Near Magnetic Field Investigation,Instrumentation, Spacecraft Magnetics and Data Access

The primary objective of the investigation is the search for a body-wide magnetic field of the near Earth asteroid Eros. The Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) 3-axis fluxgate magnetometer includes a sensor mounted on the high-gain antenna feed structure. The NEAR Magnetic Facility Instrument (MFI) is a joint hardware effort between GSFC and APL. The design and magnetics approach achieved by the NEAR MFI effort entailed low-cost, up-front attention to engineering solutions which did not impact the schedule. The goal of the magnetometer is reliable magnetic field measurements within 5 nT, which necessitates the use of an extensive spacecraft magnetic interference model but is achievable with the full year's orbital data set. Such a goal has been shown viable with recent in-flight calibration data and comparisons to the WIND magnetometer data. The NEAR MFI effort has succeeded in providing magnetic field measurements for the first flight in NASA's Discovery line.     

The ACE Magnetic Fields Experiment

The magnetic field experiment on ACE provides continuous measurements of the local magnetic field in the interplanetary medium. These measurements are essential in the interpretation of simultaneous ACE observations of energetic and thermal particles distributions. The experiment consists of a pair of twin, boom- mounted, triaxial fluxgate sensors which are located 165 inches (=4.19 m) from the center of the spacecraft on opposing solar panels. The electronics and digital processing unit (DPU) is mounted on the top deck of the spacecraft. The two triaxial sensors provide a balanced, fully redundant vector instrument and permit some enhanced assessment of the spacecraft's magnetic field. The instrument provides data for Browse and high-level products with between 3 and 6 vector s−1 resolution for continuous coverage of the interplanetary magnetic field. Two high-resolution snapshot buffers each hold 297 s of 24 vector s−1 data while on- board Fast Fourier Transforms extend the continuous data to 12 Hz resolution. Real-time observations with 1-s resolution are provided continuously to the Space Environmental Center (SEC) of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) for near- instantaneous, world-wide dissemination in service to space weather studies. As has been our team's tradition, high instrument reliability is obtained by the use of fully redundant systems and extremely conservative designs. We plan studies of the interplanetary medium in support of the fundamental goals of the ACE mission and cooperative studies with other ACE investigators using the combined ACE dataset as well as other ISTP spacecraft involved in the general program of Sun-Earth Connections. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

关于运输网络堵塞流动的研究——分支定界法在求解网络最小流上的应用（Ⅲ）

堵塞是以人为主体在运输网络中经常发生的一种现象。本文中所定义的网络最小流是指在最严重堵塞的情况下通过网络的最大流量，是设计和运行一个运输网络，特别是一个紧急疏散网络的重要参数。本文在堵塞流理论研究的基础上，提出了一种用分支定界思想来求解网络最小流问题的方法，并用实例说明了该算法过程及其应用领域     

基于多岛遗传算法的大型预应力钢丝缠绕承载机架成本优化方法(英文)

预应力钢丝缠绕机架(PWWF)是一种先进结构,是大型装备中价值为高的部件。由于PWWF是变刚度、非线性受力及变形自协调的多体混合结构,其传统的设计方法是极其复杂、反复迭代且成本难以控制。本文提出了基于多岛遗传算法的大型钢丝缠绕机架的成本优化方法。在变张力缠绕理论基础建立了预应力钢丝缠绕承载机架的优化设计流程和优化模型。并给出结合轴向载荷为6000KN的等静压设备机架的优化设计实例。与传统设计方法相比,优化成本降低约了21.6%。该优化结果已通过数值模拟方法验证,并成功应用于实际设备的制造中。结果表明,该优化方法合理、可靠。该方法为超546MN和907MN超大规格多机架结构的成本优化提供指导。     

Remarks on “A new non-specificity measure in evidence theory based on belief intervals”

Two types of uncertainty co-exist in the theory of evidence: discord and non-specificity. From 90s, many mathematical expressions have arisen to quantify these two parts in an evidence. An important aspect of each measure presented is the verification of a coherent set of properties. About non-specificity, so far only one measure verifies an important set of those properties. Very recently, a new measure of non-specificity based on belief intervals has been presented as an alternative measure that quantifies a similar set of properties (Yang et al., 2016). It is shown that the new measure really does not verify two of those important properties. Some errors have been found in their corresponding proofs in the original publication.     

Hyper Heuristic Approach for Design and Optimization of Satellite Launch Vehicle

Satellite launch vehicle lies at the cross-road of multiple challenging technologies and its design and optimization present a typical example of multidisciplinary design and optimization(MDO) process.The complexity of problem demands highly effi-cient and effective algorithm that can optimize the design.Hyper heuristic approach(HHA) based on meta-heuristics is applied to the optimization of air launched satellite launch vehicle(ASLV).A non-learning random function(NLRF) is proposed to con-trol low-level meta-heuristics(LLMHs) that increases certainty of global solution,an essential ingredient required in product conceptual design phase of aerospace systems.Comprehensive empirical study is performed to evaluate the performance advan-tages of proposed approach over popular non-gradient based optimization methods.Design of ASLV encompasses aerodynamics,propulsion,structure,stages layout,mass distribution,and trajectory modules connected by multidisciplinary feasible design approach.This approach formulates explicit system-level goals and then forwards the design optimization process entirely over to optimizer.This distinctive approach for launch vehicle system design relieves engineers from tedious,iterative task and en-ables them to improve their component level models.Mass is an impetus on vehicle performance and cost,and so it is considered as the core of vehicle design process.Therefore,gross launch mass is to be minimized in HHA.     

SOLID3: a multiplex antibody microarray-based optical sensor instrument for in situ life detection in planetary exploration

The search for unequivocal signs of life on other planetary bodies is one of the major challenges for astrobiology. The failure to detect organic molecules on the surface of Mars by measuring volatile compounds after sample heating, together with the new knowledge of martian soil chemistry, has prompted the astrobiological community to develop new methods and technologies. Based on protein microarray technology, we have designed and built a series of instruments called SOLID (for "Signs Of LIfe Detector") for automatic in situ detection and identification of substances or analytes from liquid and solid samples (soil, sediments, or powder). Here, we present the SOLID3 instrument, which is able to perform both sandwich and competitive immunoassays and consists of two separate functional units: a Sample Preparation Unit (SPU) for 10 different extractions by ultrasonication and a Sample Analysis Unit (SAU) for fluorescent immunoassays. The SAU consists of five different flow cells, with an antibody microarray in each one (2000 spots). It is also equipped with an exclusive optical package and a charge-coupled device (CCD) for fluorescent detection. We demonstrated the performance of SOLID3 in the detection of a broad range of molecular-sized compounds, which range from peptides and proteins to whole cells and spores, with sensitivities at 1-2?ppb (ng?mL?1) for biomolecules and 10? to 103 spores per milliliter. We report its application in the detection of acidophilic microorganisms in the Río Tinto Mars analogue and report the absence of substantial negative effects on the immunoassay in the presence of 50?mM perchlorate (20 times higher than that found at the Phoenix landing site). Our SOLID instrument concept is an excellent option with which to detect biomolecules because it avoids the high-temperature treatments that may destroy organic matter in the presence of martian oxidants.     

Satellite altimetry determination of differences between mean sea-level heights and testing geopotential models

The Satellite Altimeter Data has been used for a) Determination of differences between mean ocean levels; b) Testing the accuracy of different geopotential models as regards their internal structure over the oceans.     

Relation algebras over containers and surfaces: An ontological study of a room space

Recent research in geographic information systems hasbeen concerned with the construction of algebras tomake inferences about spatial relations by embeddingspatial relations within a space in which decisionsabout compositions are derived geometrically. Wepursue an alternative approach by studying spatialrelations and their inferences in a concrete spatialscenario, a room space that contains such manipulableobjects as a box, a ball, a table, a sheet of paper,and a pen. We derive from the observed spatialproperties an algebra related to the fundamentalspatial concepts of containers and surfaces and showthat this container-surface algebra holds allproperties of Tarski's relation algebra, except forthe associativity. The crispness of the compositionscan be refined by considering the relative size of theobjects) and their roles (i.e., whether it isexplicitly known that the objects are containers orsurfaces).     

Chaotic exchange of solid material between planetary systems: implications for lithopanspermia

Abstract We examined a low-energy mechanism for the transfer of meteoroids between two planetary systems embedded in a star cluster using quasi-parabolic orbits of minimal energy. Using Monte Carlo simulations, we found that the exchange of meteoroids could have been significantly more efficient than previously estimated. Our study is relevant to astrobiology, as it addresses whether life on Earth could have been transferred to other planetary systems in the Solar System's birth cluster and whether life on Earth could have been transferred from beyond the Solar System. In the Solar System, the timescale over which solid material was delivered to the region from where it could be transferred via this mechanism likely extended to several hundred million years (as indicated by the 3.8-4.0?Ga epoch of the Late Heavy Bombardment). This timescale could have overlapped with the lifetime of the Solar birth cluster (～100-500?Myr). Therefore, we conclude that lithopanspermia is an open possibility if life had an early start. Adopting parameters from the minimum mass solar nebula, considering a range of planetesimal size distributions derived from observations of asteroids and Kuiper Belt objects and theoretical coagulation models, and taking into account Oort Cloud formation models, we discerned that the expected number of bodies with mass>10?kg that could have been transferred between the Sun and its nearest cluster neighbor could be of the order of 10(14) to 3·10(16), with transfer timescales of tens of millions of years. We estimate that of the order of 3·10(8)·l (km) could potentially be life-bearing, where l is the depth of Earth's crust in kilometers that was ejected as the result of the early bombardment. Key Words: Extrasolar planets-Interplanetary dust-Interstellar meteorites-Lithopanspermia. Astrobiology 12, 754-774.