SPACE EXPLORATION

Ancient Astronomy

Ancient Greeks: Geocentric Model

1500’s

• COPERNICUS• Earth revolves around the sun• “Heliocentric” model of the solar system

1600’s

• GALILEO• Builds first telescope• Sees 4 moons orbiting Jupiter• Sees Milky Way is made of millions of

stars• Sees mountains on the moon

1600’s

NEWTON: Laws of Motion

1700’sUranus is discovered

The Cold War Space Race

• 1957 Russians launch first artificial satellite

• Sputnik

The Cold War Space Race

• 1957 one month after Sputnik, Russians launch first dog in space

• Laika

The Cold War Space Race

• 1958 USA launches first American satellite• Explorer 1

The Cold War Space Race

• 1961 Russians put first man into “low Earth orbit”

• Yuri Gagarin

• 108 minutes in orbit

• Cosmonaut

The Cold War Space Race

• May, 1961 • One month after Gagarin’s flight, USA puts

man into space• Alan Shepherd• Astronaut

The Cold War Space Race

May 25, 1961

President John F. Kennedy announces:

USA will put man on the moon before 1970

Mercury Space Program

• 1961- 3

6 space flights put one astronaut at a time into low earth orbit

Gemini Space Program

• 1965-1967• 10 flights put two

astronauts at a time into low earth orbit

• Goals: • longer duration flights• practice rendezvous

and docking with space vehicles

• perfect re-entry and landing

• Buzz Aldrin and Jim Lovell in Gemini 12

Apollo Space Program

• 1968-1972 USA

• 11 missions

• # 7,8,9,10 orbit 3 men around Earth and Moon (Jim Lovell)

Saturn V Rocket

• Used in Apollo• 363 feet tall• 6 million pounds• 90% of weight was

fuel• 1.5 million pounds

of thrust• 1250 gallons fuel

per second

How fast does a rocket need to go to get into orbit?

ESCAPE VELOCITY

The speed a rocket needs to go to escape Earth’s gravity

• 7 miles per second• 25,000 miles per hour

(assumes no air friction)

Apollo Space Program

• July 1969 Apollo 11• USA puts first man on the moon• Armstrong, Aldrin, Collins

Apollo Space Program

• 5 more moon landings until 1972

• # 12, 14, 15, 16, 17• #13 Lovell, Haise,

Swigert

• #16 Mattingly

Lovell, Swigert, Haise

Voyager Interstellar Mission

• Launch in 1977• Voyager 1 and 2

• Goal: explore the

outer planets and beyond the solar system

Where are the Voyagers now?

Post-Cold War Space Exploration

• 1981 USA launches first Space Shuttle• Columbia

Space Station Mir

• 1986 Russians put first Space Station in orbit around Earth

• Mir means “Peace”• Used for 15 years

Space Shuttle Challenger

• 1986 USA Space Shuttle Challenger explodes after take-off

Hubble Space Telescope

• 1990 USA sends Hubble Space telescope into orbit

• Avoids interference from Earth’s atmosphere

• Serviced by Space Shuttle

Galileo Probe

• 1995 USA sends Galileo Probe into Jupiter

International Space Station

• 1998 International Space Station

• US and Russian crew live there beginning in 2000

Space Shuttle Columbia

• 2003 Space Shuttle Columbia explodes during re-entry

Cassini Probe

• 2004 Cassini Probe reaches Saturn

Mars Rovers• 2004

Opportunity• 2009

Spirit• 2012

Curiosity• Search for

life on Mars

Kepler Space Telescope

• 2009-2013• Search for

habitable planets around other stars • “Exoplanets”• 135 confirmed

planets• 2677 candidates

Future NASA Missions

• No more “low earth orbit” missions

• Focus on long distance space exploration

• Man on Asteroid (2025)

• Man on Mars (2030)

• Space Launch System (SLS):New generation of rocket (2017?)

• “Apollo on steroids”• Lift 63-220 tons• 4 – man Multipurpose

Crew Vehicle (MPCV) can dock with other craft

• Crew compartment will land on ground (not ocean)