Resistance of bacterial endospores to outer space for planetary protection purposes--experiment PROTECT of the EXPOSE-E mission

Spore-forming bacteria are of particular concern in the context of planetary protection because their tough endospores may withstand certain sterilization procedures as well as the harsh environments of outer space or planetary surfaces. To test their hardiness on a hypothetical mission to Mars, spores of Bacillus subtilis 168 and Bacillus pumilus SAFR-032 were exposed for 1.5 years to selected parameters of space in the experiment PROTECT during the EXPOSE-E mission on board the International Space Station. Mounted as dry layers on spacecraft-qualified aluminum coupons, the "trip to Mars" spores experienced space vacuum, cosmic and extraterrestrial solar radiation, and temperature fluctuations, whereas the "stay on Mars" spores were subjected to a simulated martian environment that included atmospheric pressure and composition, and UV and cosmic radiation. The survival of spores from both assays was determined after retrieval. It was clearly shown that solar extraterrestrial UV radiation (λ≥110?nm) as well as the martian UV spectrum (λ≥200?nm) was the most deleterious factor applied; in some samples only a few survivors were recovered from spores exposed in monolayers. Spores in multilayers survived better by several orders of magnitude. All other environmental parameters encountered by the "trip to Mars" or "stay on Mars" spores did little harm to the spores, which showed about 50% survival or more. The data demonstrate the high chance of survival of spores on a Mars mission, if protected against solar irradiation. These results will have implications for planetary protection considerations.     

Spatially resolved genomic, stable isotopic, and lipid analyses of a modern freshwater microbialite from cuatro ciénegas, Mexico

Abstract Microbialites are biologically mediated carbonate deposits found in diverse environments worldwide. To explore the organisms and processes involved in microbialite formation, this study integrated genomic, lipid, and both organic and inorganic stable isotopic analyses to examine five discrete depth horizons spanning the surface 25?mm of a modern freshwater microbialite from Cuatro Ciénegas, Mexico. Distinct bacterial communities and geochemical signatures were observed in each microbialite layer. Photoautotrophic organisms accounted for approximately 65% of the sequences in the surface community and produced biomass with distinctive lipid biomarker and isotopic (δ(13)C) signatures. This photoautotrophic biomass was efficiently degraded in the deeper layers by heterotrophic organisms, primarily sulfate-reducing proteobacteria. Two spatially distinct zones of carbonate precipitation were observed within the microbialite, with the first zone corresponding to the phototroph-dominated portion of the microbialite and the second zone associated with the presence of sulfate-reducing heterotrophs. The coupling of photoautotrophic production, heterotrophic decomposition, and remineralization of organic matter led to the incorporation of a characteristic biogenic signature into the inorganic CaCO(3) matrix. Overall, spatially resolved multidisciplinary analyses of the microbialite enabled correlations to be made between the distribution of specific organisms, precipitation of carbonate, and preservation of unique lipid and isotopic geochemical signatures. These findings are critical for understanding the formation of modern microbialites and have implications for the interpretation of ancient microbialite records. Key Words: Microbial ecology-Microbe-mineral interactions-Microbial mats-Stromatolites-Genomics. Astrobiology 12, 685-698.     

飞机结构常见腐蚀形式仿真研究进展

当前军用飞机环境适应性考核一般采用外场暴晒和实验室加速两种手段进行,但当结构设计发生改变时,往往需要重新进行考核试验,耗时耗力。腐蚀仿真运用有限元或边界元的数学手段,以电化学基础理论为依据能够在较短的时间内准确的预测腐蚀结果,得到了国内外研究学者的青睐并在欧美等发达国家部分领域已经开始得到应用。首先重点分析了飞机常见腐蚀形式的国内外仿真研究现状,包括电偶腐蚀、点蚀、缝隙腐蚀以及应力作用下的腐蚀,在此基础上,对腐蚀仿真的基础理论进行了总结概述,针对目前较为成熟的腐蚀仿真商业软件进行了优缺点对比,最后提出了动界面追踪、多尺度多物理场腐蚀仿真模拟、腐蚀仿真规范化以及航空领域工程应用4个腐蚀仿真目前研究的难点,期望可以为腐蚀仿真的进一步探究提供方向性参考。     

先进舰载战斗机腐蚀防护控制与日历寿命设计

舰载战斗机是航母编队战斗力的重要组成部分,但由于其复杂恶劣的服役环境,舰载机腐蚀防护控制与日历寿命设计问题已经成为限制海军航空兵战斗力保持与提升的关键难题。腐蚀防护与控制应贯穿舰载机全寿命周期,本文以此为总体思路,首先系统梳理了舰载机在综合设计、材料与涂料选择、制造与使用过程中腐蚀防护与控制的诸多要点与细节。然后针对舰载机日历寿命设计问题,在详述环境谱、加速谱编制原则、编制方法及基本构成的基础上,基于案例阐明腐蚀仿真技术是舰载机日历寿命设计的可靠高效手段,可为相关问题的后续研究提供创新思路。最后指出腐蚀监测是舰载机腐蚀防护控制过程中亟待解决的难题。     

Elucidation of an iterative process of carbon-carbon bond formation of prebiotic significance

Laboratory experiments carried out under plausible prebiotic conditions (under conditions that might have occurred at primitive deep-sea hydrothermal vents) in water and involving constituents that occur in the vicinity of submarine hydrothermal vents (e.g., CO, H(2)S, NiS) have disclosed an iterative Ni-catalyzed pathway of C-C bond formation. This pathway leads from CO to various organic molecules that comprise, notably, thiols, alkylmono- and disulfides, carboxylic acids, and related thioesters containing up to four carbon atoms. Furthermore, similar experiments with organic compounds containing various functionalities, such as thiols, carboxylic acids, thioesters, and alcohols, gave clues to the mechanisms of this novel synthetic process in which reduced metal species, in particular Ni(0), appear to be the key catalysts. Moreover, the formation of aldehydes (and ketones) as labile intermediates via a hydroformylation-related process proved to be at the core of the chain elongation process. Since this process can potentially lead to organic compounds with any chain length, it could have played a significant role in the prebiotic formation of lipidic amphiphilic molecules such as fatty acids, potential precursors of membrane constituents.     

俯仰跟踪任务中的驾驶员神经网络模型辨识

 在飞机设计中,应用驾驶员数学模型预测飞机飞行品质是避免人机系统出现不良耦合的重要途径之一。为了提高飞行品质的预测精度,采用人工神经网络(NN)方法进行驾驶员模型辨识,着重研究该模型对不同飞机被控对象的适应能力。首先,详细分析了驾驶员完成俯仰跟踪任务的操纵行为特点,提出适用于该驾驶员行为描述的神经网络模型结构形式。然后,根据对不同被控对象进行俯仰跟踪实时仿真实验的结果,对神经网络模型参数进行识别。最后,对模型辨识结果进行了精度评价。研究结果表明,该辨识方法适用于研究具有不同增益、不同短周期振荡频率飞机被控对象的驾驶员操纵行为特性。     

面向机舰适配的舰载飞机起降特性分析

机舰适配性是舰载飞机总体设计的核心内容之一,通常包括性能适配和保障适配两部分,是舰载飞机总体设计特有的阶段;其内涵是指舰载飞机充分、高效利用航母的特性,使用其设备和装置的固有能力。以舰载飞机的使用环境为切入点,定义了有人驾驶陆基飞机改舰载机设计所需考虑的机舰适配的诸多方面;以滑跃起飞/拦阻着舰型舰载机为实例,突出性能适配,对滑跃起飞和拦阻着舰的过程进行物理分解,探求舰机以及环境参数对其性能的影响,建立了相关性能的计算方法,并结合国外典型航母的数据进行了计算分析,定量评估了甲板风对滑跃起飞和拦阻着舰的作用。同时,从保证着舰安全性的角度给出了建议的着舰方式、标准拦阻程序和安全逃逸的最短甲板长度需求。最后,给出了滑跃起飞/拦阻着舰飞机设计的关注点。     

The simulated silicification of bacteria--new clues to the modes and timing of bacterial preservation and implications for the search for extraterrestrial microfossils

Evidence of microbial life on Earth has been found in siliceous rock formations throughout the geological and fossil record. To understand the mechanisms of silicification and thus improve our search patterns for evidence of fossil microbial life in rocks, a series of controlled laboratory experiments were designed to simulate the silicification of microorganisms. The bacterial strains Pseudomonas fluorescens and Desulphovibrio indonensis were exposed to silicifying media. The experiments were designed to determine how exposure time to silicifying solutions and to silicifying solutions of different Si concentration affect the fossilization of microbial biofilms. The silicified biofilms were analyzed using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) in combination with energy-dispersive spectroscopy. Both bacterial species showed evidence of silicification after 24 h in 1,000 ppm silica solution, although D. indonensis was less prone to silicification. The degree of silicification of individual cells of the same sample varied, though such variations decreased with increasing exposure time. High Si concentration resulted in better preservation of cellular detail; the Si concentration was more important than the duration in Si solution. Even though no evidence of amorphous silica precipitation was observed, bacterial cells became permineralized. High-resolution TEM analysis revealed nanometer-sized crystallites characterized by lattice fringe-spacings that match the (10-11) d-spacing of quartz formed within bacterial cell walls after 1 week in 5,000 ppm silica solution. The mechanisms of silicification under controlled laboratory conditions and the implication for silicification in natural environments are discussed, along with the relevance of our findings in the search for early life on Earth and extraterrestrial life.     

下一代航天器的多用途贮箱

单组元和双组元推进系统已确定用于下一代航天器的轨道转换与姿态控制上,包括应用于通讯卫星、地球资源卫星、维修及补给卫星、气象卫星和防御卫星。基于上述应用的多用途貯箱是一种改型维金轨道器(VO-75)的圆筒形容器,直径为91厘米并有半球形封头,它92能用于航天飞机又能用于一次使用的助推火箭。本聍箱备有各种被动式全金属推进剂管理装置,以满足各种不同任务对加速度、流量、压力值、增压形式和轨道飞行中的晃动控制所提出的各种各样的要求。对各种装置的工作情况均结合其通用性和局限性来予以说明。对容积、重量、排空效率、容积效率等貯箱系统参数和相对成本,本文亦作了简介。