859 research outputs found
Valuing life detection missions
Recent discoveries imply that Early Mars was habitable for
life-as-we-know-it; that Enceladus might be habitable; and that many stars have
Earth-sized exoplanets whose insolation favors surface liquid water. These
exciting discoveries make it more likely that spacecraft now under construction
- Mars 2020, ExoMars rover, JWST, Europa Clipper - will find habitable, or
formerly habitable, environments. Did these environments see life? Given finite
resources (\$10bn/decade for the US ), how could we best test the hypothesis of
a second origin of life? Here, we first state the case for and against flying
life detection missions soon. Next, we assume that life detection missions will
happen soon, and propose a framework for comparing the value of different life
detection missions:
Scientific value = (Reach x grasp x certainty x payoff) / \$
After discussing each term in this framework, we conclude that scientific
value is maximized if life detection missions are flown as hypothesis tests.
With hypothesis testing, even a nondetection is scientifically valuable.Comment: Accepted by "Astrobiology.
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Developing a grid computing system for commercial-off-the-shelf simulation packages
Today simulation is becoming an increasingly
pervasive technology across major business
sectors. Advances in COTS Simulation Packages
and Commercial Simulation Software have made
it easier for users to build models, often of large complex processes. These two factors combined are to be welcomed and when used correctly can be of great benefit to organisations that make use of the technology. However, it is also the case
that users hungry for answers do not always have the time, or possibly the patience, to wait for results from multiple replications and multiple experiments as standard simulation practice would demand. There is therefore a need to support this advance in the use of simulation within todayâs business with improved computing technology. Grid computing has been put forward as a potential commercial solution to this requirement. To this end, Saker Solutions and the Distributed Systems Research Group at Brunel University have developed a dedicated Grid Computing System (SakerGrid) to support the deployment of simulation models across a desktop grid of PCs. The paper identifies route taken to solve this challenging issue and suggests where the future may lie for this exciting integration of two effective but underused technologies
Readjustment of Federal Coal Leases
19 pages.
Contains references
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