READING

I. Read the blog article and complete sentences 1–5 with one to three words in each gap.

Drones in Space
The last few years have seen massive developments in drone technology and drones have become a familiar part
of our lives. People use them in climate monitoring, rescue, and amateur photography. When you think about it,
space exploration seems a logical next step! In fact, NASA and other space agencies have already started to develop
drones for this purpose.
Special challenges
Conditions on other planets are very different to those on Earth. With no atmosphere around other planets, it is very
important to decide on the correct weight of the flying drones. If they are too heavy, they won’t be able to get into the
air; if they are too light they will be difficult to control. Drones won’t have the usual rotor blades which they currently
have. Instead, technicians have been experimenting with models that use gas or water jets to get into the air and fly
around.
NASA admits that controlling the drones will also be difficult because the remote control devices some of us are
familiar with won’t work in space. Instead, scientists plan to program the drones so that they can collect information
on their own. Scientists have also been developing lightweight solar batteries so that drones can use this source of
energy when sunlight is available.
In other ways, the drones will look like the ones we know: they will be about the same size and shape. There will be
a camera underneath, pointing downwards to take pictures of the surface. One day a drone might take a picture of
something nobody has ever seen.
A range of applications
As humans explore solar system and galaxies beyond, there are many ways drones can help. During such
exploration, safety is one of the most important things for space agencies to think about. Astronauts will need to train
a lot so they can learn to avoid getting into danger on the surfaces of planets and asteroids. Drones could be used
to identify the most extreme conditions by collecting information about the air, temperature, pressure and other
factors. They could also identify the safest ways to move around. At the same time as this, drones can also find
possible locations to build. Imagine living on Mars! There are already plans to establish colonies there after 2020!

1 Because only Earth has an atmosphere, space agencies need to choose the best
________________________ for drones.
2 Space drones will lack the ________________________ that they have at the moment.
3 NASA says there are challenges using drones in space because you can’t use
________________________.
4 The cameras on space drones will be directed ________________________ as they take images.
5 Space drones collect data about different conditions, but they could identify
________________________ to travel through space.

6 Scientists are planning to use ________________________ as power source for the batteries in drones on
other planets.

II. Read the blog article again and decide whether the sentences are true (T) or false (F).

1. Drones are already used for many purposes.

2. According to the blog post, space agencies haven’t developed any drones for
space exploration yet.
3. Conditions on different planets are not the same.
4. Scientists plan to program the drones so that they can work without the people’s
control from the Earth.
5. The drones will look very different.
6. The most important thing for space agencies to think about is to find possible
locations to build.