Spectral computation of Tandem mirror equilibria with Finite Larmor Radius effects

A direct iterative method of solving for Tandem equilibria by moving magnetic field lines in a manner to satisfy the linearized equilibrium equations converges much more rapidly than standard relaxation techniques, typically in under a fifty iterations. At the highest 's the number of iterations increase, but is still far less than other methods. In quadrupole tandem mirror equilibrium, octupole and higher distortions of the flux surfaces are important which forces us to abandon finite differences in the angle-like flux variable and resort to a spectral decomposition to solve the equilibrium equations. We display equilibria at the high expected for MFTF-B and show how Finite Larmor Radius (FLR) effects strongly suppress these azimuthal distortions.     

Water and salt disturbances under condition of microgravity

Under conditions of microgravity severe alterations in body fluid composition and volume take place largely as a result of "cardiothoracic pooling" or headward shift of blood. Inappropriate endocrine, renal and cardiovascular responses result from the "misreading" of homeostatic signals by physiological receptors to produce an as yet incompletely defined syndrome under microgravitational conditions.     

Artificial gravity

NASA's Artificial Gravity program consists of a team of researchers from Wyle Laboratories, NASA Johnson Space Center, and the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB). The short-radius centrifuge (SRC), built by Wyle Laboratories, will be integrated with UTMB's conducted bedrest studies, which mimic the detrimental effects of weightlessness (or microgravity). Bedrest subjects will be spun on the SRC at various accelerations and for various time periods, while being monitored medically. Parameters such as bone loss, muscle atrophy, balance control, and oxygen consumption will then be compared in order to research ways of mitigating the impact on astronauts' physiology. Other potential benefits from these studies extend to population groups on Earth, such as bedridden patients.     

Families of periodic solutions to Hamiltonian systems: Nonsymmetrical periodic solutions for a planar restricted three-body problem

A monodromy matrix calculated at a single arbitrary point of the periodic solution to a Hamiltonian system allows one to obtain both the direction of continuation for the family of solutions of the first (in Poincarés sense) kind and the multiplicity and direction of branching for periodic solutions of the second kind. In case of resonances 1 : 1 and 1 : 2 one needs to take into account the structure of elementary divisors of the monodromy matrix. Using the planar circular restricted three-body problem as an example, the infiniteness of the process of branching for a nonintegrable system and its finiteness for an integrable system are demonstrated. It is proved that periodic solutions of both first and second kinds which are obtained by continuation of symmetric periodic solutions of a restricted problem are also symmetric. The only exception is the case of resonance 1 : 1 and two second-order cells of the monodromy matrix in the Jordanian form. In this case, all periodic solutions of the second kind turned out to be nonsymmetrical. Examples of the families of nonsymmetrical periodic solutions are given.__________Translated from Kosmicheskie Issledovaniya, Vol. 43, No. 2, 2005, pp. 88–110.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by Kreisman.     

Fluxes of Quasi-trapped Electrons with Energies >0.08 MeV in the Near-Earth Space on Drift Shells <Emphasis Type="Italic">L</Emphasis> < 2

We study the characteristics of fluxes of electrons with energy >80 keV in the near-Earth space regions corresponding to the drift shells L = 1.7, 1.4, and 1.1 observed during the entire period of the GRIF experiment onboard the Spectr module of the Mir orbital station from October 1995 to June 1997. The obtained geographic maps of the distribution of electron fluxes at the height of the station flight (400 km) and, also, the estimates of the spectra indicate that the South-Atlantic Anomaly provides for a mechanism of stable replenishment for shells with L < 1.5. The mechanism of stable replenishment of shells with L < 1.5 may be due to the scattering, in the residual atmosphere, of electrons from the inner radiation belt precipitating into the region of the South-Atlantic Anomaly.     

The role of horizontal components of the neutral wind velocity in anthropogenic impacts on the earth’s ionosphere

The influence of zonal and meridional components of the neutral wind under anthropogenic impacts of water molecules on the ionospheres electron concentration distributed along a magnetic field tube is considered. Computer simulation method based on a mathematical model of the F2 region along a field tube is used.Translated from Kosmicheskie Issledovaniya, Vol. 43, No. 1, 2005, pp. 76–80.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by Medvedev, Ishanov, Zenkin.     

Thoracic sonography for pneumothorax: the clinical evaluation of an operational space medicine spin-off

The recent interest in the use of ultrasound (US) to detect pneumothoraces after acute trauma in North America was initially driven by an operational space medicine concern. Astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) are at risk for pneumothoraces, and US is the only potential medical imaging available. Pneumothoraces are common following trauma, and are a preventable cause of death, as most are treatable with relatively simple interventions. While pneumothoraces are optimally diagnosed clinically, they are more often inapparent even on supine chest radiographs (CXR) with recent series reporting a greater than 50% rate of occult pneumothoraces. In the course of basic scientific investigations in a conventional and parabolic flight laboratory, investigators familiarized themselves with the sonographic features of both pneumothoraces and normal pulmonary ventilation. By examining the visceral–parietal pleural interface (VPPI) with US, investigators became confident in diagnosing pneumothoraces. This knowledge was subsequently translated into practice at an American and a Canadian trauma center. The sonographic examination was found to be more accurate and sensitive than CXR (US 96% and 100% versus US 74% and 36%) in specific circumstances. Initial studies have also suggested that detecting the US features of pleural pulmonary ventilation in the left lung field may offer the ability to exclude serious endotracheal tube malpositions such as right mainstem and esophageal intubations. Applied thoracic US is an example of a clinically useful space medicine spin-off that is improving health care on earth.     

COSAC onboard Rosetta: a bioastronomy experiment for the short-period comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

The COSAC (Cometary Sampling and Composition Experiment) onboard the Rosetta mission is a combined gas chromatograph (GC)-mass spectrometer (MS). It is situated on Philae, the lander of the mission, which is intended to land on the nucleus of comet 67P/Churyumov- Gerasimenko. The purpose of the experiment is to analyze the volatile fraction of soil samples retrieved by a drill. For investigation, the samples will be pyrolysed, and the emanating gases fed into a GC, into an MS, or the combination of both. In the first part of this paper, the bioastronomical relevance of such measurements is outlined. In the second part the details of the hardware and its performance are described.     

A search for chiral signatures on Mars

It is thought that the chiral molecules of living material can induce circular polarization in light at levels much higher than expected from abiotic processes. We therefore obtained high quality imaging circular polarimetry of the martian surface during the favorable opposition of 2003 to seek evidence of anomalous optical activity. We used two narrow-band filters covering 43% of the martian surface, 15% of it in-depth. With polarization noise levels <0.1% (4.3 upper limits 0.2-0.3%) and spatial resolution 210 km, we did not find any regions of circular polarization. When data were averaged over the observed face of the planet, we did see a small non-zero circular polarization 0.02%, which may be due to effects associated with the opposition configuration though it is at the limit of the instrumental capability. Our observations covered only a small fraction of parameter space, so although we obtained a null result, we cannot exclude the presence of optical activity at other wavelengths, in other locations, or at higher spatial resolution.     

Spherical oscillation patterns

Spherical harmonics are an integral part of the study of stellar pulsations. To gain an understanding of how the star is affected by non-radial pulsations, the radial part of the oscillation is plotted, with an assumed sinusoidal time variation. The amplitude of the motion is arbitrarily set at 20% of the radius.