Issues in planetary protection: policy, protocol and implementation

Planetary protection is NASA's term for the practice of protecting solar system bodies from Earth life while protecting Earth from life that may be brought back from other solar system bodies. Spacefaring nations will soon begin retrieving samples from Mars and other solar system bodies. For these samples, planetary protection is in order, and measures are already in place to prevent the forward contamination of Mars and other bodies by Earth microbes and the backward contamination of Earth by possible extraterrestrial life. A major goal of planetary protection controls on forward contamination is to preserve the planetary record of natural processes by preventing human-caused microbial introductions.     

Heusler合金M2CoA(M=Mn,Ti;A=Al,Si)的第一性原理

采用基于密度泛函理论(DFT)的第一性原理计算方法,研究了M₂CoA型Heusler合金Mn₂CoAl、Mn₂CoSi、Ti₂CoAl和Ti₂CoSi的电子结构和磁学性质。发现Heusler合金Mn₂CoAl是亚铁磁性自旋无带隙半导体,Mn₂CoSi与Ti₂CoAl是亚铁磁性自旋半金属,而Ti₂CoSi是铁磁性自旋半金属。它们的总自旋磁矩均为整数,符合Slater-Pauling规则。然后,在分析电子能带结构和态密度的基础上,探讨了自旋无带隙半导体与半金属性的根源。最后,声子谱和弹性常数计算结果表明所有M₂CoA型Heusler合金在晶格动力学和力学上均是稳定的。     

Exploration for the masses? Or joyrides for the ultra-rich? Prospects for space tourism

A space tourism industry appears to be about to take off. Businesses have announced plans to launch people into suborbital space for $200,000/person, with flights beginning as early as 2008. A brief review of the history of the idea of space tourism over the past four decades—and an awareness that many ventures have quietly shelved their grandiose plans—might aid thinking about the prospects for development of a safe and thriving space tourism industry. Today's space tourism model emphases the concept of luxury, and the lifestyle of hyper-consumption. It may be worth considering whether and how this conception of space tourism might affect the future of space exploration.