Morphology: an ambiguous indicator of biogenicity

This paper deals with the difficulty of decoding the origins of natural structures through the study of their morphological features. We focus on the case of primitive life detection, where it is clear that the principles of comparative anatomy cannot be applied. A range of inorganic processes are described that result in morphologies emulating biological shapes, with particular emphasis on geochemically plausible processes. In particular, the formation of inorganic biomorphs in alkaline silica-rich environments are described in detail.     

Assessing the environmental impacts of aircraft noise and emissions

With the projected growth in demand for commercial aviation, many anticipate increased environmental impacts associated with noise, air quality, and climate change. Therefore, decision-makers and stakeholders are seeking policies, technologies, and operational procedures that balance environmental and economic interests. The main objective of this paper is to address shortcomings in current decision-making practices for aviation environmental policies. We review knowledge of the noise, air quality, and climate impacts of aviation, and demonstrate how including environmental impact assessment and quantifying uncertainties can enable a more comprehensive evaluation of aviation environmental policies. A comparison is presented between the cost-effectiveness analysis currently used for aviation environmental policy decision-making and an illustrative cost-benefit analysis. We focus on assessing a subset of the engine NO_X emissions certification stringency options considered at the eighth meeting of the International Civil Aviation Organization’s Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection. The FAA Aviation environmental Portfolio Management Tool (APMT) is employed to conduct the policy assessments. We show that different conclusions may be drawn about the same policy options depending on whether benefits and interdependencies are estimated in terms of health and welfare impacts versus changes in NO_X emissions inventories as is the typical practice. We also show that these conclusions are sensitive to a variety of modeling uncertainties. While our more comprehensive analysis makes the best policy option less clear, it represents a more accurate characterization of the scientific and economic uncertainties underlying impacts and the policy choices.     

Inferring Nighttime Ionospheric Parameters with the Far Ultraviolet Imager Onboard the Ionospheric Connection Explorer

The Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) Far Ultraviolet (FUV) imager, ICON FUV, will measure altitude profiles of OI 135.6 nm emissions to infer nighttime ionospheric parameters. Accurate estimation of the ionospheric state requires the development of a comprehensive radiative transfer model from first principles to quantify the effects of physical processes on the production and transport of the 135.6 nm photons in the ionosphere including the mutual neutralization contribution as well as the effect of resonant scattering by atomic oxygen and pure absorption by oxygen molecules. This forward model is then used in conjunction with a constrained optimization algorithm to invert the anticipated ICON FUV line-of-sight integrated measurements. In this paper, we describe the connection between ICON FUV measurements and the nighttime ionosphere, along with the approach to inverting the measured emission profiles to derive the associated O⁺ profiles from 150–450 km in the nighttime ionosphere that directly reflect the electron density in the F-region of the ionosphere.     

The management of stray radiation issues in space optical systems

The performance of infrared and submillimeter systems can be severely degraded by stray light. Stray light includes off-axis radiation, system diffraction and scattering effects, and thermal self-emission. The purpose of this paper is to identify several keys to preventing system degradation due to stray radiation. The first key is to apply stray light design rules and analysis techniques early in the program before the design is finalized. A systems level analysis using stray light analysis software is often necessary in order to identify more subtle problems and to assess the magnitude of their effect on system performance. Another key is to address contamination control and the choice of surface coatings early in the program. The management of stray radiation issues is extremely cost-effective, if begun early in the program, and can reduce later schedule hardships.     

The Pluto Energetic Particle Spectrometer Science Investigation (PEPSSI) on the New Horizons Mission

The Pluto Energetic Particle Spectrometer Science Investigation (PEPSSI) comprises the hardware and accompanying science investigation on the New Horizons spacecraft to measure pick-up ions from Pluto’s outgassing atmosphere. To the extent that Pluto retains its characteristics similar to those of a “heavy comet” as detected in stellar occultations since the early 1980s, these measurements will characterize the neutral atmosphere of Pluto while providing a consistency check on the atmospheric escape rate at the encounter epoch with that deduced from the atmospheric structure at lower altitudes by the ALICE, REX, and SWAP experiments on New Horizons. In addition, PEPSSI will characterize any extended ionosphere and solar wind interaction while also characterizing the energetic particle environment of Pluto, Charon, and their associated system. First proposed for development for the Pluto Express mission in September 1993, what became the PEPSSI instrument went through a number of development stages to meet the requirements of such an instrument for a mission to Pluto while minimizing the required spacecraft resources. The PEPSSI instrument provides for measurements of ions (with compositional information) and electrons from 10 s of keV to ～1 MeV in a 160°×12° fan-shaped beam in six sectors for 1.5 kg and ～2.5 W.     

Supraglacial sulfur springs and associated biological activity in the Canadian high arctic-signs of life beneath the ice

Unique springs, discharging from the surface of an arctic glacier, release H(2)S and deposit native sulfur, gypsum, and calcite. The presence of sulfur in three oxidation states indicates a complex series of redox reactions. Physical and chemical conditions of the spring water and surrounding environment, as well as mineralogical and isotopic signatures, suggest biologically mediated reactions. Cell counts and DNA analyses confirm bacteria are present in the spring system, and a limited number of sequenced isolates suggests that complex communities of bacteria live within the glacial system.     

Generation of experimental plasma parameter maps around the baffle aperture of a Kaufman (UK-25) ion thruster

The plasma produced by a Kaufman (UK-25) ion thruster possesses four distinct regions. The interaction of two of these regions, the coupling and discharge plasmas, is important for thruster design and efficiency, since it controls the production of the primary electrons responsible for most of the ionisation in the thruster. This paper details the measurement and analysis techniques used to obtain two-dimensional experimental plasma parameter maps across a plasma double layer in the baffle aperture region of this type of ion thruster. This plasma-interaction region was mapped experimentally using Langmuir probes.The Langmuir probe data were collected and analysed to produce maps of plasma potential, Maxwellian and primary electron energy and number density. Detailed static magnetic field measurements using Hall-effect probes were also obtained. A number of derived plasma parameter maps were then made possible, such as electron pressure. The application of the analysis techniques used here allowed ion thruster plasma property maps to be constructed of a spatial extent and resolution previously unseen. Two-dimensional maps of the spatial location of primary electrons are presented, as effected by applied magnetic field changes, along with the detection of regions showing depletion of primary electron energies.     

Did evolution select a nonrandom "alphabet" of amino acids?

The last universal common ancestor of contemporary biology (LUCA) used a precise set of 20 amino acids as a standard alphabet with which to build genetically encoded protein polymers. Considerable evidence indicates that some of these amino acids were present through nonbiological syntheses prior to the origin of life, while the rest evolved as inventions of early metabolism. However, the same evidence indicates that many alternatives were also available, which highlights the question: what factors led biological evolution on our planet to define its standard alphabet? One possibility is that natural selection favored a set of amino acids that exhibits clear, nonrandom properties-a set of especially useful building blocks. However, previous analysis that tested whether the standard alphabet comprises amino acids with unusually high variance in size, charge, and hydrophobicity (properties that govern what protein structures and functions can be constructed) failed to clearly distinguish evolution's choice from a sample of randomly chosen alternatives. Here, we demonstrate unambiguous support for a refined hypothesis: that an optimal set of amino acids would spread evenly across a broad range of values for each fundamental property. Specifically, we show that the standard set of 20 amino acids represents the possible spectra of size, charge, and hydrophobicity more broadly and more evenly than can be explained by chance alone.     

Power plant selection in a carbon constrained world the TERA(technoeconomic environmental risk analysis)

There is an increasing concern that current trends of consumption of natural resources cannot continue.It is imperative that major targeted investments are made into economical and reliable environment friendly propulsion and power solutions.Many novel and promising concepts are being proposed.The selection of the best candidates to pursue for investment becomes a very difficult choice.A detailed TERA(techno-economic environmental risk analysis) framework is described here to quantify risks and to compare and rank competing schemes on a formal and consistent basis.This technique is based on detailed and rigorous thermodynamic representations of power plants.A layer of environment,economic,weather and other models to describe the appropriate local conditions is superimposed to this.The outcome is a techno-economic environmental risk analysis framework with appropriate detail of each power plant as applied to the appropriate conditions.The results for each concept can then be compared and contrasted to make appropriate selections.