Science 9

Space Exploration Unit Review

1.1 Early Views About the Cosmos

 Fascination with space and celestial events has been watched in wonder for thousands of years.
 This desire to explain the “______________” has fuelled the human imagination , marked the
passage of time and foretold the changes in seasons
 Early knowledge was passed from generation to generation and from culture to culture, often as
legend and folklore
Medicine Circles
 constructed by ______________________________________________________.
 Key rocks aligned with the bright stars that rose in the dawn

Geocentric Model
 About 2000 years ago the Greek philosopher, ______________ proposed that the Earth is the
____________ of the universe and other objects go around it
 Aristotle hypothesized that distant stars were attached to the celestial sphere where they stayed
put and that is why they did not move.

Heliocentric Model
 In 1530, _________________________________ proposed that the sun
was at the _________________ of the universe
 His Heliocentric model was one in which the Earth and planets revolved
around a stationary Sun at the center of the universe

 In the 1600’s _________________________ used a

__________________to observe planets that were clearly moving around
the sun
 _________________________ used detailed observation on the
movement of planets to realize that the orbits of planets were not actually circular but
________________________. This would be the framework for our current model
Equinox
 At equinox – equal night and day
 March 20/21 and September 22/23 each year.

Solstice
 Happens twice each year, when the tilt of the
Earth's axis is most inclined toward or away
from the Sun, causing the Sun's apparent
position in the sky to reach its northernmost or
southernmost extreme.

1.2 Discovery Through Technology

Astronomer’s Tool
 Technological advances have enabled a greater understanding of our place in the
solar system.
 For example: Quadrant, Astrolabe, Cross-staff, Telescopes

Space – Distance & Time

 Astronomical Units
o Used to measure w/in our solar system
o 1 AU = center of Earth to center of Sun (≈ 1.5 x 108 km)
 Light Years
o Used to measure distance o/s our solar system
o light travels at 3.00 x 108 m/s
o 1 light-year ≈ 9.5 x 10 12 km (trillion)

1.3 Distribution of Matter in Space

Our Sun

 The sun is a _______________________________, Class II yellow star

 Comprises ≈ 99% of the mass of the solar system
 H fusion reactions

Life of a Star

 Birth of stars occurs in _____________________.

o Gravitational attraction build a core to form a _________________________.
 Death of a star occurs as _______ begins to run out
 o _____________________ or _________________ – expansion of outer layers
o White dwarf – ________________ stops
o Black dwarf – dead star
 Death of massive stars lead to supernova explosions -> neutron star -> black hole
Star Groups

 Constellations
o 88 recognized star patterns
 Asterisms
o Unofficial star patterns

1.4 Our Solar Neighbourhood

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY

Protoplanet Hypothesis
 aka ________________________ .
 Three steps
o Swirling cloud of dust and gas
o 90% +/- accumulates forming a sun (star)
o Remaining material forms planets

Sun Composition
 Made up of mostly H and He
 Dense core
 Corona

Sun Spots
 intense magnetic activity that causes reduced temperatures
Solar Flare
 a large explosion in the Sun’s atmosphere

Solar Wind
 The Sun emits charged particles at 400 km/s
 Earth’s magnetic field deflects the particles

Planets
 Two types of planets named for location & composition

 __________________ (inner) planets

• smaller & rockier
• Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars

 ____________ (outer) planets

• large & gaseous
• Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune

Asteroids
 Small, rocky, metallic bodies traveling in space between Mars & Jupiter

Comets
 “dirty snowballs”
 orbit the Sun

Meteoroids, Meteors, Meteorites

 Meteoroids – _________________________________________________________________.
 Meteors – _____________________________________________.
 Meteorites – _____________________________________.
Eclipse
 solar & lunar

1.5 Position of Objects in Space

 Two references are required to locate stellar objects
o _____________: "which compass direction it can be found in the sky."
 compass direction
 0o = N (clockwise from N)

o ________________:
"h ow far above the horizon
the object is"
  0o = horizon
 Maximum altitude = 90o
 ________________ = highest point overhead (ie straight up)

Motion
 Stars stay relatively __________________ while planets move a varying speeds

 This perplexed early naked eye astronomers

 Because planets follow an ______________________ orbit they appear
to travel at different speeds at different times

2.1 Technologies for Space Transport

Satellites
 used for communication, navigation, research & weather forecasting

Robotic Probes
 launched September 5, 1977 Voyager 1 is the farthest human-made object from Earth, 106.26 AU

International Space Station

 Launched Nov 1998 expected to remain in operation until at least 2015, and likely 2020

Rocket Science- History

 steam propellant – Greeks
 gunpowder - Chinese
 Sputnik- first satellite Oct 4 1957 launched by Russia
 Laika (dog) – first living thing in space
 Newton’s 3rd Law – For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

Three Parts of a Rocket

 machinery – parts of the rocket
  fuel – various propellants
 payload – crew and other materials

Alternative Propellants
 Ion Drives – long lasting low force drives using accelerated charged particles
 Solar Sails – will use photons emitted by the sun to allow long distance travel

Space Shuttles
Engines
 Solid Rocket Booster - SRBs are solid rockets that provide most of the main force or thrust (71
percent) needed to lift the space shuttle off the launch pad. Each SRB has the following;
 solid propellant
• fuel - atomized aluminum (16 percent)
• oxidizers - ammonium perchlorate (70 percent)
• catalyst - iron oxide powder (0.2 percent)
 Because the SRBs are solid rocket engines, once they are ignited, they cannot be shut down.
 they are the last component to light at launch.
 thrust = 2.65 million lb (11.7 million N)
 recovery systems
• parachutes (drogue, main)
• floatation devices
• signaling devices

 Main Engines – fuel = oxygen + hydrogen (external tank)

Orbital Manoeuvring System Engines

 one on either side of the tail
 These engines place the shuttle into final orbit, change the shuttle's position from one orbit to
another, and slow the shuttle down for re-entry.

2.2 Living in Space

 Hazards of living in space:
 _______________________ – no air/water; cosmic rays; radiation; temperature
extremes (120o - - 160o C); absence of pressure
 _________________________ – claustrophobia; inter-relational problems
 ____________________________ – microgravity; atrophy of muscles; “boiling” blood
(N2 & other fluids)
Space Suit
 Without protection in space:
 you would become unconscious within 15 seconds because there is no oxygen.
 your blood and body fluids would "boil" and then freeze because there is little or no air
pressure.
 your tissues (skin, heart, other internal organs) would expand because of the boiling
fluids.
 you would face extreme changes in temperature: 120 o C - -100 o C
 you would be exposed to various types of radiation, such as cosmic rays, and charged
particles emitted from the sun (solar wind).
 you could be hit by small particles of dust or rock that move at high speeds
(micrometeoroids) or orbiting debris from satellites or spacecraft.

Clean Water
 Without recycling 40,000 lb/y of water from Earth would be required to supply a minimum of
four crewmembers for the life of the station. (Not even research animals are excused from the
program.)
 It might sound disgusting, but water leaving the space station's purification machines will be
cleaner than what most of us drink on Earth - much cleaner than anything you'll ever get out of
any tap.

3 Steps to Clean Water

 a filter that removes particles and debris
 multi-filtration beds that remove organic and inorganic impurities
 the "catalytic oxidation reactor" removes volatile organic compounds and kills bacteria and
viruses

Power
 electrical power allows the crew to live comfortably, to safely operate the station, and to
perform scientific experiments.
 relies solar arrays and on nickel-hydrogen rechargeable batteries during the "eclipse" part of
the orbit

2.3 Space Technology on Earth

Satellites
 Communication
 Observation & Research (earthcam)
 Remote Sensing
 GPS
3.0 Optical Telescopes, Radio Telescopes & Other Technologies
3.1 Seeing the Visible

Optical Telescopes
 Refracting telescope – uses two lenses
 Reflecting telescope – uses mirrors
 segmented mirror telescope – uses smaller mirrors to make one large mirror
 interferometry – using multiple telescopes to gain clarity

Hubble Space Telescope

 in use for the last 16 years this reflecting telescope orbits the earth giving unobstructed views of
space

3.2 Seeing Beyond the Visible

 Properties of EMR
 wavelength (λ); frequency ( f ); speed (c)
 high f and short λ -> high energy

Radio Telescopes- Detecting EMR

 a directional radio antenna
 radio observatories are often placed in valleys to
shield them from EMI as opposed to clear air
mountain tops for optical observatories

Radio Interferometry
 Using multiple telescopes arranged in an array to increase performance and accuracy of the
radio images

3.3 Using Technology

Measuring Distance
 Triangulation:
 scale drawings can be used to estimate distance
 Percent Error Calculations
 Parallax – apparent shift in position of an object when viewed from two
different positions
 used to determine angles for triangulation calculations

Composition of Stars
 Using a spectroscope scientists can determine the chemical composition of a
star by observing its absorption spectra
Motion of Stars
 Doppler Effect – compression or rarefaction of waves due to
movement of the source result in a change of pitch
 Red shift indicates an expanding universe

4.0 Society & the environment are affected by space

exploration & technologies
4.1 Risks & Dangers
 Lives lost in Space Exploration
 Space Junk- Debris and abandoned equipment orbiting the Earth create significant hazards to
space travel

4.2 Canadian Contributions

 Canada has made major contributions to space exploration:

 Alouette 1 1962
 Apollo 11 landing gear 1969
 Launch of the first telecommunications satellite, Anik 1 1972
 Canadarm 1 1981
 First Canadian Astronaut in Space- Marc Garneau  1984
 First Canadian female astronaut in Space- Roberta Bondar 1992
 Ramp for Mars Pathfinder mission  1997
 Canadarm 2 2001
4.3 Issues- Political, Ethical & Environmental
Pros & Cons of Space Travel
 Should we be spending $750 million –> 1.3 billion/flight
 The space shuttle program has cost $145 billion (2005)

Political Issues
 Who owns space?
 Who can use space resources?
 What laws should govern space?

Ethical Issues
 Should we be spending $750 million –> 1.3 billion/flight
 The space shuttle program has cost $145 billion (2005)
 Military use of space
Environmental Issues
 Who should clean up space junk?
 How can we protect space from the human tendency to pollute?