Discoveries Of The Universe: Sana Zunnoon [fa05-bf-0014]

Discoveries of the Universe Sana Zunnoon [FA05-BF-0014]

M o o n

• In 1959, scientists began to explore the moon with robot spacecraft. In that year. • On July 20, 1969, the U.S. Apollo 11 lunar module landed on the moon in the first of six Apollo landings. Astronaut Neil A. Armstrong became the first human being to set foot on the moon. • In the 1990's, two U.S. robot space probes, Clementine and Lunar Prospector, detected evidence of frozen water at both of the moon's poles. • 1994, the United States sent the orbiter Clementine. From February to May of that year, Clementine's four cameras took more than 2 million pictures of the moon. • The U.S. probe Lunar Prospector orbited the moon from January 1998 to July 1999. • The SMART-1 spacecraft, launched by the European Space Agency in 2003, went into orbit around the moon in 2004.

A basalt rock that astronauts brought to Earth from the moon formed from lava that erupted from a lunar volcano. Escaping gases created the holes before the lava solidified into rock. Image credit: Lunar and Planetary Institute.

The vast majority of the moon's craters are formed by the impact of meteoroids, asteroids, and comets. Craters on the moon are named for famous scientists. The shape of craters varies with their size.

M e r c u r y

• The United States Mariner 10 became the first and only spacecraft to reach Mercury. • In 2004, the United States launched the Messenger probe to Mercury. Messenger was scheduled to fly by Mercury twice in 2008 and once in 2009 before going into orbit around the planet in 2011.

Mariner 10 is the only space probe that has visited the plant mercury.

V e n u s

M a r s

Life at Mars Mars might once have harbored life, and living things might exist there even today. The evidence included complex organic molecules, grains of a mineral called magnetite that can form within some kinds of bacteria, and tiny structures that resemble fossilized microbes. The scientists' conclusions are controversial, however. There is no general scientific agreement that Mars has ever harbored life.

A curved, rod like structure shown in the center has been referred to as a fossilized maritime creature. The structure is about 200 billionth of a meter long and is part of a maritime rock found on earth.

• The United States launched Mariner 4 to Mars in 1964 and Mariners 6 and 7 in 1969. • In 1971, Mariner 9 went into orbit around Mars. • Viking, launched by the United States in 1975. • In April 2001, the United States launched the Mars Odyssey probe. In 2002, the probe discovered vast amounts of water ice beneath the surface. • Current mission launch on Aug. 4, 2007, the Phoenix Mars Lander successfully landed on the north polar region of Mars. Its mission is to dig up and analyze icy soil.

Mars Global Surveyor studied the composition of the Martian surface, photographed the surface in detail, and measured its elevation. The space probe went into orbit around Mars in 1997. Image

NASA Spacecraft Detects Buried Glaciers on Mars 11.20.08 Orbiter has revealed

vast Martian glaciers of water ice under protective blankets of rocky debris at much lower latitudes than any ice previously identified on the Red Planet. This discovery is similar to massive ice glaciers that have been detected under rocky coverings in Antarctica.

J U P i T E r

Moons of Jupiter

Ganymede, a moon of Jupiter, has craters and cracks on its surface. Asteroids and comets that hit Ganymede made the craters. The cracks are due to expansion and contraction of the surface.

Callisto, a moon of Jupiter, is covered with craters produced when asteroids and comets struck its icy surface. Beneath the surface may be an ocean of salty liquid water. Image credit: NASA

The United States has sent six space probes to Jupiter: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Pioneer 10. Pioneer-Saturn. Voyager 1. Voyager 2. Ulysses. Galileo.

S a t u r

The dark side of Saturn's rings was photographed by Voyager 1 as it flew by the side opposite the sun. The dense B-ring -the reddishbrown band -appears dark because it blocks much of the sunlight. It is the brightest ring when viewed from earth. Image credit: JPL

Missions • In 1973, Pioneer-Saturn, the United States launched a space probe to study both Saturn. • 1977, the United States launched two space probes -Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 -to study Saturn. Voyager 1 flew within 78,000 miles of Saturn on Nov. 12, 1980. On Aug. 25, 1981, Voyager 2 flew within 63,000 miles of the planet. • In 1997, the United States launched the Cassini probe to study Saturn, its rings, and its satellites. The probe began orbiting Saturn in 2004.

N e p t u n e

In August 1989, the Voyager 2 spacecraft provided the first close-up views of Neptune and most of its moons. The spacecraft also discovered the planet's rings and six of its moons -Despina, Galatea, Larissa, Naiad, Proteus, and Thalassa.

Uranus

P l u t o

In 2006, the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) launched the New Horizons probe. The probe was expected to fly by Pluto in 2015.

Discoverie s of universe Hubble Resolves Puzzle About Loner Starburst Galaxy 11.20.08

Recent discoveries The galaxy is producing stars two times faster than first thought. The galaxy is forming stars at a rate more than 100 times higher than in the Milky Way. This high star-formation rate has been almost continuous for the past 100 million years.

Future mission •

In December 2008 there is one mission to be carried out.

•

There are 17 missions planned in 2009 and 4 missions in 2010.

Thank you!