The evolution of green energy technology: Developing three-dimensional smart energy devices with radiant cooling and solar absorption

DGIST (Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology)

 

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Advanced Materials Cover

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Credit: Advanced Materials Cover

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A research team led by Professor Bonghoon Kim from DGIST’s Department of Robotics and Mechatronics Engineering has developed a “3D Smart Energy Device” that features both reversible heating and cooling capabilities. The team collaborated with Professor Bongjae Lee from KAIST’s Department of Mechanical Engineering and Professor Heon Lee from Korea University’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering. Their innovative device was officially recognized for its excellence and practicality through its selection as the cover article of the international journal Advanced Materials.

 

□ Heating and cooling account for approximately 50% of the global energy consumption, contributing significantly to environmental problems such as global warming and air pollution. In response, solar absorption and radiative cooling devices, which harness the sun and outdoor air as heat and cold sources, are gaining attention as eco-friendly and sustainable solutions. While various devices have been developed, many are limited in function, focusing solely on heating or cooling, and large-scale systems lack adjustability.

 

□ To address these limitations, Prof. Kim’s team created a “3D Smart Energy Device” that integrates reversible heating and cooling functions in a single device. The device operates on a unique mechanism: when the 3D structure opens through a mechanical peeling process, the lower layer—made of silicone elastomer and silver—is exposed to generate radiative cooling. When the structure closes, the surface coated with black paint absorbs solar heat, thus producing heating.

 

□ The team tested the device on multiple substrates, including skin, glass, steel, aluminum, copper, and polyimide, and demonstrated that adjusting the angle of the 3D structure enabled control over its heating and cooling performance. This ability to modulate thermal properties offers an efficient and promising solution for reducing energy consumption in temperature-controlled buildings and electronic devices at both macro and micro scales.

 

□  “We are honored to have our research selected for the cover article of such a prestigious journal,” said Professor Bonghoon Kim. “We aim to ensure that these findings are applied in industrial and building settings to help reduce energy consumption.”

 

□ This research was supported by the “Global Bioconvergence Interfacing Leading Research Center (ERC)” and the “Nano and Materials Technology Development Project” of the National Research Foundation of Korea. The results were published in Advanced Materials, where they were featured as the cover article.

 

- Corresponding Author E-mail Address : bonghoonkim@dgist.ac.kr

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Journal

Advanced Materials

DOI

10.1002/adma.202400930 

Article Title

Reversible Solar Heating and Radiative Cooling Devices via Mechanically Guided Assembly of 3D Macro/Microstructures

Next-generation solar cells become more powerful with silver (Ag) doping technology!

Peer-Reviewed Publication

DGIST (Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology)

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 A team of senior researchers, including Kee-jeong Yang, Dae-hwan Kim, and Jin-gyu Kang from the Division of Energy & Environmental Technology, DGIST (President Kunwoo Lee), collaborated with Prof. Kim Jun-ho’s team from the Department of Physics, Incheon National University and Prof. Koo Sang-mo’s team from the Department of Electronic Materials Engineering to significantly improve the performance of kesterite (CZTSSe) thin-film solar cells in joint research. They developed a new method for doping silver (Ag) in solar cells to suppress defects that hinder cell performance and promote crystal growth, thereby dramatically increasing efficiency and paving the way for commercialization.

 

□ CZTSSe solar cells are composed of copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), tin (Sn), sulfur (S), and selenium (Se), and are gaining attention as a resource-abundant, low-cost, and eco-friendly solar cell technology. In particular, they have the advantage of being suitable for large-scale production and highly competitive in price because they use materials that are abundant in resources instead of the scarce metals used in conventional solar cells. However, conventional CZTSSe solar cells have low efficiency and high current losses due to electron-hole recombination, thus making them difficult to commercialize.

 

□ To address these issues, the research team employed a method of doping the solar cell precursor with Ag. Ag inhibits the loss of Sn and helps the materials mix better at low temperatures. This allows the crystals to grow larger and faster, reducing defects and improving the performance of the solar cell. In this study, they systematically analyzed how the placement of Ag at different locations in the precursor changes the defects and electron-hole recombination properties in the solar cell. The results indicate that Ag can significantly improve the performance of the solar cell by preventing Sn loss and maximizing the defect suppression effect.

 

□ Importantly, they also found that doping Ag in the wrong place actually interferes with the formation of Zn and Cu alloy, causing Zn to remain in the bulk and form defect clusters. This can lead to increased electron-hole recombination losses and degraded performance. From this, the research team offered an important insight: solar cell performance varies significantly depending on where Ag doping occurs.

 

□ Furthermore, the research team found that the liquid material formed by Ag doping promotes crystal growth, significantly improving the density and crystallinity of the absorber layer. This resulted in an improved energy band structure and fewer defects, ultimately allowing for smoother charge transport in the cell. These findings are expected to contribute significantly to the production of high-performance solar cells at low cost.

 

□ “In this study, we analyzed the effect of Ag doping, which had not been clearly identified before, process by process, and found that silver plays a role in suppressing tin loss and improving defects,” said Yang Kee-jeong, a senior researcher at the Division of Energy & Environmental Technology. “The results provide important insights into the design of silver-doped precursor structures to improve solar cell efficiency and are expected to contribute to the development of various solar cell technologies.”

 

□ The research was funded by the Ministry of Science and ICT’s Source Technology Development (Leapfrog Development of Carbon Neutral Technology) Program and the Future-Leading Specialization Research (Grand Challenge Research and Innovation Project (P-CoE)) Program. The paper was published online in the Energy & Environmental Energy (IF 32.4), a leading international journal in the field of energy.

 

- Corresponding Author E-mail Address : kjyang@dgist.ac.kr

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Journal

Energy & Environmental Science

DOI

10.1039/D4EE02485K 

Article Title

Reducing carrier recombination loss by suppressing Sn loss and defect formation via Ag doping in Cu2ZnSn(S,Se)4 solar cells

New performance record for eco-friendly nanocrystal solar cells

ICFO-The Institute of Photonic Sciences

 

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Schematic of the post-deposition in situ passivation strategy on the AgBiS2 nanocrystal. Source: EES.

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Credit: EES

In the era of climate change, renewable energies have quickly gained popularity, with solar cells being a prominent example of this shift. For instance, in 2023, installed solar photovoltaic power increased by 28% in Spain compared to the previous year, accounting for 20.3% of Spain’s total energy generation pool, a trend that is similarly mirrored in most Western countries. Despite their commercialization and their unquestionable environmental benefits, solar cells still have room for improvement, as they are usually based on materials that are not fully sustainable. Ubiquitous solar harvesting – beyond solar farms - is considered the way to go to power buildings, infrastructures, IoT systems or even vehicles. That would require light-weight, low cost, flexible and eco-friendly based solar cell technology.  The scientific community is thus directing its efforts toward finding sustainable alternatives that preserve (or even boost) the electricity generation efficiency, reduce costs and simplify the manufacturing efforts of current solar cells.

One promising material that has emerged as an environmentally-friendly alternative is colloidal silver bismuth sulfide (AgBiS2) nanocrystal, a material that is characterized by an extremely high absorption coefficient and thus leads toultra-thin-film absorbers for solar cells. Through a layer-by-layer manufacturing process, solar cells with compelling performance have already been reported. But to minimize material loss, reduce costs and improve manufacturing scalability, the multi-step deposition method must be replaced by a single-step approach.

This can be realized by developing AgBiS2 nanocrystal inks. Since 2020, several researches in this regard have been reported. However, the resulting AgBiS2 nanocrystals have still exhibited significant  surface defects accompanied by low power conversion efficiency in a solar cell, meaning that the techniques aimed at eliminating them -called surface passivation- were not sufficiently effective. The remaining surface defects trapped the electrical charge carriers generated by sunlight and triggered their recombination, reducing the device efficiency to lower levels than those achieved with a layer-by-layer manufacturing procedure.

Therefore, a simpler yet more effective passivation methodology for AgBiS2 nanocrystal ink is needed to bring the efficiency of eco-friendly solar cells closer to competitive levels. Recently, ICFO researchers, Dr. Jae Taek Oh, Dr. Yongjie Wang, Dr. Carmelita Rodà, Dr. Debranjan Mandal, Dr. Gaurav Kumar, Dr. Guy Luke Whitworth, led by ICREA Prof. Gerasimos Konstantatos, have taken a significant step forward in this direction. In an Energy & Environmental Science article, they have reported on a post-deposition in situ passivation (P-DIP) strategy that improves surface passivation, yielding nanocrystal ink films with enhanced optoelectronic properties. The resulting ultrathin solar cells showed higher power conversion efficiency than their multi-step deposition counterparts, setting a new performance record for eco-friendly nanocrystal solar cells.

 

Post-deposition in situ passivation for improved surface passivation

ICFO researchers managed to effectively passivate surface defects present in their nanocrystal ink film. “Imagine a bumpy road that slows down cars. Surface passivation is like repaving the road, making it smoother so cars can move without getting stuck. In our case, the removal of surface defects is very important to facilitate the transportation of charge carriers created from light absorption in nanocrystal films”, explains Dr. Jae Taek Oh, first author of the article. “With our P-DIP method, charge carries could move without ‘bumping into so many obstacles’ within the AgBiS2 nanocrystals thin film”, he adds.

The mitigation of defects by a proper passivation strategy translated into higher film quality and, thus, higher performance solar cells. Their efficiency of around 10% exceeded that of previous solar cells based on AgBiS2 nanocrystals, involving both single-step and layer-by-layer deposition methods.

To obtain these outstanding results, the team synthesized the AgBiS2 nanocrystal ink by introducing a multifunctional molecular agent containing chlorine. Its molecular structure helped stabilize the nanocrystals and disperse them evenly within the solution, two crucial factors to ensure smooth coatings. After depositing the film, they carried out additional passivation on the surfaces of AgBiS2 nanocrystals. This particular in situ passivation strategy extended the carrier lifetime and balanced carrier transport in the film, which are also critical aspects to enhance the efficiency of solar cells. The combination of these effects was the perfect recipe to achieve the unprecedented performance for sustainable solar cells that ICFO researchers have demonstrated in this study.

 

Schematic of the post-deposition in situ passivation strategy on the AgBiS2 nanocrystal. Source: EES. (IMAGE)

ICFO-The Institute of Photonic Sciences

Schematic of the post-deposition in situ passivation strategy on the AgBiS2 nanocrystal. Source: EES.

Credit

EES

Reference:

J. T. Oh, Y. Wang, C. Rodà, D. Mandal, G. Kumar, G. L. Whitworth, G. Konstantatos. Energy Environ. Sci. (2024). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/D4EE03266G

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Journal

Energy & Environmental Science

Article Title

Post-deposition in situ passivation of AgBiS2 nanocrystal inks for high-efficiency ultra-thin solar cells

Thermophotovoltaics demonstrate economic promise

Analysis reveals thermophotovoltaics' potential for cost-effective energy generation, highlighting key factors influencing economic feasibility

SPIE--International Society for Optics and Photonics

 

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Converting heat to electrical power, TPV combines a thermal emitter and a photovoltaic cell. 

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Credit: M. Mosalpuri et al., doi 10.1117/1.JPE.14.042404.

As the world shifts towards sustainable energy solutions, researchers are exploring innovative technologies that can efficiently convert heat into electricity. One such technology, thermophotovoltaics (TPV), utilizes heat from thermal emitters to generate power through specially designed photovoltaic cells. TPV systems are gaining attention for their ability to produce energy silently and without moving parts, making them low-maintenance and potentially cost-effective. A recent study, reported in Journal of Photonics for Energy, provides insights into the economic feasibility of TPV integrated with solar energy and storage systems, highlighting its promise for future energy applications.

The study conducted a thorough techno-economic analysis of a TPV system paired with phase-change materials for energy storage. Researchers used an optimization method to assess the levelized cost of consumed energy (LCOE) and the levelized cost of electricity (LCOEel) across four different scenarios for a typical residential building in Boone, Iowa. These scenarios were distinguished by variations in key financial factors such as the cost of capital, inflation rates for fuel and electricity, and the capital costs associated with high-temperature energy storage and power generation systems.

The findings revealed a slight reduction in both LCOE and LCOEel, from initial estimates of $0.038 per kilowatt-hour and $0.128 per kilowatt-hour, respectively. This analysis also included a Monte Carlo uncertainty assessment, which examined how different variables could influence these costs over time. The results suggested that while TPV technology holds significant economic potential, the LCOEel currently exceeds the average electricity price.

The study identified several critical factors that affect the overall cost of TPV systems, including system lifetime, capital costs, inflation rates, and the price of natural gas. By focusing future research on these areas, scientists hope to improve the adoption of TPV technology, lighting the way for more efficient and sustainable energy systems.

For details, see the original article by M. Mosalpuri et al., “Techno-economic analysis of a solar thermophotovoltaic system for a residential building,” J. Photon. Energy 14(4), 042404 (2024), doi 10.1117/1.JPE.14.042404.

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Journal

Journal of Photonics for Energy

DOI

10.1117/1.JPE.14.042404 

Article Title

Techno-economic analysis of a solar thermophotovoltaic system for a residential building

 

Can mobile phone networks and Bluetooth technology help researchers improve animal tracking?

Wiley

Animal tracking studies for ecology and conservation all face technological limitations such as high costs or the need for tags to remain in close proximity to detectors. In research published in Methods in Ecology and Evolution, investigators describe a solution that can overcome many current limitations by employing the massive global network of personal mobile phones as gateways for tracking animals using Bluetooth low energy beacons.

In areas with medium to high density of people, these simple, lightweight, and inexpensive beacons can provide regular updates of position with a battery life of 1–3 years. Through field testing with sulphur-crested cockatoos and white-winged choughs, the beacons were capable of producing reliable high-frequency tracking data. The researchers were further able to demonstrate the potential of this method to study movements, home ranges, and social networks of urban living animals.

“We know that wildlife exhibit fascinating responses to urban habitats, and the ability to cheaply and reliably track animals will help to unlock many secrets of our urban animals,” said corresponding author Damien R. Farine, PhD, of the Australian National University.

URL upon publication: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/2041-210X.14433

 

Additional Information
NOTE: The information contained in this release is protected by copyright. Please include journal attribution in all coverage. For more information or to obtain a PDF of any study, please contact: Sara Henning-Stout, newsroom@wiley.com.

About the Journal
Methods in Ecology and Evolution promotes the development of new methods in ecology and evolution, and facilitates their dissemination and uptake by the research community. We publish papers across a wide range of subdisciplines and provide a single forum for publishing analytical, practical, or conceptual methodological developments in ecology and evolutionary biology.

About Wiley      
Wiley is one of the world’s largest publishers and a trusted leader in research and learning. Our industry-leading content, services, platforms, and knowledge networks are tailored to meet the evolving needs of our customers and partners, including researchers, students, instructors, professionals, institutions, and corporations. We empower knowledge-seekers to transform today’s biggest obstacles into tomorrow’s brightest opportunities. For more than two centuries, Wiley has been delivering on its timeless mission to unlock human potential. Visit us at Wiley.com. Follow us on Facebook, X, LinkedIn and Instagram.

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Journal

Methods in Ecology and Evolution

DOI

10.1111/2041-210X.14433 

Article Title

Low-cost animal tracking using Bluetooth low energy beacons on a crowd-sourced network

Article Publication Date

23-Oct-2024

 

Fatigue test rig no more: Simulating bulldozer strength

Maximum Academic Press

 

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Working components of the dozer.

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Credit: International Journal of Mechanical System Dynamics

In a first for the construction industry, researchers have developed a virtual vibration test rig (VTR) capable of simulating the fatigue life of dozer push arms with unprecedented accuracy. This cutting-edge solution offers a cost-effective and time-efficient alternative to traditional physical testing, allowing for more precise predictions of component durability. With the potential to streamline the entire testing process, this innovation could dramatically transform how construction machinery is evaluated and enhanced.

The working components of construction machinery, such as dozer push arms, face periodic conditions that result in fatigue damage over time. Continuous vibrations, tension, and impact forces accelerate wear, making precise fatigue analysis crucial to ensure reliability and performance. Traditional vibration test rigs are costly and time-consuming, often falling short in replicating real-world conditions. Due to these challenges, there is an urgent need for more efficient and accurate testing methods, prompting researchers to explore virtual test rigs to better analyze fatigue life.

This research (DOI: 10.1002/msd2.12125) was conducted by a team from Shandong University, in collaboration with Xiamen University and Kyunghee University, and was published on August 31, 2024, in the International Journal of Mechanical System Dynamics. The study presents a novel virtual vibration test rig (VTR) specifically designed for analyzing the fatigue life of dozer push arms. By utilizing simulation to generate highly accurate load spectra, this method bypasses the need for expensive physical rigs. The new approach is expected to revolutionize fatigue testing for construction machinery, offering faster and more reliable results.

The study focuses on the creation of a VTR that simulates the operational conditions of dozer push arms, enabling more precise fatigue life assessments. Using a virtual iteration technique, the VTR generates input signals that replicate real-world operating loads, iteratively fine-tuning them until they match actual working conditions. This approach addresses the shortcomings of traditional test rigs, which often struggle to reproduce the complex, dynamic behaviors of machinery components. By incorporating key data points such as strain, oil pressure, and cylinder stroke, the virtual VTR calculates accurate load spectra for fatigue analysis. The results show that this virtual method closely aligns with those obtained from physical experiments, reducing the testing time from hours to mere minutes and dramatically cutting costs. This innovation has wide-reaching implications for enhancing the reliability of product design while significantly lowering testing expenses across the construction machinery industry.

Prof. Xiangqian Zhu, a lead researcher from Shandong University, highlighted the transformative nature of the new system: "This VTR presents a groundbreaking alternative to conventional fatigue testing. Not only does it cut down on time and costs, but it also enhances the accuracy of fatigue life assessments. This method could reshape the way fatigue analysis is conducted in construction machinery, facilitating faster product development and improved reliability." Dr. Zhu also sees significant potential for the technology in various other sectors reliant on heavy machinery.

The VTR’s impact extends far beyond the construction industry. Sectors such as mining, agriculture, and defense stand to benefit from this innovative technology, which promises more efficient fatigue analysis for critical components. By enabling rapid design validation and reducing costs, the virtual rig offers manufacturers the ability to produce more durable and reliable machinery. The technology’s accuracy in simulating real-world conditions ensures that it will play a crucial role in enhancing both performance and safety, making machinery more cost-effective and resilient across multiple industries.

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References

DOI

10.1002/msd2.12125

Original Source URL

https://doi.org/10.1002/msd2.12125

Funding information

This work was supported by the Shandong Province Science and Technology SMES innovation ability improvement project and the Rizhao Key Research and Development Project (No. 2022TSGC2504), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 52378402); Shandong Provincial Natural Science Foundation Youth Project (Nos. ZR2022QE021, ZR202211100077), and the Taishan Scholar Project (No. tsqn202312024).

About International Journal of Mechanical System Dynamics 

International Journal of Mechanical System Dynamics (IJMSD) is an open-access journal that aims to systematically reveal the vital effect of mechanical system dynamics on the whole lifecycle of modern industrial equipment. The mechanical systems may vary in different scales and are integrated with electronic, electrical, optical, thermal, magnetic, acoustic, aero, fluidic systems, etc. The journal welcomes research and review articles on dynamics concerning advanced theory, modeling, computation, analysis, software, design, control, manufacturing, testing, and evaluation of general mechanical systems. 

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Journal

International Journal of Mechanical System Dynamics

DOI

10.1002/msd2.12125 

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

Virtual vibration test rig for fatigue analysis of dozer push arms

 AMERIKA IS SICK

Political polarization poses health risks, new analysis concludes

Division stymies policymaking and implementation of healthcare programs, discourages individual action to take remedies, and fosters spread of misinformation

Peer-Reviewed Publication

New York University

News coverage of the 2024 election season has often centered on how partisan division has affected our politics. But a new analysis shows that political polarization also poses significant health risks—by obstructing the implementation of legislation and policies aimed at keeping Americans healthy, by discouraging individual action to address health needs, such as getting a flu shot, and by boosting the spread of misinformation that can reduce trust in health professionals. 

“Compared to other high-income countries, the United States has a disadvantage when it comes to the health of its citizens,” says Jay Van Bavel, a professor in New York University’s Department of Psychology and an author of the analysis, which appears in the journal Nature Medicine. “America’s growing political polarization is only exacerbating this shortcoming.”

But despite the challenges of political polarization, the analysis, which considered more than 100 experimental papers and reviews, pointed to potential ways to both minimize its impact on Americans’ health and promote health-care practices.

“Division is a major problem and the one real solution is trust. Public health agencies need to work with trusted voices and leaders, being proactive at sharing information, engaging questions, and not writing off concerns as irrelevant,” says Kai Ruggeri, a professor at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health and one of the paper’s authors. “In a time when some people look less to doctors and more to prominent figures for information on decisions related to our health, the best steps involve engaging directly with those voices.” 

The analysis, which also included Eric Knowles, a professor in NYU’s Department of Psychology, and Shana Kushner Gadarian, a professor in Syracuse University’s Department of Political Science, considered Americans’ views of the opposite party over four decades, health-related behaviors during the coronavirus pandemic, and comparative data from other countries.

Over the past four decades, the paper’s authors note, partisan animosity has steadily increased in the US. By 2020, Americans were much more likely to say they “hate” the opposite party than they were to say they “love” their own party; by contrast, from 1980 through 2008, Americans were more likely to say they loved their own party than they were to say they hated the opposite party—though “party love” relative to “opposite party hate” has drawn closer virtually every year since 1980, becoming approximately even in 2012 and with “hate” surpassing “love” beginning in 2016.  

In their analysis and review of previous studies, the paper’s authors also examined a range of health-care related studies, which showed the following:

• As individuals move further from the political center—in either direction—there is a deterioration in individual and public health, such as trust in medical expertise, participation in healthy behaviors, and preventive practices, ranging from healthy diets to vaccination. Notably, individuals who are more ideologically extreme than their state’s average voter have worse physical and mental health.
• Polarization affects what health information people are willing to believe and shapes the relevant actions they are willing to take. This may mean disregarding accurate information or believing misinformation—depending on whether or not it comes from sources they are aligned with or disagree with.
• Political leaders, inside and outside the US, may make public health worse by linking health behavior to partisan identity rather than medical needs or expert advice, thereby undercutting the role of expertise and ignoring approaches grounded in science, often leading to attacks on medical professionals and the healthcare system.
• Republicans were less likely to enroll in marketplace insurance plans through the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”) than were Democrats after most of its provisions took effect a decade ago. These differences have been linked to excess sick days from work, higher healthcare premiums, and higher mortality rates.
• As policy polarization at the state level has increased over time, so has the difference in lifespan and health across states—Americans who live in states with more progressive social policies, such as generous Medicaid coverage, higher taxes on cigarettes, more economic support (e.g., a higher minimum wage), and more firearm regulations live longer than their counterparts in states that embrace more conservative policies. 
• After the Trump administration and other Republican leaders expressed skepticism regarding COVID-19 prevention behaviors, partisan elites and news sources amplified this belief and polarized Republicans readily accepted it: large gaps in distancing and then vaccination rates between Republicans and Democrats widened during the pandemic, even as evidence mounted about the risks.
• These differences were not limited to the US: a previous study of 23 European countries found that national levels of partisan polarization accounted for nearly 39% of the variation in vaccination levels.
• Notably, another study of 67 countries found almost no correlation at all between left/right political ideology and support for public health recommendations, suggesting that polarization, rather than political ideology, was the greater risk factor to their citizens’ health.

The authors write that “although polarization is a risk factor for disease and mortality in a public health crisis, this outcome is not inevitable.” They point to a study comparing the US and Canada that suggests policy and leadership decisions can mitigate the potential harm from polarization. Although both nations were politically polarized at the onset of the pandemic, research found that political leaders in Canada took a different approach to those in the United States and also experienced a significantly lower level of illness and mortality. 

This and other studies point to specific approaches public officials and health-care professionals can take, which the Nature Medicine authors outline:

• Highlight shared identities between public health officials and target populations—these can include shared partisan identities, nonpartisan identities, or national identities. 
• Communicate information about how many people are following public health guidelines—instead of focusing on people who are failing to follow it.
• Use trusted civic leaders—such as religious, athletic, and military spokespersons—to expand and supplement health messages from local and national leaders and reach diverse communities.
• Debunk misleading or false information using fact checks, pre-bunking, and other validated strategies 

“Polarization is not only an American concern, but one that is increasing in many countries,” says Syracuse’s Gadarian. “This means we should be investing more in understanding and diminishing its impact on public health by encouraging collaborations between medical professionals and social scientists.”

# # #

 

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Journal

Nature Medicine

DOI

10.1038/s41591-024-03307-w 

Article Title

Political polarization and health

SPACE/COSMOS

Astronauts return to Earth following seven-month science expedition on International Space Station

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 astronauts supported a variety of ISS National Lab-sponsored investigations including in-space manufacturing, cancer treatments, and genetic research

International Space Station U.S. National Laboratory

 

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SpaceX Crew-8 astronauts (top to bottom) NASA's Jeanette Epps, Mike Barratt & Matthew Dominick, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin onboard the ISS.

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Credit: NASA

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER (FL), October 25, 2024–After seven months of living and working onboard the International Space Station (ISSInternational Space Station), astronauts of NASA’s eighth rotational SpaceX crew mission (Crew-8) splashed down safely off the coast of Florida. The mission, which is part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, included NASANational Aeronautics and Space Administration astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, and Jeanette Epps, as well as Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin. During their mission on station, the three NASA astronauts supported dozens of research investigations sponsored by the ISS National Laboratory®.

These investigations spanned many areas, including in-space production applications(Abbreviation: InSPA) InSPA is an applied research and development program sponsored by NASA and the ISS National Lab aimed at demonstrating space-based manufacturing and production activities by using the unique space environment to develop, test, or mature products and processes that could have an economic impact., life and physical sciences, and technology development, all aimed at bringing value to humanity and enabling a robust market in low Earth orbit(Abbreviation: LEO) The orbit around the Earth that extends up to an altitude of 2,000 km (1,200 miles) from Earth’s surface. The International Space Station’s orbit is in LEO, at an altitude of approximately 250 miles. (LEO).

Below highlights a few of the ISS National Lab-sponsored projects the Crew-8 NASA astronauts worked on during their mission.

• Several investigations focused on in-space production applications, an increasingly important area of emphasis for the ISS National Lab and NASA.
  • A project from Cedars Sinai Medical Center aims to establish methods to support the in-space manufacturing of stem cells, which can be matured into a wide variety of tissues. These methods will be used for future large-scale in-space biomanufacturing of stem cell-derived products, which could lead to new treatments for heart disease, neurodegenerative diseases, and many other conditions.
  • Redwire Corporation partnered with Eli Lilly and Company and Butler University on a series of investigations leveraging Redwire’s Pharmaceutical In-space Laboratory (PIL-BOX), a platform to crystallize organic molecules in microgravityThe condition of perceived weightlessness created when an object is in free fall, for example when an object is in orbital motion. Microgravity alters many observable phenomena within the physical and life sciences, allowing scientists to study things in ways not possible on Earth. The International Space Station provides access to a persistent microgravity environment.. Results from this research could lead to improved therapeutics to treat an array of conditions. These projects continue Eli Lilly’s space journey, as the company has launched multiple investigations to the orbiting laboratory over the years for the benefit of patient care on Earth.
• The astronauts supported the third experiment in a series of projects from the University of Notre Dame to improve ultra-sensitive biosensors. The biosensors can detect trace substances in liquids, including early cancer biomarkers. By using laser heating to control bubble formation in microgravity, the team improved particle collection—a key step in boosting sensor sensitivity. This research, funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation, could transform early and asymptomatic cancer detection and other medical diagnostics.
• The crew conducted phase two of a technology development project from Sphere Entertainment to test Big Sky—the company’s new ultra-high-resolution, single-sensor camera—on the space station. In the first phase of the project, which launched in November 2022, astronauts tested a commercial off-the-shelf camera on the ISS to collect baseline information. During the second phase, the astronauts tested Big Sky to validate the camera’s function, operations, and video downlink capabilities in microgravity. Big Sky is being developed by Sphere Entertainment to capture content for Sphere, the next-generation entertainment medium in Las Vegas.
• In the final days before their departure from the space station, the Crew-8 astronauts supported projects that recently launched on NASA’s ninth rotational crew mission (Crew-9).
  • One is a student-led project from Isabel Jiang, a recent high school graduate from Hillsborough, CA, who is now in her first year at Yale. Jiang is the winner of the 2023 Genes in Space student research competition, founded by Boeing and miniPCR bio and supported by the ISS National Lab and New England Biolabs. Jiang’s experiment investigates the effect of radiation and the space environment on mechanisms for gene editing. Results could help develop methods to better protect astronauts and shed light on genetic risks for certain diseases during spaceflight.
  • Another is an investigation from the U.S. Air Force Academy and Rhodium Scientific to compare the root growth of Arabidopsis plants, a member of the mustard family, at two different orbital altitudes. Plants grown on the space station in LEO for four to six days will be compared with similar plants grown on the recent Polaris Dawn mission, which flew in the same type of vehicle at a higher orbit for approximately the same amount of time. Results could provide insights into the production of crops for long-duration space missions and in high-radiation environments.

These are just a few of the ISS National Lab-sponsored research projects conducted on the space station during this expedition. To learn more about these investigations and others, visit our launch page.

Download a high-resolution image for this release: SpaceX Crew-8

ISS astronauts hospitalized after SpaceX

splashdown

A crew of US and Russian astronauts were treated after landing off the coast of Florida on Friday. The four were onboard the ISS for over seven months, with Hurricane Milton delaying their return.

The ISS crew returned to Earth Friday, splashing down in the Gulf of Mexico near Pensacola, Florida

Image: Joel Kowsky/NASA/Getty Images/AFP


Three NASA astronauts and one Russian cosmonaut returned to Earth from the International Space Station (ISS) Friday after seven months in orbit.

The four, Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, and Jeanette Epps, and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin had been scheduled to return two weeks ago but those plans had to be delayed due to weather disturbances caused by Hurricane Milton.

NASA said the crew had received medical exams upon exiting the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft that flew them home, but added that the four, "were taken to a local medical facility for additional evaluation" after splashing down in the Gulf of Mexico near Pensacola, Florida.

NASA said the step had been taken "out of an abundance of caution," and that "all crew members were flown to the facility together."

No mention was made of why exactly the extra exams were necessary.



The crew had spent the previous seven months conducting hundreds of scientific experiments aboard the ISS, including some conducted with stem cells and plants as well as others concerned with the health of astronauts in space.

Two other stuck-in-space astronauts, Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, whose own mission went from eight days to eight months, will remain on the ISS until February next year.

js/lo (dpa, Reuters)

Scientists discover molecules that store much of the carbon in space

The discovery of pyrene derivatives in a distant interstellar cloud may help to reveal how our own solar system formed.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

A team led by researchers at MIT has discovered that a distant interstellar cloud contains an abundance of pyrene, a type of large, carbon-containing molecule known as a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH). 

The discovery of pyrene in this far-off cloud, which is similar to the collection of dust and gas that eventually became our own solar system, suggests that pyrene may have been the source of much of the carbon in our solar system. That hypothesis is also supported by a recent finding that samples returned from the near-Earth asteroid Ryugu contain large quantities of pyrene. 

“One of the big questions in star and planet formation is: How much of the chemical inventory from that early molecular cloud is inherited and forms the base components of the solar system? What we’re looking at is the start and the end, and they’re showing the same thing. That’s pretty strong evidence that this material from the early molecular cloud finds its way into the ice, dust, and rocky bodies that make up our solar system,” says Brett McGuire, an assistant professor of chemistry at MIT.

Due to its symmetry, pyrene itself is invisible to the radio astronomy techniques that have been used to detect about 95 percent of molecules in space. Instead, the researchers detected an isomer of cyanopyrene, a version of pyrene that has reacted with cyanide to break its symmetry. The molecule was detected in a distant cloud known as TMC-1, using the 100-meter Green Bank Telescope (GBT), a radio telescope at the Green Bank Observatory in West Virginia. 

McGuire and Ilsa Cooke, an assistant professor of chemistry at the University of British Colombia, are the senior authors of a paper describing the findings, which will appear in Science. Gabi Wenzel, an MIT postdoc in McGuire’s group, is the lead author of the study.

Carbon in space

PAHs, which contain rings of carbon atoms fused together, are believed to store 10 to 25 percent of the carbon that exists in space. More than 40 years ago, scientists using infrared telescopes began detecting features that are thought to belong to vibrational modes of PAHs in space, but this technique couldn’t reveal exactly which types of PAHs were out there. 

“Since the PAH hypothesis was developed in the 1980s, many people have accepted that PAHs are in space, and they have been found in meteorites, comets, and asteroid samples, but we can’t really use infrared spectroscopy to unambiguously identify individual PAHs in space,” Wenzel says.

In 2018, a team led by McGuire reported the discovery of benzonitrile — a six-carbon ring attached to a nitrile (carbon-nitrogen) group — in TMC-1. To make this discovery, they used the GBT, which can detect molecules in space by their rotational spectra — distinctive patterns of light that molecules give off as they tumble through space. In 2021, his team detected the first individual PAHs in space: two isomers of cyanonaphthalene, which consists of two rings fused together, with a nitrile group attached to one ring.

On Earth, PAHs commonly occur as byproducts of burning fossil fuels, and they’re also found in char marks on grilled food. Their discovery in TMC-1, which is only about 10 kelvins, suggested that it may also be possible for them to form at very low temperatures. 

The fact that PAHs have also been found in meteorites, asteroids, and comets has led many scientists to hypothesize that PAHs are the source of much of the carbon that formed our own solar system. In 2023, researchers in Japan found large quantities of pyrene in samples returned from the asteroid Ryugu during the Hayabusa2 mission, along with smaller PAHs including naphthalene. 

That discovery motivated McGuire and his colleagues to look for pyrene in TMC-1. Pyrene, which contains four rings, is larger than any of the other PAHs that have been detected in space. In fact, it’s the third-largest molecule identified in space, and the largest ever detected using radio astronomy. 

Before looking for these molecules in space, the researchers first had to synthesize cyanopyrene in the laboratory. The cyano or nitrile group is necessary for the molecule to emit a signal that a radio telescope can detect. The synthesis was performed by MIT postdoc Shuo Zhang in the group of Alison Wendlandt, an MIT associate professor of chemistry.  

Then, the researchers analyzed the signals that the molecules emit in the laboratory, which are exactly the same as the signals that they emit in space.

Using the GBT, the researchers found these signatures throughout TMC-1. They also found that cyanopyrene accounts for about 0.1 percent of all the carbon found in the cloud, which sounds small but is significant when one considers the thousands of different types of carbon-containing molecules that exist in space, McGuire says.

“While 0.1 percent doesn’t sound like a large number, most carbon is trapped in carbon monoxide (CO), the second-most abundant molecule in the universe besides molecular hydrogen. If we set CO aside, one in every few hundred or so remaining carbon atoms is in pyrene. Imagine the thousands of different molecules that are out there, nearly all of them with many different carbon atoms in them, and one in a few hundred is in pyrene,” he says. “That is an absolutely massive abundance. An almost unbelievable sink of carbon. It’s an interstellar island of stability.” 

Ewine van Dishoeck, a professor of molecular astrophysics at Leiden Observatory in the Netherlands, called the discovery “unexpected and exciting.”

“It builds on their earlier discoveries of smaller aromatic molecules, but to make the jump now to the pyrene family is huge. Not only does it demonstrate that a significant fraction of carbon is locked up in these molecules, but it also points to different formation routes of aromatics than have been considered so far,” says van Dishoeck, who was not involved in the research.

An abundance of pyrene

Interstellar clouds like TMC-1 may eventually give rise to stars, as clumps of dust and gas coalesce into larger bodies and begin to heat up. Planets, asteroids, and comets arise from some of the gas and dust that surround young stars. Scientists can’t look back in time at the interstellar cloud that gave rise to our own solar system, but the discovery of pyrene in TMC-1, along with the presence of large amounts of pyrene in the asteroid Ryugu, suggests that pyrene may have been the source of much of the carbon in our own solar system.

“We now have, I would venture to say, the strongest evidence ever of this direct molecular inheritance from the cold cloud all the way through to the actual rocks in the solar system,” McGuire says.

The researchers now plan to look for even larger PAH molecules in TMC-1. They also hope to investigate the question of whether the pyrene found in TMC-1 was formed within the cold cloud or whether it arrived from elsewhere in the universe, possibly from the high-energy combustion processes that surround dying stars. 

The research was funded in part by a Beckman Foundation Young Investigator Award, the Schmidt Family Futures Foundation, the U.S. National Science Foundation, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, the Goddard Center for Astrobiology, and the NASA Planetary Science Division Internal Scientist Funding Program.

###

Written by Anne Trafton, MIT News

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Journal

Science

DOI

10.1126/science.adq6391 

Article Title

Detection of interstellar 1-cyanopyrene: a four-ring polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon

Article Publication Date

24-Oct-2024

Progress of radiation belt exploration by a constellation of small satellites TGCSS/SGRB, COSPAR

Beijing Zhongke Journal Publising Co. Ltd.

Following the COSPAR Scientific Roadmap on Small Satellites for Space Science, SGRB of TGCSS proposed the CORBES mission to address the Earth’s radiation belt scientific survey program and has been propelling this mission over the past two years.

The CORBES mission aims to conduct an ultra-fast survey of the Earth’s radiation belt using a constellation of multi-Small/CubeSats. The orbit of CORBES is designed to closely align with the equatorial plane, with an apogee altitude of approximately 7 Earth radii, similar to that of Geostationary Transfer Orbits (GTO). By utilizing this multi-satellite constellation, the mission aims to differentiate between temporal and spatial variations in the radiation belts, thus significantly advancing our understanding of Earth’s radiation belt dynamics. Each Small/CubeSat is expected to have a minimum operational lifetime of one year to manage costs effectively.

The CORBES mission aims to elucidate the physical mechanisms governing Earth’s outer radiation belt dynamics, addressing key unresolved questions. Through a CubeSat constellation, CORBES will measure energetic electron flux, geomagnetic field variations, and plasma waves with unprecedented temporal and spatial resolution. This will enable a detailed investigation of the outer radiation belt, potentially uncovering fundamental physical processes underlying its rapid dynamics. Below are primary targeted physical processes for quantitative or quasi-quantitative investigation (not exhaustive).

1. Energy diffusion occurs due to local resonant interactions between electrons and Very Low Frequency (VLF) waves, including whistler-mode waves generated by unstable plasma distributions during storms.
2. Pitch angle scattering arises from local resonant interactions between electrons and magnetospheric plasma waves, including whistler hiss and electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves.
3. Radial transport driven by the drift resonance between electrons and Ultra-Low-Frequency (ULF) magnetospheric waves, alongside radial transport induced by sudden, intense electric fields resulting from large-scale magnetic field reconfiguration, including shock-induced injection, substorm depolarization injection, and storm convection.
4. Electron escape from the magnetosphere into the solar wind occurs via magnetopause shadowing and the combined effects of magnetopause shadowing and outward radial transport.

Analyzing these primary physical processes in detail will yield quantitative insights into electron transport, acceleration, and losses, elucidating their respective contributions to outer radiation belt dynamics. This comprehensive understanding will refine our knowledge of outer radiation behavior and improve prediction models for more accurate forecasts.

The CORBES program initiative contains satellites outfitted with three types of payloads: the Magnetometer (MAG), the Search Coil Wave Detector (SCWD), and the High Energy Electron Detector (HEED) .

In order to cover the outer radiation belts for the measurements, a highly eccentric and inclined orbit is suggested. The orbit apogee must permit adequate magnetic field exploration. An example of a standard science orbit is this: 280 km at the perigee, 7 Re at the apogee, and approximately 11 degrees of inclination. For such an orbit, the orbit period is then roughly 13.5 hours. The outer radiation band (3 Re to 7 Re) can be traveled through in around 10.5 hours. It is anticipated that every satellite will function in the same orbit, spinning at a speed of around eight revolutions per minute on a spin-stabilized axis that faces the sun. The mass of each satellite shouldn't be more than 30 kg. The program's lifespan cannot be shorter than a year.

For telecommand, either S-band or X-band will be utilized, while X-band is assigned for data downlink. The satellites are scheduled for launch by one or two rockets, with the fitted upper stage delivering them into the target orbit, and the connected dispenser releasing them individually according to the specified separation sequence.

Assembly Integration and Testing (AIT), radiation shielding, and cross-calibration are important components of the program. Cross-calibration of the payloads is optional before launch. To calibrate the technical standards, the payloads will undergo testing in an identical setting. Cross-calibration in orbit after launch is required to preserve data consistency and comparability. With regard to HEED specifically, this entails choosing electrons in the same energy range during the magnetospheric quiet phase (Kp<3) and contrasting the outcomes of various HEED observations made under identical L, B conditions. When MAG and SCWD compare observations made during a chosen calm period, a similar methodology is used.

There are currently three small satellite contributions: the HIT satellite at the Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT), the IMACAS satellites at the Innovation Academy of Microsatellites (IMAC), and the Foresail satellites at the Finnish Centre of Excellence in Research of Sustainable Space (FORESAIL). IMAC is going to provide two satellites.

FGM has three contributions: MAG at the National Space Science Center, FGM at Beihang University (BHU), and FGM at the Space Research Institute Graz (IWF). The NSSC will contribute two sets of FGM. SCWD has two contributions: SCWD at the National Space Science Center and SCWD at Beihang University. The NSSC will contribute two sets of SCWD. HEED has four contributions: HEED at the National Space Science Center, HEED at Beihang University (BHU), HEED at the University of Turku (UTU), and HEED at the Paul Scherrer Institute. The NSSC will contribute two sets of HEED.

CORBES is an international multilateral mission with potential participants from Asia, Europe, and America. Each entity is expected to contribute one or more satellites to form the constellation, equipped with baseline instruments to achieve CORBES’s primary science goals, or provide a related ground support system. A data-sharing policy will ensure open access to observations within the COSPAR mission, benefiting both contributors and the broader research community.

Over the past two years, SGRB has hosted more than forty online meetings to outline the CORBES mission profile, identify potential participants, establish the CORBES scientist team, and organize the mission's technical design. The CORBES scientist team discussed and defined the CORBES’s scientific objectives and demonstrated the scientific requirements of the payloads. The general science goal for CORBES is to investigate two groups of physical processes related to the radiation belts: wave-particle interactions and radial transport. Two papers about the technical design and the scientific objectives of CORBES have been submitted to Advances in Space Research.

In propelling CORBES, COSPAR has played a key role in coordinating and managing the mission, as well as acting as a mediator between participating governments, universities, and research institutions.

The data set from CORBES will be shared among the contributors to the constellation and the broader research community. This data will be invaluable for comprehensively understanding the dynamics of magnetospheric energetic populations and developing a more standard model of the Earth’s radiation belts. Additionally, from an application perspective, the ultra-fast survey of the radiation belt will serve as a crucial tool for monitoring Earth's space weather.

 

See the article：

Progress of Radiation Belt Exploration by a Constellation of Small Satellites TGCSS/SGRB, COSPAR

https://doi.org/10.11728/cjss2024.04.2024-yg25

https://www.cjss.ac.cn/cn/article/doi/10.11728/cjss2024.04.2024-yg25

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Journal

Chinese Journal of Space Science

DOI

10.11728/cjss2024.04.2024-yg25 

Article Title

Progress of Radiation Belt Exploration by a Constellation of Small Satellites TGCSS/SGRB, COSPA

Latest scientific results of China’s lunar and deep space exploration (2022–2024)

Beijing Zhongke Journal Publising Co. Ltd.

CE-4 mission

The Chang'e-4 mission was the first spacecraft to land on the Moon's far side, specifically in the Von Kármán crater within the South Pole-Aitken Basin (45.457°S, 177.588°E), with a geological age of ~3.6 Ga. The landing site revealed regolith with an average grain size of 15 µm, covered by ejecta layers up to 70 m thick. Spectral analysis identified olivine and low-Ca pyroxene, suggesting deep mantle origin. Thermal properties showed efficient heat insulation, while radar data revealed subsurface structures. High radiation levels, with ENA (Energetic Neutral Atom) flux reflecting solar wind interactions, were observed, providing insights into lunar-solar wind dynamics.

The Chang’E-4 mission provides a unique opportunity to reveal the space environment on the lunar far side, with the Advanced Small Analyzer for Neutrals (ASAN) and Lunar Lander Neutron and Dosimetry (LND) instruments onboard the Yutu-2 rover. The ASAN instrument is designed to measure the low-energy particles from the solar wind-surface interaction. A partially-formed lunar mini-magnetosphere has been observed by ASAN, where no shock but just a boundary layer can be found near the magnetic anomalies. In addition, the energy spectra of energetic neutral atoms scattered from the lunar surface, as well as their dependences on the solar wind, have been detected by ASAN. The LND instrument has performed the first active dosimetric measurements on the lunar surface. It is found that the interaction of GCRs with the lunar regolith can results in upward-directed albedo protons, and the ratio of albedo protons to primary protons in the energy range of 64.7-76.7 MeV has been obtained with the LND measurements. Additionally, the spectra of cosmic rays in the energy range of 10 to 100 MeV/nuc has been measured by LND, which is a little bit different from those measured by the near-earth spacecraft, and suggests a non-negligible contribution of secondary particles to the surface radiation environment. There results have done much to improve our understanding on the lunar space environment and are very helpful for the future lunar explorations.

 

CE-5 mission

Compositional analyses of the lunar soil have revealed higher concentrations of FeO, along with moderate levels of TiO2 and Al2O3. Analyses have shown that much of the lunar soil from the Chang'E-5 mission likely originated from the Xu Guangqi crater, northwest of the landing site, and is characterised by a high degree of maturity, a condition largely attributed to the extensive micrometeoroid impacts in the region. Micrometeoroid impacts have led to the predominance of spallation processes in the formation of the soil.

The average particle size of the Chang’E-5 soils is around 50 μm, with a relatively low glass content. Basaltic fragments are composed of clinopyroxene, plagioclase, olivine, and ilmenite, with textures varying from porphyritic to ophitic and poikilitic. While previous analyses suggested abundant olivine, laboratory studies revealed the presence of iron-rich high-Ca pyroxene, challenging prior assumptions about the mineral composition of this lunar region.

Impact glasses found in the Chang’E-5 samples display diverse forms, including ultra-elongated fibers and amorphous layers without np-Fe0, indicative of a moderate impact environment. The composition points to a primarily local origin, with transport distances limited to 150 km or less. U-Pb isotopic dating suggests these glasses formed between a few million and two billion years ago, younger than the basalts. Additionally, KREEP-rich impact glass has been discovered, possibly originating from the boundary between the P58/Em4 mare unit and adjacent highlands.

Space weathering studies on Chang’E-5 samples show that iron-rich basalts experience rapid formation of np-Fe0, which aggregates into larger particles. The discovery of np-Fe0 in amorphous layers on fayalitic olivine surfaces provides new insights into space weathering mechanisms. This phenomenon is primarily driven by micrometeoroid impacts, with only minimal contribution from solar wind injection. Furthermore, lunar agglutinate glasses contain np-Fe0 and Fe3+, which increase with ongoing micrometeoroid impacts.

A notable discovery in the Chang’E-5 samples is the presence of iron meteorite fragments, classified as part of the IID group based on their Ni- and P-rich, S-poor composition. These fragments formed through low-velocity impacts and provide valuable information on lunar impact processes. Additionally, newly discovered minerals, such as trigonal Ti2O and triclinic Ti2O, were found in micrometeorite impact craters on glass beads, enhancing our understanding of space weathering effects.

Sulfides in the Chang’E-5 samples, though constituting less than 1%, also reveal impact-induced weathering. Magnetite and np-Fe0 particles were observed in iron-sulfide particles, formed by eutectoid reactions, providing evidence of significant impact events on the lunar surface.

Solar wind-derived water is another critical finding, with more than 170 ppm of water detected in the Chang’E-5 samples, consistent with lunar surface spectral measurements. Impact glasses in the lunar soil contain 15 to 25 ppm of molecular water, primarily solar wind-derived. These glasses are essential for preserving water and help sustain the lunar surface water cycle. The concentration of solar wind-derived water in glass beads can reach up to 2000 ppm, with an average of about 500 ppm.

The petrogenesis of the Chang’E-5 basalts suggests they originated from an olivine-bearing pyroxenite mantle source at pressures of (1.0–1.3)×103 MPa and temperatures around 1350 ± 50 °C. These basalts indicate that lunar magmatic activity persisted until at least 2 billion years ago, suggesting the Moon experienced large-scale volcanic eruptions later than previously thought. The Chang’E-5 basalts exhibit rapid cooling with shorter degassing periods compared to Apollo samples, and the latest findings suggest evidence of volcanic activity on the Moon as recently as 120 million years ago.

 

Tianwen-1 mission

China's Tianwen-1 mission, featuring the Zhurong rover, has made remarkable progress in uncovering the geological and environmental history of Mars, particularly in the southern Utopia Planitia region. Combining advanced instruments such as low-frequency radar, multispectral imaging, and environmental sensors, the mission has provided a comprehensive understanding of both the surface and subsurface structures of Mars. These discoveries are shedding new light on the planet's dynamic past, offering clues about water-related processes and climate shifts.

One of the key findings involves the dynamic changes in Martian aeolian landforms, particularly Transverse Aeolian Ridges (TARs) and dunes. These structures, initially shaped by northern winds and later reworked by northeastern winds, reflect the planet's complex climatic history. The observed changes in dune morphology align with the end of Martian most recent ice age, suggesting a major transition from glacial to interglacial periods. This transition was marked by significant wind regime shifts, which reshaped the Martian landscape, providing critical evidence of the Martian evolving climate.

The radar data collected by the Zhurong rover has revealed detailed subsurface stratigraphy, exposing sedimentary sequences at depths of 10 to 80 meters. These sequences indicate multiple resurfacing events that likely occurred during the late Hesperian period (approximately 3.5 to 3.2 billion years ago) and possibly extended into the Amazonian period. This points to the possibility of water-related geological processes continuing far longer than previously believed. Furthermore, spectroscopic studies have detected the presence of water-bearing minerals, such as polyhydric sulfates and gypsum, which support theories of a once wetter Mars, potentially with subsurface glaciers or permafrost.

Environmental sensors on Zhurong rover have provided vital data on Martian dust deposition, wind dynamics, and surface temperatures. During the Martian spring and summer, strong winds were found to significantly influence dust deposition rates, a critical factor in understanding Martian current surface conditions. Thermal inertia and dust have been identified as key contributors to the regulation of surface temperatures, especially during periods of increased dust storm activity.

Water-related processes have also been a key focus of the mission. While liquid water is unlikely to be stable at shallow depths, there is evidence of brine ice deposits near the surface. The Mars Climate Station (MCS) aboard Zhurong rover has regularly recorded frost formation, which sublimates after sunrise, suggesting active water vapor cycles. This observation provides crucial insight into the interactions between the Martian atmosphere and surface.

In conclusion, the Tianwen-1 mission has delivered significant insights into Martian geological and environmental conditions, particularly its water history and climatic evolution. These discoveries have important implications for whether there was potential life on ancient Mars and provide a foundation for future missions aimed at exploring Martian habitability.

The Martian space environment investigation is carried out mainly based on insitu observations on board Tianwen-1 orbiter. Comparisons between Tianwen-1 and other Earth & Mars based observations confirmed a general consistency among missions. Data correction and retrieval algorithms have been developed to improve data quality or provide supporting data. Remote sensing of the interplanetary media, radio occultation of the ionosphere and atmosphere were also explored using the VLBI data. Observations reveal that up to Mars, the background solar wind is important in determining the interplanetary evolution and global morphology of ICMEs; A small but finite cross-field diffusion is crucial to understanding the formation of the SEP reservoir phenomenon. The foreshock waves are highly distorted. The Martian bow shock is rapidly compressed and then expanded in response to the dynamic pressure pulse in the solar wind, and also oscillates during the IMF rotation. The altitude of the Martian ionopause location was lowered during the ICME. The depletion of the plasma density in the topside Martian ionosphere on the nightside reveals the presence of substantial ion and electron escape. The planetary heavy ions picked up by the solar wind mostly originate from middle and low MSE (Mars Solar Electric) latitude of the northern dayside Martian ionosphere. Enhanced acceleration of pickup ions inside the magnetosheath by the motional electric field located at the upper edge or within the Magnetic Pileup Boundary. The observations were also used to evaluate the performance of an operational solar wind prediction system, to predict the arrival time and in-situ parameters of corotating interaction regions (CIRs).

 

 

See the article：

Latest Scientific Results of China’s Lunar and Deep Space Exploration (2022–2024)

https://www.sciengine.com/CJSS/doi/10.11728/cjss2024.04.2024-yg10

https://www.cjss.ac.cn/cn/article/doi/10.11728/cjss2024.04.2024-yg10

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Journal

Chinese Journal of Space Science

DOI

10.11728/cjss2024.04.2024-yg10 

Article Title

Latest Scientific Results of China’s Lunar and Deep Space Exploration (2022–2024)

Recent progress of Earth observation satellites in China

Beijing Zhongke Journal Publising Co. Ltd.

Currently, there are 32 Earth observation satellites in orbit. Since 2022, China has launched 9 Earth observation satellites which are shown in Table 1. This article introduces the recent progress of Earth observation satellites in China, especially the satellite operation, data archiving, data distribution and data coverage.

Table List of new Earth observation satellites in China

number	Satellite name	Code	Launch time	Design life /years
1	L-SAR 01A	LT-1A	Jan. 26, 2022	8
2	L-SAR 01B	LT-1B	Feb. 27, 2022	8
3	Gaofen-3 03	GF-3C	Apr. 7, 2022	8
4	Atmospheric environment monitoring satellite	DQ-1	Apr. 16, 2022	8
5	Terrestrial ecosystem carbon monitoring satellite	CM-1	Aug. 4, 2022	8
6	5m S-SAR 01	HJ-2E	Oct. 13, 2022	8
7	Gaofen-5 01A	GF-5 01A	Dec. 9, 2022	8
8	5 m S-SAR 02	HJ-2F	Aug. 9, 2023	8
9	Land Exploration Satellite 4-01	JZ-1	Aug. 13, 2023	8

 

In this work, researchers provide a introduction of total 9 Earth observation satellites in section 1.

LT-1A and LT-1B are shown in section 1.1. The Land Exploration Satellite 1 project is an important component of the national medium and long term civilian space infrastructure development plan (2015-2025), and it is also the first scientific research satellite project approved by the plan. Featuring all-weather, all-time, multi-mode, and multi-polarization capabilities, they can be applied in geology, land use, Earthquake, disaster reduction, surveying and mapping, forestry, effectively enhancing China’s capacity for independent satellite detection and prevention of geological disasters. LT-1A and LT-1B operate on a sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 607 kilometers, equipped with advanced L-band multi-polarization multi-channel SAR payloads. The article lists the imaging mode of LT-1A and LT-1B in a table format.

GF-3C satellite is shown in section 1.2. GF-3C is one of the two operational satellites outlined in the national medium and long term civilian space infrastructure development plan (2015–2025). Its primary payload is a C-band synthetic aperture radar. This satellite fully inherits the technical solutions of the GF-3 satellite. It is designed to operate for eight years in orbit and features a suite of 12 conventional imaging modes. The imaging mode of GF-3C is shown in a table.

Section 1.3 is an introduction to the DQ-1 satellite. DQ-1 operates in a Sun-synchronous orbit and boasts a comprehensive array of payloads. It is not just a research satellite in the nation’s medium and long term development plan for civil space infrastructure; but also a world pioneer, being the first satellite capable of detecting carbon dioxide laser. Equipped with five advanced remote sensing instruments, it promises to significantly enhance global capabilities in carbon monitoring and atmospheric pollution detection. The payloads of DQ-1 are listed in a table.

The introduction of Carbon Monitoring Satellite for Terrestrial Ecosystems (CM-1 Satellite) is in section 1.4. As the world’s first satellite to combine active and passive observation for forest carbon sink monitoring, its successful launch signifies China's entry into the era of remote sensing-based carbon sink monitoring. t is equipped with four satellite payloads: a multi-beam lidar, a multi-angle multispectral camera, a hyperspectral detector, and a multi-angle polarization imager. The payloads of CM-1 are listed in a table.

The introduction of HJ-2E and HJ-2F are in section 1.5. As outlined in the national medium and long term civilian space infrastructure development plan (2015–2025), the HJ-2E and HJ-2F satellites operate in a sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 499 kilometers. Their primary payload is an S-band synthetic aperture radar. These twin satellites will form a network, marking the initial establishment of a constellation of satellites for emergency management and ecological environment monitoring. The article lists the imaging mode of HJ-2E and HJ-2F in a table format.

Section 1.6 is an introduction to the GF-5 01A satellite. GF-5 01A is a successor to the Gaofen-5 satellite. It boasts three payloads: the Advanced Hyperspectral Imager for the Visible and Shortwave Infrared (AHSI), the Wideband Thermal Infrared Imager (WTI), and the Environmental Monitoring Instrument for Atmospheric Trace Gases (EMI).

Section 1.7 is an introduction to the JZ-1 satellite. It is a remote sensing research satellite outlined in the national medium and long term civilian space infrastructure development plan (2015–2025). It is operated in a near 36000-kilometer inclined geosynchronous orbit. JZ-1 satellite is the world's first geosynchronous orbit SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) satellite, equipped with an L-band SAR as its primary payload. The satellite is currently undergoing in-orbit testing.

Next, the researchers described the operation of these 9 satellites.

Section 2 is the statistics of satellite imaging operation. In daily situations, the imaging is arranged comprehensively based on user demands and satellite constraints. The researchers analyzed the imaging data of GF-3C/LT-1A/LT-1B/HJ-2E/GF-5 01A(infrared)/GF-5 01A (hyperspectral) since their launch, such as number of imaging turns, imaging time, track adjustment.

Section 3 is the statistics of satellite data archiving since launch. The data acquired by the satellites will be processed into Levels 0 and 1 for storage. The researchers analyzed the data archiving of LT-1A/LT-1B/GF-3C/HJ-2E/HJ-2F/GF-5 01A, such as the number and capacity of Level 0 and Level 1.

Section 4 is the data distribution of LT-1A/LT-1B/GF-3C/DQ-1 (WSI)/CM-1 (DMC)/HJ-2E/GF-5 01A/HJ-2F since launch. The data of China Earth observation satellites are distributed to the research institutions, governments, commercial companies and individuals. The researchers analyzed the number of data distribution of these satellites.

Section 5 is the data coverage of typical sensors on LT-1A/LT-1B/GF-3C/CM-1/HJ-2E/HJ-2F/GF-5 01A. The researchers analyzed the standard products distribution of typical sensors and calculated the coverage area of these data.

This article introduces the recent progress of Earth observation satellites in China since 2022, especially the satellite introduction, satellite operation, data archiving, data distribution and data coverage. After more than 20 years of development, Earth observation satellites possess the capability to observe across multiple spectral bands, under all weather conditions, and at all times. The increasing number of civilian Earth observation satellites and diverse payload types have promoted the development of remote sensing technology applications. At the same time, the improvement of remote sensing technology application level has put forward higher requirements for satellite payload indicators and image quality, promoting the development of civilian Earth observation satellites and ground processing systems.

By 2030, the number of Earth observation satellites in China will reach 40, and the payload and orbit types will become more diverse, further improving the high spatial, high temporal, high spectral, and high radiation resolution. Earth observation satellites will provide rich, stable, and sustainable scientific data for various fields of national economy and people’s livelihood, promote the further improvement of remote sensing technology application level, and create greater social and economic benefits.

 

See the article：

Recent Progress of Earth Observation Satellites in China

https://doi.org/10.11728/cjss2024.04.2024-yg23

https://www.cjss.ac.cn/cn/article/doi/10.11728/cjss2024.04.2024-yg23

 

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Journal

Chinese Journal of Space Science

DOI

10.11728/cjss2024.04.2024-yg23 

Article Title

Recent Progress of Earth Observation Satellites in China

Cyprus signs NASA's Artemis Accords, becoming 46th nation to commit to safe space exploration


 Nicodemos Damianou,Cyprus' deputy minister of research, innovation and digital policy, signs the Artemis Accords during a ceremony held Wednesday, October 23, 2024, at the NASA headquarters in Washington, D.C. Photo courtesy of Cyprus Embassy to the United States/X

Oct. 23 (UPI) -- The Mediterranean island nation of Cyprus signed the U.S.-led Artemis Accords on Wednesday, becoming the 46th signatory to the agreement that establishes principles for the safe exploration of space.

Nicodemos Damianou, Cyprus' deputy minister of research, innovation and digital policy, signed the accords during a ceremony in the nation's capital of Nicosia with James O'Brien, the U.S. State Department's assistant secretary for European and Eurasian affairs, in attendance.

"As we embark on this exciting journey, we reaffirm our commitment to a safe and responsible space exploration, as well as our strong belief in the importance of international cooperation in ensuring space is utilized to the benefit of all humanity," Damianou said, according to a statement from NASA.

Founded by NASA four years ago, the Artemis Accords establish principles for peaceful space exploration based on the 1967 Outer Space Treaty. It is also in conjunction with NASA's Artemis campaign to land the first woman, the first person of color and the U.S. agency's first partner astronaut on the moon.

NASA Associate Administrator Jim Free said they "applaud" Cyprus' commitment to the accords, which he explained will deepen Nicosia's engagement not only with NASA but the larger international community.

"By joining 45 other country signatories in this effort, Cyprus will help play a role in implementing the accords and exploration that is open, responsible, transparent, and peaceful for the benefit of all," Free said.

The announcement comes less than two weeks after 42 of the accord signatories gathered at the International Astronautical Congress in Milan, Italy. NASA said it was a congregation of a record number of signatories.

It also comes just days before Chile is set to become the 47th country to commit to the accords.

Aisén Etcheverry, Chile's minister of science, technology, knowledge and innovation, is scheduled to sign the agreement on behalf of her country at 3 p.m. Friday at NASA's headquarters in Washington, D.C.