nano 2007-12-24 08:42
NASA盘点2007年重大科研进展
:nts 中国科学院网站2007 年12月21日消息：据科学时报报道，2007年，美国宇航局(NASA)在空间探测方面和未来计划上都取得了新的发现和进展。首先，对太阳系研究的方面，拓展了人们对地球及其在宇宙中位置的认识，并且继续建造国际空间站(ISS)。在航天飞机三次成功完成任务后，国际空间站得到了新的成长，这些都为 NASA接下来的“重返月球”计划、建立永久的月球前哨站以及最终的火星旅行奠定了基础。在这一年里，NASA对火星和小行星带启动了空间探测计划，同时，地球卫星也获得了许多重要发现，比如发现南极冰流下的水路如何影响海平面和世界上最大的冰架变化。
[b]重返月球[/b]
为了在2020年重返月球，NASA启动了星群计划(Constellation Program)，着力于开发新一代太空船和相关系统。NASA已经在2007年完成了战神1号火箭的合同，并将于2008年对星群计划进行首次飞行检验。现在，在NASA的各个空间中心，闪电防护系统、火箭引擎支架、对月球前哨站的准备、可移动的宇航员住宅等研究都在紧锣密鼓地进行，科学家也在寻找机会在地球的合适地点对登月设备进行检验。
[b]历史性的握手[/b]
2007年10月，当NASA“发现号”航天飞机与国际空间站的远征16的舱门打开时，两位指挥官Pam Melroy与Peggy Whitson进行了历史性的握手。这是首次由两位女性担任各自项目的总指挥，并在距地200英里的地方握手。
[b]凤凰号升空[/b]
2007年8月4日，NASA启动了凤凰计划，凤凰号要经历9个月的长途跋涉，到达火星。自动登陆车预计将在2008年5月25日到达这颗红色星球，并开始对火星北极区域进行实地勘测。凤凰号的机械臂将插入火星表面进行挖掘，从而将成为首个对科学家认为的火星冰层进行检测的探测飞船。此外，凤凰号上的机器人探测器还将研究火星上水的历史，监控极地天气，并调查火星北部平原下是否有适合微生物生存的环境。
[b]国际空间站继续“成长”[/b]
在2007年6月、8月和10月三次成功进行航天飞机运载后，国际空间站的规模和动力又变大变强了。在这一年里，国际空间站的电能产生和使用都增加了一倍还多，而空间站目前的6块太阳帆板总面积超过了半英亩。美国和俄罗斯的宇航员已经安全进行了22次太空行走，第23次已在12月18日进行，这已经创下了单年太空行走数量的纪录。
[b]冷若冰霜[/b]
2007年，科学家利用NASA的卫星发现了快速移动的南极冰流下拥有一个巨大的水路网络，这一发现为人们弄清该系统的变化如何影响海平面和世界上最大的冰架提供了线索。通过NASA的Aqua卫星的中分辨率成像光谱仪(MODIS)以及冰云与陆地抬升卫星(Ice Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite)上的地球科学激光测高系统(Geoscience Laser Altimeter System)，科学家得到了南极巨大冰湖上方冰层抬升变化的多维图像，这些变化表明，周边的海洋正在抽取冰湖中的水分。
[b]电路芯片的突破[/b]
NASA的科研人员在2007年设计开发出了一种新型金刚砂差分放大器整合电路芯片，它能够在500摄氏度下连续工作超过4000小时，这一数字比此前提高了100倍。高度耐用的晶体管和包装技术让高功能但尺度较小的整合电路技术得以用于感应和控制恶劣环境下的电子设备，比如喷气式发动机的热部件和长期运作的太空船。
[b]新的人类太空旅行纪录[/b]
2007年，NASA两位宇航员确立了新的人类航天里程碑。国际空间站远征14和15计划的随机工程师Sunita Williams打破了女性单次航天连续时间的纪录，在轨工作195天。她同时也成为完成太空行走最多的女性(4次)，总时间达到29小时17分钟。此外，在4月远征14计划结束时，Williams的同事Mike Lopez-Alegria成为完成太空行走最多的宇航员(10次)，总时间达到67小时40分钟。而他的215天的单次太空旅行纪录也成为所有美国宇航员中最多的一个。
[b]恒星的威力[/b]
2007年5月，NASA钱德拉X射线望远镜和地基光学望远镜成功捕获到了迄今为止最明亮的SN 2006gy超新星爆发。这一发现意味着，超重恒星的剧烈爆炸在早期宇宙中相对比较普遍，银河系也有可能即将发生类似的情况。此外，新的发现还让科学家对宇宙最初恒星的死亡有了罕见的认识，并且证实了超大质量恒星的死亡与理论预测的根本性不同。
[b]先进飞行器成功测试[/b]
NASA的航空研究项目理事会、美国空军研究实验室以及波音幻影工厂2007年成功对X-48B翼身合一(BWB)先进飞行器进行了飞行试验，证实了它的基本飞行质量和船载飞行控制系统的效力。BWB能够满足未来新一代空运系统的需求——低噪声、低喷射、高性能。稍加改进，BWB飞行器还可能以比现行飞机更短的距离起飞和着陆。
[b] 全球战略探测框架出台[/b]
2007年5月，NASA与世界上13家宇航局共同发布了全球战略探测框架(global exploration strategy)。这份名为The Global Exploration Strategy：The Framework for Coordination(《全球战略探测：合作框架》)的文件，反映了空间探测应集中于太阳系未来命运的共同认识，并体现了空间探测向综合的全球方法迈进的重要一步。该框架同时允许单个国家共享它的研究策略和成果，以便大家都能更有效地达到探测目标。
nanochip 2007-12-24 08:52
:victory: :lol [url]http://nanost.net/bbs/thread-16303-1-1.html[/url]
nano 2007-12-24 10:24
[size=4]NASA's Top Exploration and Discovery Stories of 2007[/size]
WASHINGTON - NASA moved forward in 2007 to explore the solar system, expand our knowledge of Earth and its place in the universe, and build the International Space Station. The space shuttle flew three highly successful missions to continue the station's assembly and construction began on projects designed to send astronauts to the moon, where they will establish a permanent outpost and prepare for eventual voyages to Mars. Space science missions were launched to Mars and the asteroid belt. Closer to home, Earth science satellites made a number of key discoveries, such as how waterways beneath an Antarctic ice stream affect sea level and the world's largest ice sheet.
[b]CONSTELLATION BUILDS SYSTEMS FOR RETURN TO MOON[/b]
NASA began laying the foundation for the future of space exploration in 2007. Construction projects across the agency supported the Constellation Program, which is developing next-generation spacecraft and systems to return astronauts to the moon by 2020. All major contracts for the Ares I rocket were awarded in 2007. Hard hats, cranes and bulldozers were the equipment of choice at space facilities across the country. Construction got under way at the U.S. Army's White Sands Missile Range in Las Cruces, N.M., where NASA will hold the Constellation Program's first flight tests in 2008.
At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers are erecting a new lightning protection system at the Constellation launch pad, 39-B. A new test stand for rocket engines is being built at NASA's Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. NASA's lunar architects unveiled more details of their plans for a lunar outpost, complete with small, pressurized rovers that would travel in pairs, and possible astronaut housing that could be moved from one location to another. NASA engineers also sought opportunities to test lunar equipment ideas at sites on Earth that are similar to the moon, such as the Arizona desert and the Antarctic tundra. For more information, visit:
[url=http://www.nasa.gov/constellation]http://www.nasa.gov/constellation[/url]
[b]AN HISTORIC HANDSHAKE BETWEEN WOMEN COMMANDERS[/b]
Space Shuttle Commander Pam Melroy and the International Space Station's Expedition 16 Commander Peggy Whitson made history Oct. 25 when shuttle Discovery and the station docked, and the hatches between the two ships were opened. As the two women shook hands 200 miles above Earth, they became the first female spacecraft commanders to lead shuttle and station missions simultaneously. Whitson, who also holds the distinction of being the first woman to command a station mission, has accumulated more total time in orbit than any other female space traveler. For more information, visit:
[url=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/behindscenes/sts120_mission_overview.html]http://www.nasa.gov/mission_page ... ssion_overview.html[/url]
[b]RISE OF THE PHOENIX[/b]
NASA's Phoenix mission launched Aug. 4 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on a nine-month trek to Mars. The robotic lander is scheduled to arrive at the Red Planet May 25, 2008, and begin a close examination of Mars' northern polar region. Phoenix will be the first mission to touch the planet's water-ice. Its robotic arm will dig into an icy layer believed to lie just beneath the Martian surface. The robot explorer will study the history of the water in the ice, monitor weather in the polar region, and investigate whether the subsurface environment in the far-northern plains of Mars has ever been favorable for sustaining microbial life. For more information, visit:
[url=http://www.nasa.gov/phoenix]http://www.nasa.gov/phoenix[/url]
[b]INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION KEEPS ON GROWING[/b]
NASA launched three successful space shuttle missions in June, August and October to deliver pieces of the International Space Station, allowing it to grow in size, volume and power production in 2007. The electricity generated by the station and used aboard the outpost more than doubled this year. The station's six solar panels now extend to more than half an acre of surface area. NASA astronauts and Russian cosmonauts safely conducted 22 spacewalks devoted to building and maintaining the station in 2007. A 23rd spacewalk is planned for Dec. 18. That will match a record for the most spacewalks in a single year. For more information, visit:
[url=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/iss_assembly.html]http://www.nasa.gov/mission_page ... e/iss_assembly.html[/url]
[b]COLD AS ICE[/b]
Scientists using NASA satellites discovered an extensive network of waterways beneath a fast-moving Antarctic ice stream. The waterways provide clues as to how "leaks" in the system affect sea level and the world's largest ice sheet. Data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer instrument aboard NASA's Aqua satellite and data from the Geoscience Laser Altimeter System on NASA's Ice Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite provided a multi-dimensional view of changes in the elevation of the icy surface above a large subglacial lake and surrounding areas during a three-year period. Those changes suggest the lake drained to the ocean. For more information, visit:
[url=http://www.nasa.gov/vision/earth/lookingatearth/antarctic_plumbing.html]http://www.nasa.gov/vision/earth ... rctic_plumbing.html[/url]
[b]CIRCUIT CHIP BREAKTHROUGH[/b]
NASA researchers designed and built a new silicon carbide differential amplifier integrated circuit chip that has exceeded 4,000 hours of continuous operation at 500 degrees Celsius - a breakthrough that represents a 100-fold increase in what had been achieved previously. Prior to this development, such integrated circuit chips had operated at these high temperatures for only a few hours or less before degrading or failing. The extremely durable transistors and packaging technologies will enable highly functional but physically small integrated circuitry to be used for sensing and to control electronics within harsh environments, such as hot sections of jet engines as well as long-duration spacecraft. For more information, visit:
[url=http://www.aeronautics.nasa.gov/]http://www.aeronautics.nasa.gov[/url]
[b]NEW HUMAN SPACEFLIGHT RECORDS[/b]
Two new human spaceflight milestones were set by NASA astronauts in 2007. Sunita Williams, the International Space Station's Expedition 14 and Expedition 15 flight engineer, broke the record for the longest duration single spaceflight by a woman, spending 195 consecutive days in orbit. She also completed the most spacewalks by a woman, logging 29 hours and 17 minutes during four spacewalks, and was the first astronaut to run a marathon while in orbit. At the end of the Expedition 14 mission in April, William's crewmate, Mike Lopez-Alegria, led all astronauts in the number of spacewalks with 10 and the amount of time spent spacewalking with 67 hours and 40 minutes. The time was accumulated during two shuttle flights and his stay on the station. Lopez-Alegria's 215-day station mission also marked the longest single spaceflight by a U.S. astronaut. For more information, visit:
[url=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition15/s_williams_record.html]http://www.nasa.gov/mission_page ... illiams_record.html[/url]
[b]STAR POWER[/b]
The brightest stellar explosion ever recorded was seen by NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and ground-based optical telescopes. The discovery indicates that violent explosions of extremely massive stars were relatively common in the early universe, and a similar explosion in our own galaxy could be imminent. This new supernova may offer a rare glimpse of how the first stars died. It is unprecedented to find such a massive star and witness its death. The discovery of the supernova provided evidence that the deaths of such massive stars are fundamentally different from theoretical predictions.
[url=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/chandra/news/chandra_bright_supernova.html]http://www.nasa.gov/mission_page ... ight_supernova.html[/url]
[b]ADVANCED NEW AIRCRAFT DESIGN FLIES SUCCESSFULLY[/b]
NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate, with the Air Force Research Lab and Boeing Phantomworks, successfully completed flight experiments for the X-48B Blended Wing Body advanced aircraft at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center this year. The aircraft is a hybrid configuration combining the best attributes of a conventional tube-and-wing aircraft with a flying wing. It has the potential to meet expected future Next Generation Air Transportation System requirements for low noise, low emissions and high performance. With certain modifications to the design, the Blended Wing Body also has the potential to land and take off on shorter runways than current aircraft. The experiments demonstrated the basic flying qualities of the X-48B and the effectiveness of the on-board flight control system. For more information, visit:
[url=http://www.nasa.gov/topics/aeronautics/features/bwb_main.html]http://www.nasa.gov/topics/aeronautics/features/bwb_main.html[/url]
[b]GLOBAL EXPLORATION STRATEGY UNVEILED[/b]
NASA and 13 space agencies from around the world released the framework for a global exploration strategy in May 2007. The document, "The Global Exploration Strategy: The Framework for Coordination," reflects a shared vision of space exploration focused on solar system destinations where humans may someday live and work. It represents an important step in an evolving process toward a comprehensive global approach. The framework also allows individual nations to share their strategies and efforts so all can achieve their exploration goals more effectively. For more information, visit:
[url=http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2007/may/HQ_07126_Exploration_Framework.html]http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/ ... tion_Framework.html[/url]
[[i] 本帖最后由 nano 于 2007-12-23 18:27 编辑 [/i]]