Radiosondes for Characterizing the Martian Atmosphere

The National Weather Service (NWS) releases approximately 75,000 radiosondes each year to measure pressure, altitude, temperature, relative humidity, wind and cosmic radiation [1]. The data obtained from these measurements have led to a more thorough understanding of the Earth s lower atmosphere. On the contrary, there have been only six fully successful landings on Mars, and there is much less known about the variations in winds, density, etc., in the mid-regions of the Martian atmosphere (see Fig. 1). This data is vital to understanding Martian weather and the development of Mars landers for larger payloads [2,3,4]. Mars has too much atmosphere to land like is done on the moon, and too little atmosphere to land like is done on Earth. It is suggested that radiosondes could be added as secondary payloads on Mars missions and used to map physical properties in the different regions of the Martian atmosphere

Fission Systems for Mars Exploration

Fission systems are used extensively on earth, and 34 such systems have flown in space. The energy density of fission is over 10 million times that of chemical reactions, giving fission the potential to eliminate energy density constraints for many space missions. Potential safety and operational concerns with fission systems are well understood, and strategies exist for affordably developing such systems. By enabling a power-rich environment and highly efficient propulsion, fission systems could enable affordable, sustainable exploration of Mars

Structure and variation of human ribosomal DNA: molecular analysis of cloned fragments

Eco-RI-A fragments of the human ribosomal RNA gene family from two types of tissue and three individuals were cloned in [lambda] vectors and compared by restriction enzyme digestion and electron microscopy. The EcoRI fragment A contains (i) 0.2 kb of the 3' end of the 18S rDNA, (ii) 2.5 kb of internal transcribed spacer and the 5.8S rDNA, and (iii) 4.6 kb of the 28S rDNA gene. All of the six cloned rDNA fragments isolated are identical by these analyses. Moreover, all contain a HincII site that is absent in about 50% of the rDNA identified by genomic blotting. Polymorphism in the nontranscribed spacer rDNA was studied on genomic blots of BamHI-digested DNA, using the 3' end of the 28S rDNA as a probe. The boundaries between the 18S rDNA, internal transcribed spacer, 28S rDNA, and external nontranscribed spacer were determined by R-loop analysis, further defining the organization of the ribosomal RNA precursor.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/24168/1/0000426.pd

Ptychographic amplitude and phase reconstruction of bichromatic vortex beams

We experimentally demonstrate that ptychographic coherent diffractive imaging can be used to simultaneously characterize the amplitude and phase of bichromatic orbital angular momenta-shaped vortex beams, which consist of a fundamental field, together with its copropagating second-harmonic field. In contrast to most other orbital angular momentum characterization methods, this approach solves for the complex field of a hyperspectral beam. This technique can also be used to characterize other phase-structured illumination beams, and, in the future, will be able to be extended to other complex fields in the extreme ultraviolet or X-ray spectral regions, as well as to matter waves.The NSF STROBE STC (DMR-1548924); DOE BES AMOS grant (DE-FG02-99ER14982); the NSF GRFP (DGE 1650115); 2017 Leonardo Grant for Researchers and Cultural Creators, BBVA Foundation; Junta de Castilla y León (SA046U16); Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (FIS2016-75652-P)

Design and Analysis of a Turbopump for a Conceptual Expander Cycle Upper-Stage Engine

This viewgraph presentation reviews the motivation for the study, the numerical method used, the numerical simulations of the vaneless diffuser and vaned diffuser. It also reviews the conclusions from the stud

Studies of Bs2∗(5840)0 and Bs1(5830)0 mesons including the observation of the Bs2∗(5840)0→B0KS0 decay in proton-proton collisions at s=8TeV.

Measurements of Bs2∗(5840)0 and Bs1(5830)0 mesons are performed using a data sample of proton-proton collisions corresponding to an integrated luminosity of , collected with the CMS detector at the LHC at a centre-of-mass energy of 8TeV . The analysis studies P-wave Bs0 meson decays into B(∗)+K- and B(∗)0KS0 , where the B+ and B0 mesons are identified using the decays B+→J/ψK+ and B0→J/ψK∗(892)0 . The masses of the P-wave Bs0 meson states are measured and the natural width of the Bs2∗(5840)0 state is determined. The first measurement of the mass difference between the charged and neutral B∗ mesons is also presented. The Bs2∗(5840)0 decay to B0KS0 is observed, together with a measurement of its branching fraction relative to the Bs2∗(5840)0→B+K- decay