The X/X/KA-band deep space transponder for the BepiColombo mission to mercury

This paper reports the main characteristics of the deep space transponder (DST) equipment that has been designed, developed and tested by Thales Alenia Space—Italy (TAS-I) for the European Space Agency (ESA) BepiColombo mission to Mercury.     

Carbon dioxide dynamics of combined crops of wheat,cowpea, pinto beans in the Laboratory Biosphere closed ecological system

A mixed crop consisting of cowpeas, pinto beans and Apogee ultra-dwarf wheat was grown in the Laboratory Biosphere, a 40 m³ closed life system equipped with 12,000 W of high pressure sodium lamps over planting beds with 5.37 m² of soil. Similar to earlier reported experiments, the concentration of carbon dioxide initially increased to 7860 ppm at 10 days after planting due to soil respiration plus CO₂ contributed from researchers breathing while in the chamber for brief periods before plant growth became substantial. Carbon dioxide concentrations then fell rapidly as plant growth increased up to 29 days after planting and subsequently was maintained mostly in the range of about 200–3000 ppm (with a few excursions) by CO₂ injections to feed plant growth. Numerous analyses of rate of change of CO₂ concentration at many different concentrations and at many different days after planting reveal a strong dependence of fixation rates on CO₂ concentration. In the middle period of growth (days 31–61), fixation rates doubled for CO₂ at 450 ppm compared to 270 ppm, doubled again at 1000 ppm and increased a further 50% at 2000 ppm. High productivity from these crops and the increase of fixation rates with elevated CO₂ concentration supports the concept that enhanced CO₂ can be a useful strategy for remote life support systems. The data suggests avenues of investigation to understand the response of plant communities to increasing CO₂ concentrations in the Earth’s atmosphere. Carbon balance accounting and evapotranspiration rates are included.     

The Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons (DAN) experiment for NASA's 2009 Mars Science Laboratory

We present a summary of the physical principles and design of the Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons (DAN) instrument onboard NASA's 2009 Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission. The DAN instrument will use the method of neutron-neutron activation analysis in a space application to study the abundance and depth distribution of water in the martian subsurface along the path of the MSL rover.     

Electric currents from thunderstorms to the ionosphere during a solar cycle: Quasi-static modeling of the coupling mechanism

Conduction and displacement currents, and their sum the Maxwell current, generated over a thunderstorm (TS) with recurrent lightning discharges are investigated theoretically. The aim is to study better the influence of different factors on these currents, which form the link between thunderstorms and the ionosphere in the global atmospheric electrical circuit. The factors studied concern the thunderstorm characteristics (the charge separation current, and the lightning discharge parameters), as well as the atmospheric and cloud conductivity. Some of these factors may show long-term changes with the 11-year solar cycle, possibly realized through an inverse dependence of the cosmic ray flux on solar activity. Earlier investigations have suggested that the lightning-related charge redistribution and subsequent relaxation, rather than the high intensity current, is mainly the source of the energy coupled to the ionosphere. With respect to this, a quasi-electrostatic analytical model is proposed, based on Maxwell’s equations. The currents are generated by a TS modeled as a positive vertical dipole with charges which are first accumulated and then destroyed by lightning. Our computations show that the mean and peak values of the conduction and total Maxwell currents to the ionosphere depend significantly on the charge moment change. The mean currents are also sensitive to the reduction of the conductivity in thunderclouds. Small variations of the stratospheric conductivity (20% at geomagnetic latitude 40° and 40–50% at 55°) with the solar activity do not influence the currents to the ionosphere very much.     

一种高亚音速弹用S弯进气道设计及其特性

针对导弹进气道的结构特点，在前人的工作基础上总结出一种适合导弹使用的大偏距、短扩压S弯进气道的设计方法。该方法通过变更中心线、面积规律、唇口形状和喉道位置等参数完成进气道的设计。应用本文中使用的S弯进气道的数学描述方法，可以方便地完成S弯进气道的几何造型工作，实现此类导弹用S弯进气道的参数化设计，生成的造型数据也可以为CFD和CAM使用。此外，作为验证，文中应用此方法设计了一个椭圆进口的S弯进气道，并进行了模型的风洞实验。实验结果表明，使用本文方法设计的弹用S弯进气道可以达到较好的气动性能，能够满足应用需要。     

Near infrared studies of the massive X-ray binary 2S 0114+65

We present near-infrared spectroscopy of the massive X-ray binary 2S 0114+650. These observations covering the spectral range 1.08–2.35 μm span the region where Paschen and Brackett series recombination lines of hydrogen are expected to be seen, namely, Paβ , Brγ and Br 10–17 lines. The absence of any of these lines in emission supports earlier inferences that the optical component in 2S 0114+650 is unlikely to be a Be star but rather a B type supergiant. Near-IR photometry gives J = 8.78, H = 8.53 and K = 7.96; these values show marginal variations from earlier reported measurements.     

Mineral and nitrogen balance study: results of metabolic observations on Skylab II 28-day orbital mission

Prediction that the various stresses of flight, particularly weightlessness, would bring about significant derangements in the metabolism of the musculoskeletal system has been based on various observations of long-term immobilized or inactive bed rest. The only attempt at controlled measurement of metabolic changes in space prior to Skylab, a study during the 14-day Gemini VII flight, revealed rather modest losses of important elements. The three astronauts of Skylab II consumed a planned day-by-day, quite constant, dietary intake of major metabolic elements in mixed foods and beverages and provided virtually complete collections of excreta for 31 days preflight, during the 28 days inflight, and for 17 days postflight. Analyses showed that, in varying degree among the crewmen, urinary calcium increased gradually during flight in a pattern similar to that observed in bed-rest studies: the mean plateau peak of urinary calcium excretion in the latter part of flight was double preflight levels. Fecal calcium excretion did not change significantly, but calcium balance, owing to the urinary calcium rise, became either negative or less positive than in preflight measurement. Increased excretion and negative balance of nitrogen and phosphorus indicated appreciable loss of muscle tissue in all three crewmen. Significant losses also occurred inflight in potassium, sodium, and magnesium. Based on the similarity in pattern and degree between these observations and those in bed rest of the losses in calcium, phosphorus, and nitrogen, musculoskeletal integrity would not be threatened in space flights of up to at least 3 months. However, if similar changes occur, indicative of continuing losses of these elements, in the planned Skylab flights for considerably more than 28 days, concern for capable musculoskeletal function should be serious for flights of very many months' duration, and greater research attention will need to be given to development of protective counter-measures.     

Protecting Earth-orbiting spacecraft against micro-meteoroid/orbital debris impact damage using composite structural systems and materials: An overview

Spacecraft that are launched to operate in Earth orbit are susceptible to impacts by meteoroids and pieces of orbital debris (MMOD). The effect of a MMOD particle impact on a spacecraft depends on where the impact occurs, the size, composition, and speed of the impacting object, the function of the impacted system. In order to perform a risk analysis for a particular spacecraft under a specific mission profile, it is important to know whether or not the impacting particle (or its remnants) will exit the rear of an impacted spacecraft wall. A variety of different ballistic limit equations (BLEs) have been developed for many different types of structural wall configurations. BLEs can be used to optimize the design of spacecraft wall parameters so that the resulting configuration is able to withstand the anticipated variety of on-orbit high-speed impact scenarios. While the level of effort exerted in studying the response of metallic multi-wall systems to high speed particle impact is quite substantial, the extent of the effort to study composite material and composite structural systems under similar impact conditions has been much more limited. This paper presents an overview of the activities performed to assess the resiliency of composite structures and materials under high speed projectile impact. The activities reviewed will be those that have been aimed at increasing the level of protection afforded to spacecraft operating in the MMOD environment, and more specifically, on those activities performed to mitigate the mechanical and structural effects of an MMOD impact.     

海南地区电离层闪烁监测及初步统计分析

为开展赤道区的电离层闪烁形态特性及相关物理过程的研究,空间中心海南台站建立了一套GPS电离层闪烁监测系统.该系统是利用Plessey GPS Builder-2系统开发的,对软件的源码进行了修改,使其能以高采样率(50/s)同时并行记录11个通道GPS信号强度数据.对2003年7-12月间L-波段电离层闪烁事件的初步统计分析结果表明,电离层闪烁主要发生在日落后到午夜附近,其中9-11月较7-8月闪烁发生和结束的时间明显提前;电离层闪烁发生的频率和强度在9-11月较其他月份明显增强,其中10月达到最大;电离层闪烁的逐日变化具有很强的随机性,闪烁的发生在秋分附近9月底到10月中旬的磁静日期间达到最大;太阳和地磁活动的增强通常会抑制电离层闪烁的发生,这种情形在秋分附近尤为明显.