We evaluated the influence of prolonged weightlessness on the performance of visual tasks in the course of the Russian-French missions ANTARES, Post-ANTARES and ALTAIR aboard the MIR station. Eight cosmonauts were subjects in two experiments executed pre-flight, in-flight and post-flight sessions.
In the first experiment, cosmonauts performed a task of symmetry detection in 2-D polygons. The results indicate that this detection is locked in a head retinal reference frame rather than in an environmentally defined one as meridional orientations of symmetry axis (vertical and horizontal) elicited faster response times than oblique ones. However, in weightlessness the saliency of a retinally vertical axis of symmetry is no longer significantly different from an horizontal axis. In the second experiment, cosmonauts performed a mental rotation task in which they judged whether two 3-D objects presented in different orientations were identical. Performance on this task is basically identical in weightlessness and normal gravity. 相似文献
This paper discusses the factors that control the flexibility of fabric space suit elements by examining a bending model of a pressurized fabric tube. Results from the model are used to evaluate the current direction in highly mobile EVA glove research and suggest that changes are necessary in the suit and glove fabric selection methodology. 相似文献
The estimation of a multimodal linear system whose mode-to-mode transitions are described by a finite-state Markov chain is described. The problem has application in studying separation standards in an air traffic control environment. An optimal solution is formulated which is computationally infeasible. A suboptimal estimator is then derived which closely approximates the optimal estimator. An example is presented to illustrate the technique. 相似文献
A scheme is presented for the identification of naval vessels via active multiple-frequency radar interrogation. A major virtue of the described method is the use of a response waveform synthesized using amplitude data only. A prediction correlation using natural resonances associated with substructures on the vessels is applied to synthetically generated matched-filter response waveforms. The identification scheme is tested using measured model data for 8 vessels on a simulated sea surface. A correct identification probability of roughly 77 percent is obtained. 相似文献
Observational evidence of the 11-year solar cycle (SC) modulation of stratosphere temperatures and winds from the ERA-40 dataset
is reviewed, with emphasis on the Northern winter hemisphere. A frequency modulation of sudden warming events is noted, with
warmings occurring earlier in solar minimum periods than in solar maximum periods. The observed interaction between the influence
of the SC and the quasi biennial oscillation (QBO) on the frequency of sudden warmings is noted as a possible clue for understanding
their mechanism of influence. A possible transfer route for the 11-year solar cycle from the equatorial stratopause region
to the lowest part of the stratosphere is proposed, via an influence on sudden warming events and the associated induced meridional
circulation. SC and QBO composites of zonal wind anomalies show anomalous wind distributions in the subtropical upper stratosphere
in early winter. Mechanistic model experiments are reviewed that demonstrate a sensitivity of sudden warmings to small wind
anomalies in this region. Various diagnostics from these experiments are shown, including EP fluxes and their divergence and
also the synoptic evolution of the polar vortex, in order to understand the mechanism of the influence. Some recent GCM experiments
to investigate the SC/QBO interaction are also described. They simulate reasonably well the observed SC/QBO interaction of
sudden warming events and appear to support the hypothesis that tropical/subtropical upper stratospheric wind anomalies are
an important influence on the timing of sudden warmings. 相似文献
In a recent paper, general expressions were derived for the density and cumulative probability functions of the amplitude of a linear matched-filter output given a nonfluctuating target in a clutter-limited environment. These expressions were based on the clutter amplitude density function. The results are extended to calculate the cumulative probability function of the output of a linear matched filter used to detect a chi-square fluctuating target in a clutter-limited environment. The resulting method is applied to a common radar clutter model, and experimental sonar data. 相似文献
We investigate climate-related processes causing variations of the global mean sea level on interannual to decadal time scale.
We focus on thermal expansion of the oceans and continental water mass balance. We show that during the 1990s where global
mean sea level change has been measured by Topex/Poseidon satellite altimetry, thermal expansion is the dominant contribution
to the observed 2.5 mm/yr sea level rise. For the past decades, exchange of water between continental reservoirs and oceans
had a small, but not totally negligible contribution (about 0.2 mm/yr) to sea level rise. For the last four decades, thermal
contribution is estimated to about 0.5 mm/yr, with a possible accelerated rate of thermosteric rise during the 1990s. Topex/Poseidon
shows an increase in mean sea level of 2.5 mm/yr over the last decade, a value about two times larger than reported by historical
tide gauges. This would suggest that there has been significant acceleration of sea level rise in the recent past, possibly
related to ocean warming.
This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date. 相似文献
Genesis (NASA Discovery Mission #5) is a sample return mission. Collectors comprised of ultra-high purity materials will be
exposed to the solar wind and then returned to Earth for laboratory analysis. There is a suite of fifteen types of ultra-pure
materials distributed among several locations. Most of the materials are mounted on deployable panels (‘collector arrays’),
with some as targets in the focal spot of an electrostatic mirror (the ‘concentrator’). Other materials are strategically
placed on the spacecraft as additional targets of opportunity to maximize the area for solar-wind collection.
Most of the collection area consists of hexagonal collectors in the arrays; approximately half are silicon, the rest are for
solar-wind components not retained and/or not easily measured in silicon. There are a variety of materials both in collector
arrays and elsewhere targeted for the analyses of specific solar-wind components.
Engineering and science factors drove the selection process. Engineering required testing of physical properties such as the
ability to withstand shaking on launch and thermal cycling during deployment. Science constraints included bulk purity, surface
and interface cleanliness, retentiveness with respect to individual solar-wind components, and availability.
A detailed report of material parameters planned as a resource for choosing materials for study will be published on a Genesis
website, and will be updated as additional information is obtained. Some material is already linked to the Genesis plasma
data website (genesis.lanl.gov). Genesis should provide a reservoir of materials for allocation to the scientific community
throughout the 21st Century.
This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date. 相似文献
By the term "m-distributed optical signal" we mean a noise-like optical signal whose envelope (or intensity) fluctuation probability is modeled by Nakagami's "m-distribution." Using the m-distribution which has been widely used as an analytical model of the fading envelope in radio communications, it is shown that one can generally analyze the statistical properties such as the photoelectron count probabilities and error probabilities for the wider class of noise-like optical signals; some numerical results are also given. 相似文献
The control of a linear system with random coefficients is studied here. The cost function is of a quadratic form and the random coefficients are assumed to be partially observable by the controller. By means of the stochastic Bellman equation, the optimal control of stochastic dynamic models with partially observable coefficients is derived. The optimal control is shown to be a linear function of the observable states and a nonlinear function of random parameters. The theory is applied to an optimal control design of an aircraft landing in wind gust. 相似文献