Missions to the Sun, Moon, Venus, and Mars

Warm Up Questions CPS Questions (1-2) Chapter 9, Lesson 1

Chapter Overview Missions to the Sun, Moon, Venus, and Mars The Hubble Telescope and Missions to Comets and Outer Planets Chapter 9, Lesson 1

Lesson Overview Spacecraft that have studied the Sun Unmanned exploration of the Moon Unmanned exploration of Venus Unmanned exploration of Mars Chapter 9, Lesson 1

(Note to teacher: Use “Pick a Student” button in CPS) Quick Write Based on the experiences of Russia’s cosmonaut dogs, do you think it is right to use animals as test subjects in space rather than send humans in untested spacecraft? (Note to teacher: Use “Pick a Student” button in CPS) Chapter 9, Lesson 1

Spacecraft That Have Studied the Sun Pioneer 7, along with its three siblings Pioneers 6, 8, and 9, explored the solar wind, interplanetary relations, and cosmic rays The four spacecraft formed a ring of solar weather stations allowing scientists on Earth to monitor solar storms In the 1970s the United States and Germany worked together to send Helios 1 and Helios 2 into space Chapter 9, Lesson 1

Ulysses Studied Jupiter for more than two weeks Using the momentum gained from Jupiter’s gravity, Ulysses was able to leave the ecliptic plane and fly over the Sun’s north and south poles Allowed scientists to study the Sun’s north and south poles for the first time Chapter 9, Lesson 1 Courtesy of NASA

Hinode A multinational space operation Primary goal is to give scientists a better understanding of the Sun’s physics Studies the solar wind Hinode has a high-powered telescope that came across sunspots completely different from those previously discovered Chapter 9, Lesson 1

Current Missions to the Sun Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, or SOHO Transition Region and Coronal Explorer (TRACE) Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) Chapter 9, Lesson 1 Courtesy of SOHO-EIT Consortium /ESA/NASA

Unmanned Exploration of the Moon Russians first examined the Moon with the Luna 1 First American spacecraft to return pictures of the Moon was the Ranger 7 In the mid-1960s, space missions returned thousands of pictures and numerous material samples to Earth Chapter 9, Lesson 1

The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) Launched in 2009 with the purpose of studying everything it could about the Moon Orbiting 31 miles above the surface to gather data on its atmosphere, environment, and terrain Ultimate goal is extended human visits to the Moon Chapter 9, Lesson 1 Courtesy of Chris Meaney, NASA’s Conceptual Image Lab

The Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) Companion probe to the LRO Revealed the presence of water Spectrometer - a special instrument equipped with devices for measuring the wavelengths of the radiation it observes Chapter 9, Lesson 1 Courtesy of NASA/Jack Pfaller

The Role of the National Space Science Data Center (NSSDC) Created at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland Responsible for the long-term archiving and preservation of all space science information Includes astronomy, astrophysics, as well as solar and space plasma physics, and planetary and lunar science Chapter 9, Lesson 1

Unmanned Exploration of Venus The Soviet Venera program had many failures before it was successful Lost the first Venera after it left Earth’s orbit in 1961 Russians sent 15 more Venera spacecraft to study Venus Chapter 9, Lesson 1 Courtesyof NASA

The Missions and Findings of Pioneer Venus Expected the orbiter mission to last eight months - it kept going for 14 years NASA launched Pioneer Venus in 1978 Main objective was to make a radar map of Venus’ surface Chapter 9, Lesson 1 Courtesy of Paul Hudson /NASA/Ames Research Center

The Missions and Findings of the ESA Venus Express Launched in 2005 expecting it would last roughly two years In late 2009 ESA extended the mission through 2012 Main goal was to map Venus’s southern hemisphere Chapter 9, Lesson 1

The Venus Radar Mapping Mission of Magellan Goal of mapping Venus’ surface to a degree that hadn’t been done before The probe mapped 98 percent of the planet Aerobraking - the use of the planet’s atmosphere to slow an orbit and thereby lower a satellite closer to a planet Chapter 9, Lesson 1 Courtesy of The Magellan Project /JPL /NASA

Unmanned Exploration of Mars Unmanned missions are the only type of exploration so far Mars 1 was the first to fly by the planet in 1962 Mariner 4 was one of NASA’s early success stories Chapter 9, Lesson 1 Courtesy of NASA/JPL

The Viking Missions Both traveled to Mars and orbited until scientists could find a soft landing site Conducted a series of tests, including water-vapor studies Point of the missions was to study the planet’s biology (if any), chemical composition, and physical properties Chapter 9, Lesson 1

The Findings of the Mars Scout Lander, the Phoenix Primary goal was the further search for water on Mars Took ground samples of Martian dirt Presence of perchlorate, a chemical that attracts water, indicates the potential to sustain life forms Chapter 9, Lesson 1

The Mission of the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Orbits anywhere from 160 miles to 200 miles above the surface It has returned more data than all previous Mars missions combined Equipped with many different instruments Chapter 9, Lesson 1 Courtesy of NASA/HiRISE/MRO/LPL/University of Arizona

The Findings of the Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity Opportunity found mineralogical evidence that Mars had liquid water in the past Opportunity conducted a two-year investigation of a half-mile-wide crater Spirit traveled roughly five miles Chapter 9, Lesson 1 Courtesy of NASA

Learning Check CPS Questions (3-4) Chapter 9, Lesson 1

Activity 1: Missions to the Sun, Moon, Venus, and Mars Crossword Use your textbook to complete the crossword puzzle. Chapter 9, Lesson 1

Activity 2: Unmanned Probes in Space Record information about your assigned probe on the paper provided. Write the name of the probe on one side in magic marker. Write the launch date and mission findings on the back in pen/pencil. Chapter 9, Lesson 1

Activity 3: Radar Mapping the Surface of a Mystery Planet What would it be like to map the surface of a planet that you can’t see? Try using your “radar” to map the surface of the Mystery Planet. Chapter 9, Lesson 1

Technology Enrichment: NSSDC Research Use the National Space Science Data Center website to create a brief presentation about one of the unmanned space probes from your textbook. Chapter 9, Lesson 1

Review Many space probes have launched to the Sun in order to study solar wind Current unmanned missions to the Moon are paving the way for more manned trips in the future, perhaps for extended periods Early failures in both Soviet and American attempts to study Venus still enabled scientists to learn more about the planet Unmanned missions to Mars are the only type of exploration that scientists have undertaken of the red planet so far. Chapter 9, Lesson 1

Review Questions CPS Questions (5-6) Chapter 9, Lesson 1

Summary The spacecraft that have studied the Sun The unmanned exploration of the Moon The unmanned exploration of Venus The unmanned exploration of Mars Chapter 9, Lesson 1

Next… Done – Missions to the Sun, Moon, Venus and Mars Next – The Hubble Space Telescope and Missions to Comets and Outer Planets Chapter 9, Lesson 1 Courtesy of NASA