizing on clay grains in 3-km-deep Greenland basal ice

We have discovered > 10(8) microbial cells/cm3 attached to clay grains in the bottom 13 m of the GISP2 (Greenland Ice Sheet Project) ice core. Their concentration correlates with huge excesses of CO2 and CH4. We show that Fe-reducing bacteria produce most of the excess CO2 and methanogenic archaea produce the excess CH4. The number of attached cells per clay grain is proportional to grain perimeter rather than to area, which implies that nutrients are accessed at grain edges. We conclude that Fe-reducing microbes immobilized on clay surfaces metabolize via "shuttle" molecules that transport electrons to grain edges, where they reduce Fe(III) ions at edges to Fe(II) while organic acid ions are oxidized to CO2. Driven by the concentration gradient, electrons on Fe(II) ions at grain edges "hop" to Fe(III) ions inward in the same edges and oxidize them. The original Fe(III) ions can then attach new electrons from shuttle molecules at the edges. Our mechanism explains how Fe-reducers can reduce essentially all Fe(III) in clay minerals. We estimate that the Fe(III) in clay grains in the GISP2 silty ice can sustain Fe-reducing bacteria at the ambient temperature of -9 degrees C for approximately 10(6) years. F420 autofluorescence imaging shows that > 2.4% of the cells are methanogens, which account for the excess methane.     

Dynamic behavior of wing leading edge assembly with thermal protection coating

The paper presents an approximate solution of a problem on dynamic behavior of a wing leading edge assembly discretely reinforced by a system of ribs and coated with thermal protection coating.     

Spread-F occurrence during geomagnetic storms near the southern crest of the EIA in Argentina

This work presents, for the first time, the analysis of the occurrence of ionospheric irregularities during geomagnetic storms at Tucumán, Argentina, a low latitude station in the Southern American longitudinal sector (26.9°S, 294.6°E; magnetic latitude 15.5°S) near the southern crest of the equatorial ionization anomaly (EIA). Three geomagnetic storms occurred on May 27, 2017 (a month of low occurrence rates of spread-F), October 12, 2016 (a month of transition from low to high occurrence rates of spread-F) and November 7, 2017 (a month of high occurrence rates of spread-F) are analyzed using Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers and ionosondes. The rate of change of total electron content (TEC) Index (ROTI), GPS Ionospheric L-band scintillation, the virtual height of the F-layer bottom side (h'F) and the critical frequency of the F2 layer (foF2) are considered. Furthermore, each ionogram is manually examined for the presence of spread-F signatures.The results show that, for the three events studied, geomagnetic activity creates favorable conditions for the initiation of ionospheric irregularities, manifested by ionogram spread-F and TEC fluctuation. Post-midnight irregularities may have occurred due to the presence of eastward disturbance dynamo electric fields (DDEF). For the May storm, an eastward over-shielding prompt penetration electric field, (PPEF) is also acting. A possibility is that the PPEF is added to the DDEF and produces the uplifting of the F region that helps trigger the irregularities. Finally, during October and November, strong GPS L band scintillation is observed associated with strong range spread-F (SSF), that is, irregularities extending from the bottom-side to the topside of the F region.     

Analysis of the orbit lifetime of CubeSats in low Earth orbits including periodic variation in drag due to attitude motion

It is estimated that more than 22,300 human-made objects are in orbit around the Earth, with a total mass above 8,400,000 kg. Around 89% of these objects are non-operational and without control, which makes them to be considered orbital debris. These numbers consider only objects with dimensions larger than 10 cm. Besides those numbers, there are also about 2000 operational satellites in orbit nowadays. The space debris represents a hazard to operational satellites and to the space operations. A major concern is that this number is growing, due to new launches and particles generated by collisions. Another important point is that the development of CubeSats has increased exponentially in the last years, increasing the number of objects in space, mainly in the Low Earth Orbits (LEO). Due to the short operational time, CubeSats boost the debris population. One of the requirements for space debris mitigation in LEO is the limitation of the orbital lifetime of the satellites, which needs to be lower than 25 years. However, there are space debris with longer estimated decay time. In LEÓs, the influence of the atmospheric drag is the main orbital perturbation, and is used in maneuvers to increment the losses in the satellite orbital energy, to locate satellites in constellations and to accelerate the decay.The goal of the present research is to study the influence of aerodynamic rotational maneuver in the CubeSat?s orbital lifetime. The rotational axis is orthogonal to the orbital plane of the CubeSat, which generates variations in the ballistic coefficient along the trajectory. The maneuver is proposed to accelerate the decay and to mitigate orbital debris generated by non-operational CubeSats. The panel method is selected to determine the drag coefficient as a function of the flow incident angle and the spinning rate. The pressure distribution is integrated from the satellite faces at hypersonic rarefied flow to calculate the drag coefficient. The mathematical model considers the gravitational potential of the Earth and the deceleration due to drag. To analyze the effects of the rotation during the decay, multiple trajectories were propagated, comparing the results obtained assuming a constant drag coefficient with trajectories where the drag coefficient changes periodically. The initial perigees selected were lower than 400 km of altitude with eccentricities ranging from 0.00 to 0.02. Six values for the angular velocity were applied in the maneuver. The technique of rotating the spacecraft is an interesting solution to increase the orbit decay of a CubeSat without implementing additional de-orbit devices. Significant changes in the decay time are presented due to the increase of the mean drag coefficient calculated by the panel method, when the maneuver is applied, reducing the orbital lifetime, however the results are independent of the angular velocity of the satellite.