Creating a productive international partnership in the Vision for Space Exploration

When US President George W. Bush on 14 January 2004 announced a new US “Vision for Space Exploration”, he called for international participation in “a journey, not a race”, a call received with skepticism and concern elsewhere. But, after a slow start in implementing this directive, during 2006 NASA has increased the forward momentum of action on the program and of discussions on international cooperation in exploring “the Moon, Mars, and beyond”. There are nevertheless a number of significant top-level issues that must be addressed if a cooperative approach to human space exploration is to be pursued. These include the relationship between utilization of the ISS and the lunar exploration plans, integration of potential partners’ current and future capabilities into the exploration plans, and the evolving space-related intentions of other countries.     

Lunar-based enterprise infrastructure—hidden keys for long-term business success

Discussions on the creation of lunar bases or Moon-based industrial operations tend to focus on large issues i.e. transportation, cost, and/or sustainability. But assume that the fledging lunar enterprise is successful and engenders other Moon-based operations that also grow in terms of size and scope. Could success become more problematic than failure if some often minimized, yet essential, requirements for long-term human occupation of the Moon were ignored? This paper looks at lunar operations in terms of what will be required for long-term success as participants come to view themselves as terrestrial expatriates rather than engaged in short-term duty assignments.     

Working and walking on small asteroids with circumferential ropes

The low gravity of a small asteroid would present a challenge for an astronaut attempting to work on its surface. Extravehicular activities (EVAs) of the sophistication of the Apollo Moon missions are not likely to be possible if astronauts attempt to walk freely on the asteroid, hover above its surface, or anchor locally into the regolith. Manipulating large rocks, drilling, and excavating at multiple locations is a high priority science objective, but would be difficult without a hold-down mechanism. If the asteroid has even a small rotation rate, maneuvering precisely over its surface could be cumbersome. A plausible means of conducting complex EVAs is to tie ropes entirely around the asteroid, under which the astronaut is pushed downward onto the asteroid surface by the tension in the rope. The downward force provides an artificial gravity that permits the astronaut to drill, excavate, hammer, and carefully document materials on the surface without the worry of being thrown from the asteroid. An astronaut could also use the ropes as handholds or guides to maneuver freely over the surface.     

Proton fluxes measured by low-orbit satellites

In this paper we consider the fluxes of protons in the energy range from 30 keV to 140 MeV recorded by instruments onboard the Russian satellites KORONAS-F and UNIVERSITETSKII and on the American satellites GOES-11 and NOAA-17. In order to estimate the reliability of the obtained data, the comparison of measurements of separate energy channels of these instruments between themselves is performed. Experimental fluxes of trapped protons are compared with the fluxes predicted by the AP8 model.     

Turbulent fluctuations of plasma and magnetic field parameters in the magnetosheath and the low-latitude boundary layer formation: Multisatellite observations on March 2, 1996

The results of simultaneous analysis of plasma and magnetic field characteristics measured on the INTERBALL/Tail Probe, WIND and Geotail satellites on March 2, 1996, are presented. During these observations the INTERBALL/Tail Probe crossed the low-latitude boundary layer, and the WIND and Geotail satellites measured the solar wind’s and magnetosheath’s parameters, respectively. The plasma and magnetic field characteristics in these regions have been compared. The data of the Corall, Electron, and MIF instruments on the INTERBALL/Tail Probe satellite are analyzed. Fluctuations of the magnetic field components and plasma velocity in the solar wind and magnetosheath, measured onboard the WIND and Geotail satellites, are compared. The causes resulting in appearance of plasma jet flows in the low-latitude boundary layer are analyzed. The amplitude of magnetic field fluctuations in the magnetosheath for a studied magnetosphere boundary crossing is shown to exceed the magnetic field value below the magnetopause near the cusp. The possibility of local violation of pressure balance on the magnetopause is discussed, as well as penetration of magnetosheath plasma into the magnetosphere, as a result of magnetic field and plasma flux fluctuations in the magnetosheath.     

Reconstruction of space weather physical parameters on 400-year scale

The main goal of this paper is to get physically informative comprehensive data about dynamics of the solar magnetic field, geomagnetic field, and interplanetary magnetic field over large time scales. The total sunspot magnetic flux, aa and IDV indices of geomagnetic activity, the IMF strength, the dipole-octopole index of the large-scale magnetic field of the Sun, and the open magnetic flux are reconstructed for 400 years. The reconstruction of the π index of the large-scale polar magnetic field of the Sun is performed for 150 years.     

China's Space Activities In 2007

THE FOURTH BEIDOU NAVIGATION EXPERIMENTAL SATELLITE LAUNCHED The fourth Beidou experimental navigation satellite was launched into snace aton a LM-3A launch vehicle at Xichang Satellite Launch Center on February 3 at 00:28(Beijing Time).24 minutes later,the satellite separated from the launch vehicle and     

Debut Flight Of LM-3C:Launching Tianlian-1 Successfully

FY-3A,the first satellite of China's new generation of polar-orbiting meteorological satellites,was launched into space atop a modified LM-4C launch vehicle.The satellite separated from the rocket 19 minutes after the takeoff.Flying at an altitude of 807km with an inclination of 98.8 degrees,the satellite circles in polar orbit 14 times everyday,covering the whole globe twice a day. FY-3A has a design lifetime of three years.Weighing 2295kg,the three-axis stabilized satellite is equipped with 11 remote s...     

Amino acids from ion-irradiated nitrile-containing ices

Solid CH(3)CN and solid H(2)O + CH(3)CN were ion irradiated near 10 K to initiate chemical reactions thought to occur in extraterrestrial ices. The infrared spectra of these samples after irradiation revealed the synthesis of new molecules. After the irradiated ices were warmed to remove volatiles, the resulting residual material was extracted and analyzed. Both unhydrolyzed and acid-hydrolyzed residues were examined by both liquid and gas chromatographic-mass spectral methods and found to contain a rich mixture of products. The unhydrolyzed samples showed HCN, NH(3), acetaldehyde (formed by reaction with background and atmospheric H(2)O), alkyamines, and numerous other compounds, but no amino acids. However, reaction products in hydrolyzed residues contained a suite of amino acids that included some found in carbonaceous chondrite meteorites. Equal amounts of D- and L-enantiomers were found for each chiral amino acid detected. Extensive use was made of (13)C-labeled CH(3)CN to confirm amino acid identifications and discriminate against possible terrestrial contaminants. The results reported here show that ices exposed to cosmic rays can yield products that, after hydrolysis, form a set of primary amino acids equal in richness to those made by other methods, such as photochemistry.