Mars surface transportation options

As the number of scientific experiments for the surface of Mars grows, the need for effective surface transportation becomes critical. Because of the diversity of the experiments proposed, as well as the desire to explore Mars from the equator to the poles, the optimum surface vehicle configuration is not obvious. Five candidate vehicles are described, with an estimate of their size and performance. In order to maximize the success of a manned Mars mission, it appears that two vehicles should be designed for surface transportation: an advanced long-range rover, and a remotely-piloted airplane

Identifying the Problem: Koreas Initial Experience with Mandatory Real Name Verification on Internet Portals

In 2007, Korea implemented the worlds only mandatory real name verification system for individuals wishing to post content on popular Korean internet portals. This system, which expanded in 2009 to include additional portals, has so far been relatively ineffective at its stated purpose of reducing instances of online libel. Together with Koreas censorship of certain internet sites, the real name verification system distinguishes Korea as regulating internet use more heavily than other democratic societies. I argue that the real name verification system is unlikely to successfully deter future acts of cyber libel, but will rather hinder socially useful online activities, such as free expression on matters of social and political significance. Possible means for strengthening enforcement of the real name verification system would provide little promise of preventing defamation while further interfering with freedom of expression and personal privacy. I propose that Korean law can more effectively balance protection of private reputations with individual liberty interests by changing the real name verification system from a mandatory requirement to an internet portal opt-in system. Korea might also consider an emphasis on civil remedies as a means for minimizing the occurrence and consequences of cyber libel while simultaneously preserving a free and collaborative internet

Self-unloading, reusable, lunar lander project

In the early 21st century, NASA will return to the Moon and establish a permanent base. To achieve this goal safely and economically, B&T Engineering has designed an unmanned, reusable, self-unloading lunar lander. The lander is designed to deliver 15,000 kg payloads from an orbit transfer vehicle (OTV) in a low lunar polar orbit and an altitude of 200 km to any location on the lunar surface

The Expansive Canopy of Korean Green Growth: Key Aspects for Forest Conservation Projects in Southeast Asia

This article provides an international law context for Korea Low Carbon, Green Growth Fundamental Act (the CGGFA in order to illustrate potential applications of the LCGGFA in multinational forest conservation-related projects. The international law of sustainable development and ongoing efforts to address climate change are described. Korea relevant history and recent lawmaking are then introduced, with a special focus upon the LCGGFA structure and its distinctive features. The article then analyzes potential transplantations of various concepts and structures of the LCGGFA to other legal systems. The final section of the article focuses upon particular methods by which Korean law and policy can facilitate forestryrelated conservation and sustainable economic development projects, such as in heavily rainforested nations of Southeast Asia. I hope that this assessment will prove helpful as governments and private parties consider concrete steps to achieve durable and equitable carbon emission reductions in the forestry sector

Time-dependent perturbation theory for vibrational energy relaxation and dephasing in peptides and proteins

Without invoking the Markov approximation, we derive formulas for vibrational energy relaxation (VER) and dephasing for an anharmonic system oscillator using a time-dependent perturbation theory. The system-bath Hamiltonian contains more than the third order coupling terms since we take a normal mode picture as a zeroth order approximation. When we invoke the Markov approximation, our theory reduces to the Maradudin-Fein formula which is used to describe VER properties of glass and proteins. When the system anharmonicity and the renormalization effect due to the environment vanishes, our formulas reduce to those derived by Mikami and Okazaki invoking the path-integral influence functional method [J. Chem. Phys. 121 (2004) 10052]. We apply our formulas to VER of the amide I mode of a small amino-acide like molecule, N-methylacetamide, in heavy water.Comment: 16 pages, 5 figures, 5 tables, submitted to J. Chem. Phy

The Road to Doha through Seoul: The Diplomatic and Legal Implications of the Pre-COP 18 Ministerial Meeting

International climate change negotiations reached a critical crossroads in 2012. Facing the conclusion of the Kyoto Protocol and with no successor regime yet negotiated, nations have been compelled to re-engage in substantive and far-ranging discussions. The nation of Korea has distinguished itself in this process, in particular by hosting the final ministerial meeting prior to this year Conference of the Parties in Doha, Qatar. The Korean government willingness to lead has also been evidenced by Korea founding of the Global Green Growth Institute, a leading international organization in the area of environmentally responsible economic development, and Korea successful bid to host the Green Climate Fund secretariat. Korean diplomacy has aided in the consensus to extend the Kyoto Protocol and to continue efforts to implement a new climate change architecture by 2020

Multi-scale variations in invertebrate and fish megafauna in the mid-eastern Clarion Clipperton Zone

The abyssal seafloor of the Clarion Clipperton Zone (CCZ) in the central Pacific has the largest known deposits of polymetallic nodules and associated benthic faunal communities with high biodiversity. The environmental factors that structure these communities, both at regional and local scales, are not well understood. In this study, seabed image surveys were used to assess distribution patterns in invertebrate and fish megafauna (>1 cm) at multiple scales in relation to key environmental factors: food supply to the seabed varying at the regional scale (hundreds of km), seabed geomorphological variations varying at the broad local scale (tens of km), and seabed nodule cover varying at the fine local scale (tens of meters). We found significant differences in megafaunal density and community composition between all study areas. Variations in faunal density did not appear to match with regional productivity gradients, although faunal density generally decreased with increasing water depth (from E to W). In contrast, geomorphology and particularly nodule cover appeared to exert strong control on local faunal abundance and community composition, but not in species richness. Local variations in faunal density and beta-diversity, particularly those driven by nodule presence (within study areas), were of comparable magnitude to those observed at a regional level (between study areas). However, regional comparisons of megabenthic assemblages showed clear shifts in dominance between taxonomic groups (perceivable even at Phylum levels) across the mid-eastern CCZ seabed, suggesting a higher regional heterogeneity than was previously thought