Survival and death of the haloarchaeon Natronorubrum strain HG-1 in a simulated martian environment

Halophilic archaea are of interest to astrobiology due to their survival capabilities in desiccated and high salt environments. The detection of remnants of salty pools on Mars stimulated investigations into the response of haloarchaea to martian conditions. Natronorubrum sp. strain HG-1 is an extremely halophilic archaeon with unusual metabolic pathways, growing on acetate and stimulated by tetrathionate. We exposed Natronorubrum strain HG-1 to ultraviolet (UV) radiation, similar to levels currently prevalent on Mars. In addition, the effects of low temperature (4, −20, and −80 °C), desiccation, and exposure to a Mars soil analogue from the Atacama desert on the viability of Natronorubrum strain HG-1 cultures were investigated. The results show that Natronorubrum strain HG-1 cannot survive for more than several hours when exposed to UV radiation equivalent to that at the martian equator. Even when protected from UV radiation, viability is impaired by a combination of desiccation and low temperature. Desiccating Natronorubrum strain HG-1 cells when mixed with a Mars soil analogue impaired growth of the culture to below the detection limit. Overall, we conclude that Natronorubrum strain HG-1 cannot survive the environment currently present on Mars. Since other halophilic microorganisms were reported to survive simulated martian conditions, our results imply that survival capabilities are not necessarily shared between phylogenetically related species.     

The hydroxyl radical as an indicator of SEP fluxes in the high-latitude terrestrial atmosphere

The low background values at nighttime of the mesospheric hydroxyl (OH) radical make it easier to single out the atmospheric response to the external solar forcing in Polar Regions. Because of the short lifetime of HO_x, it is possible to follow the trails of Solar Energetic Particle (SEP) events in the terrestrial atmosphere, as shown by Storini and Damiani (2008). The sensitivity of this indicator makes discernible not only extreme particle events with a flux peak of several thousand pfu [1 pfu = 1 particle/(cm² s sr)] at energies >10 MeV, but also those with lower flux up to about 300 pfu. Using data from the Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) on board the EOS AURA satellite, we examined the correlation of OH abundance vs. solar proton flux for almost all the identified SEP events spanning from November 2004 to December 2006 (later on no more SEP events occurred during Solar Cycle no. 23). The channels at energies greater than 5 MeV and 10 MeV showed the best correlation values (r ∼ 0.90–0.95) at altitudes around 65–75 km whereas, as expected, the most energetic channels were most highly correlated at lower altitudes. Therefore, it is reasonably possible to estimate the solar proton flux from values of mesospheric OH (and viceversa) and it could be useful in studying periods with gaps in the records of solar particles.     

The origin of the prompt optical emission in GRB 060111B

The detection of a bright optical emission measured with good temporal resolution during the prompt phase makes GRB 060111B a rare event that is especially useful for constraining theories of the prompt optical emission. Comparing this burst with other GRBs with evidence of optical peaks, we find that the optical peak epoch (t_p) is anti-correlated with the high energy burst energetic assuming an isotropic energy release (E_iso) in agreement with Liang et al. (2009), and that the steeper is the post-peak afterglow decay, the less is the agreement with the correlation. GRB 060111B is among the latters and it does not match the correlation. The Cannonball scenario is also discussed and we find that this model cannot be excluded for GRB 060111B.     

Science operations planning expertise: A neglected component of mission design

In this paper, Science Operations Planning Expertise (SOPE) is defined as the expertise that is held by people who have the two following qualities. First they have both theoretical and practical experience in operations planning, in general, and in space science operations planning in particular. Second, they can be used, on request and at least, to provide with advice the teams that design and implement science operations systems in order to optimise the performance and productivity of the mission. However, the relevance and use of such SOPE early on during the Mission Design Phase (MDP) is not sufficiently recognised. As a result, science operations planning is often neglected or poorly assessed during the mission definition phases. This can result in mission architectures that are not optimum in terms of cost and scientific returns, particularly for missions that require a significant amount of science operations planning. Consequently, science operations planning difficulties and cost underestimations are often realised only when it is too late to design and implement the most appropriate solutions. In addition, higher costs can potentially reduce both the number of new missions and the chances of existing ones to be extended. Moreover, the quality, and subsequently efficiency, of SOPE can vary greatly. This is why we also believe that the best possible type of SOPE requires a structure similar to the ones of existing bodies of expertise dedicated to the data processing such as the International Planetary Data Alliance (IPDA), the Space Physics Archive Search and Extract (SPASE) or the Planetary Data System (PDS). Indeed, this is the only way of efficiently identifying science operations planning issues and their solutions as well as of keeping track of them in order to apply them to new missions. Therefore, this paper advocates for the need to allocate resources in order to both optimise the use of SOPE early on during the MDP and to perform, at least, a feasibility study of such a more structured SOPE.     

The geomagnetic solar flare effect identified by SIIG as an indicator of a solar flare observed by GOES satellites

This paper studies the efficiency of geomagnetic solar flare effects (gsfe) in X solar flare detection; so during the period 1999–2007 a comparison between solar flare (sf) observed by satellites of the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) programme and gsfe published by the Service International des Indices Geomagnetiques (SIIG) is made.     

空间实验室大面积太阳电池阵技术研究

介绍了空间实验室大面积太阳电池阵的方案构型，并进行了模态分析、热结构耦合分析和动力学仿真分析。生产出了全尺寸的集成演示样机，进行了展开试验、主展开机构的模态试验，以及半刚性太阳电池板和二自由度驱动机构的振动试验。计算和试验结果表明，技术方案是可行的。     

柔性多体撞击系统的精细H∞控制研究

本文在柔性多体撞击系统动力学方程的基础上 ,将撞击看成是一种扰动 ,设计了一个稳定的控制器以使撞击扰动对控制输出的影响达到最小的目的 ,在分析过程中采用 H∞ 控制原理对该问题进行了研究。在计算中 ,将精细积分法应用于状态动力学方程和 Riccati方程的求解中 ,使计算精度得到大幅度提高。最后通过数值例题说明了本文方法的有效性     

气动计算软件集成系统中的远程控制

随着我国航空航天技术的飞速发展,气动计算软件集成技术日趋成熟,但用户在并行计算中需要手动输入的操作较多。鉴于此,通过编程开发了基于TCP／IP协议的FTP客户端应用程序,实现了对网格文件的信息采集、过滤并将其和参数、脚本文件等批量自动上传的功能。根据批处理文件中的命令,调用Windows平台自带的客户端Telnet,向远程集群管理节点发出命令,远程启动服务器集群的并行计算任务。最后,在客户端实现了远程控制服务器集群上的计算流体力学软件Fluent进行并行计算。结果表明：使用该远程控制系统能够减少用户输入操作,提高计算效率,保证数据的实时更新。     

Numerical study of intrachamber processes dynamics at nozzleless solid propellant rocket engine actuation

The results of the comprehensive numerical analysis for dynamics of intrachamber processes that appear at nozzleless solid propellant rocket engine (SPRE) actuation are presented. A complete cycle of rocket engine operation is analyzed. We solve a conjugate problem involving the igniter actuation; heating, ignition and following combustion of a solid propellant charge; a combustion product flow in the combustion chamber; depressurization of the combustion chamber, and the subsequent motion of the rocket engine blank; variation of the combustion surface geometry at the expense of the gradual and nonuniform burnout of solid propellant web.     

基于CCSDS MO服务参考模型公共服务接口设计

为提高飞行器任务运控系统的可重用性和可扩展性,对基于CCSDS(空间数据系统咨询委员会)MO(任务运营)服务参考模型的系统设计和实现方法进行了研究。针对MO服务参考模型的核心服务层,以我国飞行器任务运控系统的需求为出发点,在分析了MO服务参考框架、MO服务定义、运控功能服务定义和公共服务组成的基础上,对MO各公共服务的接口进行了分析与设计。采用面向对象方法学、设计模式等理念,设计并实现了相关公共服务接口。通过向运控功能服务提供API(应用程序接口),可以支持系统应用层开发。这为建立符合CCSDS MO服务参考模型的飞行器任务运控系统,并实现系统的可扩展性和可重用性提供了支持。