Short-wave infrared reflectance investigation of sites of paleobiological interest: applications for Mars exploration

Rover missions to the rocky bodies of the Solar System and especially to Mars require lightweight, portable instruments that use minimal power, require no sample preparation, and provide suitably diagnostic mineralogical information to an Earth-based exploration team. Short-wave infrared (SWIR) spectroscopic instruments such as the Portable Infrared Mineral Analyser (PIMA, Integrated Spectronics Pty Ltd., Baulkham Hills, NSW, Australia) fulfill all these requirements. We describe an investigation of a possible Mars analogue site using a PIMA instrument. A survey was carried out on the Strelley Pool Chert, an outcrop of stromatolitic, silicified Archean carbonate and clastic succession in the Pilbara Craton, interpreted as being modified by hydrothermal processes. The results of this study demonstrate the capability of SWIR techniques to add significantly to the geological interpretation of such hydrothermally altered outcrops. Minerals identified include dolomite, white micas such as illite-muscovite, and chlorite. In addition, the detection of pyrophyllite in a bleached and altered unit directly beneath the succession suggests acidic, sulfur-rich hydrothermal activity may have interacted with the silicified sediments of the Strelley Pool Chert.     

柔壁自适应风洞低超音速实验技术研究

低超音速三维模型实验是在二维柔壁自适应风洞中进行的。将Wedemeyer理论推广到超音速流动,建立了洞壁调整量的计算方法;解决了洞壁预调量效应的计算问题。在此基础上提出洞壁自适应调整方案,它可用于堵塞比较大的模型实验和任意初始壁面。按此洞壁调整方案所作实验结果表明,二维柔壁自适应风洞作超音速三维模型实验时,可有效地抑制压缩、膨胀波经洞壁反射后对气动数据的影响。其消波效果和三维自适应壁风洞的消波效果基本相同,主激波反射的消波效果甚至优于后者。     

密集型空气雾化流场破碎特征数学模型研究

低速液体射流在高速湍流气体作用下的气液同轴射流雾化流场是瞬态密集型喷雾场,高速湍流中影响和控制雾化的因素很多。针对空气雾化流场液核分布与特征进行分析,开发了模拟液核的随机浸入体模型,结合大涡模拟方法对同轴射流空气雾化喷嘴下游流场进行数值模拟。模拟结果与实验结果对比表明：随机浸入体模型可快速捕捉液核的长度和位置信息。当气液动量比M为3~10000时,能够较准确地预测液核长度,当M>10时,其预测结果远优于唯象模型;该模型能够捕捉回流区、大尺度涡等流场结构。同时,可以准确地预测喷嘴附近的液滴粒径,特别是在气流速度较大（>60m/s）时,液滴平均直径预测误差<10%。     

一种新型多普勒噪声抑制技术对BepiColombo任务无线电科学实验的性能提升

在欧洲空间局和日本宇宙开发机构联合开展的BepiColombo水星任务中,将开展水星轨道器无线电科学实验,包括估计水星的引力场及其旋转状态,并对广义相对论进行验证。目前地面系统和星上设备的主流配置可以在无线电科学实验中建立X/X、X/Ka和Ka/Ka多个频段的链路,测速精度可达3 um/s（1 000 s积分）,测距精度为20 cm。提出了基于时延机械噪声对消技术提高无线电科学实验性能的方案。时延机械噪声对消技术需要处理在两个测站不同时刻的测量数据,一个测站实施双向多普勒测距,对另一个单收测站的要求较为严格,该测站需要具有较好的对流层条件。这种方法能够显著降低Ka频段双向链路的主要测量噪声,包括由对流层和天线机械系统震动引起的噪声。我们给出了端到端的仿真性能,并估计了在使用时延机械噪声对消技术前提下的水星引力场和旋转状态。考虑使用NASA位于美国本土戈尔德斯敦的DSS-25天线或欧空局位于阿根廷马拉圭的DSA-3天线作为双程测量站,并考虑使用位于智力的APEX天文观测天线作为单收站。分析结果表明在最好的噪声条件下,使用DSA-3天线作为双程测量站时,时延机械噪声对消技术可将待估计的全局和局部参数的估计精度提升一倍。对于无线电科学实验的目标,这一可能的性能提升对行星地质物理学很有意义,它将有益于研究水星内部的结构。     

Calcification and silicification: fossilization potential of cyanobacteria from stromatolites of Niuafo'ou's Caldera Lakes (Tonga) and implications for the early fossil record

Calcification and silicification processes of cyanobacterial mats that form stromatolites in two caldera lakes of Niuafo'ou Island (Vai Lahi and Vai Si'i) were evaluated, and their importance as analogues for interpreting the early fossil record are discussed. It has been shown that the potential for morphological preservation of Niuafo'ou cyanobacteria is highly dependent on the timing and type of mineral phase involved in the fossilization process. Four main modes of mineralization of cyanobacteria organic parts have been recognized: (i) primary early postmortem calcification by aragonite nanograins that transform quickly into larger needle-like crystals and almost totally destroy the cellular structures, (ii) primary early postmortem silicification of almost intact cyanobacterial cells that leave a record of spectacularly well-preserved cellular structures, (iii) replacement by silica of primary aragonite that has already recrystallized and obliterated the cellular structures, (iv) occasional replacement of primary aragonite precipitated in the mucopolysaccharide sheaths and extracellular polymeric substances by Al-Mg-Fe silicates. These observations suggest that the extremely scarce earliest fossil record may, in part, be the result of (a) secondary replacement by silica of primary carbonate minerals (aragonite, calcite, siderite), which, due to recrystallization, had already annihilated the cellular morphology of the mineralized microbiota or (b) relatively late primary silicification of already highly degraded and no longer morphologically identifiable microbial remains.     

Abundance and diversity of microbial inhabitants in European spacecraft-associated clean rooms

The determination of the microbial load of a spacecraft en route to interesting extraterrestrial environments is mandatory and currently based on the culturable, heat-shock-surviving portion of microbial contaminants. Our study compared these classical bioburden measurements as required by NASA's and ESA's guidelines for the microbial examination of flight hardware, with molecular analysis methods (16S rRNA gene cloning and quantitative PCR) to further develop our understanding of the diversity and abundance of the microbial communities of spacecraft-associated clean rooms. Three samplings of the Herschel Space Observatory and its surrounding clean rooms were performed in two different European facilities. Molecular analyses detected a broad diversity of microbes typically found in the human microbiome with three bacterial genera (Staphylococcus, Propionibacterium, and Brevundimonas) common to all three locations. Bioburden measurements revealed a low, but heterogeneous, abundance of spore-forming and other heat-resistant microorganisms. Total cell numbers estimated by quantitative real-time PCR were typically 3 orders of magnitude greater than those determined by viable counts, which indicates a tendency for traditional methods to underestimate the extent of clean room bioburden. Furthermore, the molecular methods allowed the detection of a much broader diversity than traditional culture-based methods.     

The PROCESS experiment: an astrochemistry laboratory for solid and gaseous organic samples in low-earth orbit

The PROCESS (PRebiotic Organic ChEmistry on the Space Station) experiment was part of the EXPOSE-E payload outside the European Columbus module of the International Space Station from February 2008 to August 2009. During this interval, organic samples were exposed to space conditions to simulate their evolution in various astrophysical environments. The samples used represent organic species related to the evolution of organic matter on the small bodies of the Solar System (carbonaceous asteroids and comets), the photolysis of methane in the atmosphere of Titan, and the search for organic matter at the surface of Mars. This paper describes the hardware developed for this experiment as well as the results for the glycine solid-phase samples and the gas-phase samples that were used with regard to the atmosphere of Titan. Lessons learned from this experiment are also presented for future low-Earth orbit astrochemistry investigations.     

无人机飞行控制系统的自抗扰姿态稳定控制

将自抗扰控制应用于无人机飞行控制系统。论述自抗扰控制的方法原理,并运用该技术设计控制律。首先利用跟踪微分器安排过渡过程,以达到快速、准确跟踪给定信号的目的。然后通过扩张状态观测器实时估计出系统的不确定干扰,并以反馈量的形式引入控制输入,从而起到实时补偿系统扰动的作用,实现姿态稳定控制。数值仿真结果表明,该方法抗干扰能力强,具有控制品质好、精度高、算法简单等特点。     

超声速逆向喷流的减阻与降热

利用流动控制技术改变流场结构的方法,对逆向冷喷流将激波推离物体表面以达到减阻减热的效果,进行了数值模拟计算。通过计算给出了钝头体在超声速流场中有无逆向喷流的压力场和温度场的比较,结果表明,逆向喷流对钝头体表面的减阻和减热起到了明显的作用。     

The Mawrth Vallis region of Mars: A potential landing site for the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission

The primary objective of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission, which will launch in 2011, is to characterize the habitability of a site on Mars through detailed analyses of the composition and geological context of surface materials. Within the framework of established mission goals, we have evaluated the value of a possible landing site in the Mawrth Vallis region of Mars that is targeted directly on some of the most geologically and astrobiologically enticing materials in the Solar System. The area around Mawrth Vallis contains a vast (>1?×?10? km2) deposit of phyllosilicate-rich, ancient, layered rocks. A thick (>150?m) stratigraphic section that exhibits spectral evidence for nontronite, montmorillonite, amorphous silica, kaolinite, saponite, other smectite clay minerals, ferrous mica, and sulfate minerals indicates a rich geological history that may have included multiple aqueous environments. Because phyllosilicates are strong indicators of ancient aqueous activity, and the preservation potential of biosignatures within sedimentary clay deposits is high, martian phyllosilicate deposits are desirable astrobiological targets. The proposed MSL landing site at Mawrth Vallis is located directly on the largest and most phyllosilicate-rich deposit on Mars and is therefore an excellent place to explore for evidence of life or habitability.