135 research outputs found
Science aspects of a 1980 flyby of Comet Encke with a Pioneer spacecraft
Results are presented of an investigation of the feasibility of a 1980 flyby of Comet Encke using a Pioneer class spacecraft. Specific areas studied include: science objectives and rationale; science observables; effects of encounter velocity; science encounter and targeting requirements; selection and description of science instruments; definition of a candidate science payload; engineering characteristics of suggested payload; value of a separable probe; science instruments for a separable probe; science payload integration problems; and science operations profile
Science aspects of 1980 ballistic missions to comet Encke, using Mariner and Pioneer spacecraft
Science aspects of a 1980 spacecraft reconnaissance of Comet Encke are considered. The mission discussed is a ballistic flyby (more exactly, a fly-through) of P/Encke, using either a spin stabilized spacecraft, without despin of instruments, or a 3-axis stabilized spacecraft
Toward An Understanding Of The Retinal Chromophore In Rhodopsin Mimics
Recently, a rhodopsin protein mimic was constructed by combining mutants of the cellular retinoic acid binding protein II (CRABPII) with an all-trans retinal chromophore. Here, we present a combine computational quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) and experimental ultrafast kinetic study of CRABPII. We employ the QM/MM models to study the absorption (lambda(a)(max)), fluorescence (lambda(f)(max)), and reactivity of a CRABPII triple mutant incorporating the all-trans protonated chromophore (PSB-KLE-CRABPII). We also study the spectroscopy of the same mutant incorporating the unprotonated chromophore and of another double mutant incorporating the neutral unbound retinal molecule held inside the pocket. Finally, for PSB-KLE-CRABPII, stationary fluorescence spectroscopy and ultrafast transient absorption spectroscopy resolved two different evolving excited state populations which were computationally assigned to distinct locally excited and charge-transfer species. This last species is shown to evolve along reaction paths describing a facile isomerization of the biologically relevant 11-cis and 13-cis double bonds. This work represents a first exploratory attempt to model and study these artificial protein systems. It also indicates directions for improving the QM/MM models so that they could be more effectively used to assist the bottom-up design of genetically encodable probes and actuators employing the retinal chromophore
The photodissociation and chemistry of CO isotopologues: applications to interstellar clouds and circumstellar disks
Aims. Photodissociation by UV light is an important destruction mechanism for
CO in many astrophysical environments, ranging from interstellar clouds to
protoplanetary disks. The aim of this work is to gain a better understanding of
the depth dependence and isotope-selective nature of this process.
Methods. We present a photodissociation model based on recent spectroscopic
data from the literature, which allows us to compute depth-dependent and
isotope-selective photodissociation rates at higher accuracy than in previous
work. The model includes self-shielding, mutual shielding and shielding by
atomic and molecular hydrogen, and it is the first such model to include the
rare isotopologues C17O and 13C17O. We couple it to a simple chemical network
to analyse CO abundances in diffuse and translucent clouds, photon-dominated
regions, and circumstellar disks.
Results. The photodissociation rate in the unattenuated interstellar
radiation field is 2.6e-10 s^-1, 30% higher than currently adopted values.
Increasing the excitation temperature or the Doppler width can reduce the
photodissociation rates and the isotopic selectivity by as much as a factor of
three for temperatures above 100 K. The model reproduces column densities
observed towards diffuse clouds and PDRs, and it offers an explanation for both
the enhanced and the reduced N(12CO)/N(13CO) ratios seen in diffuse clouds. The
photodissociation of C17O and 13C17O shows almost exactly the same depth
dependence as that of C18O and 13C18O, respectively, so 17O and 18O are equally
fractionated with respect to 16O. This supports the recent hypothesis that CO
photodissociation in the solar nebula is responsible for the anomalous 17O and
18O abundances in meteorites.Comment: Accepted by A&
Volatile and Organic Compositions of Sedimentary Rocks in Yellowknife Bay, Gale crater, Mars
H₂O, CO₂, SO₂, O₂, H₂, H₂S, HCl, chlorinated hydrocarbons, NO and other trace gases were evolved during pyrolysis of two mudstone samples acquired by the Curiosity rover at Yellowknife Bay within Gale crater, Mars. H₂O/OH-bearing phases included 2:1 phyllosilicate(s), bassanite, akaganeite, and amorphous materials. Thermal decomposition of carbonates and combustion of organic materials are candidate sources for the CO₂. Concurrent evolution of O₂ and chlorinated hydrocarbons suggest the presence of oxychlorine phase(s). Sulfides are likely sources for S-bearing species. Higher abundances of chlorinated hydrocarbons in the mudstone compared with Rocknest windblown materials previously analyzed by Curiosity suggest that indigenous martian or meteoritic organic C sources may be preserved in the mudstone; however, the C source for the chlorinated hydrocarbons is not definitively of martian origin
The Petrochemistry of Jake_M: A Martian Mugearite
“Jake_M,” the first rock analyzed by the Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer instrument on the
Curiosity rover, differs substantially in chemical composition from other known martian igneous
rocks: It is alkaline (>15% normative nepheline) and relatively fractionated. Jake_M is
compositionally similar to terrestrial mugearites, a rock type typically found at ocean islands and
continental rifts. By analogy with these comparable terrestrial rocks, Jake_M could have been
produced by extensive fractional crystallization of a primary alkaline or transitional magma at
elevated pressure, with or without elevated water contents. The discovery of Jake_M suggests that
alkaline magmas may be more abundant on Mars than on Earth and that Curiosity could encounter
even more fractionated alkaline rocks (for example, phonolites and trachytes)
Elemental Geochemistry of Sedimentary Rocks at Yellowknife Bay, Gale Crater, Mars
Sedimentary rocks examined by the Curiosity rover at Yellowknife Bay, Mars, were derived from sources that evolved from approximately average Martian crustal composition to one influenced by alkaline basalts. No evidence of chemical weathering is preserved indicating arid, possibly cold, paleoclimates and rapid erosion/deposition. Absence of predicted geochemical variations indicates that magnetite and phyllosilicates formed by diagenesis under low temperature, circum-neutral pH, rock-dominated aqueous conditions. High spatial resolution analyses of diagenetic features, including concretions, raised ridges and fractures, indicate they are composed of iron- and halogen-rich components, magnesium-iron-chlorine-rich components and hydrated calcium-sulfates, respectively. Composition of a cross-cutting dike-like feature is consistent with sedimentary intrusion. Geochemistry of these sedimentary rocks provides further evidence for diverse depositional and diagenetic sedimentary environments during the early
history of Mars
Mineralogy of a Mudstone at Yellowknife Bay, Gale Crater, Mars
Sedimentary rocks at Yellowknife Bay (Gale Crater) on Mars include mudstone sampled by the Curiosity rover. The samples, John Klein and Cumberland, contain detrital basaltic minerals, Ca-sulfates, Fe oxide/hydroxides, Fe-sulfides, amorphous material, and trioctahedral smectites. The John Klein smectite has basal spacing of ~10 Å indicating little interlayer hydration. The Cumberland smectite has basal spacing at ~13.2 Å as well as ~10 Å. The ~13.2 Å spacing suggests a partially chloritized interlayer or interlayer Mg or Ca facilitating H_2O retention. Basaltic minerals in the mudstone are similar to those in nearby eolian deposits. However, the mudstone has far less Fe-forsterite, possibly lost with formation of smectite plus magnetite. Late Noachian/Early Hesperian or younger age indicates that clay mineral formation on Mars extended beyond Noachian time
X-ray Diffraction Results from Mars Science Laboratory: Mineralogy of Rocknest at Gale Crater
The Mars Science Laboratory rover Curiosity scooped samples of soil from the Rocknest aeolian
bedform in Gale crater. Analysis of the soil with the Chemistry and Mineralogy (CheMin) x-ray
diffraction (XRD) instrument revealed plagioclase (~An57), forsteritic olivine (~Fo62), augite,
and pigeonite, with minor K-feldspar, magnetite, quartz, anhydrite, hematite, and ilmenite.
The minor phases are present at, or near, detection limits. The soil also contains 27 ± 14 weight
percent x-ray amorphous material, likely containing multiple Fe^(3+)- and volatile-bearing phases,
including possibly a substance resembling hisingerite. The crystalline component is similar to
the normative mineralogy of certain basaltic rocks from Gusev crater on Mars and of martian
basaltic meteorites. The amorphous component is similar to that found on Earth in places
such as soils on the Mauna Kea volcano, Hawaii
A Habitable Fluvio-Lacustrine Environment at Yellowknife Bay, Gale Crater, Mars
The Curiosity rover discovered fine-grained sedimentary rocks, inferred to represent an ancient lake, preserve evidence of an environment that would have been suited to support a Martian biosphere founded on chemolithoautotrophy. This aqueous environment was characterized by neutral pH, low salinity, and variable redox states of both iron and sulfur species. C, H, O, S, N, and P were measured directly as key biogenic elements, and by inference N and P are assumed to have been available. The environment likely had a minimum duration of hundreds to tens of thousands of years. These results highlight the biological viability of fluvial-lacustrine environments in the post-Noachian history of Mars
- …