Terrestrial and Lunar Geological Terminology

This section is largely a compilation of defining geological terms concepts. Broader topics, such as the ramifications for simulant design and in situ resource utilization, are included as necessary for context

Figure of Merit Characteristics Compared to Engineering Parameters

Current NASA lunar architecture calls for permanent human habitation of the moon by the year 2020. Due to the expense of delivering materials into orbit, technologies are being developed to use lunar regolith for building and as a material resource for fabrication, oxygen production, and other needs. Additionally, constant exposure to the finest size fraction of lunar regolith may present hazards to human health. Towards developing these technologies and mitigating hazards, lunar regolith simulants are becoming an increasingly important part of the development paradigm

Radiofrequency discharges by microstrucured electrode arrays for surface treatment

Mikrostrukturierte Elektrodensysteme sind geeignete nicht-thermische Plasmaquellen, um bei Atmosphärendruck zu arbeiten. Das Thema dieser Dissertation ist es zu demonstrieren, wie die MSE von einer nach dem Paschen-Gesetz optimierten Plasmaquelle zu einer Anwendung bei Atmosphärendruck unter Ausnutzung der jeweils optimalen Entladungsbedingungen in verschiedenen Gasen weiterentwickelt werden kann. Außerdem kann die Anwendbarkeit der Plasmaquelle durch die Ergebnisse der Charakterisierung ausgeweitet werden, nachdem mit einer Erhöhung der verwendeten Radiofrequenz die Plasmaquelle bis zu Atmosphärendruck in Stickstoff stabil und mit einer verbesserten Homogenität der Entladung gezündet werden kann. Ein Gegenstand der Entwicklungsarbeit war es, anhand der Anwendungen zu demonstrieren, dass es möglich ist mit dieser Plasmaquelle selbst resistente Referenzsporen für verschiedene Sterilisationsmethoden durch die Plasmaeinwirkung zu deaktivieren. Weiterhin sollte die Möglichkeit untersucht werden, bis zu Atmosphärendruck Beschichtungsexperimente zu realisieren. Es wurden im Rahmen der Charakterisierung die Zündungsparameter bestimmt, um den Fortschritt der Optimierung anhand des minimalen Leistungseintrages zur Zündung abzubilden und Strom-Spannungskurven aufgenommen, um den Betrieb im Glimmentladungsbereich sicherzustellen. Optische-, zeitaufgelöste Emissionsspektroskopie des vergrößerten Entladungsspaltes im UV-VIS-Bereich, Temperaturmessungen der Plasmaquelle im Betrieb und massenspektrometrische Online-Produktanalysen wurden durchgeführt, um möglichst lückenlose Informationen zu erhalten und Wirkmechanismen der Anwendungen vorherzusagen. Um darüber hinaus künftig mit Hilfe laserinduzierter Fluoreszenz die Generation schichtbildender- oder evtl. keimtötender Spezies im Plasma dreidimensional und zeitaufgelöst verfolgen zu können, wurde ein weiterer Versuchsstand zur Plasmaanalyse konzipiert, realisiert sowie die Funktionsfähigkeit demonstriert. Im Ergebnis führten diese Experimente zu einer Identifizierung und Optimierung relevanter Parameter wie zum Beispiel der Plasmaleistung, dem Substratabstand oder der Gaszusammensetzung, um den optimalen Betrieb der jeweiligen Anwendung zu erzielen.Microstructured electrode arrays are suitable non-thermal plasma sources working at atmospheric pressure. The topic of this thesis is to demonstrate how the MSE could be developed from a paschen law optimized plasma source to an atmospheric pressure application using optimal discharge regimes in several gases. The results of the characterization experiments could improve the applicability of the plasma source because higher excitation frequencies led to a more stable and homogenous discharge at atmospheric pressure in nitrogen. Another topic of this thesis was to demonstrate that even resistant spores that easily endure several sterilisation methods could be deactivated by the plasma treatment. Further the possibility was analysed to carry out plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition experiments up to atmospheric pressure. The characterization included the determination of certain ignition parameters to monitor the progress of the optimization and voltage/current characteristics to assure a glow discharge mode of the plasma. Optical- and time-resolved emission spectroscopy of the magnified electrode gap, temperature measurements of the plasma source in operation and mass spectroscopy were carried out to gather complete information and to predict the modes of action in several applications. In the future the generation of deposit forming species or germicidal species will be observed three-dimensional by laser induced fluorescence. This experimental setup was designed, realised and finally the operability was tested. The results should lead to the identification and optimization of relevant parameters like plasma power, distance to the substrate, gas composition etc. to maintain optimal operation in several applications

Constraining Particle Variation in Lunar Regolith for Simulant Design

Simulants are used by the lunar engineering community to develop and test technologies for In Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU), excavation and drilling, and for mitigation of hazards to machinery and human health. Working with the United States Geological Survey (USGS), other NASA centers, private industry and academia, Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) is leading NASA s lunar regolith simulant program. There are two main efforts: simulant production and simulant evaluation. This work requires a highly detailed understanding of regolith particle type, size, and shape distribution, and of bulk density. The project has developed Figure of Merit (FoM) algorithms to quantitatively compare these characteristics between two materials. The FoM can be used to compare two lunar regolith samples, regolith to simulant, or two parcels of simulant. In work presented here, we use the FoM algorithm to examine the variance of particle type in Apollo 16 highlands regolith core and surface samples. For this analysis we have used internally consistent particle type data for the 90-150 m fraction of Apollo core 64001/64002 from station 4, core 60009/60010 from station 10, and surface samples from various Apollo 16 stations. We calculate mean modal compositions for each core and for the group of surface samples and quantitatively compare samples of each group to its mean as a measurement of within-group variance; we also calculate an FoM for every sample against the mean composition of 64001/64002. This gives variation with depth at two locations and between Apollo 16 stations. Of the tested groups, core 60009/60010 has the highest internal variance with an average FoM score of 0.76 and core 64001/64002 has the lowest with an average FoM of 0.92. The surface samples have a low but intermediate internal variance with an average FoM of 0.79. FoM s calculated against the 64001/64002 mean reference composition range from 0.79-0.97 for 64001/64002, from 0.41-0.91 for 60009/60010, and from 0.54-0.93 for the surface samples. Six samples fall below 0.70, and they are also the least mature (i.e., have the lowest I(sub s)/FeO). Because agglutinates are the dominant particle type and the agglutinate population increases with sample maturity (I(sub s)/FeO), the maturity of the sample relative to the reference is a prime determinant of the particle type FoM score within these highland samples

The Mantle and Basalt-Crust Interaction Below the Mount Taylor Volcanic Field, New Mexico

The Mount Taylor Volcanic Field (MTVF) lies on the Jemez Lineament on the southeastern margin of the Colorado Plateau. The field is centered on the Mt. Taylor composite volcano and includes Mesa Chivato to the NE and Grants Ridge to the WSW. MTVF magmatism spans approximately 3.8-1.5 Ma (K-Ar). Magmas are dominantly alkaline with mafic compositions ranging from basanite to hy-basalt and felsic compositions ranging from ne-trachyte to rhyolite. We are investigating the state of the mantle and the spatial and temporal variation in basalt-crustal interaction below the MTVF by examining mantle xenoliths and basalts in the context of new mapping and future Ar-Ar dating. The earliest dated magmatism in the field is a basanite flow south of Mt. Taylor. Mantle xenolith-bearing alkali basalts and basanites occur on Mesa Chivato and in the region of Mt. Taylor, though most basalts are peripheral to the main cone. Xenolith-bearing magmatism persists at least into the early stages of conebuilding. Preliminary examination of the mantle xenolith suite suggests it is dominantly lherzolitic but contains likely examples of both melt-depleted (harzburgitic) and melt-enriched (clinopyroxenitic) mantle. There are aphyric and crystal-poor hawaiites, some of which are hy-normative, on and near Mt. Taylor, but many of the more evolved MTVF basalts show evidence of complex histories. Mt. Taylor basalts higher in the cone-building sequence contain >40% zoned plagioclase pheno- and megacrysts. Other basalts peripheral to Mt. Taylor and at Grants Ridge contain clinopyroxene and plagioclase megacrysts and cumulate-textured xenoliths, suggesting they interacted with lower crustal cumulates. Among the questions we are addressing: What was the chemical and thermal state of the mantle recorded by the basaltic suites and xenoliths and how did it change with time? Are multiple parental basalts (Si-saturated vs. undersaturated) represented and, if so, what changes in the mantle or in the tectonic regime allowed their coexistence or caused the transition

A demonstrator for the Micro-Vertex-Detector of the CBM experiment

CMOS sensors are the most promising candidates for the Micro-Vertex-Detector (MVD) of the CBM experiment at GSI, as they provide an unprecedented compromise between spatial resolution, low material budget, adequate radiation tolerance and readout speed. To study the integration of these sensors into a detector module, a so-called MVD-demonstrator has been developed. The demonstrator and its in-beam performance will be presented and discussed in this work

Forest–atmosphere exchange of reactive nitrogen in a remote region – Part I: Measuring temporal dynamics

Long-term dry deposition flux measurements of reactive nitrogen based on the eddy covariance or the aerodynamic gradient method are scarce. Due to the large diversity of reactive nitrogen compounds and high technical requirements for the measuring devices, simultaneous measurements of individual reactive nitrogen compounds are not affordable. Hence, we examined the exchange patterns of total reactive nitrogen (Sigma N-r) and determined annual dry deposition budgets based on measured data at a mixed forest exposed to low air pollution levels located in the Bavarian Forest National Park (NPBW), Germany. Flux measurements of Sigma N-r were carried out with the Total Reactive Atmospheric Nitrogen Converter (TRANC) coupled to a chemiluminescence detector (CLD) for 2.5 years. The average Sigma N-r concentration was 3.1 mu g N m(-3). Denuder measurements with DELTA samplers and chemiluminescence measurements of nitrogen oxides (NOx) have shown that NOx has the highest contribution to Sigma N-r (similar to 51.4 %), followed by ammonia (NH3) (similar to 20.0 %), ammonium (NH4+) (similar to 15.3 %), nitrate NO3- (similar to 7.0 %), and nitric acid (HNO3) (similar to 6.3 %). Only slight seasonal changes were found in the Sigma N-r concentration level, whereas a seasonal pattern was observed for the contribution of NH3 and NOx center dot NH3 showed highest contributions to Sigma N-r in spring and summer, NOx in autumn and winter. We observed deposition fluxes at the measurement site with median fluxes ranging from -15 to -5 ng Nm(-2) S-1 (negative fluxes indicate deposition). Median deposition velocities ranged from 0.2 to 0.5 cm s(-1). In general, highest deposition velocities were recorded during high solar radiation, in particular from May to September. Our results suggest that seasonal changes in composition of Sigma N-r global radiation (R-g), and other drivers correlated with R-g were most likely influencing the deposition velocity (v(d)). We found that from May to September higher temperatures, lower relative humidity, and dry leaf surfaces increase v(d) of Sigma N-r. At the measurement site, Sigma N-r concentration did not emerge as a driver for the Sigma N(r)v(d). No significant influence of temperature, humidity, friction velocity, or wind speed on Sigma N-r fluxes when using the meandiurnal-variation (MDV) approach for filling gaps of up to 5 days was found. Remaining gaps were replaced by a monthly average of the specific half-hourly value. From June 2016 to May 2017 and June 2017 to May 2018, we estimated dry deposition sums of 3.8 and 4.0 kg N ha(-1) a(-1), respectively. Adding results from the wet deposition measurements, we determined 12.2 and 10.9 kg N ha(-1) a(-1) as total nitrogen deposition in the 2 years of observation. This work encompasses (one of) the first long-term flux measurements of Sigma N-r using novel measurements techniques for estimating annual nitrogen dry deposition to a remote forest ecosystem

Neue Entwicklungen zur Öffentlichkeit von Gerichtsverhandlungen in Deutschland

Das Dokument stellt Vorgeschichte, Inhalt und Bewertung des Gesetzes „über die Erweiterung der Medienöffentlichkeit in Gerichtsverfahren“ (EMöGG) 2017 dar

Identifying genes of gene regulatory networks using formal concept analysis

In order to understand the behavior of a gene regulatory network, it is essential to know the genes that belong to it. Identifying the correct members (e.g. in order to build a model) is a difficult task even for small subnetworks. Usually only few members of a network are known and one needs to guess the missing members based on experience or informed speculation. It is beneficial if one can additionally rely on experimental data to support this guess. In this work we present a new method based on formal concept analysis to detect unknown members of a gene regulatory network from gene expression time series data. We show that formal concept analysis is able to find a list of candidate genes for inclusion into a partially known basic network. This list can then be reduced by a statistical analysis so that the resulting genes interact strongly with the basic network and therefore should be included when modeling the network. The method has been applied to the DNA repair system of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. In this application our method produces comparable results to an already existing method of component selection while it is applicable to a broader range of problems