A reply from Earth?

An approach is proposed to developing a message from Humankind to extraterrestrial intelligence if we detect it.     

Recent advances in chemical evolution and the origins of life

This paper discusses the already 60 year old ideas of Oparin and Haldane, who suggested that the first forms of life were anaerobic, heterotrophic bacteria coming from chemical abiotic synthesis of organic compounds.     

一种用于波长测量的数字式干涉仪

本文介绍了一种用来测量激光波长的简单的条纹计数式干涉仪,给出了几种激光谱线波长的测定值.它们是氦—氖、氩和氪激光谱线,由饱和吸收的碘蒸气所稳定,不准确性为2×10~(-8)(可信度99%)。     

用声表面波传感器作惯性制导和水声检测

本文研究声表面波传感器在惯性制导和水声检测方面的应用。在水声检测中,由于声表面波石英的动态负载而不是静态负载导致声表面波振荡器的频谱信息包含有边带。研究已经证明,传感器样机的灵敏度(用信噪比表示)至少与普通水听器的相当。声表面波作加速度计可提供高准确度、大动态范围(10~6)和不用模-数转换就可获得数字输出。采用比较简单的数字处理技术,加速度计就能够提供惯性数据,例如速度和位移。对声表面波加速度计的总误差率的研究证明,它们的误差率始终小于每小时一海里。声表面波振荡器传感器在高性能、中等价格的传感器应用方面是一种很有希望的竞争者。     

Toward optimizing lighting as a countermeasure to sleep and circadian disruption in space flight

Light is being used as a pre-launch countermeasure to circadian and sleep disruption in astronauts. The effect of light on the circadian system is readily monitored by measurement of plasma melatonin. Our group has established an action spectrum for human melatonin regulation and determined the region of 446-477 nm to be the most potent for suppressing plasma melatonin. The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of 460 and 555 nm for suppressing melatonin using a within-subjects design. Subjects (N=12) were exposed to equal photon densities (7.18 x 10(12) photons/cm2/s) at 460 and 555 nm. Melatonin suppression was significantly stronger at 460 nm (p<0.02). An extension to the action spectrum showed that 420 nm light at 16 and 32 microW/cm2 significantly suppressed melatonin (p<0.04 and p<0.002). These studies will help optimize lighting countermeasures to circadian and sleep disruption during spaceflight.     

全球定位系统用作洲际导弹制导系统鉴定工具的测量性能

八十年代初期,在两次民兵Ⅲ型导弹发射中(编号为PVM-18,19),试飞了一种四信道全球定位系统(GPS)接收机——弹载接收设备(MBRS)。这两次发射试验是称为“飞-2”系列飞行中的一部分。每次带两个NS20惯性测量装置。这两次试验的主要目的是在洲际导弹实际飞行环境中验证、测定全球定位系统的性能。本文概括了这两次飞行中GPS性能的分析结果。由此验证了如何利用这种质量的数据来高精度地鉴定制导误差,并用该数据来识别出飞行过程中各种制导误差。这两次试飞所得到的GPS数据证实了短期精度达到了预期能力。典型的随机误差为2英尺~*和0.01英尺/秒(一秒平均)。有了这一精度就可利用GPS作为外部测量仪器,对自由段中摆式积分陀螺加速度表(PIGA)的磁敏感效应进行直接观测。实现这种观测还是第一次。由于缺乏合适的标准,尚不容易进行绝对精度鉴定。显然,GPS的精度比同时参与导弹跟踪的雷达(多台)的好,拟合后残差非常一致,说明总精度很高。因此可得出结论,GPS的总精度达到了预期性能指标。 (本文常用缩略语AIRS——高级惯性基准球,BREW——民兵导弹上装的第二惯性测量装置,CSDL——Charles Stark Draper实验室,ECI——地心惯性座标系,GPS——全球定位系统,MBRS——导弹装载的GPS接收机,MISTRAM——米斯特拉姆,高精度无线电外测系统,PIGA——摆式积分陀螺加速度表,PVB——民兵导弹试验编号,TI——德克萨斯仪器公司)     

1968年国际实用温标的展望

自68国际实用温标正式通过以来,巳将近二十年了。这段时间内一直围绕继68国际实用温标之后的温标可能形式展开讨论。的确,在相当一段时间里认为1987年可能为通过新温标的日期。在70年代末期,有关计温学方面大量新工作已经取得成果。从0.5K 至金点1337K 整个范围内,热力学温度的测量已基本上完成或取得很大的进展。我们发现,热力学温度与国际实用温标明显不同,其差值比原来所估计的要大得多,特别是在0℃至460℃范围内。在0℃以下,铂电阻温度计内插方程的新工作表明,可建设一个新方程,比68温标中所使用的更精确更简单,此外还大大     

Evaluation of various cleaning methods to remove bacillus spores from spacecraft hardware materials

A detailed study was made of the biological cleaning effectiveness, defined in terms of the ability to remove bacterial spores, of a number of methods used to clean hardware surfaces. Aluminum (Al 6061) and titanium (Ti 6Al-4V) were chosen for the study as they were deemed the two materials most likely to be used in spacecraft extraterrestrial sampler construction. Metal coupons (1 cm x 2.5 cm) were precleaned and inoculated with 5.8 x 10(3) cultivable Bacillus subtilis spores, which are commonly found on spacecraft surfaces and in the assembly environments. The inoculated coupons were subsequently cleaned using: (1) 70% isopropyl alcohol wipe; (2) water wipe; (3) multiple-solvent flight-hardware cleaning procedures used at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL); (4) Johnson Space Center-developed ultrapure water rinse; and (5) a commercial, semi-aqueous, multiple-solvent (SAMS) cleaning process. The biological cleaning effectiveness was measured by agar plate assay, sterility test (growing in liquid media), and epifluorescent microscopy. None of the cleaning protocols tested completely removed viable spores from the surface of the aluminum. In contrast, titanium was capable of being cleaned to sterility by two methods, the JPL standard and the commercial SAMS cleaning process. Further investigation showed that the passivation step employed in the JPL standard method is an effective surface sterilant on both metals but not compatible with aluminum. It is recommended that titanium (Ti 6Al-4V) be considered superior to aluminum (Al 6061) for use in spacecraft sampling hardware, both for its potential to be cleaned to sterilization and for its ability to withstand the most effective cleaning protocols.     

SC切石英晶体谐振器在甚高频低噪声振荡器中的应用

晶体控制的甚高频振荡器广泛应用于具有优良短期频率稳定度和低相位噪声的信号发生器中。这种振荡器均采用工作在泛音模的 AT 切晶体。由于 AT 切晶体谐振器的幅频效应,使相位噪声难以进一步减小。双旋转切晶体(例如 SC 切晶体)的幅频效应较 AT 切的小得多。因此,可使 SC 切晶体工作在较 AT 切晶体所允许的更大的激励电流上。如果能使振荡器固有的相位起伏不随晶体电流的增大而显著增大,则采用 SC 切晶体元件可以改善晶体控制甚高频信号发生器的短期频率稳定度和噪声。曾用三次泛音 SC 切晶体(而不是用五次泛音 AT 切晶体)进行过100MHz 低噪声振荡器的实际可行性试验。对 SC 切和 AT 切晶体元件的相频特性进行了测量。测量结果表明,晶体元件的功耗能够比使用 AT 切晶体增加6-10dB。对用双极结型晶体管振荡器的噪声源的检查表明,二次及三次失真是造成实际振荡器呈现显著相位闪变的原因。从解凡得堡(微分)方程中出现的频率校正项可了解到减小频率闪变的要求。桥式 T 形振荡器适合于作 SC 切甚高频晶体振荡维持电路。曾研究过这种电路的噪声源(包括调幅闪变噪声的幅相变换),并得到了对上述振荡器所预期的 L(f)的估算值。对相同的一对振荡器进行了测量,预计的 L(f)和所测得的 L(f)很一致。结果表明,和 AT 切甚高频晶体控制振荡器相比较,SC 切晶体控制的甚高频振荡器的L(f)得到了显著改善。     

Interaction between exercising humans and growing plants in a Closed Ecological Life Support System

The purpose of this study was to quantify the gas exchange between plants growing in a Closed Environmental Life Support System (CELSS) and the metabolism of human subjects undergoing various levels of physical exercise, and subsequently determine the buffer characteristics in relation to the carbon exchange established for plants in this closed loop life support system. Two men (ages 42 and 45 yr) exercised on a cycle ergometer at three different work intensities, each on a separate day. The CELSS, a 113 m³ chamber, was sized to meet the needs of one human. The plants, consisting of 20 m² of potato, provided oxygen to the human during an artificially lighted photosynthesis phase and the human provided CO₂ to the plants. The average rates of exchange for the subjects were 0.88, 1.69, and 2.47 liters O₂/min and 0.77, 1.47, and 2.21 liters CO₂/min at approximately 25%, 50%, and 75% of their maximal aerobic capacity, respectively. The photosynthetic rate for the CELSS was 0.95 liters/ min. A balance between human CO₂ production and plant utilization was noted at approximately the 50% VO_2max level. The oxygen balance and changes were not within detectable limits of the CELSS instrumentation for the durations of these exercise exposures. If a CELSS environment is the methodology selected for long term spaceflight, it will be important to select plants that efficiently grow at the available light and nutrient levels while balancing the needs for the human crew at their levels of physical activity.