Adobe Mars - (no bars) The evolution of the PDF

Mars is the code name for technology being developed by Adobe that provides an Extensible Markup Language (XML)-based representation of Portable Document Format (PDF) documents. Adobe® PDF is a universal file format for representing documents in a manner independent of the application software, hardware, and operating system used to create them and of the output device on which they are to be displayed or printed. XML is a cross-platform, extensible, and text-based standard for representing data that was created so that richly structured documents could be used over the web.

The Mars Project is an XML friendly representation of PDF documents. Already an open specification, PDF is the global standard for trusted, high fidelity electronic documentation. The Mars file format incorporates additional standards such as SVG, PNG, JPG, JPG2000, OpenType, Xpath and XML into a ZIP-based document container. The Mars plug-ins for Acrobat 8 and Adobe Reader 8 enable creation and recognition of the Mars file format by Adobe Acrobat 8 and Adobe Reader 8 software. For additional Mars information see the documents below and check back for regular updates.

The Mars Project is early release software and we welcome your feedback. Please use the feedback link below to request features, make comments and report problems. Please understand that this is an early release and is not yet feature complete. The file format contained within the Mars plug-ins is subject to change and using this technology for production may require you to make significant changes to your documents at a later date. Content created with this release may not be compatible with the shipping version.

Check the adobe labs webpage to read more about that. It is possible to download plug-ins for adobe reader and some examples.

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Reptile Molecules

The one-dimensional motion of a chain of N beads is studied to determine its drift velocity when an external field is applied. The dependences of the drift velocity with the chain length and field strength are addressed. Two cases are considered, chains with all their beads charged and chains having an end bead charged. In the last case, an analytical expression for the drift velocity is proposed for all N. Results are tested with the help of Monte Carlo simulations.



Could this concept be useful as a deployment system?

Here you can find more information (we have access to the journal).

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Habitable Exoplanet detected

The new planet is not much bigger than the Earth Enlarge Image

Astronomers have found the most Earth-like planet outside our Solar System to date, a world which could have water running on its surface.

The planet orbits the faint star Gliese 581, which is 20.5 light-years away in the constellation Libra.

Scientists made the discovery using the Eso 3.6m Telescope in Chile.

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SHIELDS FOR THE STARSHIP ENTERPRISE: A REALITY?

In the last year space agencies in the United States, Europe, China, Japan and India have announced their intention to resume human exploration of the Solar system, beginning with the Moon and perhaps ultimately moving on to Mars. But travel beyond the immediate vicinity of the Earth carries significant risks for astronauts, not the least of which is the exposure to sometimes high levels of radiation. Now a team of scientists at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory are set to construct an experimental magnetic shield that would protect explorers in their journeys between the planets. Dr Ruth Bamford will present this idea in her talk on Wednesday 18 April at the Royal Astronomical Society National Astronomy Meeting in Preston.



Cosmic rays and radiation from the Sun itself can cause acute radiation sickness in astronauts and even death. Between 1968 and 1973, the Apollo astronauts going to the moon were only in space for about 10 days at a time and were simply lucky not to have been in space during a major eruption on the sun that would have flooded their spacecraft with deadly radiation. In retrospect Neil Armstrong's 'one small step for Man' would have looked very different if it had.



On the International Space Station there is a special thick-walled room to which the astronauts have had to retreat during times of increased solar radiation. However on longer missions the astronauts cannot live within shielded rooms, since such shielding would add significantly to the mass of the spacecraft, making them much more expensive and difficult to launch. It is also now known that the 'drip-drip' of even lower levels of radiation can be as dangerous as acute bursts from the sun.



On the surface of the Earth we are protected from radiation by the thick layers of the atmosphere. And the terrestrial magnetic field extends far into space, acting as a natural 'force field' to further protect our planet and deflecting the worst of the energetic particles from the Sun by creating a 'plasma barrier'.



Now scientists at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Oxfordshire plan to mimic nature. They will build a miniature magnetosphere in a laboratory to see if a deflector shield can be used to protect humans living on space craft and in bases on the Moon or Mars.



In order to work, an artificial mini-magnetosphere on a space craft will need to utilise many cutting edge technologies, such as superconductors and the magnetic confinement techniques used in nuclear fusion.



Thus science is following science fiction once again. The writers of Star Trek realised that any space craft containing humans would need protection from the hazardous effects of cosmic radiation. They envisioned a 'deflector shield' spreading out from the Starship Enterprise that the radiation would bounce off. These experiments will help to establish whether this idea could one day become a practical reality.

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Intelsat to Test Internet Routing In Space for the U.S. Military

Intelsat General Corp., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Intelsat Ltd, today announced that it has been selected for an industry-government collaboration to demonstrate the viability of conducting military communications through an Internet router in space.The Department of Defense project to test Internet routing in space (IRIS) will be managed by Intelsat General, and the payload will convert to commercial use once testing has been completed. The IRIS project is one of seven projects – out of hundreds of applicants -- funded and announced in fiscal 2007 as a Joint Capability Technology Demonstration (JCTD) by the Department of Defense.

Intelsat to Test Internet Routing In Space for the U.S. Military | SpaceRef - Your Space Reference

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