Space Exploration

Satellites provide us with information about the Earth, such as identifying weather patterns, or surveillance of what dangerous countries might be doing with nuclear weapons. They also improve global communication through satellite link ups to enhance world news coverage. Ship and aeroplane on board navigation systems relies on satellites as well as modern GPS systems fitted to cars or mobile phones. Space travel has allowed us to set up the Hubble telescope to explore beyond our solar system. Machines have conducted experiments on other planets to identify whether life has or could ever exist there. The two voyager Rockets are currently leaving our solar system after photographing the outer planets and enhancing our knowledge of those planets.

History

The Second World War accelerated the development of rockets. The Germans invented the V2 rockets so that they could fire them at Britain. The USA bought some of these rockets for scientific research into vertical flights.

In October 1957 the USSR launched the first rocket (Sputnik 1) into space. This was the genesis of the space age and the competition between the USSR and the USA.

Picture 1: Sputnik 1

November 3rd 1957- Laika the dog was sent into space onboard Sputnik 2. The dog died from overheating and panic a few hours after take off.

In January 1958 the USA launched Explorer 1 and in October of the same year the National Aeronautics and Space Administration agency (NASA) was established.

26th October 1958- Luna 3 takes pictures of the dark side of the moon. They controversially named features like the Sea of Moscow and the Sea of Dreams.As a result naming in space is given to the International Astronomical Union.

13th December 1958- Gordo, a squirrel monkey was sent into space by the USA, but the cone of the Jupiter rocket carrying the monkey crashed into the South Atlantic and Gordo was never recovered. He had survived the journey.

28th May 1959- Able and Baker were sent into space by the USA. They were fired 300 miles into space and returned after 15 minutes having survived. Able died after receiving anaesthesia to remove his electrodes. Baker survived until 1984.

Able being strapped in for his flight

12th April 1961- Yuri Gargarin becomes the first man in space travelling on board the Vostock. He became an international icon and was subsequently banned from other missions. He eventually died in a plane crash in 1968 in suspicious circumstances.

5th May 1961- Alan Shepard becomes the first American in space. In 1971 he picked himself to go on Apollo 14 and played golf on the moon.

6th August 1961- Major Titov spent 25 hours in space. Later he was elected into the Duma, but died in a sauna in 2000, some say from Carbon Monoxide poisoning, others from a heart attack.

20th February 1962- John Glenn becomes the first person to orbit the Earth. In 1998 he became the oldest astronaut when he went into space at the age of 77

26th April 1962- Ranger IV rocket lands on the moon, but fails to send back pictures

December 1962- Mariner 2 photographs Venus

1963- Tereshkova becomes the first woman in space

Ed White performs the first American space walk outside Gemini 41965- Leonov becomes the first man to do a space walk

24th March 1965- Ranger 9 successfully photographs the moon before crashing into it

3rd February 1966- Luna 9 lands on the moon using retro rockets to slow its speed from 6,000mph to 6mph. The probe sent back 9 photos of the moon.

2nd June 1966- Surveyor 1 becomes the first US probe on the moon

27th January 1967- Apollo 1 caught fire on the launch pad

18th October 1967- Venera 4 probes Venus and determines its temperature to be over 480ºCelcius, but the signal was lost at 15 miles above the surface.

19th October 1967- Mariner V led NASA scientists to describe Venus as a “hell hole”. It showed the atmosphere to be mostly Carbon Dioxide causing a greenhouse effect.

24th December 1968- Apollo 8 orbits the moon. James Lovell (part of this team) would later command Apollo 13.

21st July 1969- Neil Armstrong became the first man to set foot on the moon using the infamous line

‘That’s one small step for man but one giant leap for mankind’

The Saturn V rocket was used to get out of the Earth’s atmosphere. Michael Collins never left the Apollo, Buzz Aldrin and Armstrong went on the Eagle probe and then walked on the moon for 2 ½ hours. They returned to Earth on the Columbia. When they returned to Earth they were quarantined for 21 days in case they might have brought back some sort of Alien organism.

The Saturn V Rocket with Apollo 11

Apollo 11

Buzz Aldrin

19th November 1969- Apollo 12 takes Pete Conrad and Alan Bean to the moon. They retrieved parts of the Surveyor 3 probe sent up in 1967.

14th April 1970- Apollo 13 suffered an explosion in its fuel cells 56 hours after take off. The result was that there was no power leading to Oxygen and water levels dropping. The astronauts on board (James Lovell, Jack Swigert and Fred Haise) used the battery of the lunar module (Aquarius).

Apollo 13

6th February 1971- Alan Shephard plays golf on the moon (as part of the Apollo 14 mission)

30th June 1971- Three cosmonauts were found dead inside the Soyuz 11 after it landed. They died from a fatal rise in blood pressure when a hole appeared in their cabin as they prepared to land.

Soyuz 11

1st August 1971- Apollo 15 discovered some Genesis rock which gave insights into the age of the moon and the solar system.

14th December 1972- Apollo 17 is the last moon mission, the last of the 20 planned Apollo missions are cancelled.

Voyager 1

August 20th 1977- Voyager 2

September 5th 1977- The twin craft Voyager 1 is launched

11th July 1979- The Skylab 1 space station crashes to Earth over Western Australia. It had been abandoned since 1974.

Skylab 1

1981- The first Space Shuttle, Columbia, was launched. They were re-usable and NASA had hoped they would fly 40 missions per year, but they were more expensive than imagined.

28th January 1986- The Challenger Space shuttle explodes shortly after take off. The explosion was caused by a hole in the rocket booster. Seven people were killed, including a teacher, doubling the number killed in space flight since it began.

Voyager 2 passing Uranus in Jan. 1986

Space Shuttle Challenger

24th April 1990- The Hubble Telescope is launched into space (seven years overdue). The first pictures sent back were blurred, the mirrors inside the telescope had been too flat (by 1/50th the width of a human hair). In December 1993 the telescope was repaired in space. It has yielded some amazing images since that operation.

Space Shuttle Discovery

Hubble Telescope

6th July 1997- NASA has sent a roving machine (Sojourner) to explore Mars. It landed on Mars onboard the Pathfinder. It travelled about Mars for 3 months, recording temperatures (when it landed it was -93ºC) and 550 photos.

23rd March 2001- The Mir space station crashes to the Earth.

1st February 2003- The Columbia Space shuttle explodes when re-entering the Earths atmosphere. The shuttle burnt up on re-entry because its heat shield had been damaged on take off. (http://www.guardian.co.uk/flash/0,5860,887524,00.html)

Columbia Take-Off

25th December 2003- The British made Beagle 2 probe was due to land on Mars. It was never heard of again.

4th January 2004- NASA send the Spirit rover and later in the month the Opportunity to survey Mars.

Picture 4: Saturn 5 rocket (Apollo 17)

The Cassini space probe orbits Saturn

The Hugyens probe (part of the Cassini) was sent to Titan

Science and Space

Spacecraft that do not contain a crew have radio transmitting equipment to relay information back to the Earth (including the position of the spacecraft). Manned spacecraft are more complicated, for example they have a heat shield.

The Earth’s atmosphere contains air molecules, such as Nitrogen, Oxygen, Carbon Dioxide and Water Vapour, in comparison space is a vacuum that contains no gas molecules (there maybe trace amounts of Hydrogen present). It is these air molecules that cause friction making spaceships burn up as they re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere. This was the cause of the Columbia space shuttle exploding on re-entry as its heat protective layer was damaged during take-off. The re-entry of the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo was solved by making a heat shield of metals, ceramic and plastic that melted to dissipate heat. Space shuttles have ceramic tiles cemented to the ships hull. Spaceships are able to land on runways, where previously manned spaceflights were landed in the ocean using parachutes to slow their flight down.

Spaceships and rockets cannot steer through space like an aeroplane, but rely on slingshot movements such as orbiting a planet and then firing boosters to leave the planets gravity.

Astronauts require spacesuits when space-walking because there bodies would decompress explosively. In other words all the air inside there body would be forced out making there lungs and blood vessels explode. The temperature of the shadow of a planet can be as low as -273ºCelcius or 0ºKelvin.

Picture 2: Bruce McCandless floats freely in space using a Manned Manoeuvring Unit (MMU)

Cosmic radiation and solar flair can also be more dangerous than on Earth

Spaceships solve these problems by pumping cabins with pressurized air and keeping the temperature and humidity at tolerable levels. The space craft has absorbing and reflective surfaces to control the temperature.

Circular spacecraft are spun to provide artificial gravity for long journey astronauts.

Radiation belts contain high energy protons and electrons which can damage electronic circuits and solar cells on spacecraft. The radiation can cause cell death leading to haemorrhaging, or cerebral oedema leading to death within 48 hours. These belts are found around the magnetic equator of the Earth, as well as around Jupiter and Saturn.

Most communication satellites are geostationary, travelling at the same speed as the Earth so that they can remain fixed over the same spot. Meteorological satellites move in elliptical orbits, e.g. from pole to pole covering the whole Earth in 24 hours.

Artificial SatellitesScientific Satellites

DATE LAUNCHED NATIONNAME ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Oct. 4, 1957

USSR Sputnik 1 First satellite to orbit the Earth.Burned up on re-entry 3 months later.

Nov. 3, 1957

USSR Sputnik 2 First satellite to carry animal into orbit—the dog Laika.

Jan. 31, 1958

US Explorer 1 First American satellite; discovered the radiation belts around the Earth.

Mar. 7, 1962

US OSO-1 First orbiting solar observatory.

Sep. 4, 1964

US OGO-1 First orbiting geophysical observatory.

Dec. 7, 1968

US OAO-2 First orbiting astronomical observatory.

Oct. 31, 1973

USSR Bion 1 Start of Bion series of international biological experiments, involving monkeys.

May 4, 1976

US Lageos High-precision geographic measurements made from space.

Aug. 12, 1977

US HEAO-1 First high-energy astronomy observatory.

Jan. 26, US/Europe IUE International Ultraviolet Explorer.

1978Nov. 13, 1978

US Einstein Second high-energy astronomy observatory; found quasars.

Feb. 18, 1979

US SAGE Study of the Earth’s stratosphere to measure ozone and aerosols.

Feb. 14, 1980

US Solar Max Observatory designed to study solar activity.

Jan. 25, 1983

US/Europe IRAS First satellite to make detailed all-sky infrared survey.

Mar. 23, 1983

USSR Astron Observatory with ultraviolet and X-ray telescopes.

May 26, 1983

US/Europe Exosat Detailed study of X-ray sources in the Milky Way and other galaxies.

Aug. 16, 1984

US/Europe AMPTE Active Magnetosphere Particle Tracer Explorer to study solar wind and Earth’s magnetic field.

Apr. 14, 1988

USSR Foton Materials processing experiments.

Nov. 17, 1989

US COBE First satellite to map cosmic background radiation in detail.

Nov. 30, 1989

USSR Granat Observatory to study distant galaxies.

Apr. 24, 1990

US Hubble First large optical telescope placed in Earth orbit, seeing farther into space than any instrument before.

Jul. 11, 1990

USSR Gamma Observatory to study gamma rays, pulsars and high-energy sources.

Apr. 5, 1991

US Compton 17-tonne gamma ray observatory.

Dec. 18, 1991

USSR Intercosmos 25 Active plasma experiment with subsatellite.

Oct. 27, 1992

Russia Progress M-15 First test of solar sail to light up the night sky from space.

Mar. 2, 1994

Russia Koronas-1 Studied internal structure of the sun.

Nov. 17, 1995

Europe ISO Infrared Space Observatory - successor to IRAS.

Space Stations

DATE LAUNCHED NATION NAM ACCOMPLISHMENTS

E

Apr. 19, 1971

USSR Salyut 1 First manned space station; three Soviet cosmonauts spent 23 days on board.

May 14, 1973

US Skylab American astronauts occupied station for 28, 59, and 84 days over 1973-1974.

Sep. 29, 1977

USSR Salyut 6 Soviet cosmonauts set new endurance records of 96, 139, 175, and 185 days over 1977-1982.

Apr. 19, 1982

USSR Salyut 7 Soviet cosmonauts set new endurance records of 211 and 237 days over 1982-1986.

Feb. 19, 1986

USSR Mir First permanent orbiting space station, with Soviet, Russian, American, and international crews. Cosmonauts set endurance records of 326, 366, and 438 days.

Nov. 28, 1983

Europe Spacelab This space laboratory conducted more than 400 experiments designed by about 500 scientists from 17 countries over a 15-year life.

Nov. 20, 1998

Canada; Europe; Japan; Russia; US

International Space Station When complete, the station will house six laboratories that will be used by up to seven astronauts to perform experiments in an environment free from gravity.

Communications Satellites

DATE LAUNCHED NATIONNAME ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Dec. 18, 1958

US Project Score

Broadcast first voice messages from space.

Aug. 12, 1960

US Echo 1 Signals beamed off orbiting balloon.

Jul. 10, 1962

US Telstar First satellite to relay television programmes between the United States and Europe.

Jul. 26, 1963

US Syncom 2 First synchronous satellite.

Apr. 6, 1965

US Early Bird First commercial communications satellite.

Apr. 23, 1965

USSR Molniya USSR initiates its communication satellite system.

Jan. 26, 1971

US Intelsat 4 Introduction of high-capacity international communications system.

May 30, 1974

US ATS-6 Experimental direct broadcast satellite used for educational programmes and medical conferencing.

Apr. 4, 1983

US TDRS 1 First Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, launched by space shuttle Challenger.

Jan. 29, 1991

Russia

Informator Experimental programme to test role of communications satellites in disaster relief.

Weather & Observation Satellites

DATE LAUNCHED NATION NAME ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Feb. 17, 1959

US Vanguard 2 First satellite to send weather information back to Earth.

Apr. 1, 1960

US Tiros 1 First weather satellite photographic system.

Aug. 28, 1964

US Nimbus 1 Start of Nimbus system of weather and observation satellites.

Mar. 26, 1969

USSR Meteor 1 Introduction of operational Soviet weather satellite system.

Jul. 23, 1972

US Landsat 1 First dedicated Earth resources satellite.

May 17, 1974

US SMS-1 First weather satellite stationed in synchronous orbit, followed by operational system (GOES).

Jun. 27, 1978

US Seasat Sea observation satellite.

Jul. 5, 1988

USSR Okean Introduction of sea observation system.

Mar. 31, 1991

USSR Almaz 1 Large space platform with radar to map the ocean floor.

Navigation Satellites

DATE LAUNCHED NATIONNAME ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Apr. 13, 1960 US Transit 1B First experimental navigation satellite.Feb. 21, US Navstar Introduction of the global positioning system.

1978Oct. 12, 1982 USSR Cosmos 1413-1415 Introduction of Soviet global positioning system, GLONASS.

Major Space Probes

DATE LAUNCHED NATIONNAME ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Sept. 12, 1959

USSR

Luna 2 First probe to hard-land on the Moon.

Oct. 4, 1959

USSR

Luna 3 Circled the Moon’s far side, transmitting television pictures.

Aug. 27, 1962

US Mariner 2 First probe to make a successful fly-by of the planet Venus.

Jul. 28, 1964

US Ranger 7 Transmitted television pictures of the Moon until impact.

Nov. 28, 1964

US Mariner 4 First probe to make a successful fly-by of the planet Mars, sending back photographs of craters on the planet.

Jan. 31, 1966

USSR

Luna 9 First probe to soft-land on the Moon.

Mar. 31, 1966

USSR

Luna 10 First probe to enter lunar orbit.

Jun. 12, 1967

USSR

Venera 4 First probe to descend by parachute through the atmosphere of Venus, sending information.

Sept. 15, 1968

USSR

Zond 5 First probe to circle the Moon and be recovered on Earth.

Aug. 17, 1970

USSR

Venera 7 First probe to transmit information from the surface of the planet Venus.

Sept. 12, 1970

USSR

Luna 16 Collected lunar soil, sent back to Earth in small cabin for recovery.

Nov. 10, 1970

USSR

Luna 17 Landed the first automatic roving vehicle on the Moon, Lunokhod-1.

May 30, 1971

US Mariner 9 First probe to orbit Mars, first mapping survey of the planet.

Mar. 10, 1972Apr. 5, 1973

US Pioneer 10, 11 First deep-space probes, both flying past Jupiter, Pioneer 11 flying on to pass Saturn.

Nov. 3, 1973

US Mariner 10 Swung by Venus before making three fly-bys of the planet Mercury.

Dec. 10, 1974

US/Ger

Helios 1 First probe to fly close to the Sun.

Aug., Sept. 1975

US Viking 1, 2 Both probes entered Mars orbit to map the planet, dropping landers that transmitted pictures, acted as weather and scientific stations and analysed the Martian soil.

Jun. 1975 USSR

Venera 9, 10 Soft-landed on Venus, taking first photographs from its surface.

Aug., Sept. 1977

US Voyager 1, 2 Both probes travelled through the Jovian and Saturnian systems, photographing the planets and their Moons. Voyager 2 subsequently passed through the systems of Uranus and Neptune. Both have left the solar system to become the first interstellar spacecraft.

Oct., Nov. 1981

USSR

Venera 13, 14 Landed on Venus, drilled surface rocks and analysed them in a small laboratory.

Dec. 1984

USSR

Vega 1, 2 Both probes flew by Venus, dropping landers and balloons, flew on to intercept Halley’s comet.

Jul. 2, 1985

Europe

Giotto Close interception of Halley’s comet.

May 4, 1989

US Magellan Provided the first detailed radar maps of the Venusian surface, concluding with the first aerobraking manoeuvres in the planet’s atmosphere.

Oct. 17, 1989

US Galileo Orbiter entered the Jovian system Dec. 1995, sending a probe deep into the atmosphere of Jupiter.

Oct. 6, 1990

US/Europe

Ulysses Swung out to Jupiter’s orbit before describing an arc over the poles of the Sun.

Jan. 25, 1994

US Clementine Small spacecraft in lunar polar orbit for mapping and geological study.

Feb. 17, 1996

US NEAR In Feb. 2000 it became the first probe to go into orbit around an asteroid when it reached 433 Eros, providing data on its composition and geology.

Nov.7, 1996

US Mars Global Surveyor Mars Pathfinder lander touched down on Jul. 4, 1997; Sojourner robot vehicle rolled off and began exploration on Jul. 5. Orbiter mapped the planet from Apr. 1, 1999, using a laser altimeter that enables measurements made to accuracy of 2m (6 ft).

Oct. 15, 1997

US Cassini Probe scheduled to enter orbit around Saturn in 2004, while Huygens lander detaches and lands on Saturn’s moon Titan.

Jul. 4, 1998

Japan

Nozomi Scheduled to orbit Mars in 2004 but developed a technical fault in Dec. 2003 and was subsequently decommissioned.

Oct. 24, 1998

US Deep Space 1 Flew by the asteroid Braille in Jul. 1999, but failed to image it. Later obtained detailed pictures of surface of Comet Borrelly in Sept. 2001.

Dec. 11, 1998

US Mars Climate Orbiter Ceased communication as it reached Mars in Sept. 1999.

Jan. 3, 1999

US Mars Polar Lander Probe scheduled to land near southern polar cap of Mars and conduct soil analysis, searching for possible signs of life in Mars’s past, but ceased communication as it reached the planet.

Feb. 6, 1999

US Stardust Due to fly by Comet Wild-2 in 2004 and collect samples of dust and gas streaming off it. Due to return to Earth with samples in 2006.

Apr. 7, 2001

US Mars Odyssey

Successfully entered into orbit around Mars in Oct. 2001 and detected large quantities of water-ice crystals below the surface over much of the planet.

Aug. 8, 2001

US Genesis Took up high Earth orbit, outside the magnetosphere, and collected samples of ions from the solar wind. Also

designed to give insight into the nature of solar nebulae.

Jun. 2, 2003

Europe

Mars Express Beagle-2 landed on Mars in Dec. 2003 but immediately ceased communication while Mars Express went into orbit.

Jun. 10 and Jul. 7, 2003

US Mars Exploration Rovers Landed on Mars in Jan. 2004.

Sept. 17, 2003

Europe

SMART-1 Made first comprehensive inventory of key chemical elements in lunar surface, and investigated theory that Moon was formed during the violent collision of a smaller planet with Earth.