Some ecological mechanisms to generate habitability in planetary subsurface areas by chemolithotrophic communities: the Río Tinto subsurface ecosystem as a model system

Chemolithotrophic communities that colonize subsurface habitats have great relevance for the astrobiological exploration of our Solar System. We hypothesize that the chemical and thermal stabilization of an environment through microbial activity could make a given planetary region habitable. The MARTE project ground-truth drilling campaigns that sampled cryptic subsurface microbial communities in the basement of the Río Tinto headwaters have shown that acidic surficial habitats are the result of the microbial oxidation of pyritic ores. The oxidation process is exothermic and releases heat under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions. These microbial communities can maintain the subsurface habitat temperature through storage heat if the subsurface temperature does not exceed their maximum growth temperature. In the acidic solutions of the Río Tinto, ferric iron acts as an effective buffer for controlling water pH. Under anaerobic conditions, ferric iron is the oxidant used by microbes to decompose pyrite through the production of sulfate, ferrous iron, and protons. The integration between the physical and chemical processes mediated by microorganisms with those driven by the local geology and hydrology have led us to hypothesize that thermal and chemical regulation mechanisms exist in this environment and that these homeostatic mechanisms could play an essential role in creating habitable areas for other types of microorganisms. Therefore, searching for the physicochemical expression of extinct and extant homeostatic mechanisms through physical and chemical anomalies in the Mars crust (i.e., local thermal gradient or high concentration of unusual products such as ferric sulfates precipitated out from acidic solutions produced by hypothetical microbial communities) could be a first step in the search for biological traces of a putative extant or extinct Mars biosphere.     

Searching for life on Mars: selection of molecular targets for ESA's aurora ExoMars mission

The European Space Agency's ExoMars mission will seek evidence of organic compounds of biological and non-biological origin at the martian surface. One of the instruments in the Pasteur payload may be a Life Marker Chip that utilizes an immunoassay approach to detect specific organic molecules or classes of molecules. Therefore, it is necessary to define and prioritize specific molecular targets for antibody development. Target compounds have been selected to represent meteoritic input, fossil organic matter, extant (living, recently dead) organic matter, and contamination. Once organic molecules are detected on Mars, further information is likely to derive from the detailed distribution of compounds rather than from single molecular identification. This will include concentration gradients beneath the surface and gradients from generic to specific compounds. The choice of biomarkers is informed by terrestrial biology but is wide ranging, and nonterrestrial biology may be evident from unexpected molecular distributions. One of the most important requirements is to sample where irradiation and oxidation are minimized, either by drilling or by using naturally excavated exposures. Analyzing regolith samples will allow for the search of both extant and fossil biomarkers, but sequential extraction would be required to optimize the analysis of each of these in turn.     

TD-1HNMR measurements show enantioselective dissociation of ribose and glucose in the presence of H2(17)O

We used Time Domain (1)H Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) to characterize changes in proton exchange between water and sugar enantiomers at different concentrations of H(2)(17)O (approximately 15-450 mM) and found that dissociation of the (-)-enantiomers of glucose and ribose occurs at significantly higher rates at higher concentrations of H(2)(17)O. The mechanism behind this enantioselective effect is unclear. The hypothesis we propose is that the large magnetic field (B(o) approximately 0.6T) applied during NMR measurements induces electric moments opposite in sign for the D and L-isomers. Because (17)O has a nuclear electric quadrupole moment not = 0, asymmetrically hydrated complexes may form between the B(o)-polarized enantiomers and H(2)(17)O. Either H(2)(17)O is more often hydrating the (+) than the (-)-enantiomers--and consequently pK differences between H(2)(16)O and H(2)(17)O lead to differences in proton exchange between enantiomers and water--or the orientation of H(2)(17)O relative to the B(o)-polarized enantiomers is different, in total or in part, which leads to hydrated complexes with different spatial geometries and different proton exchange properties. This effect is significant for Magneto-Chiral Stereo-Chemistry (MCSC) and astrobiology, and it may help us better understand specific instances of mass independent isotopic fractionation and aid in the development of new technologies for chiral and isotopic separation.     

用于YF—23A原型机飞行试验的分布式实时数据处理

１９９０年下半年，为了验证和鉴定为ＹＦ－２３Ａ原型机飞行试验而开发的几项新技术，诺思罗普／麦．道公司的两架ＹＦ－２３Ａ先进战术战斗机（ＡＴＦ）原型机投放试飞，ＹＦ－２３Ａ飞行试验队为该试验计划研制了一种性能卓越的，费用低廉的实时地面数据站。为了满意ＡＴＦ原型机飞行试验工作的需要，该地面站主要基于分布式数据处理的概念。尽管ＹＦ－２３Ａ地面数据站的核心是ＤＳＩ公司的ＱＵＡＤ－７计算机系统，但安装在各种     

跟踪与数据中继卫星系统的性能

一、引言 自60年代初,NASA就组建和操作一个为近地轨道卫星服务的跟踪和数据获取网。TDRSS是一个新测控网,为目前和直到2000年的预期卫星任务服务。该网利用了已经验证的空间和地面系统有关技术构成一个全新的测控站,只是其前端设备置于地球同步轨道上。尽量采用了自动化技术,使系统设置到数据采集以及整个跟踪期间的通信几乎都不需要人操作。     

陆军机动防空的发展趋势

地面部队的低空防空可分为保护固定发射场和机动设施两种.后者或者安装在机动车辆上限随机动部队进行,或者被牵引着用于保护构筑工事的部队.     

GENERATION AND APPLICATION OF UNSTRUCTURED ADAPTIVE MESHES WITH MOVING BOUNDARIES

INTRODUCTIONMany engineering applications require thenumerical prediction of strongly unsteady flowsinteracting with moving bodies.A case in pointis that the detailed calculation of sphere motionsin an unsteady field induced by blast waves is akey issue to determine the drag force exerting up-on the sphere by the surrounding gas and,inturn,to reveal the mechanism of unsteady effectson the drag coefficient.To cope with such pro-blems,one should simulate unsteady flows withmoving boundary co…     

Psychological considerations of man in space: problems & solutions

With concrete plans for long duration flight taking form a new impetus is lent to preparing man for this hostile and unnatural environment. Cramped conditions, isolation from family and loved ones, work stress, fear, and incompatibility with fellow crew, are but a few of the problems suffered by astronauts and cosmonauts during their long missions in orbit about the earth.

Although criteria for selection of crew is one aspect of attacking the problem, it has not solved it Notwithstanding good selection, team combination, and counselling before flight, problems have still occurred with unwanted consequences. Incompatibility of team members, far from being the exception, has been frequent. This has been detrímental both physiologically and psychologically for the individual as well as for the operational success and safety of the missions.

Because problems will inevitably occur in future long duration missions, especially when they are of international and multi-cultural nature, the importance of dealing with them is underlined. This paper takes a different approach towards ameliorating these problems, namely that of psychological group training before a mission.     

Effects of microgravity on the binding of acetylsalicylic acid by Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. trifolii

Bacteroids can be induced in vitro by treating growing Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. trifolii with succinic acid or succinic acid structural analogs like acetysalicylic acid. Quantitating bacteroid induction by measuring acetylsalicylic binding under normal (1 g) conditions showed two forms of binding to occur. In one form of binding cells immediately bound comparatively high levels of acetylsalicylic acid, but the binding was quickly reversed. The second form of binding increased with time by first order kinetics and reached saturation in 40 s. Similar experiments performed in the microgravity environment aboard the NASA 930 aircraft showed only one form of binding and total acetylsalicyclic acid bound was 32% higher than at 1 g.     

预测固体推进剂火箭发动机侵蚀燃烧的数值法

对于固体推进剂火箭燃烧可采用一维模型预测固体推进剂火箭发动机的侵蚀燃烧特性。用取决于不同燃烧速率的速度来表示固体推进剂的侵蚀燃烧。数值积分控制偏微分方程就可得到分析结果。使用非定常公式预测固体推进剂侵蚀燃烧特性。计算了各种不同药形的复合推进剂和双基推进剂的侵蚀燃烧特性。测出了各种不同药形装填密度(药柱初始通孔面积与喉面积之比)对压力时间曲线的影响。现有分析指出,装填密度是确定某一特定药形及化学成分的推进剂侵蚀燃烧特性的最重要参数之一。研究表明低燃速推进剂比高燃速推进剂反映出具有较大的侵蚀燃烧效应。同时也表明长方药形与圆柱药形相比具有较大的初始压力峰,相反压力很快就稳定到一般与装填密度无关的平衡压力。