...1. Why has NASA sent recent orbiters to Mars (such as Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter) on trajectories that required them to skim through Mars's atmosphere before settling into their final orbits? | | It saves money because the spacecraft uses atmospheric drag to slow down rather than needing to carry enough fuel to slow by firing rocket engines. | | | Each spacecraft also carried a lander, and the lander could only be dropped to the Martian surface when the spacecraft passed through the atmosphere. | | | It allowed the spacecraft to collect samples of the atmospheric gas for return to Earth. | | | It allowed the orbiters to get higher resolution pictures of the surface as it came close when skimming through the atmosphere. | 2 points QUESTION 2 1. Why was it advantageous for the Voyager mission to consist of flybys rather than orbiters? | | It was easier for data to be radioed back to Earth with flybys than orbiters. | | | Each individual spacecraft was able to visit more than one planet. | | | Spacecraft making flybys can return to Earth more quickly than orbiters. | | | Flyby spacecraft can get closer to a planet than an orbiting spacecraft. | 2 points QUESTION 3 1. Which of the following statements about the recently-discovered object Eris is not true? | | It orbits the Sun in the same direction as the other planets. | | | It lies well beyond Pluto and Neptune. | | | It is thought to be the first example...
Words: 827 - Pages: 4
...Tim Jones Rita Kiry Composition 6/23/2015 Race to Mars The race to Mars has many competitors and is a long way from being a reality, but there are many technological advancements being made to get to Mars. The list of companies range from large known aerospace companies to small aerospace companies that have been around for only a short time to nonprofit companies that only want to manage the trip. Even though there is many companies striving to be the first to put a man on mars. They all will have the same hurdles to jump and space to travel through to get there. Mars has always been a wonderment to mankind. Human eyes have looked in its direction since nearly the 17th century, but it wasn’t till 1965 that a satellite was close enough to get decent pictures of its surface. The only thing those pictures did was raise more questions than answers (Lockheed Martin). The only thing left to do was to put something or someone on its surface. Lockheed Martin built the first orbiter that took pictures as well as the first two landers to touch the surface of Mars. Lockheed participated in the Mars Odyssey mission by building the orbiter in which the mission was named. The Odyssey later became the main means of communication for NASA to the rovers on the surface of Mars. Lockheed has no plans to quit being in the cutting edge of sending satellites to Mars. NASA started the race to Mars with the launch of Mariner 3 on November 5, 196 which was the first flyby spacecraft...
Words: 1578 - Pages: 7
...1. Theme – Understanding the environment of Mars Abstract Recent success of 'Mangalyan' (Mars Orbitor Mission) has made all of us proud of our scientists and engineers. The study of Mars' environment will help us in understanding more about our own environment. This text gives inputs on environment of Mars which can be correlated to the concepts learned by the students in class IX Science. The students are not supposed to memorize the facts and figures mentioned in the text, rather study the facts and figures with the above objectives in mind. Fig. 1: Mars Orbiter Mission Spacecraft getting in to Large Space Simulation Chamber for Testing Mars Orbiter Mission (M.O.M) Mars tugs at the human imagination like no other planet. The conditions in Mars are believed to be hospitable since the planet is similar to earth in many ways. Mars and Earth have almost equal period of revolution around the axis. Mars takes 24 hours and 37 minutes to complete equal period of revolution around the axis. While Earth takes approximately 365 days to orbit round the Sun, Mars takes 687 days for an orbit around the Sun. The gravity of Mars is roughly one-third to Earth’s gravity and it has a thin atmosphere with a pressure of 1% that of Earth. The atmosphere, water, ice and geology interact with each other to produce dynamic Martian environment as in Earth. Mars has surface features reminiscent of both the impact craters of the Moon, volcanoes, deserts and 1 polar ice of Earth. It inspires...
Words: 2190 - Pages: 9
... (more info from NASA Spacelink) Mariner 3 launched on November 5, 1964, was lost when its protective shroud failed to eject as the craft was placed into interplanetary space. Unable to collect the Sun's energy for power from its solar panels, the probe soon died when its batteries ran out and is now in solar orbit. It was intended for a Mars flyby with Mariner 4. Mariner 4 the sister probe to Mariner 3, did reach Mars in 1965 and took the first close-up images of the Martian surface (22 in all) as it flew by the planet. The probe found a cratered world with an atmosphere much thinner than previously thought. Many scientists concluded from this preliminary scan that Mars was a "dead" world in both the geological and biological sense. Mariner 9 Mariner 9, the sister probe to Mariner 8 which failed on launch, became the first craft to orbit Mars in 1971. It returned information on the Red Planet that no other probe had done before, revealing huge volcanoes on the Martian surface, as well as giant canyon systems, and evidence that water once flowed across the planet. The probe also took the first detailed closeup images of Mars' two small moons, Phobos and Deimos. Apollo 6 manned landings on the Moon and sample returns 1969-72. (The seventh landing,...
Words: 3562 - Pages: 15
...Unit 2 Assignment 2: New Technology in my Field-Research and Essay Nanobots on Mars Nanorobotics on Mars Ryan Robert Smith ITT Technical School Abstract Putting such large equipment on other planets is not altogether as we know the Mars rover Curiosity has made some amazing finds in its short time on the Martian surface, suggesting that Mars was once a wet and fertile planet. Although these findings still in their infancy and not fully substantiated it still gives us time for pause wonder and awe. However one of the main issues with Curiosity is its size. About the size of an SUV which requires more than a million pounds of fuel at an enormous cost to get to the red planet. Limiting its range and over all likelihood to be practical. With curiosity carrying around 165 pounds of research equipment to go even farther would be exponentially expensive. With nanobot technologies not only can we save on costs concerning such explorations, you can also save on logistics. We can send not one or tens or hundreds or even thousands but tens of thousands if not more nanobots out into the solar system at a much more reasonable cost and too many locations. The first nabobs could arrive on mars as a cloud of “smart dust” each one about one-one-billionth of the size of Curiosity. From a drop capsule these sand grain sized robots dropped from an orbiting spacecraft studying or merely passing by the Martian planet dropping them to ride Mars’s lower gravity (about 38% less than Earths)...
Words: 559 - Pages: 3
...probably a little late on this but this is frugality at its best. Indians were always characterised as price sensitive and big savers. If that means putting an object into mars orbit with a budget lesser than that of a Hollywood movie, then so be it. #MOM #ISRO #Mangalyaan A great success.Congratulations to all Indians . Hats off to ISRO . This will surely motivate Students to go for speace research . Loved this tweet of Mangalayaan > ISRO's mars orbiter : "Howdy @MarsCuriosity?keep in touch.I'll be aroun In a tragic incident, a young man was killed by a white tiger at the Delhi Zoo after he fell into the enclosure while trying to take a photo. SPORTS TRENDING: * Roger Federer to lead the Indian Aces in the inaugural IPTL. Read more:http://iexp.in/uWQ113924 #Tennis * Abhinav Bindra ends career with two medals at #AsianGames2014 Read more: http://iexp.in/tGs113925 * Kolkata Knight Riders team is more like a family says bowling coachWasim Akram Home Page Read more: http://iexp.in/OwD113928.cltwenty20 #KKR BREAKING NEWS: Supreme Court quashes allocation of 214 coal blocks out of 218 allotted since 1993. All coal blocks cancelled, except Govt run non-JV allotments. The prosperity of Gujarati Muslims has made them vulnerable to the attacks of rioters and added to their misery. Muslims in Gujarat and West Bengal - http://bit.ly/1CgkbMc India Community Digest Hearty congrats to ISRO scientists and everyone involved in the Mangalyaan mission. It has successfully...
Words: 343 - Pages: 2
...In the late 20th century, we began to explore Mars. These studies were not conducted through a telescope, but the much more advanced technology of interplanetary probes. In 1964, lead by multiple prior failures, two unmanned missions to Mars, the Mariner 3 and 4, were launched. The Mariner 3, was a battery-powered spacecraft designed to make scientific measurements of, and to obtain photographs of the planet's surface and transmit these to Earth. The mission was predicted to last about 8 months. Unfortunately, as the probe was launched, its atmospheric shield had failed to eject, leaving all of the sensors and instruments covered. This also left unnecessary weight with the probe, not allowing it to achieve its target trajectory. Three weeks later, the second probe, Mariner 4 was launched on its eight-month voyage to Mars. Unlike the first mission this one was successful, completing the very first flyby of Mars in history, and changing...
Words: 473 - Pages: 2
...Mars Exploration Rover and Kepler Space Telescope May Prove Existence of Extraterrestrial Life On September 28, NASA’s mars exploration rover, Opportunity, made a ground-breaking discovery, finding evidence of water on Mars. The rover found small spheres of the minerals hematite and jarosite. On earth, hematite generally forms from water, and jarosite in the presence of water. Opportunity also captured images of layers on rocks, generally formed by water erosion. Evidence of water on the Red Planet had been previously discovered by a former University of Arizona student Lujendra Ojha in 2010. When examining high resolution images of the Mars sent the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, steaks could be seen on the surface of the planet. The streaks, called Recurring Slope Lineae, were more prominent during summer months on mars, then faded during the winter season. During examination of the images sent from the orbiter, they found evidence of hydrated salts, which contain water molecules within them. Water is a vital part of the existence of life, so with the discovery or water on Mars, scientists are optimistic that there is a possibility of life on the planet. Alfred McEwen, a...
Words: 509 - Pages: 3
...ar Mars By: Amanda Baker The discovery of Mars is not credited to a single individual, but rather a multitude of astronomers and observers that range from the early Egyptians to the Babylonians, Greeks, and Danish. In the earliest days of Mars observation, all that was known about it was that it appeared to be a fiery red and followed a strange loop in the sky, unlike any other. “The Babylonians studied astronomy as early as 400 BC, and developed advanced methods for predicting astronomical events such as eclipses. They made careful observations for their calendars and religious reasons, but never attempted to explain the phenomena they witnessed. The Babylonians called Mars Nergal - the great hero, the king of conflicts. The Egyptians were the first to notice that the stars seem "fixed" and that the sun moves relative to the stars. They also noticed five bight objects in the sky (Mercury, Mars, Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn) that seemed to move in a similar manner. They called Mars Har Decher - the Red One. Greeks called the planet Ares after their god of war, while the Romans called it Mars. Its sign is thought to be the shield and sword of Mars” (NASA, 2015). Mars is the fourth planet from the sun and referred to as the god of War. The planet probably got this name due to its red color; Mars is sometimes referred to as the Red Planet. Mars has been known since prehistoric times, and of course, it has been extensively studied with ground-based observatories. But even very...
Words: 3110 - Pages: 13
...MERCURY Mercury is the first planet from the sun and the smallest planet at the moment. Its revolution period is 88 earth days and its ration time is 59 days. Mercury is made up of core-iron-nickel alloy, mantle, and then the crust which is silicate. During the day mercury’s temperature reaches 800°F and at night it goes down to -279°F. Mercury looks similar to earth’s moon; it is covered with craters which are made from meteors, asteroids, and comets and it covers 70% of mercury. Its diameter is 3,031 miles, its mass is 5% of earth’s mass, and the sun is 6.3 times brighter. Mercury was named by the Greeks, after the messenger of their g-d. Mariner 10 visited mercury, it mapped 45% of it, and it was the only one which visited more than one planet during its mission. It went up from Cape Canaveral, Florida on November, 1973 and went to Venus in February of 1974. Never attempt to observe Mercury or anything close to the sun with a naked eye because it can cause permanent damage. And with binoculars or telescope it is even more dangerous. VENUS Venus is the second planet from the sun it is called the evening star because it can be seen by sunset and also by sunrise. Venus is made up of molten metal core, mantle, and crust of various rocks and 98% of carbon dioxide with traces of nitrogen and other gases. It is the only planet that the day is longer then it’s year, it’s year is 225 earth days, and its day is 243 earth days. Venus is known as earth’s...
Words: 699 - Pages: 3
...than Earth in many ways when it comes to the soil and the plate tectonics. Red soil. Mars is called the red planet for a reason. The soil on Mars is rich in magnetic iron oxides which is rust. Scientists took a soil sample that mimics that of Mars and tested it to see if it would rust the way it looks like on Mars. The iron was unchanged after a year in a dry atmosphere and finally changed when the sample was put in a wet atmosphere. (R., 2005) Canyons. The martian canyons are huge compared to the ones seen on Earth. Scientist suggest that there had to have been a continual flow of water to erode the rock and form the deep and long canyons. Valles Marineris is a canyon near Olympus Mons. The canyon is 2500 miles long and 7 miles deep. (Cowen, 1998) Volcanoes. Mars is home to the largest volcano in the solar system, Olympus Mons. Olympus Mons is extinct and stands 16 miles (25 kilometers) and has a caldera that is 50 miles (80 kilometers) wide. Nearby are three smaller volcanoes that are also extinct. These volcanoes are near the canyon, Valles Marineris. From Mars no longer generating heat...
Words: 947 - Pages: 4
...Streaks of Water on Mars For decades, the possibility of life on Mars has been a major question left unanswered, but NASA's recent discovery of water on Mars has bought us one step closer towards the answer. Such evidence of the water’s existence in Mars was strongly supported by the new findings from NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) by allowing researchers to analyze the hydrated minerals located in streaks seen on the planet. These streaks are known as recurring slope lineae (RSL), and researchers realized that the hydrated salts play a role in the appearance of the RSL. Like salt used on the roads during snow storms, hydrated salts lower the freezing point of the liquid brines thus forming a shallow subsurface flow. Furthermore, the darkening of the RSL are caused by water wicking towards the surface. However, the hydrated salts do not obviously appear throughout the seasons of Mars....
Words: 466 - Pages: 2
...What form does the evidence take and where is it found. Discuss the controversies relating to some of this evidence and give your conclusion on the earliest date at which we can be confident that life was present on Earth. 3. Atmosphere Evolution on Rocky Planets Compare evolution of atmosphere on Earth, Venus and Mars, and explain differences in current atmospheric conditions on these planets. Describe how the Earth’s atmosphere helped life to originate, survive and develop, and how has life affected the atmosphere over time. 4. Life in Extreme Conditions Explain what extremophile life forms are and where they are found on Earth. In view of what we have learnt about extremophiles discuss the possibility of extraterrestrial life in different places of our Solar system. 5. Key Space Missions Choose ONE of the following space missions and give an account of the mission describing the challenges it had to overcome and the mission’s achievements. Describe in particular how it has influenced our understanding of the possibilities of past or present life in the solar system. o The Viking dual orbiter/lander mission to Mars. o The Galileo orbiter/probe...
Words: 1029 - Pages: 5
...Abstract .................................................................................................................................................. 2 I. Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 3 II. Mars Odyssey Overview and Missions ................................................................................................. 3 III. Launch Vehicles .................................................................................................................................. 4 IV. Aerobraking........................................................................................................................................ 5 V. Instruments ......................................................................................................................................... 6 1. Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) ................................................................................ 6 2. Gamma Ray Spectrometer (GRS) .................................................................................................. 7 3. The Mars Radiation Environment Experiment (MARIE) ................................................................. 7 VI. Results ............................................................................................................................................... 8 VII. Legacy .......................................
Words: 2985 - Pages: 12
...Mars and its Future. On November 28, 1964, the Mariner 4 spacecraft was launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. After 7 ½ months of flight, Mariner 4 reached the surface of mars and took the first pictures of the Martian planet. Since then we have launched more than 40 spacecrafts to mars, from orbiters that fly by the atmosphere to landers that have been on the surface of Mars (“10 things to know about mars”) . Today we still continue to progressively learn and to explore the famous red planet. Mars is the same age as Earth. The whole solar system and everything in it was formed the same time, about 4.56 billion years ago. One of the greatest scientific questions is if there's life on Mars. Since scientists know that Earth and Mars both experienced similar weather conditions in early history, and life eventually happened on Earth. Therefore life may have begun on Mars too. The big question is if life did start their, then how did it die out? Maybe there is still life on Mars, and it’s buried underground where conditions may be less hostile. The only way to answers all these questions is to explore Mars. Scientist call comparisons between Earth and Mars analogs. Scientists say that even though, the two planets are mostly different when it comes to the atmosphere, temperature, size, and the geologic processes on the two planets. Surprisingly there are similarities between the two planets, also. An example is, on Mars there are volcanoes, channels...
Words: 3174 - Pages: 13
