The Inner PlanetsPart 1

OT H03 2 A ST R O NO MYL E SSO NS WIT H

MR . BASANI1 0 .20 .2020

This session will be recorded and distributed for learning purposes. Learning purposes include: a lesson review for students who are absent, students who want to review for a test, teacher growth and improvement etc. This recording may include your name, picture/video, voice, comments, and likeness depending on your involvement in the session.

Cool Stuff

https://scitechdaily.com/worlds-with-underground-oceans-like-

europa-titan-and-enceladus-may-be-more-conducive-to-

supporting-life-than-earth/

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/03/210318085621.htm

• WHAT WILL YOU LEARN IN THIS UNIT?1.Describe how planetary matter is distributed within the solar system.2.Explain the formation of the solar system.3.Differentiate and describe the inner planets within our solar system.4.Identify the shared characteristics among all inner planets in the solar system.5.Explain the features of Earth that are essential to the development of life.

BEFORE WE START WITH OUR PRESENTATION, WE HAVE A SPECIAL GUEST!

Objectives and Standards

• Identify our 8 planets and their location in the Solar System• Define a planet• Highlight the similarities and differences among planets

• TODAY we will talk a bit about the SOLAR SYSTEM since there is no specific unit about it. Then we will start with our innermost planet: MERCURY

BEFORE WE START WITH OUR PRESENTATION, WE HAVE A SPECIAL GUEST!

IAN

History of Mars ExplorationB Y IA N J O NE SAST R ONOMY W/ MR . BASANI23 MA R 2021

First off: Basanite

Note

• Last week was a fruitful one for Martian exploration – parts will be mentioned in the following subsections:

• Mars Science Laboratory

• InSight

Mars Exploration

• NASA states 4 goals for the Mars Exploration (Nagaraja):

• “Determine if Life ever arose on Mars.”

• “Characterize the Climate of Mars.”

• “Characterize the Geology of Mars.”

• “Prepare for Human Exploration of Mars.”

Mars Exploration

• Mars is interesting with regards to life because it once had a milder climate and vast oceans (Venus probably too).

• This doesn’t show that life was there, but because Earth is the only planet we know to have life, this is a good start.

Mars Exploration

• The Martian Dichotomy splits the northern hemisphere lowlands and the southern hemisphere highlands. The lowlands and other smaller areas are thought to have been filled with water in the distant past of Mars. Mars was devoid of water starting 3 billion years ago. (“Scheller”)

First Attempts

• Mars 1960A (USSR)

• Launched in 1960 in a missile

• Failed to reach orbit

First Attempts

• First 6 missions failed

• Mars 1960A (USSR)

• Mars 1960B (USSR)

• Sputnik 22 (USSR)

• Mars 1 (USSR)

• Sputnik 24 (USSR)

• Mariner 3 (USA)

First Attempts

• Over the history of Mars exploration, Mars explorations infamously fail a lot. Although it is often complicated to define failure, it is said that half of them fail (Rincon).

• USA has had the most successful missions

• We will skip over failed missions from here on

Mariner Program (pt. I)

• Success with Mariner 4 (USA) (Greicius)!

• Flyby mission, meaning that it goes by an object without approaching it

• Launched in 1964, closest approach in 1965

• Took first pictures of a planet from space, detected thin carbon dioxide atmosphere and a small magnetic field

Mars Program

• Mars 3 (USSR) (Williams)

• Launched in 1971, landed later that year

• First successful lander on Mars, meaning that it reaches the surface and sends back data

• Took pictures, but they were during a dust storm

• Initially contained a walking rover

• Transmissions failed after 20 seconds

Mariner Program (pt. II)

• Mariner 9 (USA) (Nave)

• Launched in 1971, entered orbit later that year during a global dust storm

• Mapped Mars with 1 kilometer resolution in 1971 and 1972, and took first high-resolution pictures of Mars’s two moons Phobos and Deimos

• Discovered features like Olympus Mons (mons= mountain), an extinct volcano 15 miles high

Viking Program

• Viking 1 & 2 (USA) (“Viking 1 & 2”)

• Launched in 1975, arrived in 1976, Viking 2 lasted until 1980, Viking 1 lasted until 1982

• Two pairs of orbiters and landers

• Viking 1 landed in Chryse Planitia, Viking 2 landed in Utopia Plantitia(planitia = plains, seabed of prehistoric ocean basin)

• Landers were powered by plutonium (a trend that has lasted to now)

• Started search for life – found unexpected chemical activity but no clear results

Viking Program

• Viking 1 & 2 (USA) (“Chronology…”)

• Landers provided color pictures and monitored the weather while

orbiters continued the mapping of the surface with 52,000 images

Mars Global Surveyor

• Mars Global Surveyor (USA) (Siddiqi)

• Launched in 1996, entered orbit in 1997

• Mars Surveyor Program was designed to launch a flight-worthy vehicle to Mars every 26 months

• Tracked dust storm evolution, provided evidence of water at or near the surface, mapped almost of all of Mars with precise elevation data from 83,000 images

• Helped future Mars missions by providing them with atmospheric data or by relaying their signals to Earth

Mars Global Surveyor

• Mars Global Surveyor (USA) (Siddiqi)

• Pioneered the use of aerobraking to move in towards an object

• Remember that orbits are stable positions! To fall in towards the object requires you to slow down. Aerobraking involves flying through the atmosphere to provide drag so you slow down and move inwards.

Pathfinder + Sojourner

• Pathfinder (USA) (“Mars Pathfinder”) (Nagaraja)

• Launched in 1996, landed in 1997

• Pathfinder carried upon in Sojourner, which became the first truly successful rover on Mars

• 15 analyses of rocks and soil were performed that showed that the location where it landed was once warm and wet

• NASA’s strategy for Mars is now called “Follow the Water

• Landed in Ares Vallis (vallis = valley, in this case a river valley)

Pathfinder + Sojourner

• Pathfinder (USA) (“Mars Pathfinder”)

• Landed using a system of airbags to soften the landing, to supplement the parachute

• Long outlived expectations, which allowed it to make many discoveries

Pathfinder + Sojourner

• Pathfinder (USA) (“Mars Pathfinder”)

• Evidence for past water:

• Pebbles and cobbles that were rounded, presumably by water

• Magnetic dust, which turned out to be the mineral maghemite, which probably requires water to form

• Size of Mars’s core narrowed down

• Heat convection in the atmosphere

• Dust devils frequently seen, as were clouds of ice in the early morning

2001 Mars Odyssey

• 2001 Mars Odyssey (USA) (“2001…”)

• Launched and arrived in 2001, and it is still operating

• Made the first global map of the elements and minerals on Mars, including ice

• Determined that radiation in low Mars orbit is twice than in a comparative orbit on Earth

Mars Express

• Mars Express (Europe) (“Mars Express…”)

• Launched and arrived in 2003, and still operating (served as communication relay)

• Carried the lander Beagle 2, but contact couldn’t be made

• Named for its quick and inexpensive construction

• Is imaging selected areas in extremely high resolution (2 meters per pixel), and has mapped surface and atmosphere composition and crustal structure

Mars Express

• Mars Express (Europe) (Formisano) (“Mars Express”)

• Found that methane and water vapor are coming from a common underground source – it must be an ongoing source since methane dissipates quickly

• Mapped hydrated minerals and clays, and found water ice in polar areas

• Found evidence of flooding at Mangala Valles

• Discovered Martian auroras from magnetic anomalies

• Studying Martian moons and erosion of the Martian atmosphere by the solar wind

Mars Exploration Rovers

• Mars Exploration Rovers (USA) (“Mars Exploration…”)

• Two rovers: Spirit & Opportunity

• Launched in 2003 and landed in 2004

Mars Exploration Rovers

• Mars Exploration Rovers (USA) (“Mars Exploration…”)

• Opportunity landed at Meridiani Planum (planum = plateau):

• Hematite, gypsum, and clay, which all require water

• Spirit landed at Gusev Crater:

• Magnesium and iron carbonate minerals, which indicate water and a thick atmosphere

• Pure silica, which indicates hot springs or steam vents

• Remnants of volcanoes

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

• Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (USA) (“Mars Reconnaissance…”)

• Launched in 2005, arrived in 2006, currently operating

• Further increasing image resolution and communications capabilities

• Is looking for water underground and in the air, further investigated findings of polar ice, looking for shoreline and river deposits, and monitoring global weather

Phoenix

• Phoenix (USA) (“Mars Phoenix”)

• Launched in 2007, landed in 2008

• Landed in the far northern Vastitas Borealis (vastitas = waste, “northern waste”) to dig into the ice, checking its chemical composition and seeing if this environment was once habitable

• Studied clouds, fog, and dust plumes

Mars Science Laboratory

• Mars Science Laboratory (USA) (“Mars Curiosity…”)

• Launched in 2011 and landed in 2012, still operational

• Contained the rover Curiosity

• Landed in a much more precise way – instead of using airbags, it used a “skycrane” that had small rockets that allowed it to hover, lowering the rover slowly

• Much larger than previous rovers

Mars Science Laboratory

• Mars Science Laboratory (USA) (“Results”) (“Scientists…”) (Scheller)

• Showed that Gale Crater was a freshwater environment that had key nutrients for our life including carbon

• Water persisted on the surface for at least 1 million years

• Showed that Mars lost some water to space (findings last week showed that in addition, some water was absorbed into minerals)

• More on this later

• Provided radiation measurements

Mars Orbiter Mission

• Mars Orbiter Mission (India) (“Mission…”) (“Mars Orbiter Mission…”)

• Launched in 2013 and landed in 2014

• Mostly technology demonstration for various new instruments

Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution• MAVEN (USA) (“Released…”) (Hughes)

• Launched in 2013, arrived in 2014, still operating

• Measures gas and ion concentrations throughout the atmosphere, including reactions to the solar wind and radiation

• Discovered the Proton Aurora of Mars when protons from the solar wind hit the atmosphere of Mars

• Discovered ozone concentration at the south pole, and a Polar Plume of ions coming out of the north pole

Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution

• MAVEN (USA) (“Released…”)

• Showed that primarily hydrogen, but also oxygen and carbon are escaping from the planet and are actively making the atmosphere, along with any chance of water, thinner

• In Mars’s water cycle, when water vapor reaches the upper atmosphere, it breaks into hydrogen and oxygen – which are light enough to escape, and so water vapor is permanently lost

InSight

• InSight (USA) (“InSight…”) (“Recent…”)

• Launched and landed in 2018, still operating but in critical condition

• Contains a seismometer, which found 174 “marsquakes”

• There have been 3 quakes that have confirmed locations, 2 of which emanated from Cerberus Fossae (fossae = trenches, meant in an aspect like “rifts”)

• Cerberus Fossae is a volcanic area where there are long faults from the crust being pulled apart there since 10 million years ago (very recent geologically) –there is speculation that there is still movement of magma beneath

InSight

• InSight (USA) (“CubeSats”) (Witze. “Mars’s core…”) (Witze. “Surprise…”)

• Brought along CubeSats to relay data back to Earth, which are miniaturized satellites about 4 inches in width (these have already been used in Earth orbit, and are finding increasing uses since they are so small)

• It showed that the Martian crust has multiple layers, and that it is about 12 to 23 miles thick; the continents on Earth are about 25 to 31 miles thick

• Last week, InSight revised the range of the size of the core, determining that the size of Mars’s core is between about 1,120 and 1,160 miles – based on Mars’s mass, this means that the core must contain elements like oxygen that would make it less dense

ExoMars 2016

• ExoMars 2016 (Europe + Russia) (“ExoMars…”)

• Launched and arrived in 2016, still operating

• Part of a pair of missions – this one launched the Trace Gas Orbiter (it had a lander, but it failed)

• Will be creating atmospheric models and mapping ice in the soil, and will help communicate data from Mars to Earth in future Mars missions

ExoMars 2016

• ExoMars 2016 (Europe + Russia) (“ESA’s Trace Gas Orbiter…”) (“Trace Gas Orbiter…”)

• Much higher level of precision in determining atmosphere composition

• Added mysteries to prior discoveries of methane, which have yet to be solved. Could the methane be instead something else that we confused? Or are the two measurements both right still and there is more we don’t know?

• Showed a spike in hydrogen chloride during one of Mars’s global dust storms – points to a “chlorine cycle” on Mars, where salt dust interacts with water vapor during storms to produce chlorine molecules, which eventually return to the surface

Mars 2020

• Mars 2020 (USA) (“MOXIE”) (“Objectives”) (“Quick…”)

• Launched in 2020, landed in 2021

• Contains a rover, Perseverance, as well as the first aircraft (a drone) to fly on another planet, Ingenuity

• Perseverance is said to be the most advanced rover to date – it has several technology improvements and demonstrations

• It will try to take samples that will eventually be returned to Earth

• It will test of the use of a device that extracts oxygen from carbon dioxide in the Mars environment

Mars 2020

• Mars 2020 (USA) (Salese) (“Jezero…”)

• Perseverance will examine Jezero Crater, which contains the Jezero Fluvial Delta, the delta of an ancient river that flowed for at least 90-550 years that existed in Neretva Vallis

• The water level in Jezero Crater is believed to have been stable, and its edges have limestone deposits that are good for possible preservation

History of Mars ExplorationB Y IA N J O NE SAST R ONOMY W/ MR . BASANI23 MA R 2021

• Nagaraja, Mamta Patel, PhD. https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/programs/mars-exploration

• O’Callaghan, Jonathan. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-02751-1

• Greicius, Tony et al. https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/mariner-4

• Rincon, Paul. https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-53589767

• Williams, David R, PhD. https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1971-049F

• Nave, R. http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/Solar/Mariner.html

• “Viking 1 & 2.” https://mars.nasa.gov/mars-exploration/missions/viking-1-2/

• “Chronology of Mars Exploration, A.” https://history.nasa.gov/marschro.htm.

• Sidiqqi, Asif A. https://www.nasa.gov/connect/ebooks/beyond_earth_detail.html.

• Scheller, E. L. et al. https://authors.library.caltech.edu/108469/.

• “Mission Objectives.” https://www.isro.gov.in/pslv-c25-mars-orbiter-mission/mission-objectives.

• “Mars Pathfinder.” https://mars.nasa.gov/mars-exploration/missions/pathfinder/

• “2001 Mars Odyssey.” https://mars.nasa.gov/mars-exploration/missions/odyssey/.

• “Mars Exploration Rovers Overview.” https://mars.nasa.gov/mer/mission/overview/.

• “Mars Express mission facts.” https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Mars_Express/Mars_Express_mission_facts.

• Formisano, Vittorio, PhD. https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Mars_Express/Water_and_methane_maps_overlap_on_Mars_a_new_clue.

• “Mars Express.” https://stfc.ukri.org/research/astronomy-and-space-science/lunar-science/mars-express/.

• “Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Mission Overview.” https://mars.nasa.gov/mro/mission/overview/.

• “Mars Phoenix.” https://mars.nasa.gov/mars-exploration/missions/phoenix/.

• “Results.” https://mars.nasa.gov/msl/mission/science/results/.

• “Scientists think they’ve finally discovered what happened to Mars’ water.” https://www.inverse.com/science/heres-what-happened-to-martian-water.

• “Released Results.” https://lasp.colorado.edu/home/maven/science/released-results/.

• Hughes, Andréa et al. https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1029/2019JA027140.

• “Recent tectonics on Mars.” https://www.esa.int/About_Us/ESAC/Recent_tectonics_on_Mars.

• “InSight locates marsquakes in the Cerberus Fossae region.” https://www.dlr.de/content/en/images/2020/1/insight-locates-marsquakes-in-the-cerberus-fossae-region.html/.

• “CubeSats.” https://www.esa.int/Enabling_Support/Preparing_for_the_Future/Discovery_and_Preparation/CubeSats.

• Witze, Alexandra. “Mars’s core has been measured – and it’s surprisingly large.” https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-00696-7.

• Witze, Alexandra. “Surprise! First peek inside Mars reveals a crust with cake-like layers.” https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-03562-0.

• “ESA’s Trace Gas Orbiter Detects Ozone and Carbon Dioxide in Atmosphere of Mars.” http://www.sci-news.com/space/trace-gas-orbiter-ozone-carbon-dioxide-atmosphere-mars-08689.html.

• “Trace Gas Orbiter Detects Hydrogen Chloride Gas in Atmosphere of Mars.” http://www.sci-news.com/space/hydrogen-chloride-mars-09362.html.

• “ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter.” https://exploration.esa.int/web/mars/-/46475-trace-gas-orbiter.

• Salese, Francesco et al. https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/ast.2020.2228.

• “Quick Facts.” https://mars.nasa.gov/technology/helicopter/.

• “Objectives.” https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/mission/science/objectives/.

• “MOXIE.” https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/spacecraft/instruments/moxie/.

• “Jezero crater through the eyes of Mars Express.” https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Mars_Express/Jezero_crater_through_the_eyes_of_Mars_Express.

• “Mars Orbiter Mission Profile.” https://www.isro.gov.in/pslv-c25-mars-orbiter-mission/mars-orbiter-mission-profile.

Days of the Week

• If you’ve taken a Spanish course, or speak Spanish, match the following English weekdays with the Spanish translation.

Monday Martes

Tuesday Domingo

Wednesday Sabado

Thursday Miercoles

Friday Lunes

Saturday Viernes

Sunday Jueves

The weekdayThe English names of our days come from the names of gods/goddesses in both Greek/Roman and Norse traditions. The same goes for our planets!

Kwl chart | Topic: Planets

Know Want to Know Learned

https://forms.gle/UZvyC61ZNnwzBqAJ7Question to Unlock the Word Of The Day:What is the name of the 1st attempt for a Martian Exploration?

What is a planet?

A planet differs from a moon or a star. A planet satisfies the following criteria:

1. It orbits a star, but is not a star or satellite of another planet.

2. It has sufficient gravity to make itself round.

3. Its gravity is also sufficient to clear its orbit of other debris.

What planets are in our solar system?

• Terrestrial planets are made of iron and nickel cores surrounded by rock. The gas planets have cores of rock surrounded by water ice, and gas (mostly hydrogen).

Name that planet!

Formation of the Solar System

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1QTc5YeO6w

Four Major Features of our Solar System

Large bodies in our solar system have orderly motions.All planets and most satellites have nearly circular orbits going in the same direction in nearly the same plane. The Sun and most of the planets rotate in this same direction as well

Swarms of asteroids and comments populate the solar system. Asteroids are concentrated in the asteroid belt, and comets populate the region known as the Kuiper belt and the Oort cloud.

Planets fall into two main categories: small, rocky terrestrial planets near the Sun and large, hydrogen-rich jovian planets farther out. The jovianplanets have many moons and rings made of rock and ice. Pluto does not fit in either category.

Several notable exceptions to these general trends stand out, such as planets with unusual axis tilt or surprisingly large moons, and moons with unusual orbits.

What planet represents you?GASEOUS PLANETS1. The big Jupiter2. Saturn with his rings (to me it looks like a King with a crown)3. The Very Distant Neptune4. Uranus, the terrible smelly one https://time.com/5252381/uranus-stinks-smell/

TERRESTRIAL PLANETS5. The Earth, full of life?6. The very hot Earth’s twin, the morning planet, the Greek goddess of beauty, Venus7. The red planet Mars, Greek god of war8. The small, geologically inactive, very hot, Mercury

Inside the frost line: it is too hot for hydrogen compounds To form ice.

Outside the frost line: it is cold enough for ice to form.

Outer planets get bigger because abundant Hydrogen compounds condense to form ices over a rocky core

Outer planets accrete and keep H and He gas becauseThey are bigger, so gravity forms a big envelope of gas

Planetary Rotation

• All planets rotate (spin) about their own axis. All planets move counterclockwise except Venus.

• All planets have a tilt to their axes. Some are small, some are medium (like earth’s) and some are large.

• Some planets spin faster than others. This is called a rotation period.

Which planet spins clockwise unlike all the others?

Which planet has over a 90 degree tilt?

By how many degrees is Earth tilted?

Moons

• Most planets also have moons (except Mercury and Venus). Some planets have many moons.

• Moons are any object that revolves around a planet

• Most moons were created when debris leftover from the solar system’s formation coalesced as they were drawn toward the gravity of their parent planet.

Have a nice weekend!

Next Week there is SPRING BREAKWhen we are back, we will Investigate all the Inner Planet:Mercury,Venus, Earth, and Mars