|
Icebreaker Life
''Icebreaker Life'' is a Mars lander mission concept proposed to NASA's Discovery Program. The mission involves a stationary lander that would be a near copy of the successful 2008 ''Phoenix'' and 2018 InSight spacecraft, but would carry an astrobiology scientific payload, including a drill to sample ice-cemented ground in the northern plains to conduct a search for biosignatures of current or past life on Mars. The science goals for ''Icebreaker Life'' focus on sampling ice-cemented ground for its potential to preserve and protect biomolecules or biosignatures. ''Icebreaker Life'' was not selected during the 2015 or 2019 Discovery Program competitions. Mission profile The ''Icebreaker Life'' mission has been designed based on the successful 2008 ''Phoenix'' lander in terms of platform and northern landing site. The ''Icebreaker Life'' will also be solar-powered and will be able to accommodate the drill and the rest of the payload with only minor modifications to the origina ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States's civil list of government space agencies, space program, aeronautics research and outer space, space research. National Aeronautics and Space Act, Established in 1958, it succeeded the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) to give the American space development effort a distinct civilian orientation, emphasizing peaceful applications in space science. It has since led most of America's space exploration programs, including Project Mercury, Project Gemini, the 1968–1972 Apollo program missions, the Skylab space station, and the Space Shuttle. Currently, NASA supports the International Space Station (ISS) along with the Commercial Crew Program and oversees the development of the Orion (spacecraft), Orion spacecraft and the Sp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Verge
''The Verge'' is an American Technology journalism, technology news website headquarters, headquartered in Lower Manhattan, New York City and operated by Vox Media. The website publishes news, feature stories, guidebooks, product reviews, consumer electronics news, and podcasts. The website was launched on November 1, 2011, and uses Vox Media's proprietary multimedia publishing platform Chorus. In 2014, Nilay Patel was named editor-in-chief and Dieter Bohn executive editor; Helen Havlak was named editorial director in 2017. ''The Verge'' won five Webby Awards for the year 2012 including awards for Best Writing (Editorial), Best Podcast for ''The Vergecast'', Best Visual Design, Best Consumer Electronics Site, and Best Mobile News App. History Origins Between March and April 2011, up to nine of ''Engadget''s writers, editors, and product developers, including editor-in-chief Joshua Topolsky, left AOL, the company behind that website, to start a new gadget site. The other ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thermal And Evolved Gas Analyzer
The Thermal and Evolved Gas Analyzer (TEGA) is a scientific instrument aboard the ''Phoenix'' spacecraft, a Mars lander which landed and operated on the planet Mars in 2008. TEGA's design is based on experience gained from the failed Mars Polar Lander. Soil samples taken from the Martian surface by the robot arm are eventually delivered to the TEGA, where they are heated in an oven to about 1,000 °C. This heat causes the volatile compounds to be given off as gases which are sent to a mass spectrometer for analysis. This spectrometer is adjusted to measure particularly the isotope ratios for oxygen, carbon, nitrogen, and heavier gases. Detection values are as low as 10 parts per billion. The Phoenix TEGA has 8 ovens, which are enough for 8 samples. Major components: *Differential Scanning Calorimeter *Mass Spectrometer The soil was delivered to TEGA by a robotic arm with a scoop. See also *CheMin *Mars Scout Program *Sample Analysis at Mars *Urey instrument * Viking l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Metabolism
Metabolism (, from ''metabolē'', "change") is the set of life-sustaining chemical reactions in organisms. The three main functions of metabolism are: the conversion of the energy in food to energy available to run cellular processes; the conversion of food to building blocks of proteins, lipids, nucleic acids, and some carbohydrates; and the elimination of metabolic wastes. These enzyme-catalyzed reactions allow organisms to grow and reproduce, maintain their Structures#Biological, structures, and respond to their environments. The word ''metabolism'' can also refer to the sum of all chemical reactions that occur in living organisms, including digestion and the transportation of substances into and between different cells, in which case the above described set of reactions within the cells is called intermediary (or intermediate) metabolism. Metabolic reactions may be categorized as ''catabolic''—the ''breaking down'' of compounds (for example, of glucose to pyruvate by c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Viking Spacecraft Biological Experiments
In 1976 two identical Viking program landers each carried four types of biological experiments to the surface of Mars. The first successful Mars landers, ''Viking 1'' and ''Viking 2'', then carried out experiments to look for biosignatures of microbial life on Mars. The landers each used a robotic arm to pick up and place soil samples into sealed test containers on the craft. The two landers carried out the same tests at two places on Mars' surface, ''Viking 1'' near the equator and ''Viking 2'' further north. The experiments The four experiments below are presented in the order in which they were carried out by the two Viking landers. The biology team leader for the Viking program was Harold P. Klein (NASA Ames). Gas chromatograph – mass spectrometer A gas chromatograph – mass spectrometer (GCMS) is a device that separates vapor components chemically via a gas chromatograph and then feeds the result into a mass spectrometer, which measures the molecular weight of eac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Growth Medium
A growth medium or culture medium is a solid, liquid, or semi-solid designed to support the growth of a population of microorganisms or cells via the process of cell proliferation or small plants like the moss ''Physcomitrella patens''. Different types of media are used for growing different types of cells. The two major types of growth media are those used for cell culture, which use specific cell types derived from plants or animals, and those used for microbiological culture, which are used for growing microorganisms such as bacteria or fungi. The most common growth media for microorganisms are nutrient broths and agar plates; specialized media are sometimes required for microorganism and cell culture growth. Some organisms, termed fastidious organisms, require specialized environments due to complex nutritional requirements. Viruses, for example, are obligate intracellular parasites and require a growth medium containing living cells. Types The most common growth media ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Viking Program
The ''Viking'' program consisted of a pair of identical American space probes, ''Viking 1'' and ''Viking 2'' both launched in 1975, and landed on Mars in 1976. The mission effort began in 1968 and was managed by the NASA Langley Research Center.Soffen, G. A. (July–August 1978). "Mars and the Remarkable Viking Results." ''Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets''. 15 (4): 193-200. Each spacecraft was composed of two main parts: an orbiter spacecraft which photographed the surface of Mars from orbit, and a Lander (spacecraft), lander which studied the planet from the surface. The orbiters also served as communication relays for the landers once they touched down. The Viking program grew from NASA's earlier, even more ambitious, Voyager program (Mars), Voyager Mars program, which was not related to the successful Voyager program, Voyager deep space probes of the late 1970s. ''Viking 1'' was launched on August 20, 1975, and the second craft, ''Viking 2'', was launched on September 9, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Water Activity
In food science, water activity (''aw'') of a food is the ratio of its vapor pressure to the vapor pressure of water at the same temperature, both taken at equilibrium. Pure water has a water activity of one. Put another way, ''aw'' is the equilibrium relative humidity (ERH) expressed as a fraction instead of as a percentage. As temperature increases, ''aw'' typically increases, except in some products with crystalline salt or sugar. Water migrates from areas of high ''aw'' to areas of low ''aw''. For example, if honey (''aw'' ≈ 0.6) is exposed to humid air (''aw'' ≈ 0.7), the honey absorbs water from the air. If salami (''aw'' ≈ 0.87) is exposed to dry air (''aw'' ≈ 0.5), the salami dries out, which could preserve it or spoil it. Lower ''aw'' substances tend to support fewer microorganisms since these get desiccated by the water migration. Water activity is not simply a function of water concentration in food. The water in food has a tendency to evaporate, but the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Biosignatures
A biosignature (sometimes called chemical fossil or molecular fossil) is any substance – such as an element, isotope, molecule, or phenomenon – that provides scientific evidence of past or present life on a planet. Measurable attributes of life include its physical or chemical structures, its use of Thermodynamic free energy, free energy, and the production of biomass and Cellular waste product, wastes. The field of astrobiology uses biosignatures as evidence for the search for past or present extraterrestrial life. Candidate biosignatures strongly indicate some of the earliest known life forms, aid studies of the origin of life on Earth as well as the possibility of life on Mars, life on Venus, Venus and elsewhere in the universe. Types Biosignatures can be grouped into ten broad categories: [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mars Sample Return Mission
A Mars sample-return (MSR) mission is a proposed mission to collect rock and dust samples on Mars and return them to Earth. Such a mission would allow more extensive analysis than that allowed by onboard sensors. Risks of cross-contamination of the Earth biosphere from returned Martian samples have been raised, though the risk of this occurring is considered to be low. The most recent concepts are a NASA-ESA proposal; a CNSA proposal, Tianwen-3; a Roscosmos proposal, Mars-Grunt; and a JAXA proposal, Martian Moons eXploration (MMX). Although NASA and ESA's plans to return the samples to Earth are still in the design stage , samples have been gathered on Mars by the '' Perseverance'' rover. Scientific value Once returned to Earth, stored samples can be studied with the most sophisticated science instruments available. Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for science at NASA Headquarters in Washington, expects such studies to allow several new discoveries at m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nitrate
Nitrate is a polyatomic ion with the chemical formula . salt (chemistry), Salts containing this ion are called nitrates. Nitrates are common components of fertilizers and explosives. Almost all inorganic nitrates are solubility, soluble in water. An example of an insoluble nitrate is bismuth oxynitrate. Chemical structure The nitrate anion is the conjugate acid, conjugate base of nitric acid, consisting of one central nitrogen atom surrounded by three identically bonded oxygen atoms in a trigonal planar arrangement. The nitrate ion carries a formal charge of −1. This charge results from a combination formal charge in which each of the three oxygens carries a − charge, whereas the nitrogen carries a +1 charge, all these adding up to formal charge of the polyatomic nitrate ion. This arrangement is commonly used as an example of Resonance (chemistry), resonance. Like the isoelectronic carbonate ion, the nitrate ion can be represented by three resonance structures: Che ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Insolation
Solar irradiance is the power per unit area ( surface power density) received from the Sun in the form of electromagnetic radiation in the wavelength range of the measuring instrument. Solar irradiance is measured in watts per square metre (W/m2) in SI units. Solar irradiance is often integrated over a given time period in order to report the radiant energy emitted into the surrounding environment (joule per square metre, J/m2) during that time period. This integrated solar irradiance is called solar irradiation, solar radiation, solar exposure, solar insolation, or insolation. Irradiance may be measured in space or at the Earth's surface after atmospheric absorption and scattering. Irradiance in space is a function of distance from the Sun, the solar cycle, and cross-cycle changes.Michael Boxwell, ''Solar Electricity Handbook: A Simple, Practical Guide to Solar Energy'' (2012), pp. 41–42. Irradiance on the Earth's surface additionally depends on the tilt of the meas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
