Population growth and physiological characteristics of microalgae in a miniaturized bioreactor during space flight

A strain of microalgae (Anabaena siamensis) had been cultured in a miniaturized bioreactor during a retrievable satellite flight for 15 days. By means of remote sensing equipment installed in the satellite, we gained the growth curve of microalgae population in space every day in real time. The curve indicated that the growth of microalgae in space was slower than the control on ground. Inoculation of the retrieved microalgae culture showed that the growth rate was distinctively higher than ground control. But after several generations, both cultures indicated similar growth rates. Those data showed that algae, can adapt to space environment easily which may be valuable for designing more complex bioreactor and controlled ecological life support system in future experiment. (C) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

传导冷却的全固态zigzag板条激光器

报道了激光二极管泵浦的被动传导冷却的Q开关Nd:YAG zigzag 板条激光器，谐振腔采用平平腔和非稳腔。在20Hz运转时，得到脉宽均为10ns的150 mJ，光光效率19%的多模输出和100 mJ、13%光学效率的单模输出，并进行了相关的热效应测试，结果表明该激光器具有效率高、结构紧凑、光束质量好，在空间环境应用具有很好的发展潜力。

空间电流体系地磁反演及理论研究

The space currents definitely take effects on electromagnetic environment and also are scientific highlight in the space research. Space currents as a momentum and energy provider to Geospace Storm, disturb the varied part of geomagnetic field, distort magnetospheric configuration and furthermore take control of the coupling between magnetosphere and ionosphere. Due to both academic and commercial objectives above, we carry on geomagnetic inverse and theoretical studies about the space currents by using geomagnetic data from INTERMAGNET. At first, we apply a method of Natural Orthogonal Components (NOC) to decomposition the solar daily variation, especially for (solar quiet variation). NOC is just one of eign mode analysis, the most advantage of this method is that the basic functions (BFs) were not previously designated, but naturally came from the original data so that there are several BFs usually corresponding to the process really happened and have more physical meaning than the traditional spectrum analysis with the fixed BFs like Fourier trigonometric functions. The first two eign modes are corresponding to the and daily variation and their amplitudes both have the seasonal and day-to-day trend, that will be useful for evaluating geomagnetic activity indices. Because of the too strict constraints of orthogonality, we try to extend orthogonal contraints to the non-orthogonal ones in order to give more suitable and appropriate decomposition of the real processes when the most components did not satisfy orthogonality. We introduce a mapping matrix which can transform the real physical space to a new mathematical space, after that process, the modified components which associated with the physical processes have satisfied the orthogonality in the new mathematical space, furthermore, we can continue to use the NOC decomposition in the new mathematical space, and then all the components inversely transform back to original physical space, so that we would have finished the non-orthogonal decomposition which more generally in the real world. Secondly, geomagnetic inverse of the ring current’s topology is conducted. Configurational changes of the ring current in the magnetosphere lead to different patterns of disturbed ground field, so that the global configuration of ring current can be inferred from its geomagnetic perturbations. We took advantages of worldwide geomagnetic observatories network to investigate the disturbed geomagnetic field which produced by ring current. It was found that the ring current was not always centered at geomagnetic equator, and significantly deviated off the equator during several intense magnetic storms. The deviation owing to the tilting and latitudinal shifting of the ring current with respect to the earth’s dipole can be estimated from global geomagnetic survey. Furthermore those two configurational factors which gave a quantitative description of the ring current configuration, will be helpful to improve the Dst calibration and understand the dependence of ring current’s configuration on the plasma sheet location relative to the equator when magnetotail field warped. Thirdly, the energization and physical acceleration process of ring current during magnetic storm has been proposed. When IMF Bz component increase, the enhanced convection electric field drive the plasma injection into the inner magnetosphere. During the transport process, a dynamic heating is happened which make the particles more ‘hot’ when the injection is more deeply inward. The energy gradient along the injection path is equivalent to a kind of force, which resist the plasma more earthward injection, as a diamagnetic effect of the magnetosphere anti and repellent action to the exotically injected plasma. The acceleration efficiency has a power law form. We use analytical way to quantitatively describe the dynamical process by introducing a physical parameter: energization index, which will be useful to understand how the particle is heated. At the end, we give a scheme of how to get the from storm time geomagnetic data. During intense magnetic storms, the lognormal trend of geomagnetic Dst decreases depend on the heating dynamic of magnetosphere controlling ring current. The descending pattern of main phase is governed by the magnetospheric configuration, which can be describled by the energization index. The amplitude of Dst correlated with convection electric field or south component of the solar wind. Finally, the Dst index is predicted by upstream solar wind parameter. As we known space weather have posed many chanllenges and impacts on techinal system, the geomagnetic index for evaluating the activity space weather. We review the most popular Dst prediction method and repeat the Dst forecasting model works. A concise and convnient Key Points model of the polar region is also introduced to space weather. In summary, this paper contains some new quantitative and physical description of the space currents with special focus on the ring current. Whatever we do is just to gain a better understanding of the natural world, particularly the space environment around Earth through analytical deduction, algorithm designing and physical analysis, to quantitative interpretation. Applications of theoretical physics in conjunction with data analysis help us to understand the basic physical process govering the universe.

磁层－电离层电流的暴时变化以及主磁场对空间环境的影响

Two problems are studied in this thesis, the relationship of the magneto-spheric - ionospheric current systems during storms, and the effects of the main field to the space environment. The thesis includes three parts. 1. Magnetic disturbances caused by magnetospheric - ionospheric current systems Transient variations of the geomagnetic field at middle-low latitudes are mainly caused by the ionospheric dynamo current (IDC), the symmetric ring current (SRC), the partial ring current-region II field-aligned current-ionospheric current system (PRFI), and the region I field-aligned current-ionospheric current system (FACI). The storm on May 1 ～ 6, 1998 is analyzed. Firstly, the S_q-field caused by IDC current is removed by using the modified Hibberd's method in which the effect of SRC is considered. The neglect of SRC-field can give as much as 40% error in S_q-field evaluation. Secondly, the disturbance fields at the middle and low latitudes are separated according to their origins. As a result, the disturbance caused by FACI-current is an important part of the asymmetrical depression of H-component in middle and low latitudes during storms. The results show that the relative intensity of the Sq-field increases in the main phase of the storm and decreases in the recovery phase. The latitudinal gradient of the Sq-field is positive during the whole storm. The storm of May 1 ～ 6, 1998 contains two events. In the first event on May 2, the SRC-field is similar to Dst index. But in the second event on May 4 ～ 5, the SRC-field delays to Dst index, and the SRC-field depresses while the PRFI- and FACI-fields recovery. 2. Analysis of S_q~p variation in CGM coordinates In order to study the conjugation of geomagnetic variations between northern and southern hemispheres, we use the corrected geomagnetic coordinates (CGM) instead of the geomagnetic coordinates (GM) to analyze the S_q~P equivalent current system. The CGM coordinates are built up by International Geomagnetic Reference Field (IGRF) model. The S_q~p variations and equivalent current systems in the northern and southern polar regions are more symmetrical in CGM coordinates than in GM co-ordinates. This fact implies that the current distributions in polar regions are governed by the configuration of the geomagnetic field lines. As the elaborate structure of S_q~p current system in quiet time is obtained, we summarize the seasonal variation of the electrojet in quiet time. 3. The magnetospheric configuration of non-parallel-dipole model The magnetospheric configurations are calculated for two possible geomag-netic field models during the geomagnetic field reversals. These models are the dipole field with the axis to the sun and the quadrupole field model. We use the finite element method to solve the magnetic equation, and use the surface evolution method to solve the equilibrium equation. The results show that the main field greatly affects the space environment.

The Real-Time Mach-Zehnder Interferometer Used In Space Experiment

The optical interference method is a promising technique for measuring temperature, density, and concentration in fluids. The non-intrusive and non-invasive nature of its optical techniques to the measured section are its most outstanding features. However, the adverse experiment environment, especially regarding shaking and vibrating, greatly restricts the application of the interferometer. In the present work, an optical diagnostic system consisting of a Mach-Zehnder interferometer (named after physicists Ludwig Mach) and an image processor has been developed that increases the measuring sensitivity compared to conventional experimental methods in fluid mechanics. An image processor has also been developed for obtaining quantitative results by using Fourier transformation. The present facility has been used in observing and measuring the mass transfer process of a water droplet in EAFP protein solution under microgravity condition provided by the satellite Shi Jian No. 8.

A Novel Counter Sheet-Flow Sandwich Cell Culture Device For Mammalian Cell Growth In Space

Cell culture and growth in space is crucial to understand the cellular responses under microgravity. The effects of microgravity were coupled with such environment restrictions as medium perfusion, in which the underlying mechanism has been poorly understood. In the present work, a customer-made counter sheet-flow sandwich cell culture device was developed upon a biomechanical concept from fish gill breathing. The sandwich culture unit consists of two side chambers where the medium flow is counter-directional, a central chamber where the cells are cultured, and two porous polycarbonate membranes between side and central chambers. Flow dynamics analysis revealed the symmetrical velocity profile and uniform low shear rate distribution of flowing medium inside the central culture chamber, which promotes sufficient mass transport and nutrient supply for mammalian cell growth. An on-orbit experiment performed on a recovery satellite was used to validate the availability of the device.

Space Experimental Investigation On Thermocapillary Migration Of Bubbles

Results from a space experiment on bubble thermocapillary migration conducted on board the Chinese 22nd recoverable satellite were presented. Considering the temperature field in the cell was disturbed by the accumulated bubbles, the temperature gradient was corrected firstly with the help of the temperature measurement data at six points and numerical simulation. Marangoni number (Ma) of single bubble migrating in the space experiment ranged from 98.04 to 9288, exceeding that in the previous experiment data. The experiment data including the track and the velocity of two bubble thermocapillary migration showed that a smaller bubble would move slower as it was passed by a larger one, and the smaller one would even rest in a short time when the size ratio was large enough.

Space experiments of thermocapillary convection in two-liquid layers

In 1999, the space experiments on the Marangoni convection and thermocapillary convection in a system of two immiscible liquid layers in microgravity environment were conducted on board the Chinese scientific satellite SJ-5. A new system of two-layer liquids such as FC-70 liquid and paraffin was used successfully, with the paraffin melted in the space. Two different test-cells are subjected to a temperature gradient perpendicular or parallel to the interface to study the Marangoni convection and thermocapillary convection, respectively. The experimental data obtained in the first Chinese space experiment of fluid are presented. Two-dimensional numerical simulations of thermocapillary convections are carried out using SIMPLEC method A reasonable agreement between the experimental investigation and the numerical results is obtained.