12.3 SPACE EXPLORATION

Earth Based Observation Technology• Telescope: Instrument used to observe remote objects by

collecting electromagnetic radiation• (light, radio waves, infrared, ultra violet, x-rays etc.)

• First telescope was made in 1608 by a Dutch eyeglass maker Hans Lippershey. • It had a magnifying power of 3 times…

• Galileo made many improvements to the telescope and is know as the “father of modern astronomy” due to his many contributions.

Optical TelescopesRefracting Optical Telescope• Use a series of lenses to gather and focus visible light to

produce a magnified image

Reflecting Optical Telescope• Use mirrors to collect light and project an image to an

eyepiece lens

• The largest optical telescope is at the Keck observatory in Hawaii, with a main mirror 10m in diameter.

• An even larger 30m telescope is being built right now in Hawaii

Non-Optical Telescopes• Many objects in space produce energy in wavelengths

that are not visible to the human eye. • X-Ray, Radio and Gamma Ray telescopes collect the

electromagnetic radiation and focus it on a receiver where the data is interpreted as an image

Telescope Array• Telescopes can be electronically linked to produce the

results of a very large telescope

Space Based Observation Technology

• Atmosphere, weather, city lights, air pollution and other environmental factors disrupt telescope observations

• For the last 50 years astronomers have been working to launch observational tools into space to better collect data about the universe

Satellites• Satellite: Any object in orbit around another object in

space. (Moons are natural satellites)• Artificial satellites are launched into orbit for a variety of

purposes• Communication, GPS, weather monitoring, mapping, monitoring

tectonic activity, TV, etc.

• Satellites that remain above a fixed point on the earth are in geosynchronous orbit (orbital speed matches Earth)

• About 6,600 satellites have been launched. The latest estimates are that 3,600 remain in orbit. Of those, about 1,000 are operational.

Probes• Probe: Space vehicle sent to other celestial bodies• Probes may fly past, orbit or land on planets, moons,

comets and asteroids• Every planet in our solar system has been visited by a

probe• Probes collect and transmit data back to Earth

Voyager I & II• Launched in 1977 by NASA• Original goal was to study Jupiter and Saturn• Voyager I left our solar system in 2012• Both are expected to continue travelling until 2020

• Both Voyager I & II are carrying the Golden Record.

• Contains music, sounds and images representing the planet Earth and the human race

Pale Blue DotPhoto taken by Voyager I in 1990

Consider again that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar," every "supreme leader," every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there – on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam

-Carl Sagan

Rovers• Rovers: Robotic vehicles designed to carry out unmanned

exploration missions on other planets

Space Travel• Rocket: System for transporting materials and astronauts

into space

• Space Shuttle: Unlike a rocket, a space shuttle is designed to be reused. Only external fuel tanks are discarded.

• Shuttle returns to Earth following its mission and lands on a runway

International Space Station• Launched in 1993• An orbiting space based laboratory built in space from parts

and materials delivered by space shuttle and rockets.• Orbits 350 km above at speeds of more than 27 000 km/h,

the space. The station circles Earth in about 90 min.

Canadarm 2• Remote manipulator attached to the International Space

Station.• Able to assist docking of delivery vehicles and perform

repairs to the exterior of the space station