Transcript Space

The Final Frontier
I. What is Space?
A. Exosphere- starts at an altitude of 640 kM and
reaches to 64,000 kM.
• The air gets progressively thinner and dwindles into
nothingness
B. Everything above this layer is considered outer
space
C. The known universe is thought to be 13.7 billion
years old
• Created by the big bang
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDQzKTedGNE
D. The size of space is almost impossible to
conceptualize. The latest estimate has the radius of
our ever expanding universe at 78 billion light years.
E. The universe is made up of galaxies which
contain solar systems
• It is estimated that there are 100-200 billion
galaxies
• Estimates of the number of stars are mind
boggling (10 to the 22 power)
• Multiply that by 5 to 10 planets orbiting each star
and the likelihood of another planet not having life
is virtually impossible
II. Near Earth Objects
A.
Asteroid: A relatively small, inactive body, composed of
rock, carbon or metal, which is orbiting the Sun.
B.
Comet: A relatively small, sometimes active object,
which is composed of dirt and ices. Comets are
characterized by dust and gas tails when in proximity to
the Sun. Far from the Sun it is difficult to distinguish an
asteroid from a comet.
C.
Meteoroid: A small particle from an asteroid or comet
orbiting he Sun.
D.
Meteor: A meteoroid that is observed as it burns up in
the Earth's atmosphere - a shooting star.
E.
Meteorite: A meteoroid that survives its passage through
the Earth's atmosphere and impacts the Earth's surface.
III. Space Exploration
A. NASA- National Aeronautics and Space Administration
1. Began in 1958
2. A full-scale crisis resulted on October 4, 1957 when the
Soviets launched Sputnik 1, the world's first artificial
satellite as its IGY entry. This had a "Pearl Harbor" effect
on American public opinion, creating an illusion of a
technological gap and provided the impetus for
increased spending for aerospace endeavors, technical
and scientific educational programs, and the chartering
of new federal agencies to manage air and space
research and development
3. United States launched its first Earth satellite on
January 31, 1958, Explorer 1
4. NASA began to conduct space missions within months of its creation, and during
its first twenty years NASA conducted several major programs:
• Human space flight initiatives-Mercury's single astronaut program (flights during
1961-1963) to ascertain if a human could survive in space; Project Gemini (flights
during 1965-1966) with two astronauts to practice space operations, especially
rendezvous and docking of spacecraft and extravehicular activity (EVA); and
Project Apollo (flights during 1968-1972) to explore the Moon.
• Robotic missions to the Moon Ranger, Surveyor, and Lunar Orbiter), Venus
(Pioneer Venus), Mars (Mariner 4, Viking 1 and 2), and the outer planets (Pioneer 10
and 11, Voyager 1 and 2).
• Aeronautics research to enhance air transport safety, reliability, efficiency, and
speed (X-15 hypersonic flight, lifting body flight research, avionics and electronics
studies, propulsion technologies, structures research, aerodynamics
investigations).
• Remote-sensing Earth satellites for information gathering (Landsat satellites for
environmental monitoring).
• Applications satellites for communications (Echo 1, TIROS, and Telstra) and
weather monitoring.
• An orbital workshop for astronauts, Skylab.
• A reusable spacecraft for traveling to and from Earth orbit, the Space Shuttle.
5. Early Spaceflights: Mercury and Gemini
• NASA's first high-profile program involving human spaceflight was Project
Mercury, an effort to learn if humans could survive the rigors of spaceflight.
On May 5, 1961, Alan B. Shepard Jr. became the first American to fly into
space, when he rode his Mercury capsule on a 15-minute suborbital
mission. John H. Glenn Jr. became the first U.S. astronaut to orbit the Earth
on February 20, 1962. With six flights, Project Mercury achieved its goal of
putting piloted spacecraft into Earth orbit and retrieving the astronauts
safely
6. Going to the Moon - Project Apollo
• That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind." Neil A.
Armstrong uttered these famous words on July 20, 1969, when the Apollo
11 mission fulfilled Kennedy's challenge by successfully landing Armstrong
and Edwin E. "Buzz" Aldrin, Jr. on the Moon. Armstrong dramatically
piloted the lunar module to the lunar surface with less than 30 seconds
worth of fuel remaining. After taking soil samples, photographs, and doing
other tasks on the Moon, Armstrong and Aldrin rendezvoused with their
colleague Michael Collins in lunar orbit for a safe voyage back to Earth.
7. Space Shuttle
After a gap of six years, NASA returned to human spaceflight in 1981, with the
advent of the Space Shuttle. The Shuttle's first mission, STS-1, took off on
April 12, 1981, demonstrating that it could take off vertically and glide to an
unpowered airplane-like landing. On STS-6, during April 4-9, 1983, F. Story
Musgrave and Donald H. Peterson conducted the first Shuttle EVA, to test
new spacesuits and work in the Shuttle's cargo bay. Sally K. Ride became the
first American woman to fly in space when STS-7 lifted off on June 18, 1983,
another early milestone of the Shuttle program.
8. The Science of Space
In addition to major human spaceflight programs, there have been significant
scientific probes that have explored the Moon, the planets, and other areas of
our solar system. In particular, the 1970s heralded the advent of a new
generation of scientific spacecraft. Two similar spacecraft, Pioneer 10 and
Pioneer 11, launched on March 2, 1972 and April 5, 1973, respectively, traveled
to Jupiter and Saturn to study the composition of interplanetary space.
Voyagers 1 and 2, launched on September 5, 1977 and August 20, 1977,
respectively, conducted a "Grand Tour" of our solar system.
• In 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope was launched into orbit around the
Earth. Unfortunately, NASA scientists soon discovered that a microscopic
spherical aberration in the polishing of the Hubble's mirror significantly
limited the instrument's observing power. During a previously scheduled
servicing mission in December, 1993, a team of astronauts performed a
dramatic series of spacewalks to install a corrective optics package and
other hardware. The hardware functioned like a contact lens and the
elegant solution worked perfectly to restore Hubble's capabilities. The
servicing mission again demonstrated the unique ability of humans to work
in space, enabled Hubble to make a number of important astronomical
discoveries, and greatly restored public confidence in NASA.
• Mars Global Surveyor was the first of these spacecraft; it was launched on
November 7, 1996, and has been in a Martian orbit mapping Mars since
1998. Using some innovative technologies, the Mars Pathfinder spacecraft
landed on Mars on July 4, 1997 and explored the surface of the planet with
its miniature rover, Sojourner. The Mars Pathfinder mission was a scientific
and popular success, with the world following along via the Internet. This
success was followed by the landing of the Spirit and Opportunity rovers in
January 2004, to much scientific and popular acclaim.
B. Space Travel
A. Apollo 11 to the moon
B. Space Shuttle
C. MER Space Station:
D. Mars Rover
E. Citizens in Space- Richard Branson and Virgin Galactic will launch
private citizens into space. http://www.virgingalactic.com/
F. Planned missions to Mars- NASA hopes to Have a manned
mission planned in the next 1-2 decades.
http://www.space.com/24268-manned-mars-mission-nasafeasibility.html
G. Problems with manned space travel:
• The shear distance of other planetary destinations
• It will take 2 years to get to Mars
• The closest planet out of our solar system is 10.5 light years away
• We are not even remotely close to achieving light speed
• Cryogenic freezing or hibernation states are not yet possible
C. Space travel in the movies
1. Warp drive: a hypothetical faster-than-light (FTL) propulsion system in
the setting of many science fiction works, most notably Star Trek. A
spacecraft equipped with a warp drive may travel at apparent speeds
greater than that of light by many orders of magnitude, while
circumventing the relativistic problem of time dilation. In contrast to
many other fictional FTL technologies, such as a "jump drive" or the
Infinite Improbability Drive, the warp drive does not permit
instantaneous travel between two points; instead, warp drive
technology creates an artificial "bubble" of normal space-time which
surrounds the spacecraft
2. Worm holes: A wormhole is a theoretical passage through space-time that
could create shortcuts for long journeys across the universe. Wormholes are
predicted by the theory of general relativity
• But be wary: wormholes bring with them the dangers of sudden collapse, high
radiation and dangerous contact with exotic matter.
• Wormhole theory
• In 1935, physicists Albert Einstein and Nathan Rosen used the theory of general
relativity to propose the existence of "bridges" through space-time. These paths,
called Einstein-Rosen bridges or wormholes, connect two different points in
space-time, theoretically creating a shortcut that could reduce travel time and
distance.
• Science fiction is filled with tales of traveling through wormholes. But the
reality of such travel is more complicated, and not just because we've yet
to spot one.
• The first problem is size. Primordial wormholes are predicted to exist on
microscopic levels, about 10 –33 centimeters. However, as the universe
expands, it is possible that some may have been stretched to larger sizes.
• Another problem comes from stability. The predicted Einstein-Rosen
wormholes would be useless for travel because they collapse quickly. But
more recent research found that a wormhole containing "exotic" matter
could stay open and unchanging for longer periods of time.
• Exotic matter, which should not be confused with dark matter or
antimatter, contains negative energy density and a large negative
pressure. Such matter has only been seen in the behavior of certain
vacuum states as part of quantum field theory.
http://www.space.com/20881-wormholes.html
D. The reality
1. Unless we can harness the power of a Warp drive or a worm hole,
or develop some other mechanism of manipulating time and
space, we will not be able to travel outside our solar system
2. 2. Other complications include traveling with adequate fuel and
supplies
• Obviously there will not be any stores in space, nor will we be
sending any rescue missions
3. Cryostasis will also need to be achieved
4. For now our first step will be getting to mars and then
looking forward