The Cool Interstellar Medium

Infrared spectroscopy and photometry with ISO covering most of the emission range of the interstellar medium has led to important progress in the understanding of the physics and chemistry of the gas, the nature and evolution of the dust grains and also the coupling between the gas and the grains. We review here the ISO results on the cool and low-excitation regions of the interstellar medium, where T _gas≲ 500 K, n _H∼ 100–10⁵ cm⁻³ and the electron density is a few 10⁻⁴. JEL codes: D24, L60, 047 Based on observations with ISO, an ESA project with instruments funded by ESA Member States (especially the PI countries: France, Germany, The Netherlands, and the United Kingdom), and with the participation of ISAS and NASA.     

The European vestibular experiments in Spacelab-1.

A series of experiments were performed in the Spacelab-1 mission on November/December, 1983, pre-, in-, and postflight. These experiments covered various aspects of the functions of the vestibular system, the inflight tests comprising threshold measurements for linear movements in three orthogonal axes, optokinetic stimulation, vestibulo-ocular reflexes under linear and angular accelerations, caloric stimulation with and without linear accelerations; pre- and postflight tests repeated the inflight protocol with the addition of subjective vertical and eye counter-rotation measurements using a tilt table. One of the most surprising and significant results was the caloric test: strong caloric nystagmus on the two subjects tested was recorded inflight; this was contrary to what was expected from Barany's convection hypothesis for caloric nystagmus.     

Ensuring an acceptable reliability and safety level for a launch complex

Some key aspects and criteria tasks for ensuring an acceptable reliability and safety level for complex technical systems are discussed in the view of successful operation of a launch complex, at the stage of Launch Vehicle (LV) preparation. The standards and principles of adequate characteristics for launch site core technological systems are defined. The tasks for evaluation the probability of faultless operation for the systems, their reliability a posteriori, and safety barriers formation are described. The model of the pre-launch phase is presented as a random process, in the form of “simple Poisson flow”.     

Stratosphere NO y Species Measured by MIPAS and GOMOS Onboard ENVISAT During 2002–2010: Influence of Plasma Processes onto the Observed Distribution and Variability

We present observations of stratosphere NO _y species from 2002 to 2010 taken by the Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding (MIPAS) and by the Global Ozone Monitoring by Occultation of Stars (GOMOS) instruments on board ENVISAT. We jointly used observations of MIPAS NO₂, HNO₃, N₂O₅, ClONO₂ and N₂O, and GOMOS NO₂ and NO₃. MIPAS results are part of the MIPAS2D database retrieved adopting a full 2D tomographic approach. We describe the mean distribution and variability of NO _y species in the stratosphere, identifying changes induced by plasma processes. Beside enhancements due to sporadic solar proton events, we show that winter polar NO₂ has an almost linear relationship with the geomagnetic activity index Ap down to about 10?hPa. This indicates a dominant role of energetic precipitating particles in the production of upper atmosphere NO _y . The correlation has clear signatures extending to mid latitudes. Partitioning of the NO _y reservoir species are also traced, with HNO₃ and N₂O₅ showing a correlation with Ap extending to lower altitude within the polar regions. We found no large signatures of an impact of thunderstorm-induced plasma processes onto monthly means of NO _y species in the stratosphere.     

Reforming European space governance

The structures governing European space activity, now some 50 years old, require reform to take better account of the plethora of space uses, the growing involvement in space of the EU and the variable degree of European integration. Adopting a method that involves identifying weaknesses in governance – e.g. lack of a European military space programme; problems in maintaining operational service continuity; opposition to change – the authors argue that only by harmonising its decision making and coherently integrating its public organisations will Europe be able to achieve a space programme commensurate with its technical capabilities and its political dimension.     

Deflecting APOPHIS with a flotilla of solar shields

The possibility to use the photonic pressure from the Sun for acting upon the orbit of a man-made object is well known.     

First astrometric observations of space debris with the MéO telescope

The MéO (for Métrologie Optique) telescope is the Satellite and Lunar Laser Ranging (SLR) dedicated telescope of Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur (France) located at plateau de Calern. The telescope uses an altazimuth mount. The motorization of the mount has a capability of 6 deg/s allowing the follow up of Low Earth Orbits (LEO) satellites, as well as Medium Earth Orbits (MEO) and geostationary (GEO) satellites, and the Moon. The telescope has a primary mirror of 1.54 m. It uses a Nasmyth focus equipped with an EMCCD camera. The telescope field of view, defined by the equivalent focal length and the size of the camera, is currently 3.4 arcmin × 3.4 arcmin.     

The USSR and space power plants

The American idea of a Solar Power Satellite was proposed for the first time in 1968 by Peter Glaser in a famous article in Science. This concept has since been the subject of many theoretical studies, and of some limited practical studies (mainly about microwave energy transmission) in the USA with funding from NASA and the Department of Energy (DOE). Some evaluations have been also conducted in Western Europe, particularly within the European Space Agency (ESA). But very little is generally known about the attitude towards SPS of the second main space power: the USSR. Soviet literature on SPS is much less abundant, but it does exist. Very interesting articles on the subject have been written by leading Soviet space experts. Some of these articles are analysed here, and the practical meanings of the ex[ressed opinions, generally very favourable, are investigated in view of the growing Soviet space capability.     

Stable iron isotopes and microbial mediation in red pigmentation of the Rosso Ammonitico (mid-late Jurassic, Verona area, Italy)

The iron (Fe) isotopic composition of 17 Jurassic limestones from the Rosso Ammonitico of Verona (Italy) have been analyzed by Multiple-Collector Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (MC-ICP-MS). Such analysis allowed for the recognition of a clear iron isotopic fractionation (mean -0.8 per thousand, ranging between -1.52 to -0.06 per thousand) on a millimeter-centimeter scale between the red and grey facies of the studied formation. After gentle acid leaching, measurements of the Fe isotopic compositions gave delta(56)Fe values that were systematically lower in the red facies residues (median: -0.84 per thousand, range: -1.46 to +0.26 per thousand) compared to the grey facies residues (median: -0.08 per thousand, range: -0.34 to +0.23 per thousand). In addition, the red facies residues were characterized by a lighter delta(56)Fe signal relative to their corresponding leachates. These Fe isotopic fractionations could be a sensitive fingerprint of a biotic process; systematic isotopic differences between the red and grey facies residues, which consist of hematite and X-ray amorphous iron hydroxides, respectively, are hypothesized to have resulted from the oxidizing activity of iron bacteria and fungi in the red facies. The grey Fe isotopic data match the Fe isotopic signature of the terrestrial baseline established for igneous rocks and low-C(org) clastic sedimentary rocks. The Fe isotopic compositions of the grey laminations are consistent with the influx of detrital iron minerals and lack of microbial redox processes at the water-interface during deposition. Total Fe concentration measurements were performed by Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-AES) (confirmed by concentration estimations obtained by MC-ICP-MS analyses of microdrilled samples) on five samples, and resultant values range between 0.30% (mean) in the grey facies and 1.31% (mean) in the red facies. No correlation was observed between bulk Fe content and pigmentation or between bulk Fe content and Fe isotopic compositions. The rapid transformation of the original iron oxyhydroxides to hematite could have preserved the original isotopic composition if it had occurred at about the same temperature. This paper supports the use of Fe isotopes as sensitive tracers of biological activities recorded in old sedimentary sequences that contain microfossils of iron bacteria and fungi. However, a careful interpretation of the iron isotopic fractionation in terms of biotic versus abiotic processes requires supporting data or direct observations to characterize the biological, (geo)chemical, or physical context in relation to the geologic setting. This will become even more pertinent when Fe isotopic studies are expanded to the interplanetary realm.