Lunar astrobiology: a review and suggested laboratory equipment

In October of 2005, the European Space Agency (ESA) and Alcatel Alenia Spazio released a "call to academia for innovative concepts and technologies for lunar exploration." In recent years, interest in lunar exploration has increased in numerous space programs around the globe, and the purpose of our study, in response to the ESA call, was to draw on the expertise of researchers and university students to examine science questions and technologies that could support human astrobiology activity on the Moon. In this mini review, we discuss astrobiology science questions of importance for a human presence on the surface of the Moon and we provide a summary of key instrumentation requirements to support a lunar astrobiology laboratory.     

速率偏频激光陀螺偏频速率模糊PID自适应控制的设计与实现

应用模糊 PID自适应技术设计并实现了激光陀螺偏频速率的控制系统,结果表明 :偏频台速率平稳性优于 3.1 2× 1 0 - 4;角速率正反换向速度快,在± 60°/ s之间的转换时间约为 1 4 ms,而且换向过程速率超调很小。该控制系统在实际系统中得到了良好的应用     

Contributions from nearby pulsars to the local cosmic ray electron spectrum

PSR J0437-4715 is one of the closest millisecond pulsars (MSPs) to Earth, lying at a distance of ∼140 pc. This pulsar has a characteristic age of 4.9 Gyr and a relatively low spindown power of ∼10³⁴ ergs/s. During its rather long lifetime, a large fraction of the energy output has been in the form of multi-TeV electrons. In this paper, we investigate the possible contribution of this nearby MSP to the local interstellar electron spectrum (LIS). The old age of the system justifies a steady-state evaluation of the contribution from this pulsar to the LIS. We calculate the electron spectrum at the light cylinder in the framework of a General Relativistic polar cap (PC) model, and use this as an injection spectrum in a diffusion model. The younger Geminga pulsar is also very close to Earth and warrants investigation. A steady-state approach is however no longer justified, so we use an impulsive injection model. We will present results of a study of the contribution from these pulsars to the cosmic ray (CR) LIS. Our calculations show that pulsars like Geminga can make a non-negligible contribution to the LIS.     

Teaching astronomy for pre-service elementary teachers: A comparison of methods

This study investigates the effect of text structure and “hands-on” methods in the acquisition of the concepts of moon phases and seasons for pre-service elementary teachers. The goal is to evaluate the most appropriate method for facilitating conceptual change. The presentation of two main misconceptions associated with each concept (moon phases and seasons) is tested. Sixty pre-service elementary teachers are divided into three same size experimental groups after a pre-test on their knowledge about astronomy: one group read a simple expository text that presents factual information about seasons and moon phases, another group read a refutation text that moreover presents explicitly two main and usual misconceptions about each concept and arguments to refute them; the last group participates to a refutation modelling activity by testing, for each concept, three hypothesis: the scientific explanation and the two common misconceptions. The hands-on method is used as a way to refute the pre-conceptions thanks to a collaborative activity in small groups.     

基于图像的测量方法在工业风洞跨声速流测量中的最新进展

风洞中非定常复杂流场的实验研究要求先进的测量技术.基于图像的测量技术中最重要的是测量平面流速度场、平面压强分布、模型位置和变形、模型温度以及定量的高速流可视化等技术.DLR(德国宇航研究院)对这些技术的应用包括从低速流到跨声速流、从增升装置到螺旋桨和旋翼、从弹射装置和水塔储水罐尾迹流旋涡到三角翼上涡破裂现象等的研究.由于跨声速风洞的特殊环境,将基于图像的测量技术用于跨声速流要求专门的技术开发和有经验的科学家.给出了DLR空气动力学和流动技术研究所将基于图像的测量技术应用于跨声速流研究的最新进展.     

Prospects of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) reflectometry for geodynamic studies

Innovative processing of satellite radar altimetry over solid Earth has been successfully applied for observing geodynamic process of glacial isostatic adjustment over the former Laurentide Ice Sheet in the present-day Hudson Bay land region. In this contribution, a simulation is conducted to study the prospects of the applications of space-/airborne and land-based Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) reflectometry to synoptically observe global-scale geodynamic processes with a vertical accuracy of ∼2 mm/yr.     

TARANIS—A Satellite Project Dedicated to the Physics of TLEs and TGFs

TARANIS “Tool for the Analysis of RAdiations from lightNIngs and Sprites” is a CNES satellite project dedicated to the study of impulsive transfers of energy between the Earth atmosphere and the space environment. Such impulsive transfers of energy, identified by the observation at ground and in space (rocket, balloons, FORMOSAT 2 satellite) of Transient Luminous Events (TLEs) and the detection on satellites (CGRO, RHESSI) of Terrestrial Gamma ray Flashes (TGFs), are likely to occur in other astrophysical environments as well. The TARANIS mission and instrumentation is presented. The way the TARANIS programme (associated ground-based and balloon-based measurements included) may answer questions about the physics of TLEs and TGFs is examined. The questions addressed include: TLEs and TGFs source regions, associated phenomena, transfers of energy between the radiation belts and the atmosphere, TLEs and TGFs generation mechanisms, input parameters to the modelling of the variation of the atmosphere and the electric circuit.