Susan: A New Doppler Radionavigation System

SUSAN is a novel electronic Doppler navigation system which can be used with moving vehicles including aircraft, missiles, satellites, and ships. The system uses a technique of time delays and frequency multiplication to determine the rates of change of the Doppler frequency component present on a signal received from a moving vehicle. From this information the range and velocity of the vehicle can be determined with respect to a transmitting station whose position or ephemeris is known.     

Antideuterons as an indirect dark matter signature: Si(Li) detector development and a GAPS balloon mission

The General AntiParticle Spectrometer (GAPS) is a novel approach for indirect dark matter searches that exploits cosmic antideuterons. GAPS complements existing and planned direct dark matter searches as well as other indirect techniques, probing a different and unique region of parameter space in a variety of proposed dark matter models. The GAPS method involves capturing antiparticles into a target material with the subsequent formation of an excited exotic atom. The exotic atom decays with the emission of atomic X-rays and pions from the nuclear annihilation, which uniquely identifies the captured antiparticle. This technique has been verified through the accelerator testing at KEK in 2004 and 2005. The prototype flight is scheduled from Hokkaido, Japan in 2011, preparatory for a long duration balloon flight from the Antarctic in 2014.     

The Education and Public Outreach Program for NASA��s Dawn Mission

The Dawn mission??s Education and Public Outreach (E/PO) program takes advantage of the length of the mission, an effort to maintain level funding, and the exceptional support of the science and engineering teams to create formal and informal educational materials that bring STEM content and modes of thinking to students of all ages. With materials that are based on researched pedagogical principles and aligned with science education standards, Dawn weaves together many aspects of the mission to engage students, teachers, and the general public. E/PO tells the story of the discovery of the asteroid belt, uncovers principles of physics behind the ion propulsion that powers the spacecraft, and explains what we can learn from the instrumentation and how the mission??s results will expand our understanding of the origins of the solar system. In this way, we not only educate and inform, we build anticipation and expectation in the general public for the spacecraft??s arrival at Vesta in 2011 and three years later at Ceres. This chapter discusses the organization, strategies, formative assessment and dissemination of these materials and activities, and includes a section on lessons learned.     

Medical survey of European astronauts during Mir missions

This paper reviews the medical operations performed on six European astronauts during seven space missions on board the space station Mir. These missions took place between November 1988 and August 1999, and their duration ranged from 14 days to 189 days. Steps of pre-flight medical selection and flight certification are presented. Countermeasures program used during the flight, as well as rehabilitation program following short and long-duration missions are described. Also reviewed are medical problems encountered during the flight, post-flight physiological changes such as orthostatic intolerance, exercise capacity, blood composition, muscle atrophy, bone density, and radiation exposure.     

A DORIS determination of the absolute velocities of the Sorsdal and Mellor glaciers in Antarctica

The Lambert–Amery System is the largest glacier–ice shelf system in East Antarctica, draining a significant portion of the ice sheet. Variation in ice sheet discharge from Antarctica or Greenland has an impact on the rate of change in global mean sea level; which is a manifestation of climate change. In conjunction with a measure of ice thickness change, ice sheet discharge can be monitored by determining the absolute velocities of these glaciers.     

Pareto-optimal solution of a two-objective problem in choosing conditions of monoimpeller milling

A problem of optimization of cutting parameters with respect to the criteria of maximum efficiency and maximum tool resistance is formulated. To solve the problem, a method is developed and applied for determining the Pareto-optimal values of machining conditions in milling the present-day GTE monoimpeller blade passages with a circular milling cutter.     

Gasodynamic characteristics of a combustion chamber in the integrated power plant with an asymmetric air intake

The results of experimental investigations of gasodynamic characteristics of a combustion chamber model in the integrated power plant (IPP) with an asymmetric air intake are presented. The influence of an angle of air supply into the chamber model on hydraulic losses and the flow structure is shown at different air flowrates, relative values of the minimal flow section area of the feeding air intake pipes, under changes of the flowrate of gas simulating gas generation products and geometric model parameters. A technique for measuring the concentration of carbon dioxide simulating IPP gas generation products in the combustion chamber air flow and the results of experimental investigations of a mixture formation process in the combustion chamber model are described.     

Solar activity dependence of total electron content derived from GPS observations over Mbarara

Vertical total electron content (VTEC) observed at Mbarara (geographic co-ordinates: 0.60°S, 30.74°E; geomagnetic coordinates: 10.22°S, 102.36°E), Uganda, for the period 2001–2009 have been used to study the diurnal, seasonal and solar activity variations. The daily values of the 10.7 cm radio flux (F_10.7) and sunspot number (R) were used to represent Solar Extreme Ultraviolet Variability (EUV). VTEC is generally higher during high solar activity period for all the seasons and increases from 0600 h LT and reaches its maximum value within 1400 h–1500 h LT. All analysed linear and quadratic fits demonstrate positive VTEC-F_10.7 and positive VTEC-R correlation, with all fits at 0000 h and 1400 h LT being significant with a confidence level of 95% when both linear and quadratic models are used. All the fits at 0600 h LT are insignificant with a confidence level of 95%. Generally, over Mbarara, quadratic fit shows that VTEC saturates during all seasons for F_10.7 more than 200 units and R more than 150 units. The result of this study can be used to improve the International Reference Ionosphere (IRI) prediction of TEC around the equatorial region of the African sector.     

A mission template for exploration and damage mitigation of potential hazard of Near Earth Asteroids

The Apophis Exploratory and Mitigation Platform (AEMP) concept was developed as a prototype mission to explore and potentially deflect the Near Earth Asteroid (NEA) 99942 Apophis. Deflection of the asteroid from the potential 2036 impact will be achieved using a gravity tractor technique, while a permanent deflection, eliminating future threats, will be imparted using a novel albedo manipulation technique. This mission will serve as an archetypal template for future missions to small NEAs and could be adapted to mitigate the threat of collision with other potential Earth-crossing objects.     

Approaches in the determination of plant nutrient uptake and distribution in space flight conditions.

The effective growth and development of vascular plants rely on the adequate availability of water and nutrients. Inefficiency in either the initial absorption, transportation, or distribution of these elements are factors which impinge on plant structure and metabolic integrity. The potential effect of space flight and microgravity conditions on the efficiency of these processes is unclear. Limitations in the available quantity of space-grown plant material and the sensitivity of routine analytical techniques have made an evaluation of these processes impractical. However, the recent introduction of new plant cultivating methodologies supporting the application of radionuclide elements and subsequent autoradiography techniques provides a highly sensitive investigative approach amenable to space flight studies. Experiments involving the use of gel based 'nutrient packs' and the radionuclides calcium-45 and iron-59 were conducted on the Shuttle mission STS-94. Uptake rates of the radionuclides between ground and flight plant material appeared comparable.