中国空军的志愿队

空中作战出现有志愿队 ,乃起自西班牙的佛朗哥内战时代 ,当时双方参与作战的飞行员 ,有来自英、美、苏联、德、意、法等国 ,他们参与的动机 ,多少与其本国的政治背景有关。彼此使用不同的机种 ,互相在空中逞强逞勇 ,借机表演一场国际性的空中比武而已 ,反正胜负都是西班牙人自己的事。我国自七七芦沟桥对日抗战之后 ,于翌年春中国空军已成立一志愿队 ,名为十四队 ,直属于航空委员会。当时航委会的主任是钱大钧将军。队部设在汉口公园内 ,队中的飞行员与地勤人员 ,中外国藉皆有 ,队长是美人史密斯( SMITH) ,年近四十 ,机务员是英人司密时 ,…     

Impact disruption and recovery of the deep subsurface biosphere

Although a large fraction of the world's biomass resides in the subsurface, there has been no study of the effects of catastrophic disturbance on the deep biosphere and the rate of its subsequent recovery. We carried out an investigation of the microbiology of a 1.76 km drill core obtained from the ～35 million-year-old Chesapeake Bay impact structure, USA, with robust contamination control. Microbial enumerations displayed a logarithmic downward decline, but the different gradient, when compared to previously studied sites, and the scatter of the data are consistent with a microbiota influenced by the geological disturbances caused by the impact. Microbial abundance is low in buried crater-fill, ocean-resurge, and avalanche deposits despite the presence of redox couples for growth. Coupled with the low hydraulic conductivity, the data suggest the microbial community has not yet recovered from the impact ～35 million years ago. Microbial enumerations, molecular analysis of microbial enrichment cultures, and geochemical analysis showed recolonization of a deep region of impact-fractured rock that was heated to above the upper temperature limit for life at the time of impact. These results show how, by fracturing subsurface rocks, impacts can extend the depth of the biosphere. This phenomenon would have provided deep refugia for life on the more heavily bombarded early Earth, and it shows that the deeply fractured regions of impact craters are promising targets to study the past and present habitability of Mars.     

Bacterial communities and the nitrogen cycle in the gypsum soils of cuatro ciénegas basin, coahuila: a Mars analogue

Abstract The OMEGA/Mars Express hyperspectral imager identified gypsum at several sites on Mars in 2005. These minerals constitute a direct record of past aqueous activity and are important with regard to the search of extraterrestrial life. Gale Crater was chosen as Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity's landing site because it is rich in gypsum, as are some desert soils of the Cuatro Ciénegas Basin (CCB) (Chihuahuan Desert, Mexico). The gypsum of the CCB, which is overlain by minimal carbonate deposits, was the product of magmatic activity that occurred under the Tethys Sea. To examine this Mars analogue, we retrieved gypsum-rich soil samples from two contrasting sites with different humidity in the CCB. To characterize the site, we obtained nutrient data and analyzed the genes related to the N cycle (nifH, nirS, and nirK) and the bacterial community composition by using 16S rRNA clone libraries. As expected, the soil content for almost all measured forms of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus were higher at the more humid site than at the drier site. What was unexpected is the presence of a rich and divergent community at both sites, with higher taxonomic diversity at the humid site and almost no taxonomic overlap. Our results suggest that the gypsum-rich soils of the CCB host a unique microbial ecosystem that includes novel microbial assemblies. Key Words: Cuatro Ciénegas Basin-Gale Crater-Gypsum soil microbial diversity-Molecular ecology-Nitrogen cycle. Astrobiology 12, 699-709.     

Comparative metagenomics of two microbial mats at cuatro ciénegas basin I: ancient lessons on how to cope with an environment under severe nutrient stress

Abstract The Cuatro Ciénegas Basin (CCB) is an oasis in the desert of Mexico characterized by low phosphorus availability and by its great diversity of microbial mats. We compared the metagenomes of two aquatic microbial mats from the CCB with different nutrient limitations. We observed that the red mat was P-limited and dominated by Pseudomonas, while the green mat was N-limited and had higher species richness, with Proteobacteria and Cyanobacteria as the most abundant phyla. From their gene content, we deduced that both mats were very metabolically diverse despite their use of different strategies to cope with their respective environments. The red mat was found to be mostly heterotrophic, while the green mat was more autotrophic. The red mat had a higher number of transporters in general, including transporters of cellobiose and osmoprotectants. We suggest that generalists with plastic genomes dominate the red mat, while specialists with minimal genomes dominate the green mat. Nutrient limitation was a common scenario on the early planet; despite this, biogeochemical cycles were performed, and as a result the planet changed. The metagenomes of microbial mats from the CCB show the different strategies a community can use to cope with oligotrophy and persist. Key Words: Microbial mats-Metagenomics-Metabolism. Astrobiology 12, 648-658.     

典型的—天

在一个与世隔绝的世界里待上105天,生活会是什么样子呢？常人难以想象。而通过“Mars-500”前期试验的志愿者的日志,却能获知他们在试验过程中每天都做些什么？试验之余又如何寻找生活的乐趣？因此．本刊特选载志愿者西里尔·富尼耶于2009年6月23日在封闭模拟舱内写的一篇日志,以帮助大家了解志愿者在模拟舱内的真实生活。     

军机维修市场预测

据航空战略咨询公司预测,西方国家的军用飞机的维护、修理和大修(MRO)开支今年将达到607亿美元,而2007年的开支为599亿美元.其中,美国军用飞机MRO的开支超过50%,为310亿美元.日本、法国、以色列、英国和韩国紧随其后,但其总数仅为美国军机MRO开支的三分之一.     

新时期航空航天工业的标准战略

本文是荣获美国庆祝2004年世界标准日论文竞赛头奖的作品,中心内容是在新世纪航空航天工业如何在广泛国际合作,信息技术迅猛发展的环境下结合本行业的实际,制定并适时调整其标准战略。文中分析问题的方法,解决问题的思路具有某种普遍意义,现将该文详细摘译刊登于下,供参考。     

英宇航加入洛克希德·马丁JSF研制组

在开发和制造“联合攻击战斗机”(JSF)的项目竞争中,英国航宇工业公司(BAe)宣布加入由洛克希德·马丁公司领导的研制组。这一决定必将促使两公司之间发展更深一步的战略联盟关系。来自这两家公司的官员称BAe将参加这个最终价值近1000亿美元的JSF项目的所有阶段。洛克希德·马丁公司和波音公司正分别领导着两个互相竞争的JSF研制组。这两个组去年都得到了概念验证阶段合同。每个组都要设计和制造两架原型机。到2001年美国国防部将从中选定