Evaluation of SIR-A space radar for geologic interpretation: United States, Panama, Colombia, and New Guinea

Comparisons between LANDSAT MSS imagery, and aircraft and space radar imagery from different geologic environments in the United States, Panama, Colombia, and New Guinea demonstrate the interdependence of radar system geometry and terrain configuration for optimum retrieval of geologic information. Illustrations suggest that in the case of space radars (SIR-A in particular), the ability to acquire multiple look-angle/look-direction radar images of a given area is more valuable for landform mapping than further improvements in spatial resolution. Radar look-angle is concluded to be one of the most important system parameters of a space radar designed to be used for geologic reconnaissance mapping. The optimum set of system parameters must be determined for imaging different classes of landform features and tailoring the look-angle to local topography

Use of Orbital Radars for Geoscience Investigations

Studies sponsored by NASA at the University of Kansas in cooperation with several other universities and government research agencies are substantiating the applicability of remote sensing by radar to many fields within the earth sciences, agriculture, and oceanography. 1 The purpose of this paper is to show how the properties of the radar return are used to provide geoscience information

Study of space battery accelerated testing techniques. Phase 2 report - Ideal approaches towards accelerated tests and analysis of data

Ideal approaches to accelerated life tests and data analysis applied to space batterie

Winds of Planet Hosting Stars

The field of exoplanetary science is one of the most rapidly growing areas of astrophysical research. As more planets are discovered around other stars, new techniques have been developed that have allowed astronomers to begin to characterise them. Two of the most important factors in understanding the evolution of these planets, and potentially determining whether they are habitable, are the behaviour of the winds of the host star and the way in which they interact with the planet. The purpose of this project is to reconstruct the magnetic fields of planet hosting stars from spectropolarimetric observations, and to use these magnetic field maps to inform simulations of the stellar winds in those systems using the Block Adaptive Tree Solar-wind Roe Upwind Scheme (BATS-R-US) code. The BATS-R-US code was originally written to investigate the behaviour of the Solar wind, and so has been altered to be used in the context of other stellar systems. These simulations will give information about the velocity, pressure and density of the wind outward from the host star. They will also allow us to determine what influence the winds will have on the space weather environment of the planet. This paper presents the preliminary results of these simulations for the star $\tau$ Bo\"otis, using a newly reconstructed magnetic field map based on previously published observations. These simulations show interesting structures in the wind velocity around the star, consistent with the complex topology of its magnetic field.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication in the peer-reviewed proceedings of the 14th Australian Space Research Conference, held at the University of South Australia, 29th September - 1st October 201

Note and Comment

Necessity of Valid Contract to Support Escrow - In Foulkes V. Sengstqcken, (Ore. 1917) 163 Pac. 311, it is said that A pure escrow presupposes the existence of a valid contract with sufficient parties, a proper subject matter, and a consideration. There must be an actual contract of sale on the one side and of purchase on the other, afid until there is such a contract, the instrument executed by the supposed grantor, though in form a deed, is neither a deed nor an escrow. Accordingly it was held that performance of conditions by a grantee after the grantor had withdrawn the instrument from the custodian was ineffective to accomplish a conveyance. In its decision the court follows Davis v. Brigham, 56 Ore. 41, io7 Pac. 961, Ann. Cas. 1912B 1340, where the same doctrine, though probably not necessary to the decision, was laid down

Electron Density Dropout Near Enceladus in the Context of Water-Vapor and Water-Ice

On 12 March 2008, the Cassini spacecraft made a close encounter with the Saturnian moon Enceladus, passing within 52 km of the moon. The spacecraft trajectory was intentionally-oriented in a southerly direction to create a close alignment with the intense water-dominated plumes emitted from the south polar region. During the passage, the Cassini Radio and Plasma Wave System (RPWS) detected two distinct radio signatures: 1) Impulses associated with small water-ice dust grain impacts and 2) an upper hybrid (UH) resonance emission that both intensified and displayed a sharp frequency decrease in the near-vicinity of the moon. The frequency decrease of the UH emission is associated with an unexpectedly sharp decrease in electron density from approximately 90 el/cubic cm to below 20 el/cubic cm that occurs on a time scale of a minute near the closest encounter with the moon. In this work, we consider a number of scenarios to explain this sharp electron dropout, but surmise that electron absorption by ice grains is the most likely process

Strain comparisons in inhibitory discrimination learning and novel object recognition procedures

Strain differences in visual abilities and exploratory tendencies can confound rats’ performance in cognitive tests of learning and memory. In the present study we compared the performance of albino Wistar and pigmented Lister Hooded rats in appetitive conditioning and recognition memory procedures, specifically within-subjects inhibitory learning (A+ /AX-) and novel object recognition (NOR) variants. The inhibition task included an excitatory training stage and summation and retardation tests. Difference scores were used to help control for individual variation in baseline nosepoke responding. NOR was tested after a 10 min delay, following 24hr delay and using a recency variant. Discrimination ratios were used to control for individual variation in exploratory activity. In the inhibitory learning procedure, Lister Hooded showed more magazine activity prior to stimulus presentations than Wistar rats but this was a transient effect restricted to day 1 of excitatory training. There was no strain difference in associative learning at the excitatory training stage. The Wistars went on to show some performance advantage at the inhibitory discrimination stage and marginally stronger retardation test performance. In the NOR tasks, there was no significant effect of strain on cognitive performance, but the Wistars showed some advantage in the 10 min delay variant, whereas in the 24hr delay and relative recency NOR variants, the Lister Hooded rats showed some advantage. Overall the results of the present study confirm the suitability of Wistar rats for use in associative learning and basic NOR procedures