Space Exploration

with James Paradise

Sept, 2006

Solar System Quiz 1. What is the closest star to Earth?

2. How many are there in our solar system?

3. What is the smallest in our solar system?

4. What is the most distant planet from the Sun?

5. In what galaxy is our solar system located?

13.Other than Earth, where else might life exist in our solar system?

1. What is the closest star to Earth?

1. What is the closest star to Earth?

The nearest star to Earth is the one we see every day - our Sun.

At a mere 93 million miles distant, it takes light from the Sun only eight minutes to arrive on Earth.

The next closest are three members of Alpha Centauri and are just over 4 light years from Earth.

There are 10 star systems located within 12 light years of

E arth. 2. How many planets are there in our solar system?

1. How many planets are there in our solar system? Currently: 8 planets

Since 1930, we have been looking for Planet X

More recent Pluto news:

• 1978: Pluto’s moon Charon discovered • 2005: Two more Pluto moons? (Charon, Nix and Hydra) • 2006: Pluto demoted from planet to

Quaoar 2000 - 2002: Varuna, Ixion, and Quaoar discovered

Astronomers have discovered super-size balls of ice and rock — half the size of the planet Pluto — lurking roughly 4 billion miles from the Sun at the edge of our solar system.

A year on Quaoar takes 286 Earth years. It follows a circular orbit around the sun and has a temperature of minus 381 degrees Fahrenheit.

"If Pluto deserves to be a planet, then I would think that Quaoar does too," says astronomer Alan Boss of the Carnegie Institution in Washington, D.C.

Orbit: 280 - 300 years Orbit Shape: Circular Distance from Sun: 4 billion miles

P luto distance: 3 billion miles Sedna 2003: Sedna discovered

NASA-funded researchers have discovered the most distant object orbiting Earth's Sun. The object is a mysterious planet-like body three times farther from Earth than Pluto.

The object, named "Sedna" for the Inuit goddess of the ocean, is 8 billion miles from the Sun.

Sedna is in a region of our solar system, Orbit: 10,500 years where temperatures never rise above minus Orbit Shape: Highly Eliptical 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Closest point: 8 billion miles Fartheset point: 84 billion miles 2003: IAU rules Ixion, Varuna, Quaoar, and Sedna are not planets, and suggests Pluto distance: 3 billion miles that size of Pluto will be minimum size for Quaoar distance: 4 billion miles planets.

Where is Sedna’s Orbit? Where is Sedna’s Orbit?

Our inner so lar system Where is Sedna’s Orbit?

(zooming out: square in middle is previous screen)

How find planets? How do we find planets?

Telescope photo of a region in space.

Planets move too slowly to be spotted in a single image!!

Did any dots move?

Photo 1

Photo 2 (90 min later)

Photo 3 (90 min later yet)

Moving dot is circled in each image!

Photo 1

Photo 2 (90 min later)

Photo 3 (90 min later)

Now overlay All 3 photos overlaid onto each other.

The new object, circled in white, moves across a field of stars on Oct. 21, 2003.

The three photos were taken about 90 minutes apart.

The object was discovered by the Samuel Oschin Telescope at

the on Jan . 8, 2005. January 8, 2005: Planet X discovered? (10th planet?)

This artist's concept shows the object catalogued as 2003UB313 at the lonely outer fringes of our solar system, nick-named Xena. Orbit: 557 years Orbit Shape: Highly Eliptical Distance from Sun: 7.3 billion miles Relative Size of Xena

2006: IAU meets to define “planet” and vote: • Definition 1: Xena, Ceres, and Charon all become planets • Definition 2: Demote Pluto and lock number of planets at 8

IAU Decision: • Pluto demoted, now designated 134340 Pluto • 2003 UB_313 named Eris and its satelite named • Pluto, Eris, and Ceres declared Dwarf Planets • Quaoar, Sedna, Ixion, and Varuna expected to become Dwarf Planets

Definition of a Planet IAU Resolution: Definition of a Planet in the Solar System

Contemporary observations are changing our understanding of planetary systems, and it is important that our nomenclature for objects reflect our current understanding. This applies, in particular, to the designation 'planets'. The word 'planet' originally described 'wanderers' that were known only as moving lights in the sky. Recent discoveries lead us to create a new definition, which we can make using currently available scientific information. RESOLUTION 5A, August 24, 2006:

The IAU therefore resolves that "planets" and other bodies in our Solar System be defined into three distinct categories in the following way: (1) A "planet" is a celestial body that (a) is in orbit around the Sun, (b) has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a hydrostatic equilibrium (nearly round) shape, and (c) has cleared the neighbourhood around its orbit. Note: The eight planets are: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.

(2) A "dwarf planet" is a celestial body that (a) is in orbit around the Sun, (b) has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a hydrostatic equilibrium (nearly round) shape , (c) has not cleared the neighbourhood around its orbit, and (d) is not a satellite. Note: An IAU process will be established to assign borderline objects into either dwarf planet and other categories. (3) All other objects except satellites orbiting the Sun shall be referred to collectively as "Small Solar-System Bodies". Note: These currently include most of the Solar System , most Trans-Neptunian Objects (TNOs), comets, and other small bodies.

3. What is the smallest planet in our solar system?

3. What is the smallest planet in our solar system?

OfficiaPllayn, Met/Oerbcjeucrty (since DPliuatmo iest neor l(omniglers a) planet) Quaoar 800 Sedna 1,000 Pluto 1,400 Xena 1,600 – 1,800 Mercury 3,050 Mars 4,220 Venus 7,500 Earth 7,920 Neptune 30,200 Uranus 31,500 Saturn 74,500 Jupiter 88,700

3. What is the smallest planet in our solar system?

Pluto (assuming Pluto is actually a planet)

Sun, 8 current planets, and pluto shown in correct scale

4. What is the most distant planet from the Sun?

4. What is the most distant planet from the Sun? Neptune From 1979 until 1999, Neptune was the farthest planet from the sun. In 1999, Pluto became the furthest planet from the Sun. With Pluto demoted in 2006, now Neptune will always be the most distant planet.

5. In what galaxy is our solar system located?

5. In what galaxy is our solar system located?

The Milky Way is a thin disk containing an estimated 200 billion to 700 billion stars We lie in a spiral band called the Orion- arm which is made up of the collection of younger and middle-aged stars. Our Solar System is located about 27,000 light-years from galactic center and 20,000 light-years from the outer edge.

Milky Way Galaxy

6. Other than Earth, where else might life exist in our solar system?

Follow the water 6. Other than Earth, where else might life exist in our solar system? NASA's strategy Location of liquid / frozen water Remarks Jupiter’s moons: Galileo discovered strong evidence of is to "follow the Europa liquid salt water oceans beneath an ice Ganymede layer on three of Jupiter’s moons. water" in the Callisto Saturn’s moon: Casini, a twin to Galileo, has found search for life. Enceladus evidence of liquid salt water ocean beneath an ice layer on Saturn’s moon, Enceladus.

Earth’s moon Clementine and lunar Prospector robotic spacecraft each found evidence of water ice in permanently shaded areas near its poles. Mars Mars Global Surveyor and Mars Odyssey have each found evidence of water ice at Mars poles and within 2 meters of the surface across much of the planet. Planetary Rings: All four gas giant planets have rings that Jupiter are rich in water ice. Saturn Uranus Neptune Comets Comet’s primary constituent is water ice. Asteroids Ceres is very primitive and wet and may have a thin, permanent Next: V ostok atmosphere. A Jupiter Icey Moons Orbiter will one day orbit up to 3 of Jupiter’s moons to confirm the presence or absence of an ocean. Other possible missions could include a Lander, a Penetrator, and Hydrobots. Europa is very similar to Lake , discovered under the Antarctic ice in 1974.

Update on Manned Missions

Old: to New LM CEV to be retire by 2010 operational by 2014

CEV on Atlas V Launch Vehicle (Atlas V is candidate CLV)

CEV terra landing w air bags

International Space Station (ISS) NASA’s Top Priority: Complete the International Space Station by 2010.

See the Space Station fly over Denver

http://spaceflight1.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/cities/index.cgi

Current and Recent

Unmanned Robotic Missions

A few of the Denver missions from the past 34 years We are currently flying 4 spac ecraft from here in Denver. Mars Global Surveyor

Mars Mapping Mission

Launch: 11/7/1996

Arrive: 9/11/97

Status: Still actively mapping

This orbiter has studied the entire Martian surface, atmosphere and interior, and has returned more data about the red planet than all other Mars missions combined. Among key science findings so far, Global Surveyor has taken pictures of gullies and debris flow features that suggest there may be current sources of liquid water, similar to an aquifer, at or near the surface of the planet.

Mars Odyssey

Launched: 7 April 2001

Arrived: 24 October 2001

Began Mapping: 18 February 2002

Mars Odyssey is an orbiting spacecraft designed to determine the composition of the Martian surface, to detect water and shallow buried ice, and to study the radiation environment.

The Mars 2001 Odyssey mission will consist of one Orbiter which will carry 3 science instruments, the Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS), the Gamma Ray Spectrometer (GRS), and the Mars Radiation Environment Experiment (MARIE). THEMIS will map the mineralogy and morphology of the Martian surface using a high-resolution camera and a thermal infrared imaging spectrometer. The GRS will achieve global mapping of the elemental composition of the surface and determine the abundance of hydrogen in the shallow subsurface. The GRS is a rebuild of the instrument lost with the Mars Observer mission. The MARIE will characterize aspects of the near-space radiation environment as related to the radiation-related risk to human explorers..

Mars 2003 MER (twin Mars Exploration Rovers)

Spirit: Launched: June 10, 2003 Landed: January 4, 2004 Opportunity: Launched: July 7, 2003 Landed: January 24, 2004

The Mars 2003 mission consists of two identical rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, which will be a large (~130 kg) vehicles based on the Athena Rover design that was originally considered for the Mars 2001 mission. The rovers will be landed using an airbag system similar to that used on Mars Pathfinder but without the stationary lander.

The rover, Spirit landed 4 January 2004 and the Opportunity will land 20 days later on 24 January. The landing sites have been selected, and are on opposite sides of Mars. The mission should last for at least 90 days each, until late April. The rovers are designed to cover roughly 100 meters each martian day, or sol (approximately 24 hours, 37 minutes).

They will carry a scientific packages which will include a panoramic camera (Pancam), a rock abrasion tool (RAT) to expose fresh surfaces of rock, a miniature thermal infrared spectrometer (MiniTES), a microscopic camera, a Mossbauer spectrometer, and an alpha-proton-X-ray spectrometer (APXS). A goal for the rover is to drive up to 40 met ers (about 44 yards) in a single day, for a total of up t o one 1 kilometer (about three-quarters of a mile). Spirit photos of Mars

Spirit photo of hill on Mars (looking forward)

Looking back

Bright soil under the surface

Mars 1/25/2004 Oportunity photo of Mars

Oportunity photos on Mars

Meteorite

Hematite (proof of liquid water)

Oportunity climbing out of crater on Mars

Opportunity photo of sand dunes on Mars

Rocky outcrop

Opportunity at Victoria Crater

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO)

Launched: August 12, 2005 Arrived at Mars: March 10, 2006

Just finished Aerobraking Phase: • First orbit duration: 35 hr. • highly eliptical • Current duration: 2 hr. • circular

Major Instruments: • High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) • Context Camera (CTX) • Mars Color Imager (MARCI) • Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM)

• S hallow Radar (SHARAD) (can see up to 1 km into ground) MRO

• 'Victoria Crater'

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO)

Galileo

Mission to explore Jupiter and its 61 moons

Launch: 10/18/1989 Orbit Jupiter: 12/7/1995 Mission End: 9/21/2003

First two years focused on Jupiter.

Extended mission (6 years) focused on Jupiter's moons, with emphasis on Europa, Callisto, Ganymede, and Io.

On it’s journey to Jupiter, Galileo did gravity sling shots around Venus, Earth, and Earth in a 2.5 year speed-building phase that achieved a velocity exceeding 100,000 miles per hour.

The Galileo mission ended September 21, 2003 when the remaining fuel was used to splash the spacecraft into Jupiter.

Gaspra and IDA Galileo passed through the Asteroid Field three times on the way to Jupiter. 1st ever closeup photo of an asteroid. Ida (35 miles long) and Dactyl (1 mile diameter)

Gaspra (12x7 miles)

impact? Meteor Crater in New Mexico Caused by a 100 foot diameter 60,000 ton space boulder striking the earth at a speed of 45,000 miles per hour. This crater is 4,000 feet in diameter and 570 feet deep. The blast was equivalent to a 20 megaton bomb.

Imagine what a Gaspra or Ida sized boulder would do?

Galileo Jupiter Moons Images (4 of Jupiter’s 61 moons)

Io (with active volcanos)

Europa

Liquid Oceans?

Ganymede

Callisto

Casini and Huygens

Mission to Saturn and its largest moon Titan.

Launch: 10/15/1997

Orbit Saturn: 7/1/2004

Huygens Release: 12/2004

Landed on Titan: 1/12/2005

Casini journey to Saturn (4 gravity assist flybys)

Cassini Images of Saturn on approach

Cassini Images of Saturn rings Moon in ring gap

Cassini Images of Saturn Moons Hyperion Enceladus

Evidence of atmosphere and liquid ocean under ice.

Cassini images of Saturn’s moon Titan

Continents visible?

Dense atmosphere

Huygen’s Probe descent to surface of Jupiter’s moon Titan

Cassini images of Saturn’s moon Titan

Titan surface from under the clouds (during Huygens Probe descent)

River Channels showing evidence of liquid flow

Huygens Probe image from the Surface of Titan

Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) (Mission completed) Mission to explore asteroid 433 Eros

(433 Eros is 21 x 9 x 8 miles)

Launch: 2/17/1996

Orbit: 2/14/2000

Contact: 2/12/2001 Last Image (below) End of Mission: 2/28/2001

First probe to orbit near earth asteroids. After A close encounter with asteroid 253 Mathilde, the probe has orbited 433 Eros since 2/2000 in altitudes varying from 100 miles to 25 miles. At completion of mission, the probe landed on the surface 2/12/2001. It impacted with a speed of 7 mph and survived.

HUBBLE Space Telescope

1st of 4 Great Observatories Launched 24 April 1990

HUBBLE Photo of Cat’s Eye Nebula

So……….How good is Hubble? So……How good is Hubble?

We had hubble look where the red square is.

Hubble Deep Field

This image was obtained by pointing the Hubble Telescope at a spot near the Big Dipper where no known stars existed.

Exposure: 11 days

Over 1,000 new galaxies were identified in this image.

CHANDRA X-ray Observatory

2nd of 4 Great Observatories

Launched 23 July 1999

NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, which was launched on July 23, 1999, is the most sophisticated X- ray observatory built to date.

Chandra is designed to observe X-rays from high-energy regions of the universe, such as the remnants of exploded stars.

CHANDRA image of exploding remnant

Galex GALEX Galaxy Evolution Explorer

UV (Ultra-Violet) imaging and spectroscopic survey mission designed to map the global history and probe the causes of star formation and its evolution.

3rd of 4 Great Observatories

Launched: April 28, 2003

Mission Length: 29 months

Science: 80% of history of star formation is in UV region.

Technical: 50 cm telescope

Galex photos: Messier 83

Cartwheel Galaxy

Spitzer Space Telescope

Infrared Telescope Facility

4th of 4 Great Observatories

Launched: 25 August 2003

Flown from SSC Denver SSB 3rd Floor Mission Operations Center

First to use Earth trailing orbit

The Spitzer Space Telescope Facility - was launched into space by a Delta rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida on August 25, 2003.

Most of this infrared radiation is blocked by the Earth's atmosphere and cannot be observed from the ground.

Consisting of a 0.85-meter telescope and three cryogenically-cooled science instruments, Spitzer will be the largest infrared telescope ever launched into space.

Spitzer photo of Galaxy: M81

Stardust

Mission to sample space dust and comet Wild 2

Launched: 2/6/99 Collected Dust: Mar-May/00 July-Dec/02 Flew through tail of Comet Wild 2: Jan 2, 2004 Landed in Utah 1/15/2006

Stardust photos of comet Wild 2 taken Jan 2, 2004 Comet is 2.5 miles in diameter

Stardust Aerogel Collector catching particles traveling at 45,000 mph

Ants in a football field

An automated microscope at JSC will scan through the grid taking digital “focus movies”. The field of view is about 0.5mm on a side. There will be over 1.6 million of these.

Finding the interstellar dust particles will be like searching for 45 ants in a football field look ing one 5cmx5cm square at a time. Finding the dust

How do we find 45 microscopic particles somewhere within 1.6 million focus movies? The particles themselves are not visible in the movies, only the tracks they leave in the aerogel.

We considered using pattern recognition software. But, because we have no knowledge of the condition of the aerogel until we look at it, nor do we really know what the particle tracks will look like, we would have to first teach the software to recognize particle tracks and differentiate them from other possible features. To do that we would need to find a dozen or so particles!

People need to look through the movies. Stardust@home

The task of manually searching through the 1.6 million focus movies would be overwhelming for a small research group…but not for an army of enthusiastic volunteers.

The focus movies will be placed online for volunteers to examine.

We estimate that it will take 30,000 person-hours to complete the task. We now have over 100,000 people pre-registered to participate.

It will take several months for the automated microscope to complete the scan of the collector, that will be limiting time factor. http://stardustathome.ssl.berkeley.edu

Virtual Microscope

Volunteers will use a Virtual Microscope (VM) to examine focus movies.

The VM will work directly within a web browser, no special software needed, simply an internet connection and a fair amount of RAM.

A simple online training session and test will be required for volunteers to learn how to use the VM.

The first focus movies will be made available online in April and the project will continue through November.

How It Will Work

Each focus movie will be viewed by several people.

Calibration movies will be placed into the data stream (movies known to have no particles, etc.) to gauge each volunteer’s sensitivity (find tracks when they are there) and specificity (find no tracks when they are absent). Each user receives an overall score.

Each movie receives a score weighted by the score of the volunteer who flags it as either containing a track or not

Scientists at UC Berkeley will follow up on all movies that receive a high enough score.

Recognition

Website will feature a ‘Community’ section where volunteers can communicate with each other.

Website will feature a list of the volunteers with the top scores.

Users achieving a high score will receive a certificate of participation.

The first to find a track will have the privilege of naming the dust particle.

Will also be given co-authorship of scientific papers about the discovery

On average, a particle will be discovered every 4 days!

Educational Resources

We will be developing lessons for students using the Virtual Microscope.

We also provide professional development for educators about ISM, planetary system formation, and comets.

Website will also contain educational materials developed by the Stardust mission E/PO team

Will do professional development on these materials as well

Stardust@home E/PO will last 3 years while the search will only last 6 months. E/PO will focus on the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics standards of the project.

Look what we caught!!

Gem of a Comet Particle

This image shows a comet particle collected by the Stardust spacecraft. The particle is made up of the silicate mineral forsterite, which can found on Earth in gemstones called peridot. It is surrounded by a thin rim of melted aerogel, the substance used to collect the comet dust samples.

The parti cle is about 2 micrometers across. Deep Impact

The first look inside a Comet

Peering inside a comet could give us clues to the early formation of the Solar System, the Earth and human life.

Deep Impact's July 4, 2005 impact on Comet Tempel 1 by a 820 lb. impactor is expected to produce a football field-sized crater, seven to fourteen stories deep. Launched 1/12/2005

Deep Impact

Rosetta

Mission to Comet

67P/Churyumov Gerasimenko

03.02.04: Launch (07:17 UT) Aug 2014: Comet Orbit Insertion Nov 2014: Comet Landing Status: En Route to Comet

Rosetta is on a 10-year mission to explore comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. It will orbit Churyumov-Gerasimenko and make observations for about two years as the comet approaches the Sun.

Rosetta will also release a small lander packed with scientific instruments to make the first-ever landing on the surface of a comet.

New Horizons (Pluto - Mission)

Mission at a Glance

Launched: Jan 17, 2006

Pluto & Charon Flyby: 2015

Reach Kuiper Belt: 2026

Future Missions

Mars Phoenix Lander 2007

PHOENIX WILL LAND AT MARS' ICY NORTH POLE, and

dig into the ice cap with a robo tic arm. Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter by 2011

This proposed mission would orbit three planet-sized moons of Jupiter -- Callisto, Ganymede and Europa -- to make extensive investigations of their makeup, their history and their potential for sustaining life.

Will use Prometheus Nuclear-Electric Propulsion.

Future Mars Missions

Phoenix Mars Scout Lander: 2007 Mars Science Lab: 2009 Mars Sample Return 2011 Mars Smart Lander Mars Deep Drilling Lab Mars Network Landers SAR Recon Orbiter Man on Mars 2020

Other Planned Missions:

James Webb Space Telescope 2011 Space Interferometry Mission Terestrial Planet Finder and more

Space Interferometry Mission