Space Exploration

Question 1

Places we’ve landed

Answer 1

Mercury, Venus, Earth, the Moon, Mars, Saturn, the asteroid belt (ceres)

Question 2

James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)

Answer 2

• exoplanet imaging
• detects: water, asteroids, planets, etc.

Question 3

HabEx (2035)

Answer 3

• habitable exoplanet imaging
• NASA

Question 4

ExoMars Rover (2028)

Answer 4

“Rosalind Franklin”
- ESA - european space agency
- trace gas orbiter (2016)
- studying: clay deposits on old Mar’s terrains searching for CHNOPS

Question 5

ExoMars Kazachok (2024)

Answer 5

• Roscosmos
• temporality suspended (war)

Question 6

ExoMars Oxia Planum (2022)

Answer 6

• studying: clay deposits on old Mar’s terrains searching for CHNOPS
• young volcanic units

Question 7

NASA Mars Perseverance (2020)

Answer 7

• studies geological and climate history of Mars
• 48 flights

Question 8

ExoMars Missions

Answer 8

Drill 2 meters down
- richer in organic material at this depth
- better preserved due to decreased radiation destruction

Question 9

NASA Mars Jezero Crater (2020)

Answer 9

• ancient Noachian clay rich deposits

Question 10

NASA Mars Engineering (2020)

Answer 10

• rovers constructed without bio-contamination
• terrain relative navigation (TRN) - adjusts during descent for landing
• solar powered lander and rovers

SHERLOC - studies degrading of spacesuit material

Question 11

Mars Sample Return (2020)

Answer 11

• limit of high value samples

SHERLOC
- scanning habitable environments w/Raman and luminescence for organics and chemicals
- finding organic molecules - not life

Question 12

Astronauts

Answer 12

Project Mercury
- 20 unmanned developmental flights
- 6 successful astronaut flights

Project Gemini
- developed space travel techniques

Project Apollo (1969-1972)
- first humans on moond

TODAY:
- ISS 2000-Present

Question 13

Dangers of Human Space Travel

Answer 13

Radiation, Weightlessness, Vacuum, Psychological

Question 14

Weightlessness

Answer 14

• humans adapted to gravity
• fluids redistributed to upper half of body
• motion sickness
• bone and muscle loss
• vision loss

Question 15

Vacuum

Answer 15

• Hypoxia - gas removed from blood stream
• Ebullism - gas forms in fluids
• human body expands (x2)

Question 16

Psychological

Answer 16

• separated from social groups

Question 17

Pros and Cons of Robots and Exploration

Answer 17

• Pros: reliable, instruments, no need for human sustaining supplies
• Cons: slow, limited by environment/design

Question 18

Ethics

Answer 18

• costly, commercial, environmental ethics

Question 19

Venera Probe-13

Answer 19

• Exploration of Venus
• studied: basaltic geochemistry, Fe/Mg ratios

Question 20

Mars Insight Lander

Answer 20

Revealed liquid core

Question 21

Radio-Wave Sent into Space

Answer 21

1974
- toward star cluster about 25,000 light years away

Question 22

110 different organic compounds have been detected in space

Answer 22

• CHNOPS

Question 23

NASA Viking Mission - 1976

Answer 23

• 2 orbiters, 2 landers
• 6 years of collecting data
• Mars history of water
• atmosphere and soil composition
• searching for microbial life
• 1st Astrobio mission

Question 24

NASA Phoenix Lander (2008)

Answer 24

• robotic arm
• ice analysis for life
• mission failed

Question 25

NASA Curiosity

Answer 25

• found CHNOPS in soil

Question 26

ESA Huygens Lander

Answer 26

Titan

Question 27

NASA Dragonfly (2027)

Answer 27

Titan