SOLID3: a multiplex antibody microarray-based optical sensor instrument for in situ life detection in planetary exploration

The search for unequivocal signs of life on other planetary bodies is one of the major challenges for astrobiology. The failure to detect organic molecules on the surface of Mars by measuring volatile compounds after sample heating, together with the new knowledge of martian soil chemistry, has prompted the astrobiological community to develop new methods and technologies. Based on protein microarray technology, we have designed and built a series of instruments called SOLID (for "Signs Of LIfe Detector") for automatic in situ detection and identification of substances or analytes from liquid and solid samples (soil, sediments, or powder). Here, we present the SOLID3 instrument, which is able to perform both sandwich and competitive immunoassays and consists of two separate functional units: a Sample Preparation Unit (SPU) for 10 different extractions by ultrasonication and a Sample Analysis Unit (SAU) for fluorescent immunoassays. The SAU consists of five different flow cells, with an antibody microarray in each one (2000 spots). It is also equipped with an exclusive optical package and a charge-coupled device (CCD) for fluorescent detection. We demonstrated the performance of SOLID3 in the detection of a broad range of molecular-sized compounds, which range from peptides and proteins to whole cells and spores, with sensitivities at 1-2?ppb (ng?mL?1) for biomolecules and 10? to 103 spores per milliliter. We report its application in the detection of acidophilic microorganisms in the Río Tinto Mars analogue and report the absence of substantial negative effects on the immunoassay in the presence of 50?mM perchlorate (20 times higher than that found at the Phoenix landing site). Our SOLID instrument concept is an excellent option with which to detect biomolecules because it avoids the high-temperature treatments that may destroy organic matter in the presence of martian oxidants.     

空间辐射对增韧环氧石墨复合材料尺寸稳定性的影响

本文讨论了模拟空间辐射环境对用弹性体增韧环氧石墨复合材料尺寸稳定性的影响。描述了该材料受辐照后(剂量相当于在地球同步轨道上6个月到30年受到的辐照剂量)的响应特性。其结果显示,辐照与环氧基体的相互作用使得复合材料在相当低的总剂量(10~7rads)下即发生脆化。在热交变期间,材料脆化导致热膨胀性能的变化并产生大量的层合板微裂纹。这些性能的变化,限制了这些材料在某些空间飞行器上的使用寿命。     

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.     

下一代数字式GPS接收机

讨论由 collins 公司制造的下一代(NGR)数字化 GPS 接收机的结构和技术特点。该计划的目的是开发一种具有较高抗干扰能力的高级 GPS 接收机单片设备(chipset)。计划始于1985年,为不载人和载人飞行器提供小型化接收机技术。目前用于战术导弹的两通道接收机的研制工作已全面开展,用来替换标准高动态接收机 RCVR-3A 型的五通道接收机正在测试和评估中。NGR 设计是从国防高级研究计划机构(DARPA)开发手提式 GPS 接收机使用的数字信号处理体系结构入手的,改进后可提高抗干扰和信号捕获性能。使用可生产、合格及便宜的硅单片微波集成电路(MMIC)和半商品化的数字技术开发 GPS 核心单片设备。另外,所采用的系统设计方法允许重复使用成熟的和确认过的 GPS 软件。     

用小卫星进行遥感

本文介绍遥感领域中采用小卫星的某些设计问题。着重论述可以提高当前小卫星技术水平的几个领域。规划的目标是,用成本低廉,方法可靠的新型遥感器来获取遥感数据,从而完成21世纪的主要航天任务。     

Evaluation of theories of complex movement planning in different levels of gravity

Due to high redundancy of degrees of freedom in the human body, we can perform any movement, from the simplest to the most complex, in many different ways. Several studies are still trying to identify the motor strategies that master this redundancy and generate the movements whose characteristics are highly stereotyped. The aim of this work is to build a simulator that is able to evaluate different motor planning hypotheses. The most interesting applications of this tool occur in studies of the motor strategy in microgravity conditions. The comparison between simulated movements and kinematics data recorded both on Earth, and during a 5-month mission on board the Mir station shows that for a complex whole-body movement (such as trunk bending) a single planning criterion cannot explain all movement aspects. However, the simulator allows an understanding of the motor planning adaptation of astronauts. In space, the lack of equilibrium constraint (which on Earth brings about the center of mass control) leads to a new motor strategy that minimizes dynamic interactions with the floor.     

Production of oxidants by ion irradiation of water/carbon dioxide frozen mixtures

We present new experimental results on the formation of oxidants, such as hydrogen peroxide, ozone, and carbonic acid, under ion irradiation of icy mixtures of water/carbon dioxide at different ratios and temperatures (16 and 80 K). Pure water ice layers and mixtures with carbon dioxide were irradiated by 200 keV He+ ions. We found that the CO(2)/H(2)O ratio progressively decreased to a value of about 0.1, the H(2)O(2) production increased with increasing CO(2) abundance at both 16 and 80 K, and the CO and H(2)CO(3) production increased with increasing CO(2) abundance at 16 K. At 80 K, the synthesis of CO was less efficient because of the high volatility of the molecule that partially sublimed from the target. The production of carbonic acid was connected with the production of CO(3). O(3) was detected only after ion irradiation of CO(2)-rich mixtures. The experimental results are discussed with regard to the relevance they may have in the production of an energy source for a europan or a martian biosphere.