Exploring Space - Science 8 - Chapter 22

1) The International Space Station is (ISS) is a permanent research laboratory where astronauts can live and work in space for long periods of time and draws on the resources of 16 nations.

2) Space stations are satellites because they stay in orbit.

3) Launched in 1990 by the space shuttle Discovery, the Hubble Space Telescope is a reflecting telescope outside of Earth’s atmosphere.

4) A mistake was made when the mirror was shaped for the Hubble Space Telescope so it sent back blurry images until 1993 when it was repaired.

5) Space shuttles are reusable crafts that can land like an airplane and have a cargo bay that can be used for a wide variety of tasks. The cargo bay makes it easy for the shuttle to launch, retrieve, and repair satellites.

6) Space Shuttles are very cost effective because they are reusable. The solid fuel booster rocket engines used to launch the shuttle are parachuted back to Earth and also reused.

7) The first stage in the space program designed to send Americans to the Moon was Project Mercury.

8) The destination of the space probe Cassini , launched in 1997, was Saturn. Cassini’s mission was to explore and deliver a probe to Saturn’s largest moon, Titan.

9) In 1962, John Glenn became the first U.S. citizen to orbit Earth as part of Project Mercury.

10) Space probes, like the Lunar Prospector, were sent to the moon to take pictures, determine the best landing sites, and test the possibility of landing a spacecraft on the moon.

11) Gemini in Latin means "twins" or "double" which reflected that the spacecraft on these missions would hold two astronauts. Astronaut Gus Grissom, in addition to commanding the first Gemini mission, was heavily involved in the development and design of the Gemini spacecraft. There were 10 total Gemini missions.

12) The space probe Lunar Prospector was launched in 1998

13) Early data gathered from the space probe Lunar Prospector indicates that hydrogen is present in the rocks of the Moon's poles.

14) The first artificial satellite, Sputnik I was placed into orbit around Earth by the former Soviet Union in 1957.

15) The first human to step onto the Moon was Neil Armstrong on July 20, 1969. He was part of Project Apollo and the Apollo 11 mission.

16) The first human to travel in space was Yuri A. Gagarin from the former Soviet Union. In 1961 his goal was to orbit Earth and return safely in his Soviet spacecraft Vostok.

17) As part of Project Apollo, Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin became the first humans to walk on the Moon. Neil Armstrong was first and Edwin Aldrin followed him quickly.

18) A goal of Project Gemini, the second stage of the space program, was to link two space crafts together while they were in orbit. The first Gemini was launched in 1965 by a liquid fueled rocket known as Titan II. Another goal of Gemini was to investigate the effects of space travel on humans.

19) In 1961, Alan B. Shepard was the first US citizen to go to space and return safely.

20) The Voyager 1 & 2 are space probes that were launched in 1977 and have traveled beyond our solar system. Although their original mission was to study the planets of our solar system, the Voyagers have now become the first human-made objects to enter interstellar space, traveling further than anyone, or anything, in history.

21) The former Soviet Union used a rocket to send Sputnik I, a satellite, into space in 1957, starting the space age.

22) Pioneer 10, a space probe launched in 1972, was the first probe to encounter an outer planet and sent back photos of Jupiter. It was also the first probe to survive a trip through the asteroid belt.

23) Launched in 1989, Galileo is a space probe that reached Jupiter in 1995 to study its composition, temperature and pressure.

24) Mercury was the first stage in the space program designed to send Americans to the moon. Gemini was the second stage and Apollo was the last.

Date Mission Notable Facts

Sputnik I 1957 Satellite Vostok 1961 Spacecraft

Mercury 1961 Spacecraft

Mercury 1962 Spacecraft

Gemini 1965 Spacecraft

Apollo 1969 Spacecraft

Pioneer 10 1972 Space Probe

Voyagers 1 & 2 1977 Space Probes

Space 1981 Shuttle

Galileo 1989 Space Probe

Hubble 1990 Space Telescope Cassini 1997 Space Probe

Lunar 1998 Prospector Space Probe International 1998 Space Station