Disk-averaged synthetic spectra of Mars

The principal goal of the NASA Terrestrial Planet Finder (TPF) and European Space Agency's Darwin mission concepts is to directly detect and characterize extrasolar terrestrial (Earthsized) planets. This first generation of instruments is expected to provide disk-averaged spectra with modest spectral resolution and signal-to-noise. Here we use a spatially and spectrally resolved model of a Mars-like planet to study the detectability of a planet's surface and atmospheric properties from disk-averaged spectra. We explore the detectability as a function of spectral resolution and wavelength range, for both the proposed visible coronograph (TPFC) and mid-infrared interferometer (TPF-I/Darwin) architectures. At the core of our model is a spectrum-resolving (line-by-line) atmospheric/surface radiative transfer model. This model uses observational data as input to generate a database of spatially resolved synthetic spectra for a range of illumination conditions and viewing geometries. The model was validated against spectra recorded by the Mars Global Surveyor-Thermal Emission Spectrometer and the Mariner 9-Infrared Interferometer Spectrometer. Results presented here include disk-averaged synthetic spectra, light curves, and the spectral variability at visible and mid-infrared wavelengths for Mars as a function of viewing angle, illumination, and season. We also considered the differences in the spectral appearance of an increasingly ice-covered Mars, as a function of spectral resolution, signal-to-noise and integration time for both TPF-C and TPFI/ Darwin.     

Remote-sensing technology applied to forest assessment in California

Remote-sensing technology has been thoroughly evaluated for the analysis of California forest policy. A statewide, 1.6-acre-resolution, digital land-cover data base of Landsat Multispectral Scanner (MSS) classification has been produced. Three major resource regions have been analyzed in detail and one of them geographically integrated with 12 other physical and socioeconomic data layers to model fire and reforestation problems, using a geographic information system (GIS). A study of GIS design criteria has been conducted and the California Department of Forestry, the cooperator in all of these studies, is presently evaluating the alternatives and implementing certain aspects of them.     

Energy-transfer processes in flares

This paper deals with Solar Maximum Year observations that can shed light on the roles of energetic electron beams and thermal conduction in solar flares. The emphasis is on X-ray and UV images and on the interpretation of chromospheric spectra. The format is that of a one-sided debate advocating the view that most of the flare energy that reaches the chromosphere is transferred by thermal conduction rather than by energetic electron beams. Reference is made to papers offering opposing points of view on this still controversial question.     

Nucleo-cosmochronology

A review is made of the basis of nucleo-cosmochronologies, emphasizing the model independent approach. The exponential model as well as recent galactic evolution models are discussed. The r-process chronometer pairs ²⁵²Th/²³⁸U, ²³⁵U/²³⁸U, ²⁴⁴Pu/²³²Th and ¹²⁹I/¹²⁷I are discussed in detail. The possible development of other chronometer-pairs is also discussed. In particular it is shown that the ¹⁸⁷Re-¹⁸⁷Os system may eventually be able to determine the mean age of the elements to higher precision than any other r-process chronometer because all of the parameters are experimentally measurable. The possibility of a p-process chronology based on ¹⁴⁶Sm and an s-process chronology from ¹⁷⁶Lu is also examined.     

A culture-independent survey of the bacterial community in a radon hot spring

Paralana is an active, radon-containing hot spring situated in a region of South Australia's Flinders Ranges with a long history of hydrothermal activity. Our aim was to determine the bacterial composition of Paralana using a culture-independent, 16S rRNA-based technique. The presence of a diverse bacterial community was strongly suggested by the large number (approximately 180) of different ribotypes obtained upon analysis of nine hot spring samples. DNA sequencing of Paralana 16S rRNA genes corroborated this observation, identifying representatives of seven confirmed and two candidate divisions of the domain Bacteria. These included Cyanobacteria, Proteobacteria (both beta and delta subdivisions), the Cytophaga-Flexibacter-Bacteroides group, Low G + C Gram-positives, Nitrospira, green non-sulfur bacteria, green sulfur bacteria, OP8, and OP12. No known ionizing radiation-resistant Bacteria were identified. Only one Paralana 16S rRNA sequence type (recombinant B5D) was homologous to a sequence previously identified from a radioactive environment.     

The mitigation, management, and survivability of asteroid/comet impact with Earth

The chances that Earth will collide with a significant near earth object (NEO) within the next century are very small, but such a collision is possible, would be catastrophic, and could happen at any time. Much discussion has been devoted to methods of diverting these objects away from Earth through the use of space technology. However, if these efforts are unsuccessful, we would need to implement effective strategies to survive the event, no matter how cataclysmic. To date, disaster management for various impact scenarios has not been addressed (except in novels and Hollywood films). An impact disaster may be many orders of magnitude greater than any disaster the human species has ever experienced. Initially, technology and experience gained in other large-scale disasters will most likely form the foundation of how these impact events will be managed and classified. Given the size and energy of the projectile, the estimated area of damage, and whether impact effects might be localized or global in nature, we can begin to build basic disaster response scenarios, anticipate public health concerns, and formulate questions in need of answers. Questions we must deal with include: what will be required technologically, sociologically, and medically to survive? What types of evacuation plans and warning systems might be required? Capabilities in need of further investigation include: technological protection strategies related to ‘impact winter’, expanded chemical hazard control methodologies, food storage and production, roles of national governments, and international cooperation. Whatever the magnitude and severity of the event, we must reflect on what we know, what capabilities we can apply, develop or adapt, and seriously investigate what might be done to manage it and survive.     

Instrumentation for gamma-ray astronomy

There are three distinct energy ranges within the broad spectrum of gamma-ray astronomy, low energy (which in turn is subdivided), high energy, and very high and ultra-high energy. Each has its own unique type of instrumentation. Only in the very high-energy range do the telescopes bear any resemblence to optical telescopes; the rest appear more like instrumentation for high-energy physics. The low- and high-energy ranges are now primarly dependent on spaceflight, although some balloon altitude research is still being accomplished. Satellites planned to be launched in the next two years will carry telescopes with considerably more capability than those previously flown in space. In the very high and ultra-high energy realm, large ground based systems are used to detect the secondary radiation from interactions of the gamma radiation with the air. In all cases, software and data analysis are becoming increasingly important aspects of the subject as the data become ever greater and more complex. Beyond the telescopes to be flown in space or installed on the ground soon, instrumentation, taking advantage of new detector techniques which have come into being or older ones which now seem capable of being adapted to space, are being developed for the more distant future.     

The Radio Frequency Subsystem and Radio Science on the MESSENGER Mission

The MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) Radio Frequency (RF) Telecommunications Subsystem is used to send commands to the spacecraft, transmit information on the state of the spacecraft and science-related observations, and assist in navigating the spacecraft to and in orbit about Mercury by providing precise observations of the spacecraft’s Doppler velocity and range in the line of sight to Earth. The RF signal is transmitted and received at X-band frequencies (7.2 GHz uplink, 8.4 GHz downlink) by the NASA Deep Space Network. The tracking data from MESSENGER will contribute significantly to achieving the mission’s geophysics objectives. The RF subsystem, as the radio science instrument, will help determine Mercury’s gravitational field and, in conjunction with the Mercury Laser Altimeter instrument, help determine the topography of the planet. Further analysis of the data will improve the knowledge of the planet’s orbital ephemeris and rotation state. The rotational state determination includes refined measurements of the obliquity and forced physical libration, which are necessary to characterize Mercury’s core state.     

Neutron star masses derived from relativistic measurements of radio pulsars

Radio telescope observations of relativistic phenomena in binary pulsar systems yield straightforward and robust determinations of the masses of pulsars and their companion stars. This paper summarizes masses measured by this means.