Dive In What is an advantage of sending unmanned crafts to space?

Dive In What is an advantage of sending unmanned crafts to space?

Manned and Robotic Spacecraft

For Each Space Vehicle, complete the worksheet including: 1. If the spacecraft is manned or unmanned. 2. An example of that type of craft 3. The purpose of the space craft.

Rover Spacecraft (Robotic) Electricallypowered rover spacecrafts are being designed and tested as part of the Mars exploration effort. The Mars Pathfinder project included a small, mobile system referred to as a micro-rover by the name of Sojourner. Sojouner Rover launched December 1996

While rovers are steerable from Earth, the delay inherent in radio communications between Earth and Mars means they must be able to make at least some decisions on their own as they move. Their purposes range from taking images and soil analyses to collecting samples for return to Earth.

Sojouner transmitted data collects data on the atmosphere and surface and also transmitted images that were taken by the rover's cameras. Arrival on Mars: 04 July 1997 Launch Vehicle: Delta II Mass: 264 kg (Lander), 10.5 kg (Rover) Power System: Solar panels This color image shows the Sojourner rover's Alpha Proton X-ray Spectrometer (APXS) deployed against the rock "Moe" on the morning of Sol 65.

Exit Slip What do lander space crafts study? Give an example of a lander.

Lander Spacecraft (Robotic) Pathfinder Lander on Mars July 1997 Lander spacecraft are designed to reach the surface of a planet and survive long enough to send data back to Earth. Examples have been the highly successful Soviet Venera landers which survived the harsh conditions of Venus while carrying out chemical analyses of the rocks and relaying color images.

Landers study the planet s atmosphere, interior, and soil

Flyby Spacecraft (Robotic) Flyby space craft conduct the initial scouting phase of solar system exploration. They follow a continuous solar orbit, never to be captured into a planetary orbit.

Stardust http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/orbits/stardust.h tml They must have the capability of using their instruments to observe targets they pass. They must downlink data to Earth, storing data onboard during the periods when their antennas are not able to point to earth. They must be able to survive long periods of interplanetary journey.

Communication &Navigation Spacecraft (Robotic) Communications and navigation spacecraft are abundant in Earth s orbit. Earth-orbiting communications spacecraft are used to transfer data among different sites. Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System

NASA missions supported by the system include the Hubble Telescope, the Space Shuttle and the I.S.S.

The TDRS-G satellite, ordered to replace the one lost aboard Challenger, was the last TDRSS satellite built by TRW and launched by the space shuttle. The next three will be built by Hughes Space and Communications and will be launched using unmanned Lockheed Martin Atlas 2A rockets. 100 Gps Satellite Coming in 2012 from Hughes

Atmospheric Spacecraft (Robotic) NASA's Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry, and Ranging spacecraft known as MESSENGER Atmospheric spacecraft are designed for a relatively short mission to collect data about the atmosphere of a planet or satellite. It does require an electric power supply, which may simply be batteries, and telecommunications equipment for tracking and communication with Earth.

NASA's MESSENGER Launched 08.03.04 - -- set to become the first spacecraft to orbit the planet Mercury. Has made 15 trips around the sun, gone past Earth in 2005, Venus in 2006 and 2007, and has been traveling towards Mercury since 2008. It is expected to enter Mercury s orbit in 2011.

SNOE standing for Student Nitric Oxide Spacecraft which will check for levels of Nitric Oxide in the lower thermosphere of Earth. Launched February 1998 by the University of Colorado Lab. for Atmospheric and Space Physics in conjunction with 2 other Universities. Atmospheric Spacecrafts scientific instruments may take direct measurements of an atmosphere s composition, temperature, pressure, density, cloud content and lightning.

Observatory Spacecraft (Robotic) An observatory spacecraft does not travel to a destination to explore it. Instead, it occupies an Earth orbit, from where it can observe distant targets free of the obscuring and blurring effects of Earth s atmosphere. They are sometimes put in orbit around the sun.

NASA s Great Observatories program studies the universe at wavelengths from infra-red to gammarays. The program includes four Observatory Spacecraft two of which are the familiar Hubble Space Telescope and the Chandra X-Ray Observatory. Ten years ago, on July 23, 1999, NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory was launched aboard the space shuttle Columbia and deployed into orbit. Chandra has doubled its original five-year mission, ushering in an unprecedented decade of discovery for the high-energy universe. With its unrivaled ability to create high-resolution X- ray images, Chandra has enabled astronomers to investigate phenomenon as diverse as comets, black holes, dark matter, and dark energy.

Explorer 1 Orbiter Spacecraft (Robotic) 1958 Orbiters are designed to travel to a distant planet and enter into orbit around it. They must carry a large amount of fuel in order to slow down at the right moment. They must be designed to withstand times when the planet shadows the spacecraft, cutting off any solar panels production of electrical power. Orbiter spacecraft are carrying out the second phase of solar system exploration with indepth study of each of the planets.

Galileo Our Prime example of the orbiter spacecraft category is Galileo which entered orbit about Jupiter in 1995 to carry out a highly successful study of the Jovian system 1989

The LRO & LCROSS missions, LRO stands for "Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter".

LRO is in orbit around the Moon. It is taking very detailed pictures of the Moon's surface. These pictures will be used to make a better new map of the Moon. That map will help scientists plan other Moon missions that are coming up in the next few years. LRO is also searching for signs of water ice near the Moon's North and South Poles. LRO is also studying radiation near the Moon. That will be important to know about when astronauts go back to the Moon.

Penetrator Spacecrafts (Robotic) LCROSS stands for Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite. LCROSS crashed into the Moon on purpose! It hit the Moon near the South Pole on October 9, 2009.

Launched- January 1999, Deep Space 2 Penetrator was to be slammed into Martian soil December 1999, but was never heard from. Surface penetrators have been designed for entering the surface of a body, such as a comet. They can survive an impact of hundreds of Gs. They are designed for measuring, and sending back information on the properties of the penetrated surface. Before LCROSS, no Penetrator space craft had been successfully operated.

Data from previous space missions have revealed trace amounts of water in lunar soil. The LCROSS mission seeks a definitive answer to the question of how much water is present. NASA has said it believes water on the moon could be a valuable resource in the agency's quest to explore the solar system. http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerindex?id=86 56146

(As of October 9, 2009) It will be awhile before all the data from the satellite can be analyzed to determine if there is water on the moon, according to LCROSS project manager Dan Andrews.

The International Space Station (ISS) (Manned) The ISS is a large space station that orbits Earth. There are astronauts and cosmonauts living onboard the ISS right now. Sixteen countries, including the U.S., are working together on the ISS.

The first piece of the ISS was launched in November 1998. There is about as much room inside the ISS as there is inside a couple of school busses. The ISS orbits 354 Km (220 miles) above Earth.

The first crew of astronauts and cosmonauts started living on the ISS in October 2000. The crews do experiments to learn how people and other creatures are affected by living in space. They also learn how to make things in space. The crews also spend time studying Earth and figuring out what equipment is best to use for long trips in space.

Space Shuttles (manned) In 1981, the space shuttle Columbia made the first developmental flight. Since that time, the shuttles have been used in over 100 missions to repair satellites, transport materials and supplies to other manned spacecraft such as Spacelab, conduct experiments and make repairs to other orbiting craft such as the Hubble Telescope.

In 2002, the space shuttle Endeavour carried a new crew and almost 3 tons of experiments and supplies, such as food, to the I.S.S. Endeavour also carried new parts for the station s robotic arm and two Mission Specialists who can fix and improve the arm.

Atlantis and Crew Prepare for Flight Atlantis and its crew will deliver two control moment gyroscopes, equipment and EXPRESS Logistics Carrier 1 and 2 to the International Space Station. The mission will feature three spacewalks. Atlantis also will return station crew member Nicole Stott to Earth and is slated to be the final space shuttle crew rotation flight. Atlantis will launch on the STS-129 mission at 2:28 p.m. EST Nov. 16.

The Next Generation of Rockets The Aires 1-X rocket launched last Wednesday October 28 th 2009, was three years in the making. It represented the first step in NASA's effort to return astronauts to the moon. The White House, though, is re-evaluating the human spaceflight program and may dump the Ares I in favor of another type of rocket and possibly another destination.

What s Next? The Whitbread group has bought an option to build on the moon for a Princely sum of 24. The land will subsequently cost a further 1m from Moon Estates (come on are you kidding me?) Apparently the group feel "it is now more feasible than ever to expect travel to and from the moon to become a common occurrence within the next 20-30 years." A Space Hotel?