mission to mars day 2 traveling through space (to …...human space exploration helps to address...
TRANSCRIPT
Mission to Mars – Day 2
Traveling through Space (to Mars)
Please note, underlined words are ones you
need to write down.
What do we need to know?
• Details about each planet (did last class)
• Distance between (from Sun and from each
other); time it would take to travel
• Forces at work – these help us travel!
• Space crafts, tools and equipment
Solar System
Where are we and where is Mars?
Distances and Light in Space
How far is it from the Sun to Earth?
Solar radiation and the amount of it are one of the reasons we can survive on Earth!The distance of Earth to the Sun is about 94.5 million miles
How far is it from the Sun to Mars?
From the Sun to Mars is about 142 million miles
Mars gets 44% amount of solar energy that Earth does, Mars is roughly 1.5 times as far away from the Sun as the Earth is.
So Mars gets 2.25 times less light than the Earth does, Consider what this means for heat too.
Earth to Mars Travel:
The distance from Earth to Mars is 140 million miles – keep in mind this is an average, because the planets are constantly moving!
This means that it is estimated that it will take around160 days (if we could travel in a straight line) to get there
But we can’t travel in a straight line, we have to go around the sun, and the planets are constantly moving, so really it would be more common for it to take more than 200 days.
If we have this far to travel – how can we possibly do it?
Past missions to mars
Here is a list of how long it took several historical missions to reach the red planet. Their launch dates are included for perspective. (pick two example to write in your notes)
Mariner 4, the first spacecraft to go to Mars (1964 flyby): 228 days
Mariner 6 (1969 flyby): 155 days
Mariner 7 (1969 flyby): 128 days
Mariner 9, the first spacecraft to orbit Mars (1971): 168 days
Viking 1, the first U.S. craft to land on Mars (1975): 304 days
Viking 2 Orbiter/Lander (1975): 333 days
Mars Global Surveyor (1996): 308 days
Mars Pathfinder (1996): 212 days
Mars Odyssey (2001): 200 days
Mars Express Orbiter (2003): 201 days
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (2005): 210 days
Mars Science Laboratory (2011): 254 days
Orbits and the movements of the planets and
other things in space!
How gravity rules!
• The Sun, as the most massive object in our solar system, governs the motion of all other bodies in the system.
• All of the celestial bodies in the solar system move in predictable patterns known as orbits, and this motion is controlled by gravity.
• If everything that has mass has gravity, then these objects have gravitational attraction.
Distance and Gravity
As the distance between two masses gets bigger, the gravitational pull gets weaker.
What are the objects in our solar system
that have an orbit?
Have an orbit: Planets, moons, asteroids, comets, meteors, and even satellites, move within the solar system, around more massive objects (the Sun), along paths known as orbits.
So an example is:Earth’s orbit around the Sun is determined by the balance of the Sun’s gravitational pull on Earth and Earth’s momentum as it travels around the Sun.
Without gravity, Earth would not move in a circle around the Sun, but would continue moving straight throughout the Milky Way.
Without the pull of gravity:
Without the sun’s
gravitational pull,
the earth would
not continue on
it’s path, but
would go straight.
Inertia and gravity
keep the planets
revolving in its
orbit!
In order to travel in space…
Space crafts use forces like gravity to
propel them through space
How does this work?
Video: Sling shot or gravity assisted power
In order to travel in space…
Space crafts also use Newton’s Laws –
Law number 3; for every action there is an
equal and opposite reaction
How does this work?
Video: Rocket launches
Space
Exploration
In 1958, congress established the National
Aeronautics and Space administration
(NASA). NASA oversees all US space
missions and equipment.
Why travel to space?
Humanity's interest in the heavens has been universal and enduring. Humans are driven to explore the unknown, discover new worlds, push the boundaries of our scientific and technical limits, and then push further. Human space exploration helps to address fundamental questions about our place in the Universe and the history of our solar system.
The first satellites
1957 Sputnik – the first man-made satellite to orbit Earth was launch by the Soviet Union. This is the beginning of the space age.
1958 – the United States launched their satellite, Explorer 1.
Today thousands of satellites orbit Earth. They are used to transmit signals for TV, phones and weather information.
Satellites – What do they look like?
Sputnik
Today’s satellites
Space Missions
Apollo Missions – 1961. President Kennedy
challenged the American people to place a
person on the moon by the end of the
decade. The result was Project Apollo – a
series of space missions designed to send
people to the moon
Gemini Missions - the second human space
flight program of NASA. It had 10 manned
flights occurring in 1965 and 1966.
America Astronauts
Alan Shepard - was an astronaut who in 1961,
became the second person, and the first
American to travel in space. He went on both
Mercury and Apollo missions. He is the one
who hit golf balls on the lunar surface.
America Astronauts
Neil Armstrong – the first person to walk on the
moon. Armstrong's second and last
spaceflight was as mission commander of
the Apollo 11 moon landing in July 1969.
Moon Landing
(1969)
http://viewpure.com/RMINSD7MmT4?start=0&end=0
More recent Missions
Space Shuttles: First flight in April 1981
The five orbiters — Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour — have flown more than 130 times, carrying over 350 people into space and travelling more than half a billion miles, more than enough to reach Jupiter. Designed to return to Earth and land like a giant glider, the shuttle was the world's first reusable space vehicle.
1990 Hubble Telescope
Launched in 1990, it orbits Earth and has
beamed hundreds of thousands of images
(photos) back to Earth, shedding light on
many of the great mysteries of
astronomy. For example, Hubble has
revealed the age of the universe to be about
13 - 14 billion years old.
1997 Mars Pathfinder
It took 7 months to get to Mars. Mars Pathfinder was
a lander and sent a free-ranging robotic rover to the
surface of Mars.
Mars Pathfinder returned 2.3 billion bits of
information, including more than 16,500 images from
the lander and 550 images from the rover, as well as
chemical analyses of rocks and soil and extensive
data on weather factors.
2000 International Space Station
The US has its own space program, but also
cooperates with other countries. In 1998, 15
nations built the International Space Station.
Occupied since 2000, the satellite is a
research lab where astronauts from many
countries work and live for months at a time.
Current Explorations
Ongoing missions – there are several (all
un-manned)
Voyager 1 and 2 are still in operation –
they are believed to keep going until their
generators (power source) fails
They are currently gathering information
about the solar system and beyond
Space suits
The Mercury astronauts,
seen here in their flight
suits, were introduced to
the world in April of 1959.
• The spacesuit provides
protection and a means for
survival for the astronaut.
Like a small spacecraft, the
spacesuit allows
astronauts to work outside
of their space vehicles.
• Suits that are used today
have changed from the first
suits. Technology has
played a huge part in its
development
Special Equipment
Of course space travel is different that
travelling here on Earth – you need different
clothes and equipment!
What do you think it is like to “live” in space?
What space
colonization
might look like
Can we do it?
Complete the “action” part of the lab!
Follow the instructions to make and test
your rocket
Make sure to place data in the data tables
Conclusion questions may be started in
class, but might need to be completed at
home.
Make sure to answer these questions!!