unit 3 space exploration

mars curiosity rover

location: mars

objective: determine if mars ever had conditions suitable for life; study Gale Crater

perseverance rover

location: mars

objective: studying Mars geology, testing tech for human exploration, search for signs of microbial life

juno

location: jupiter

objective: study jupiter’s origin/evolution/structure/atmosphere

new horizons

location: interstellar space

objective: study pluto system; explore kuiper belt

voyager 1

location: interstellar space

objective: study jupiter, saturn (& titan); explore interstellar space

voyager 2

location: interstellar space

objective: explore jsun

artemis 1

location: moon (completed)

objective: test space launch system/orion spacecraft on uncrewed flight around moon & back

artemis 2

location: moon (scheduled)

objective: send 4 astronauts to test orion spacecraft with people on board for first time

chuck yeager

first person to break sound barrier in level flight

alan shepard

first american in space & walked on moon during apollo 14 mission

john glenn

first american to orbit the earth

ed white

performed first american space walk

neil armstrong

first human to walk on the moon

sally ride

first american woman in space

program: mercury

mission: orbit human spacecraft around earth; study an astronaut’s ability to function in space

program: gemini

mission: develop/test spaceflight techniques (long duration flights & spacewalking)

program: apollo

mission: land first human on the moon & return them safely to earth

mercury freedom 7

made alan shepard the first american in space

apollo 8

first crewed spacecraft to orbit the moon

apollo 11

first mission to land humans on moon

apollo 15

first to use lunar roving vehicle

apollo 17

final lunar landing mission of the apollo program

how many missions did america land on the moon successfully? types of equipment/actions of astronaut on moon?

• landed 6 times

• used lunar modules & rovers

• astronauts: explored surface, geology, deployed instruments, collected samples

on europa (jupiter’s moon) where could life possibly exist? evidence?

• europa’s subsurface salty ocean (near seafloor hydrothermal vents)

  • evidence: magnetic field data

attributions to earth’s habitability

• location in sun’s habitable zone

• protective atmosphere/magnetic field

• liquid water

• stable climate from moon/moderate temps

• plate tectonics recycling nutrients

drake equation & limitations

• estimates number of active, communicative extraterrestrial civilizations

• some values of variables unknown

fermi’s paradox & 3 possible answers

• contradiction between high probability of ET civilizations existing & the lack of any evidence/contact with them

1. we are alone (rare earth hypothesis)

2. they exist but are undetectable (distance/zoo hypothesis)

3. advanced civilizations self-destruct/stop expanding

why is it difficult to detect planets around other stars?

• extremely dim compared to their bright host stars

• physically small

• located vast distances away

when was the first confirmed exoplanet discovery?

1992

how many confirmed exoplanets?

6061

any exoplanets that have confirmed life?

none

what do we look for that could make an exoplanet habitable?

• liquid water

• habitable zone

• plate tectonics/geological activity

radial velocity

observing a star’s shift toward/away from earth caused by an orbiting planet’s gravitational tug

transit

watching for star’s light to dim slightly & periodically when a planet passes directly in front of it from our perspective

habitable zone

the orbital region around a star where a planet could have liquid water on its surface