Evaluation and Analysis of Dust Storm Activity in Tianwen-1 Landing Area Based on the Moderate Resolution Imaging Camera Observations and Mars Daily Global Maps

The first Mars exploration mission from China (Tianwen-1) was launched on 23 July 2020 with the goal of “orbiting, landing, and roving”. The occurrence of dust storm activities is an important criterion of assessing atmospheric risk for the Tianwen-1 landing process. Dust storm activities from Mars Year (MY) 24 to MY32 in southern Utopia Planitia were identified. Most dust storms only appeared in one Mars Daily Global Map (MDGM), with a lifetime of less than or equal to solar longitude (Ls) = 0.5°. Only if the lifetime of a dust storm is greater than or equal to Ls = 1° can it reach the primary landing ellipse. From Ls = 0–50°, dust storms are mostly in the diffusion stage with a maximum speed of movement of 2479 km/Ls. Then, the speed gradually decreases to the minimum value of 368 km/Ls when the dust storm is in the dissipation stage. If a dust storm moves at an average speed of 750 km/Ls, the safe landing zone is a circle within a radius of 750 km centered on the primary landing ellipse. From March to May 2021, eight dust storms were identified in the Moderate Resolution Imaging Camera (MoRIC) mosaics. Because there was no dust storm activity in MoRIC mosaic on 13 May 2021, we concluded that there would be no dust storm in the primary landing ellipse on 15 May (MY36, Ls = 45.1°). Therefore, the landing time of the Tianwen-1 probe was finally determined as 15 May, which successfully landed in the south of the Utopia Planitia, and the in-situ investigation was carried out by the Zhurong Mars rover.

Detection of organic carbon in Mars-analog paleosols with thermal and evolved gas analysis

Decades of space exploration have shown that surface environments on Mars were habitable billions of years ago. Ancient, buried surface environments, or paleosols, may have been preserved in the geological record on Mars, and are considered high-priority targets for biosignature investigation. Studies of paleosols on Earth that are compositionally similar to putative martian paleosols can provide a reference frame for constraining their organic preservation potential on Mars. However, terrestrial paleosols typically preserve only trace amounts of organic carbon, and it remains unclear whether the organic component of paleosols can be detected with Mars rover-like instruments. Furthermore, the study of terrestrial paleosols is complicated by diagenetic additions of organic carbon, which can confound interpretations of their organic preservation potential. The objectives of this study were a) to determine whether organic carbon in ~30-million-year-old Mars-analog paleosols can be detected with thermal and evolved gas analysis, and b) constrain the age of organic carbon using radiocarbon (14C) dating to identify late diagenetic additions of carbon. Al/ Fe smectite-rich paleosols from the Early Oligocene (33 Ma) John Day Formation in eastern Oregon were examined with a thermal and evolved gas analyzer configured to operate similarly to the Sample Analysis at Mars Evolved Gas Analysis (SAM-EGA) instrument onboard the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover. All samples evolved CO2 with peaks at ~400 °C and ~700° C from the thermal decomposition of refractory organic carbon and small amounts of calcium carbonate, respectively. Evolutions of organic fragments co-occurred with evolutions of CO2 from organic carbon decomposition. Total organic carbon (TOC) ranged from 0.002 - 0.032 ± 0.006 wt. %. Like modern soils, the near-surface horizons of all paleosols had significantly higher TOC relative to subsurface layers. Radiocarbon dating of four samples revealed an organic carbon age ranging between ~6,200 – 14,500 years before present, suggesting there had been inputs of exogenous organic carbon during diagenesis. By contrast, refractory carbon detected with EGA and enrichment of TOC in near-surface horizons of all three buried profiles were consistent with the preservation of trace amounts of endogenous organic carbon. This work demonstrates that near-surface horizons of putative martian paleosols should be considered high priority locations for in-situ biosignature investigation and reveals challenges for examining organic matter preservation in terrestrial paleosols.

Clean room microbiome complexity impacts planetary protection bioburden

Background The Spacecraft Assembly Facility (SAF) at the NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory is the primary cleanroom facility used in the construction of some of the planetary protection (PP)-sensitive missions developed by NASA, including the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover that launched in July 2020. SAF floor samples (n=98) were collected, over a 6-month period in 2016 prior to the construction of the Mars rover subsystems, to better understand the temporal and spatial distribution of bacterial populations (total, viable, cultivable, and spore) in this unique cleanroom. Results Cleanroom samples were examined for total (living and dead) and viable (living only) microbial populations using molecular approaches and cultured isolates employing the traditional NASA standard spore assay (NSA), which predominantly isolated spores. The 130 NSA isolates were represented by 16 bacterial genera, of which 97% were identified as spore-formers via Sanger sequencing. The most spatially abundant isolate was Bacillus subtilis, and the most temporally abundant spore-former was Virgibacillus panthothenticus. The 16S rRNA gene-targeted amplicon sequencing detected 51 additional genera not found in the NSA method. The amplicon sequencing of the samples treated with propidium monoazide (PMA), which would differentiate between viable and dead organisms, revealed a total of 54 genera: 46 viable non-spore forming genera and 8 viable spore forming genera in these samples. The microbial diversity generated by the amplicon sequencing corresponded to ~86% non-spore-formers and ~14% spore-formers. The most common spatially distributed genera were Sphinigobium, Geobacillus, and Bacillus whereas temporally distributed common genera were Acinetobacter, Geobacilllus, and Bacillus. Single-cell genomics detected 6 genera in the sample analyzed, with the most prominent being Acinetobacter. Conclusion This study clearly established that detecting spores via NSA does not provide a complete assessment for the cleanliness of spacecraft-associated environments since it failed to detect several PP-relevant genera that were only recovered via molecular methods. This highlights the importance of a methodological paradigm shift to appropriately monitor bioburden in cleanrooms for not only the aeronautical industry but also for pharmaceutical, medical industries, etc., and the need to employ molecular sequencing to complement traditional culture-based assays.

Biomedical Applications of Translational Optical Imaging: From Molecules to Humans

Light is a powerful investigational tool in biomedicine, at all levels of structural organization. Its multitude of features (intensity, wavelength, polarization, interference, coherence, timing, non-linear absorption, and even interactions with itself) able to create contrast, and thus images that detail the makeup and functioning of the living state can and should be combined for maximum effect, especially if one seeks simultaneously high spatiotemporal resolution and discrimination ability within a living organism. The resulting high relevance should be directed towards a better understanding, detection of abnormalities, and ultimately cogent, precise, and effective intervention. The new optical methods and their combinations needed to address modern surgery in the operating room of the future, and major diseases such as cancer and neurodegeneration are reviewed here, with emphasis on our own work and highlighting selected applications focusing on quantitation, early detection, treatment assessment, and clinical relevance, and more generally matching the quality of the optical detection approach to the complexity of the disease. This should provide guidance for future advanced theranostics, emphasizing a tighter coupling—spatially and temporally—between detection, diagnosis, and treatment, in the hope that technologic sophistication such as that of a Mars rover can be translationally deployed in the clinic, for saving and improving lives.

Autonomous Mars Rover Design using SOLIDWORKS and User Interface development via Internet of Things

In this paper, an autonomous Mars Rover is designed using the software SOLIDWORKS and a mechanical model is developed with in-depth simulations to analyse the functions of the vehicle. Furthermore, a graphical user interface is also developed based on the principles of Internet of Things using Node-Red to control and monitor the rover remotely. The red planet, i.e.; Mars, has been the centre of attraction for over 2 decades now, with astrophysicists and engineers working in unison to build devices and launch shuttle programs to understand and learn about the planet and gather more intelligence. This paper proposes the detailed development of a 6-wheeled rover that could explore the terrains of Mars, featuring a stereo vision system that could provide live video coverage and a robotic arm that can facilitate investigation of the surface, in an attempt to contribute to and fulfil the human race’s mission to Mars. It employs multiple onboard sensors that can acquire necessary data pertaining to the environmental conditions and actuators that enable functionality, with the sensors and actuators integrated onto a control system based on microcontrollers and microprocessors such as Arduino and Raspberry Pi. The rover also has a provision of a payload bay in its rear which enables it to carry loads. The SOLIDWORKS tool from Dassault systèmes is used to design and model the rover and carry out static analysis and motion studies. The GUI developed in the further sections allows overall voice control for the user and makes the task of monitoring the rover a much simpler task by eliminating the complexity that rises due to multiple control platforms. Keywords: Mars Rover, Graphical User Interface (GUI), Chassis, Mastcam, Actuators, Internet of Things (IoT), Nitinol, Payload