Mars Crustal Magnetism

Mars lacks a detectable magnetic field of global scale, but boasts a rich spectrum of magnetic fields at smaller spatial scales attributed to the spatial variation of remanent magnetism in the crust. On average the Mars crust is 10 times more intensely magnetized than that of the Earth. It appears likely that the Mars crust acquired its remanence in the first few hundred million years of evolution when an active dynamo sustained an intense global field. An early dynamo era, ending in the Noachian, or earliest period of Mars chronology, would likely be driven by thermal convection in an early, hot, fluid core. If crustal remanence was acquired later in Mars history, a dynamo driven by chemical convection associated with the solidification of an inner core is likely. Thermal evolution models cannot yet distinguish between these two possibilities. The magnetic record contains a wealth of information on the thermal evolution of Mars and the Mars dynamo, but we have just begun to decipher its message.     

角速度可控的五坐标NURBS插补方法实现(英文)

在复杂形体零部件的高速高精数控加工方面,五坐标数控机床起着非常重要的作用。为了适应高速加工的需要,提出了一种用于机床五坐标加工的非均匀有理B样条(NURBS)插补指令。采用该插补指令进行数控加工时,为了获取实时加工过程中的刀位矢量,开放式控制器以相邻刀位矢量间的夹角为参数构造方位B样条曲线。构造映射插补过程中位置曲线弧长和方位矢量角度的多项式曲线,利用该曲线实现线性轴速度及旋转轴速度的同步控制。详细介绍了该插补指令的算法流程及其在开放式控制器中的实现过程。最后,通过加工实例验证了该插补指令的性能。     

Effects of Machine Tool Configuration on Its Dynamics Based on Orthogonal Experiment Method

In order to analyze the influence of configuration parameters on dynamic characteristics of machine tools in the working space, the configuration parameters have been suggested based on the orthogonal experiment method. Dynamic analysis of a milling machine, which is newly designed for producing turbine blades, has been conducted by utilizing the modal synthesis method. The finite element model is verified and updated by experimental modal analysis (EMA) of the machine tool. The result gained by modal synthesis method is compared with whole-model finite element method (FEM) result as well. According to the orthogonal experiment method, four configuration parameters of machine tool are considered as four factors for dynamic characteristics. The influence of configuration parameters on the first three natural frequencies is obtained by range analysis. It is pointed out that configuration parameter is the most important factor affecting the fundamental frequency of machine tools, and configuration parameter has less effect on lower-order modes of the system than others. The combination of configuration parameters which makes the fundamental frequency reach the maximum value is provided. Through demonstration, the conclusion can be drawn that the influence of configuration parameters on the natural frequencies of machine tools can be analyzed explicitly by the orthogonal experiment method, which offers a new method for estimating the dynamic characteristics of machine tools.     

Study on Compressive Properties of Z-pinned Laminates in RTD and Hygrothermal Environment

Compressive tests of [0] 12 and [90] 12 unidirectional laminates and [45/0/-45/90] 2S quasi-isotropic laminates are accomplished in both room-temperature and dry (RTD) and hygrothermal environment. And simulation studies on the compressive strength of Z-pinned laminates of [0] 12 and [45/0/-45/90] 2S are conducted by using finite element analysis (FEA). A microstructural unit cell for FEA is created to simulate a representative laminates unit with one pin. Within the unit cell, the first directions of the elements’ material coordinate systems are changed to simulate the fibres’ deflecting around the pin. The hygrothermal effect is simulated by the material properties’ adjustments which are determined by the compressive tests of non-pined laminates. The experimental results indicate that the percentage of reduction in the compressive modulus of Z-pinned laminates caused by Z-pin becomes smaller with the percentage of 0° fibres decreasing in the laminates; the compressive strength of quasi-isotropic laminates reduces and the percentage of the reduction in the compressive strength declines with Z-pin volume content increasing, and the moisture absorption ratio of the Z-pinned specimens is greater than that of the non-pinned specimens, because the cracks around Z-pin increase the moisture absorption. In addition, the simulations show that the deflection of fibres around Z-pin is the main factor for the reduction in the compressive strength of Z-pinned unidirectional laminates, the dilution of fibre volume content caused by resin-rich pocket is the principal factor for the decline in the compressive strength of Z-pinned quasi-istropic laminates, and the compressive strength of Z-pinned specimens in hygrothermal environment reduces as the result of superimposition of some factors, including the changes in material properties caused by hygrothermal environment, the deflection of fibres and the resin-rich pocket caused by Z-pin.     

Corrosion Properties of Light-weight and High-strength 2195 Al-Li Alloy

The intergranular corrosion and exfoliation corrosion of 2195 Al-Li alloy treated by multi-step heating-rate controlled aging (MSRC) are studied. The corrosion features of 2195 Al-Li alloys which are respectively treated by high-temperature nucleation MSRC (H-M) and low-temperature nucleation MSRC (L-M) are contrasted. And the corrosion mechanism of 2195 Al-Li alloy is also discussed from the viewpoint of microstructure (types, distribution, etc.) of the strengthening phase. The results show that 2195 Al-Li alloy after H-M is more susceptible to intergranular corrosion and exfoliation corrosion than that of alloy after L-M. The degree of intergranular corrosion increases with the increase of predeformation amount and the surface parallel to the rolling direction is more prone to exfoliation corrosion. The main reason of intergranular corrosion and exfoliation corrosion is the for-mation of corrosion galvanic couples among T1 phase, ?θ’ phase and grain boundary precipitate-free zones (PFZ).     

Improved Wavelet-based Spatial Filter of Damage Imaging Method on Composite Structures

Piezoelectric sensor array-based spatial filter technology is a new promising method presented in research area of structural health monitoring (SHM) in the recent years. To apply this method to composite structures and give the actual position of dam-age, this paper proposes a spatial filter-based damage imaging method improved by complex Shannon wavelet transform. The basic principle of spatial filter is analyzed first. Then, this paper proposes a method of using complex Shannon wavelet transform to construct analytic signals of time domain signals of PZT sensors array. The analytic signals are synthesized depending on the principle of the spatial filter to give a damage imaging in the form of angle-time. A method of converting the damage imaging to the form of angle-distance is discussed. Finally, an aircraft composite oil tank is adopted to validate the damage imaging method. The validating results show that this method can recognize angle and distance of damage successfully.     

A microbial oasis in the hypersaline Atacama subsurface discovered by a life detector chip: implications for the search for life on Mars

The Atacama Desert has long been considered a good Mars analogue for testing instrumentation for planetary exploration, but very few data (if any) have been reported about the geomicrobiology of its salt-rich subsurface. We performed a Mars analogue drilling campaign next to the Salar Grande (Atacama, Chile) in July 2009, and several cores and powder samples from up to 5?m deep were analyzed in situ with LDChip300 (a Life Detector Chip containing 300 antibodies). Here, we show the discovery of a hypersaline subsurface microbial habitat associated with halite-, nitrate-, and perchlorate-containing salts at 2?m deep. LDChip300 detected bacteria, archaea, and other biological material (DNA, exopolysaccharides, some peptides) from the analysis of less than 0.5?g of ground core sample. The results were supported by oligonucleotide microarray hybridization in the field and finally confirmed by molecular phylogenetic analysis and direct visualization of microbial cells bound to halite crystals in the laboratory. Geochemical analyses revealed a habitat with abundant hygroscopic salts like halite (up to 260?g kg(-1)) and perchlorate (41.13?μg g(-1) maximum), which allow deliquescence events at low relative humidity. Thin liquid water films would permit microbes to proliferate by using detected organic acids like acetate (19.14?μg g(-1)) or formate (76.06?μg g(-1)) as electron donors, and sulfate (15875?μg g(-1)), nitrate (13490?μg g(-1)), or perchlorate as acceptors. Our results correlate with the discovery of similar hygroscopic salts and possible deliquescence processes on Mars, and open new search strategies for subsurface martian biota. The performance demonstrated by our LDChip300 validates this technology for planetary exploration, particularly for the search for life on Mars.     

The role of gravity in the evolutionary emergence of multicellular complexity: Microgravity effects on arthropod development and aging

While experiments carried out in Space with isolated cells have shown that eucaryotic cells are able to sense and respond to the absence of gravity by modifying their reactions, experiments in which more complex processes have been investigated, such as Biological Systems undergoing development under Microgravity, have been surprisingly unaffected by the space environment. This can be considered a curious result since all organisms are evolutionarily adapted to the current level of the gravity force in our planet and should eventually change if this parameter will vary in a permanent manner. In fact, the small effects of the modifications in gravity on development in short term experiments may be equivalent to the difficulties in detecting the involvement of other basic physical processes such as diffusion-controled auto-organizative reactions in currently developing biological systems. An apparent exception to this lack of effect is experiments where brine shrimp dormant gastrulae directly exposed to the space environment accumulate developmental defects as a consequence of cosmic irradiation. In this article we discuss the idea that at a certain stage during the evolutionary emergence of multicellular organisms the cues laid by generic forces such as gravity were involved in the evolutionary organization of these primitive organisms. As evolution proceed, these early mechanisms may have been obscured and/or made redundant by the appearance of new internal, environment-independent biological regulatory mechanisms. On the other hand, behavioral responses that may be important, for example, in setting the life-spans of organisms may still be more readily susceptible to manipulation by external cues as experiments carried out by our group in Space and on the ground with Drosophila melanogaster indicate.     

Object injection in geodesic conditions: In-flight and on-ground testing issues

In absence of forces, any object moves along the straightest possible path in space–time, called geodesic. The presence of a gravity field generates a space–time distortion that reflects on a curvature of the geodesics. Outer space yields a privileged environment to achieve high levels of geodesic purity, thanks to the absence of many non-gravitational force disturbances typical of the Earth, mainly due to the atmosphere, micro-seismic activity, stray electro-magnetic fields, etc. Many experiments in the field of Fundamental Physics, General Relativity and Earth Observation are performed through space missions, in which objects are either set in geodesic conditions or their deviation from a geodesic is measured. In both cases, stray non-gravitational forces acting on them must be reduced to a negligible level.     

Navigating BepiColombo during the weak-stability capture at Mercury

BepiColombo is scheduled for launch in August 2013 and to arrive after a nearly six-year long transfer at Mercury in June 2019. The trajectory has a number of challenging elements: a launch with Soyuz/Fregat into a geostationary transfer orbit, followed by a lunar flyby, long low-thrust arcs and five more planetary flybys (one at the Earth, two at Venus and two at Mercury). At arrival the low thrust arcs reduce the approach velocity so much that BepiColombo passes by the Sun–Mercury Lagrange points L₁ and L₂ and gets weakly captured in a highly eccentric orbit around Mercury in case the orbit insertion manoeuvre would fail.This paper describes the navigation strategy during the final phase. Five trajectory correction manouevres during the last 65 days requiring up to 20 m/s (3σ) are proposed. With this strategy it is possible to navigate BepiColombo safely through the weak-stability boundary of Mercury and to reach the target periherm with a precision of 11 km.