scholarly journals Manufacturing Dense Thick Films of Lunar Regolith Simulant EAC-1 at Room Temperature

Materials ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 487 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philipp Nieke ◽  
Jaroslaw Kita ◽  
Marc Häming ◽  
Ralf Moos
Keyword(s):  
Laser Scanning ◽  
Lunar Regolith ◽  
Thick Films ◽  
Aerosol Deposition ◽  
Laser Scanning Microscopy ◽  
Metal Powders ◽  
The Moon ◽  
Lunar Regolith Simulant ◽  
Steel Substrates ◽  
Deposited Films

The Aerosol Deposition (AD, also known as gas kinetic spraying or vacuum deposition) method is a rather novel coating process to produce dense thick films directly from dry ceramic (or metal) powders on a variety of substrates without any heat treatment. Because of the similarity of the up to now used powders and lunar regolith, it is imaginable to use AD systems for future in situ resource utilization missions on the Moon planned by several space agencies. To test the feasibility of such an endeavor, the processability of lunar mare simulant EAC-1 by the AD method has been examined in this study. Three regolith films with an area of 25 × 10 mm2, and thicknesses between 2.50 µm and 5.36 µm have been deposited on steel substrates using a standard AD setup. Deposited films have been investigated by Laser Scanning Microscopy (LSM) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Moreover, the roughness and Vickers hardness of the deposited films and the underlying substrates have been measured. It has been shown that dense consolidated films of regolith simulant can be produced within minutes by AD. The deposited films show a higher roughness and, on average, a higher hardness than the steel substrates. Since on the Moon, naturally available regolith powders are abundant and very dry, and since the required process vacuum is available, AD appears to be a very promising method for producing dense coatings in future Moon exploration and utilization missions.

Exposure to low Earth orbit of an extreme-tolerant cyanobacterium as a contribution to lunar astrobiology activities

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniela Billi ◽  
Claudia Mosca ◽  
Claudia Fagliarone ◽  
Alessandro Napoli ◽  
Cyprien Verseux ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Uv Radiation ◽  
Genomic Dna ◽  
Lunar Regolith ◽  
Pcr Amplification ◽  
Low Earth Orbit ◽  
The Moon ◽  
Test Bed ◽  
Planetary Protection ◽  
Lunar Regolith Simulant ◽  
Space Conditions

AbstractBy investigating the survival and the biomarker detectability of a rock-inhabiting cyanobacterium, Chroococcidiopsis sp. CCMEE 029, the BIOMEX space experiment might contribute to a future exploitation of the Moon as a test-bed for key astrobiology tasks such as the testing of life-detection technologies and the study of life in space. Post-flight analyses demonstrated that the mixing of dried cells with sandstone and a lunar regolith simulant provided protection against space UV radiation. During the space exposure, dried cells not mixed with minerals were killed by 2.05 × 102 kJ m−2 of UV radiation, while cells mixed with sandstone or lunar regolith survived 1.59 × 102 and 1.79 × 102 kJ m−2, respectively. No differences in survival occurred among cells mixed and not mixed with minerals and exposed to space conditions in the dark; this finding suggests that space vacuum and 0.5 Gy of ionizing radiation did not impair the cells’ presence in space. The genomic DNA of dead cells was severely damaged but still detectable with PCR amplification of a short target, thus suggesting that short sequences should be targeted in a PCR-based approach when searching for traces of life. The enhanced stability of genomic DNA of dried cells mixed with minerals and exposed to space indicates that DNA might still be detectable after prolonged periods, possibly up to millions of years in microbes shielded by minerals. Overall, the BIOMEX results contribute to future experiments regarding the exposure of cells and their biomarkers to deep space conditions in order to further test the lithopanspermia hypothesis, the biomarker stability and the microbial endurance, with implications for planetary protection and to determine if the Moon has been contaminated during past human missions.

scholarly journals Rheological Properties of Lunar Mortars

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (15) ◽  
pp. 6961
Author(s):  
Joanna J. Sokołowska ◽  
Piotr Woyciechowski ◽  
Maciej Kalinowski
Keyword(s):  
Rheological Properties ◽  
Lunar Regolith ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Mechanical Equipment ◽  
The Moon ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Fine Grained ◽  
Local Resources ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Lunar Regolith Simulant

NASA has revealed that they plan to resume manned missions and ensure the permanent presence of people in the so-called habitats on the Moon by 2024. Moon habitats are expected to be built using local resources—it is planned to use lunar regolith as aggregate in lunar concrete. Lunar concrete design requires a new approach in terms of both the production technology and the operating conditions significantly different from the Earth. Considering that more and more often it is assumed that the water present on the Moon in the form of ice might be used to maintain the base, but also to construct the base structure, the authors decided to investigate slightly more traditional composites than the recently promoted sulfur and polymer composites thermally hardened and cured. Numerous compositions of cement “lunar micro-mortars” and “lunar mortars” were made and tested to study rheological properties, namely, the consistency, which largely depend on the morphology of the fine-grained filler, i.e., regolith. For obvious reasons, the lunar regolith simulant (LRS) was used in place of the original Moon regolith. The used LRS mapped the grain size distribution and morphology of the real lunar regolith. It was created for the purpose of studying the erosive effect of dusty regolith fractions on the moving parts of lunar landers and other mechanical equipment; therefore, it simulated well the behavior of regolith particles in relation to cement paste. The obtained results made it possible to develop preliminary compositions for “lunar mortars” (possible to apply in, e.g., 3D concrete printing) and to prepare, test, and evaluate mortar properties in comparison to traditional quartz mortars (under the conditions of the Earth laboratory).

Study of the rheology of lunar regolith simulant and water slurries for geopolymer applications on the Moon

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jahinder Momi ◽  
Taylor Lewis ◽  
Federico Alberini ◽  
Marit E. Meyer ◽  
Alessio Alexiadis
Keyword(s):  
Lunar Regolith ◽  
The Moon ◽  
Lunar Regolith Simulant

scholarly journals Characterization by Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy of the Phase Composition at Interfaces in Thick Films of Polymer Blends

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Sandro Lattante ◽  
Andrea Perulli ◽  
Marco Anni
Keyword(s):  
Phase Composition ◽  
Polymer Blends ◽  
Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy ◽  
Laser Scanning ◽  
Thick Films ◽  
Laser Scanning Microscopy ◽  
Confocal Laser Scanning ◽  
Scanning Microscopy ◽  
Confocal Laser ◽  
Air Interface

Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy (CLSM) has been used as a fast, user-friendly, and noninvasive tool for characterizing the phase composition differences at the substrate and air interfaces in thick films of polymer blends. A clearly different phase composition at the blend/glass interface and at the blend/air interface has been detected. We show that PCBM preferentially accumulates at the glass/blend interface, while P3HT preferentially accumulates at the blend/air interface, by comparing the integrated signal intensity of the luminescence coming from both interfaces. Our results demonstrate that CLSM can be used conveniently for the fast identification of a preferential phase segregation at interfaces in polymer blends. This is useful in the research field on devices (like sensors or planar waveguides) that are based on very thick layers (thickness higher than 1 μm).

Preparation and Properties of CaCu3Ti4O12 Thick Film by Aerosol Deposition Method

2008 ◽  
Vol 368-372 ◽  
pp. 126-128
Author(s):  
Ji Feng Ma ◽  
Yuan Hua Lin ◽  
Ce Wen Nan ◽  
Takaaki Tsurumi
Keyword(s):  
Thick Film ◽  
Thick Films ◽  
Copper Substrate ◽  
Aerosol Deposition ◽  
Deposition Method ◽  
X Ray Diffraction ◽  
Ceramic Powders ◽  
Aerosol Deposition Method ◽  
Reaction Processing ◽  
Deposited Films

CaCu3Ti4O12 (CCTO) ceramic thick films have been prepared on Copper substrate, using ceramic powders by an aerosol deposition method (ADM). The ceramic powders are prepared by traditional solid state reaction processing at 1100 oC for 5 h. X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy are used to investigate the microstructure and the phase composition of the deposited films. The results indicate that thick films are pure CCTO phase and homogenous. The dielectric impedance spectra indicate that the dielectric constant of CCTO thick film can reach 3×103.

3-D imaging of cells using a confocal laser scanning microscope and digital image processing

1988 ◽  
Vol 46 ◽  
pp. 96-97
Author(s):  
Thomas M. Jovin ◽  
Michel Robert-Nicoud ◽  
Donna J. Arndt-Jovin ◽  
Thorsten Schormann
Keyword(s):  
Laser Scanning ◽  
Confocal Laser Scanning Microscope ◽  
Laser Scanning Microscopy ◽  
Confocal Laser Scanning ◽  
Confocal Laser ◽  
Scanning Microscope ◽  
Laser Scanning Microscope ◽  
Biochemical Processes ◽  
Adjacent Structures

Light microscopic techniques for visualizing biomolecules and biochemical processes in situ have become indispensable in studies concerning the structural organization of supramolecular assemblies in cells and of processes during the cell cycle, transformation, differentiation, and development. Confocal laser scanning microscopy offers a number of advantages for the in situ localization and quantitation of fluorescence labeled targets and probes: (i) rejection of interfering signals emanating from out-of-focus and adjacent structures, allowing the “optical sectioning” of the specimen and 3-D reconstruction without time consuming deconvolution; (ii) increased spatial resolution; (iii) electronic control of contrast and magnification; (iv) simultanous imaging of the specimen by optical phenomena based on incident, scattered, emitted, and transmitted light; and (v) simultanous use of different fluorescent probes and types of detectors.We currently use a confocal laser scanning microscope CLSM (Zeiss, Oberkochen) equipped with 3-laser excitation (u.v - visible) and confocal optics in the fluorescence mode, as well as a computer-controlled X-Y-Z scanning stage with 0.1 μ resolution.

Vacuoles Induced in Mammalian Cells by Helicobacter Cytotoxin are Acidic Organelles

1990 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 168-169
Author(s):  
M. H. Chestnut ◽  
C. E. Catrenich
Keyword(s):  
Acridine Orange ◽  
Mammalian Cells ◽  
Laser Scanning ◽  
Laser Scanning Microscopy ◽  
Confocal Laser ◽  
Ulcer Disease ◽  
Gastroduodenal Disease ◽  
H Pylori

Helicobacter pylori is a non-invasive, Gram-negative spiral bacterium first identified in 1983, and subsequently implicated in the pathogenesis of gastroduodenal disease including gastritis and peptic ulcer disease. Cytotoxic activity, manifested by intracytoplasmic vacuolation of mammalian cells in vitro, was identified in 55% of H. pylori strains examined. The vacuoles increase in number and size during extended incubation, resulting in vacuolar and cellular degeneration after 24 h to 48 h. Vacuolation of gastric epithelial cells is also observed in vivo during infection by H. pylori. A high molecular weight, heat labile protein is believed to be responsible for vacuolation and to significantly contribute to the development of gastroduodenal disease in humans. The mechanism by which the cytotoxin exerts its effect is unknown, as is the intracellular origin of the vacuolar membrane and contents. Acridine orange is a membrane-permeant weak base that initially accumulates in low-pH compartments. We have used acridine orange accumulation in conjunction with confocal laser scanning microscopy of toxin-treated cells to begin probing the nature and origin of these vacuoles.

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