I can show you the worlds The Science of Planetary Exploration Anjali Tripathi Kirit Karkare Sukrit Ranjan Sun Solar System Earth Star Planets Planets Outline • Anjali: Robotically Exploring the Solar System • Kirit: Detecting Extrasolar Planets • Sukrit: The Search for Life Beyond Earth I can show you the worlds How can we learn about the planets? Anjali Tripathi Kirit Karkare Sukrit Ranjan The Naked Eye Tunc Tenzel (TWAN/The World at Night) Telescopes Wellcome Library NASA/JPL Telescopes Wellcome Library AIP NASA/JPL 9 NASA/JPL Spacecraft! Spacecraft! Unmanned, or robotic missions NASA//ESA/ASI Orbiter • Allow us to get a Flyby closer view • Get measurements in place Lander SENSES in space NASA/JPL VoyagerVoyager I & I &II II FlyingFlying by the by Gasthe GiantsOuter Solar System Cosmic Ray Plasma Imaging (WA/NA) Magnetometers Photopolarimeter Spectrometers (UV/IR) Golden Record Radio/Plasma Wave Antenna Science Instruments 12 NASA/JPL VoyagerVoyager I & I &II II Flying by the Gas Giants VOYAGER 2 VOYAGER 1 VOYAGER 2 Sept ‘77 Aug ‘77 Aug ‘89 Mar ‘79 Jan ‘86 July ‘79 Nov ‘80 VOYAGER 1 Aug ‘81 NASA/JPL Visited Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus & Neptune discovery: discoveries: proteus (neptune) jupiter has rings more moons storms on neptune 3 - jupiter 3 - saturn 10 - uranus 6 - neptune NASA/JPL February 14, 1990 4,000,000,000 miles away NASA/JPL February 14, 1990 4,000,000,000 miles away NASA/JPL Today - Still going! 10,000,000,000 miles away Not fare well, But fare forward, Voyagers. -- T. S. Eliot, The Dry Salvages NASA/JPL Cassini-Huygens Orbiting Saturn, Landing on Titan NASA/ESA/ASI Cassini-Huygens Orbiting Saturn, Landing on Titan NASA/ESA/ASI Cassini-HuygensOrbiting Saturn NASA/JPL Sept. 15, 2006 NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute EARTH You are here Sept. 15, 2006 NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute discoveries about Saturn’s moons: Prometheus Enceladus perturbs Saturn’s rings has icy jets NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute Phoebe Voyager II Sept. 4, 1981 1.3 million miles away Cassini June 11, 2004 1200 miles away NASA/ESA/ASI a view from the ultraviolet water frost Phoebe Saturn’s Moon NASA/ESA/ASI a view from the infrared - temperature 0 2.75 hours Time 0.46 hours 3.16 hours day-night variation 0.91 hours Phoebe Saturn’s Moon made of loose dust and ice particles NASA/ESA/ASI a view from the infrared - mineral distribution Phoebe Saturn’s Moon originated in the Kuiper belt NASA/ESA/ASI Cassini-Huygens Landing on Titan • Imager • Measure winds using radio • Analyze the atmosphere • Measure Titan’s surface NASA/ESA/ASI descent unto Titan Titan’s wind - the furthest sounds in the Solar System NASA/ESA/ASI Titan has rain & flows of liquid methane hills drainage channels pebbles lakes ESA/NASA/JPL/University of Arizona 29 NASA/JPL Gas giants 29 NASA/JPL Rocky planets 29 NASA/JPL Mars Opportunity! Spirit! NASA Mars Exploration Rovers Roving a Rocky World Remote Sensing Package Pancam Mini-TES Magnetic properties In-Situ Package experiment Microscopic Imager Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer Mössbauer Spectrometer Rock Abrasion Tool NASA/JPL RAT hole water? Spirit NASA/JPL/Cornell/USGS/U. Mainz water? blueberries Meridiani Rock and Soil Sample need water to form sulphates and standing water flows different, rippled layers Opportunity NASA/JPL/Cornell/MPI/U. Mainz coming soon... sample return Spacecraft help us sense worlds like our own and wildly different worlds. Voyager Cassini Huygens Mars Rovers Sunset on Mars Spirit Rover NASA/JPL/Texas A&M/Cornell May 19, 2005.