This study investigated the climate effect under consecutive winters on the arrival delay of high-speed passenger trains. Inhomogeneous Markov chain model and stratified Cox model were adopted to account for the time-varying risks of train delays. The inhomogeneous Markov chain modelling used covariates weather variables, train operational direction, and findings from the primary delay analysis through stratified Cox model. The results showed that temperature, snow depth, ice/snow precipitation, and train operational direction, significantly impacted the arrival delay. Further, by partitioning the train line into three segments as per transition intensity, the model identified that the middle segment had the highest chance of a transfer from punctuality to delay, and the last segment had the lowest probability of recovering from delayed state. The performance of the fitted inhomogeneous Markov chain model was evaluated by the walk-forward validation method, which indicated that approximately 9% of trains may be misclassified as having arrival delays by the fitted model at a measuring point on the train line. With the model performance, the fitted model could be beneficial for both travellers to plan their trips reasonably and railway operators to design more efficient and wiser train schedules as per weather condition.

The ongoing worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), has been one of the most significant challenges to humankind in centuries. The extremely contagious nature of the SARS-CoV-2 virus has put forth an immense pressure on the health sector. In order to mitigate the stress on the healthcare systems especially to battle the crisis of mechanical ventilators, we have designed a modular, and robust DIY ventilator, ATMO-Vent (Atmospheric Mixture Optimization Ventilator) which can be fully mounted within two days by two operators. The ATMO-Vent has been designed using low-cost, robust, Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) components, with many features comparable to a full-fledged ventilator. ATMO-Vent has been designed based on the United Kingdom Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (UK-MHRA) guidelines for Rapidly Manufactured Ventilator System (RMVS), yet scalable to the specific requirements of different countries. ATMO-Vent is capable of adjusting the Fraction of Inspiratory Oxygen (FiO2) levels, Tidal Volume (TV), frequency of breaths, Inspiratory/Expiratory ratio (I/E), Peak Inspiratory Pressure (PIP) and Positive End-Expiratory Pressure (PEEP). ATMO-Vent can operate in two modes - Continuous Mandatory Ventilation (CMV) using Volume-Controlled Ventilation (VCV) and in Assisted Control (AC) mode with pressure triggered by the patient. ATMO-Vent has undergone rigorous testing and qualifies under Class B Electric and Magnetic Compatibility (EMC) requirements of EN 55011 CISPR 11 standards.

Forced convective heat transfer from three horizontally inclined rectangular-based cylinders (rods) has been studied experimentally under representative Martian near-surface air flows in the Aarhus Wind Tunnel Simulator (AWTS), Denmark. The testing campaign was developed for the HABIT (Habitability: Brines, Irradiation and Temperature) instrument, European payload on board the ExoMars 2022 Kazachok surface platform. The average heat transfer coefficient was determined from steady CO₂ flows at a pressure of 9.9 mbar, an ambient temperature of ∼25 °C, and for horizontal free-stream velocities between 0.8 and 12 m/s. A retrieval algorithm to derive the wind speed from the average heat transfer coefficient estimated at each of the three HABIT Air Temperature Sensors (ATS) rods was calibrated within the AWTS. The ATS rods are placed one at the front of the instrument structure (ATS₂) and two on the sides (ATS₁ and ATS₃); and under Martian atmospheric conditions these rods serve as cooling fins. Several relationships between the Nusselt number and the Reynolds and Prandtl numbers reported in the literature were evaluated to model convective heat transfer from the ATS rods. Where needed, corrections to account for radiative heat transfer within the AWTS were implemented. The final retrieval method demonstrated that wind speed can be retrieved for frontal winds in the range of 0–10 m/s, with an error of ±0.3 m/s, using the cooling profile of the ATS rod 3, and for lateral winds in the range of 0–6 m/s, with an error of ±0.3 m/s, using the ATS rod 2 cooling profile.

The HABIT (HabitAbility: Brine Irradiation and Temperature) instrument is a European payload of the ExoMars 2022 Surface Platform Kazachok that will characterize the present-day habitability at its landing place in Oxia Planum, Mars. HABIT consists of two modules: (i) EnvPack (Environmental Package) that monitors the thermal environment (air and ground), the incident ultraviolet radiation, the near surface winds and the atmospheric dust cycle; and (ii) BOTTLE (Brine Observation Transition To Liquid Experiment), an In-situ Resource Utilization instrument to produce liquid water for future Mars exploration. BOTTLE will be used also to investigate the electrical conductivity properties of the martian atmosphere, the present-day atmospheric-ground water cycle and to evaluate if liquid water can exist on Mars in the form of brines, and for how long. These variables measured by HABIT are critical to determine the present and future habitability of the martian surface. In this paper, we describe in detail the HABIT instrument and sensors, together with the calibration of its Flight Model (FM) and the Engineering Qualification Model (EQM) versions. The EnvPack module has heritage from previous missions operating on the surface of Mars, and the environmental observations of its sensors will be directly comparable to those delivered by those missions. HABIT can provide information of the local temperature with ±0.2 °C accuracy, local winds with ±0.3 m/s, surface brightness temperature with ±0.8 °C, incident UV irradiance with 10% error of its absolute value in the UV-A, UV-B, UV-C ranges, as well as in the total UV-ABC range, and two additional wavebands, dedicated to ozone absorption. The UV observations can be used to derive the total opacity column and thus monitor the dust and ozone cycles. BOTTLE can demonstrate the hydration state of a set of four deliquescent salts, which have been found on Mars (calcium chloride, ferric sulphate, magnesium perchlorate and sodium perchlorate) by monitoring their electric conductivity (EC). The EC of the air and the dry salts under Earth ambient, clean room conditions is of the order of 0.1 μScm−1. We have simulated HABIT operations, within an environmental chamber, under martian conditions similar to those expected at Oxia Planum. For dry, CO2 atmospheric conditions at martian pressures, the air EC can be as low as 10−8 μScm−1, however it increases with the relative humidity (RH) percentage. The laboratory experiments show that after an increase from 0 to 60% RH within a few hours, the EC of the air increased up to 10−1 μScm−1, magnesium perchlorate hydrated and reached values of 10 μScm-1, whereas calcium chloride deliquesced forming a liquid state with EC of 102 μScm−1. HABIT will operate with a regular cadence, through day and night. The Electronic Unit (EU) is protected with a heater that is activated when its temperature is below −33 °C and disabled if the temperature of the surface platform rises above −30 °C. Additionally, the heaters of the BOTTLE unit can be activated to dehydrate the salts and reset the experiment. HABIT weighs only 918 g. Its power consumption depends on the operation mode and internal temperature, and it varies between 0.7 W, for nominal operation, and 13.1 W (when heaters are turned on at full intensity). HABIT has a baseline data rate of 1.5 MB/sol. In addition to providing critical environmental observations, this light and robust instrument, will be the first demonstrator of a water capturing system on the surface of Mars, and the first European In-Situ Resource Utilization in the surface of another planet.

This work presents a novel method for the real-time retrieval of wind speed on the surface of Mars that uses temperature measurements from the Rover Environmental Monitoring Station (REMS) instrument onboard the Curiosity rover of the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission. After final failure of the Wind Sensor (WS) in sol 1491, REMS has not been providing wind data. The new wind retrieval approach that we propose may eventually be able to supply MSL with wind values for contextualizing the roverâôs operations and for meteorological studies on the surface of Mars. The new method is based on forced convection modeling of the Air Temperature Sensors (ATS) of REMS as thin rods immersed in the extreme low-pressure and high-radiating atmospheric conditions of the Martian thermal boundary layer at a height of ∼" role="presentation" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline-block; line-height: normal; font-size: 16.2px; word-spacing: normal; overflow-wrap: normal; white-space: nowrap; float: none; direction: ltr; max-width: none; max-height: none; min-width: 0px; min-height: 0px; border: 0px; position: relative;">∼ 1.5 m from the surface. A preliminary validation of the possibilities and limitations of this retrieval has been performed using comparative analysis with existing REMS wind field-site data for the same sols that are available at the Planetary Data System (PDS). We have developed both a ”coarse” approach, in which wind speed is determined with no regard to wind direction, and a ”refined” method, in which it is attempted to determine both wind speed and direction. Assuming the previously reported WS retrieval errors of 20% for the wind speed, we report an agreement to the WS values of wind speed ranging from 36.4% to 77% of the acquisition time for the ”coarse” approach, depending on the sol examined. These promising results are limited to only evening extended acquisitions from 18:00 to 21:00 local mean solar time (LMST). This method could be applied to daytime conditions. The results suggest a new optimal orientation for wind speed retrieval of 60°clockwise with respect to the forward direction of the Curiosity rover, although the technique is not yet ready to be considered for planning of the Curiosity rover operations. This method could extend the wind characterization of the Gale Crater for future Curiosity rover data acquisitions by recycling air temperature measurements and provide the scientific community with a data set for future comparative analysis with the Temperature and Wind Sensors for InSight (TWINS)/InSight, the HabitAbility: Brines, Irradiation and Temperature (HABIT)/ExoMars 2020, and the Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer (MEDA)/Mars 2020 rover instruments.