"EverySpace Magazine International - #2"

“EverySpace Magazine International� - #2 November 18, 2012 Free online distribution ISBN: 9788897004264

Magazine

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EverySpace S.r.l.

International

November 2012 - Free Online Distribution

ESMI- #2

“EverySpace Magazine International” - Issue 2 International edition of “EverySpace Magazine” - #2 Online publication date : November 18, 2012 Online Publication Responsible: Issuu Creator of “EverySpace Magazine” ‘s project: Simone La Torre Editor in Chief and Senior Director: Michele Caruso Company responsible of this project: EverySpace S.r.l.

President: Simone La Torre General Manager: Mattia Stipa Website: www.everyspacedivision.com ***** Supplement to information and culture newspaper “Vento Nuovo” Rome’s Court Registration n. 43 on 24.02.2010 Published on occasional cadence. ***** All of “EverySpace Magazine” and “EverySpace Magazine International” authors and contributors give their own contribution freely, accepting every responsibility in any case of copyright dispute and intellectual property used in their articles.

“EverySpace Magazine” Editorial unit gives its disposal to the party entitled, in those cases where it wasn’t possible to date back the holders of intellectual properties of topics, citations or images used in this number. ***** Advertising on this page is subject to fee. ***** Editorial supervision, graphics, layout, and quality technical assurance by EverySpace S.r.l “EverySpace Magazine” is an exclusive project of EverySpace S.r.l.

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ESMI- #2 Agenda

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What a great success!

by M. Stipa

Natural and artificial satellites.

by P. Romano

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A slalom between galaxies.

Full speed ahead!

by M. Caruso

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The world will not end in 2012.

by S. La Torre

How do planes fly?

by M. Flaccovio

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The Higgs boson.

by A. Pizzoferrato

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Lunar phases.

by A. Marotta

Smart materials.

by F. Capece

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Extra: “Space People�: K. E. Tsiolkovsky

by D. De Angelis

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Contact us!

Picture of the Sun at dawn.

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uccess!

What a great s My dearest friends, it is a great honor for me to introduce you to the second issue of “EverySpace Magazine International”.

When my friend Simone La Torre suggested to me to create a free magazine, written by university students, capable of discussing complex issues in a simple and easy way, I accepted. The idea of creating “EverySpace Magazine” has always appealed to me, but has also risen some doubts: “Are we going to be able to create something really interesting? Will we find the right topics to make readers passionate?”

Today, I can happily state that my doubts were totally groundless. The magazine’s first number has achieved hundreds of thousands views and brought us lots of compliments.

Thus, I would like to use this space to thank all you readers, but also all our staff members, who made this all possible thanks to their effort, enthusiasm and passion they committed themselves for this project.

Now things are really getting interesting. Such success leads us to go beyond what already done. We are positive, though, that the second number will entertain and involve you even more than the first one. I truly hope that reading “EverySpace Magazine” will be thought-provoking and encourage you to invest into your yourselves and your ideas.

At this point I can only suggest you to read the first page and deeply immerse yourselves in this new number.

Mattia Stipa General Director and Co-Founder of EverySpace S.r.l.

“EverySpace Magazine”,

Space, Simply!

Like us on facebook: www.facebook.com/EverySpaceMagazine

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Artistic representation of a picture of the Earth.

A slalom between galaxies. Full speed ahead!

by Michele Caruso “EverySpace Magazine” 's Editor in Chief and Senior Director.

ESM - #2

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Since when I decided, with great pleasure and honor, to accept the management of “EverySpace Magazine” I had the feeling that it was the result of a brilliant journalistic idea: to transform a group of university students into proactive communicators of Science.

And now that we have come to the second issue, the extraordinary amount of people and supporters reached in a very short lapse of time, convinces me to believe in the grounding of my primordial feeling.

To approach young people to Science and to make them travel throughout the Universe: it’s here, firstly, the Bergsonian elan vital, the Archimedean point, the driving power that moves the hyper-galactic mechanisms of this magazine, one of a kind.

“The Earth – claimed Tsiolkovsky - is the cradle of humanity, but mankind cannot stay in the cradle forever”. To ignore the charm of the infinite cosmos, the legendary cover of the sky, the wonderful roof studded by golden fires, means to stay in that cradle forever.

Universe has always charmed and enchanted Earth people: for the pygmies of the rain forest, for example, Khonuum was the supreme god of the sky and every night, when the Sun set, he collected the scattered fragments (the stars) in a bag and recombined them patiently to form the Sun, so that it could reappear the following morning. Bushmen, instead, believes that the night is cold even for the Sun, described as an old sleepyhead that lives alone in a solitary hut. So, to protect himself form the cold, he brings upon him his blanket that is as old as himself and, for this reason, full of holes: the darkness of the night is broken by the light that pierce through the blanket holes, the stars…

Charmed by these legends of the past, I invite all of us to fasten our seat belts and hold on firmly for a slalom between galaxies!

Natural and artificial satellites.

by Patrick Romano PhD student in Telecommunication Engineering Translation by Claudia Alvarenga

“A rocket able to reach a high enough velocity while flying outside of atmosphere, will never come back… and a rocket even capable of maintaining such velocity, would become an artificial satellite, orbiting around Earth forever, with no energy spent - that is , a second moon”.

Sir Arthur C. Clarke

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The word “satellite” comes from the Latin term “satellites” meaning (a king’s) bodyguard, servant.

The word “satellite” is often used to define moons of planets, which seem to be moving quickly around their “owners” (that is, planets) which, in Solar System, are named after ancient gods.

Hence, a satellite continuously “follows” the celestial body whom it belongs to, without ever moving away.

A natural satellite is represented by a celestial body orbiting around another celestial body, as long as the latter is not a star. For example, in our Solar System, natural satellites are defined “planetary satellites” because they orbit around their respective planet. The only natural satellite of our Earth is the Moon.

So far, astronomers have discovered at least 146 natural satellites in our Solar System. Moreover, the existence of 23 further satellites is known, but there’s no official confirm of such a discovery yet.

Generally, satellites are solid bodies and only a few have an atmosphere. Natural satellites of the Solar System are named after mythological characters of several cultures, except for Uranus’, named after William Shakespeare’s works.

Dimensions of the main natural satellites of the Solar System, compared with the ones of Earth and Moon.

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ESMI- #2 On the other hand, an artificial satellite is defined as an object made by men orbiting around any celestial body. The very first artificial satellite was “sputnik 1”, launched by Soviets in 1957 (“Sputnik”, in Russian, means “travel mate”).

“Sputnik 1”, the first artificial satellite in history.

Since “Sputnik 1”, nowadays more than 33000 satellites have been launched, among which 13000 are still in orbit (the rest have entered atmosphere). Among there 13000 satellites, only 3500 are still operating. In the chart of the first satellites launched, “Sputnik 1” is followed by two American satellites, “ Explorer 1” and “Vanguard 1” in 1958. The first Italian satellite “San Marco 1”, required to study Earth’s atmosphere, created by an Italo-American cooperation, was launched in 1964, leading to Italy being the third nation to launch a satellite in orbit, after Soviet Union and the United States.

Artificial satellites are used for several aims. Their main applications are telecommunication, remote sensing and navigation, in addition to scientific research. Particularly, the telecommunication field represents about the 90% of the use of satellites and it is also the most gainful, in an economical sense, leading the United States to earn about 144 billion dollars only in 2008.

Did you know...? “sputnik 1” was a very small, tiny satellite, like a basket ball. According to the modern subdivision of artificial satellites, it would be among those called “small satellites”, a category of small (<100 kg) satellites, but very useful, gaining interest in both scholastic/university and commercial fields.

Such satellites are capable of accomplishing complex activities , maximizing resources at low costs.

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Map of artificial satellites in high orbits.

Once theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve reached their own orbit, satellites are subject to risks coming from different objects of different origins. With regards to this, about 20.000 tons of comic dust, meteoroid and fragments of asteroids go across space around the Earth every year, threatening to fall foul with other orbiting satellites. To such natural risk, there must be added artificial objects (or fragments of objects) not operating anymore, but still in orbit, usually referred to as â&#x20AC;&#x153;space debrisâ&#x20AC;?, whose number is still increasing.

Not in scale artistic representation of space debris situation.

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There are many ways in order to protect satellites from space debris. Passive elements such as screenings and bumper shields, such as used in the International Space Station (ISS), provide an efficient protection from fragments with a maximum diameter of 1 cm. To avoid collisions with bigger objects, satellites are required to be able to make orbital maneuvers. Such maneuvers, though, only allow to sidestep objects with a minimum diameter of 10 cm, since only such objects can be followed and identified by radars on Earth.

Moreover, space debris are a risk to Earth because they are ungovernable objects which, depending on their dimensions and velocity, might enter the atmosphere and cause damages to Earth’s surface.

A recent example is the one of NASA Satellite “UARS” which, during its atmospheric entry in September 2011, tore apart in several pieces, some of which disintegrated in atmosphere , while 26 of them eventually fell into Pacific Ocean, threatening to hit populated areas.

Atmospheric re-entry of ATV (Automated Transfer Vehicle) “Jules Verne” above the Pacific Ocean.

While research and discoveries of new natural satellites shows how vast and unexplored the universe is, artificial satellites show how they may change our lives. A variety of applications, taken for granted in everyday use, such as TV, weather forecast, or GPS (just to mention a few) are possible thanks to them.

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ESMI- #2 At last, is necessary to reveal that many innovative applications of satellites are still being developed and designed and that the possibility of use of small but very powerful satellites, will make the space field more and more interesting and accessible.

Hubble space telescope.

References for â&#x20AC;&#x153;Natural and artificial satellites.â&#x20AC;? - July 2012 in Italy

ASI, 2009. 20 anni di ASI, 44 anni di missioni spaziali italiane. disponibile da <http://www.asi.it/it/storia>. [Accesso effettuato il 29 Aprile 2012] ESA, 2012. Space Debris: Hypervelocity Impacts, Collision & re-entry risk control. disponibile da <http://www.esa.int/esaMI/Space_Debris/ SEMZFL05VQF_0.html>. [Accesso effettuato il 29 Aprile 2012].

Go SSP Team Project Members, 2011. Guidebook on Small Satellite Programs Final Report. International Space University, Space Studies Program 2011.

INTER-AGENCY SPACE DEBRIS COORDINATION COMMITTEE (IADC) (2007) IADC Space Debris Mitigation Guidelines. Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee (IADC). Report number: IADC-02-01 LYALL, F., LARSEN, P.B., 2009. Space Law: A Treatise. Surrey: Ashgate.

MADRY, S., 2011. Introduction to Satellite Applications. International Space University, Space Studies Program 2011.

NASA JPL Solar System Dynamics, 2012. Planetary satellites. disponibile da <http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/?satellites>. [Accesso effettuato il 29 Aprile 2012].

NASA Solar System Exploration, 2012. Our Solar System: Moons . disponibile da <http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/profile.cfm?

Object=SolarSys&Display=Moons>. [Accesso effettuato il 29 Aprile 2012].

NASA, 2011. UARS Re-entry overview. disponibile da < http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/uars/> . [Accesso effettuato il 29 Aprile 2012].

WERTZ, J. R., LARSON, W.J., 2008. Space Mission Analysis and Design. 3rd edition : Space Technology Library.

Tutte le immagini sono state reperite dai portali di ESA, NASA e COMSOFT.

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The World will not end in 2012!

by Simone La Torre Student of Space Engineering Translation by Luca Nardini

There are a lot of movies and books on this subject, but there is little truth. A lot of TV shows discuss this subject and journalists love to publish articles about it.

But that's enough! Too much has been said and too many believed it! It is now time to discuss the matter and all the superstition derived from it, to state once and for all that in December 2012 the world will not end!

The theories that “demonstrate” the end of the world are many and complex. Fortunately, they are also without any scientific foundation, which makes them particularly easy to be proven wrong.

A picture of the Earth from space.

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In the end, such theories are really easy to create: all you need is to link whatever phenomenon that has a lot of impact on the public to a pseudo-scientific explanation that makes it seem real.

Apparently, no one cares about the fact that the connection between cause and effect are really forced.

Here is an example: in the last 16 years, many geophysicists from different states observed that the sunspots' conformation on the Sun correspond to the geographic distribution of earthquakes on our planet. Therefore, it is absolutely certain that in the future all that will take to predict earthquakes will be to calculate the formation of sunspots.

Of course what is written above is absolutely false, is just imagination. Do not let yourselves be fooled by the presence of words like “geophysicists”, “the Sun”, “certain” and “earthquakes”.

ESMI- #2 Let us proceed with order. What are the most common theories about the end of the world?

Theory n.1 – The end of the cycle of the Long Count of the Mayan calendar; Theory n.2 – The alignment of the Sun with the center of the galaxy and the Earth; Theory n.3 – The inversion of Earth's magnetic poles and decay of the magnetic shield; Theory n.4 – A peak of the solar activity that lead to a peak of solar wind; Theory n.5 – A mysterious planet in collision route with the Earth; Theory n.6 – A space cloud that alter the equilibrium of the Solar System; Theory n.7 – Calculation based on Egyptian advanced astronomical knowledge.

I believe that in order to prove all these theories wrong it would be useful to analyze them one by one, so that we may also prove unfounded all our fears.

Theory n.1 – The end of the cycle of the Long Count of the Mayan calendar.

To measure time, the Maya had a 260 day-religious calendar, a seasonal calendar of 365 days, and a calendar called “the Long Count” (that lasted for about 5,125 years). The latter is the one that is going to end in December 2012.

Well, all we have to do is to use the words of Sandra Noble, executive director of the Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies in Crystal River (USA): “For the ancient Maya, it was a huge celebration to make it to the end of a whole cycle.”

In fact, every 31st of December we celebrate as well the end of our calendar without letting us believe that our celebration is linked to the end of the world.

At this point, the more skeptical ones may ask: “If nowadays we need only one calendar, then why did the Maya use three of them? Couldn't they have created the others to count the days to the end of the world?”

Actually, we do not use only one calendar, even though we all cherish our 365 day-calendar since it helps us organize our days very efficiently. However, there is no way we could classify astronomical events using cycles of 365 days. Therefore, as far as space is concerned, a stellar calendar is in use, which is divided into “epochs” (in our case, we currently are in epoch J2000) and it is used to draw star maps. Apparently, no end of the world has been predicted in our epoch (even because no one can predict it: what on Earth would be the formula to calculate such event?).

This is the conclusion: if they had the chance, the ancient Maya would have been delighted to celebrate the end of the Long Count.

The wheel of a Mayan calendar.

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Theory n.2 – The alignment of the Sun with the center of the galaxy and the Earth.

Such event, that occurred many times in the past without relevant consequences, does not bring any risk. After all, it is scientifically wrong to believe that the alignment of such different objects like a star (the Sun) and a galaxy can cause a series of changes that can lead to the end of the world in one night.

In any case, it is pretty easy to realize that this theory is absolutely nonsense. In fact, although it is true that the orbit of the Sun will align for a certain period with the center of our galaxy and with the Earth, it is also true that this event is part of an extremely slow movement that will make the Sun transit in the galactic mid plane. This movement takes something like 32 million years. Since it takes so much time, what difference can it make between Sun's behavior in November and the one in December or January?

Some internet sites keep claiming that every 30-35 million years a mass extinction occurs on our planet. Too bad there is no scientific proof of that (in fact, the last mass extinction took place over 70 million years ago).

Theory n.3 – The inversion of Earth's magnetic poles and decay of the magnetic shield.

This theory is almost hilarious. It is based on the hypothesis that in December 2012 the Earth will stop rotating for 72 hours and then start again, but in the opposite direction. This event would cause the inversion of the magnetic poles and leave the planet without its magnetic shield in those 72 hours.

It is so crazy that makes me want to believe it (of course not!).

Let us start by recalling the phenomenon of the inversion of the magnetic poles. It is a process that takes thousands of years and there is no way it leaves the Earth without magnetic protection. The result of a magnetic inversion is only an increase of the complexity of the magnetic lines and the inversion of the poles. The last inversion took place 780,000 years ago and we do not know when the next one will occur.

Anyway, it is a process that cannot be linked in any way with the end of the world. Furthermore, it does not justify a stop of the Earth's rotation.

Why should our planet stop to rotate for 72 hours anyway?

Theory n.4 – A peak of the solar activity that lead to a peak of solar wind.

During 2012, we should witness a peak of the solar activity.

Nothing extraordinary. The Sun has a periodic cycle of about 11 years (between 10 and 12 years) that regulates the alternation of a period of “maximum” and a period of “minimum” activity, which are recognizable by the different number of sunspots on Sun's surface. The last peak occurred towards the end of 2000 (just like the scientific community predicted).

The peak of solar activity entails an increased intensity of the solar wind. However, this is not as threat to mankind; it has always been confronted with this variations.

Catastrophists claim that in the last years the solar activity's intensity has rocketed. This is absolutely nonsense. On the contrary, in the last decade, the solar activity seems to have slowly declined. In fact, during the last century, it was only between 1911 and 1914 that the Sun was “lazy” like it is today.

So, towards the end of 2012 (or the beginning of 2013) there is going to be a peak of solar activity, but it is going to be less intense than usual and it will follow the rhythm that we have been used to ever since we arrived on Earth.

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Theory n.5 – A mysterious planet in collision route with the Earth.

Since 2002, rumors spread over the internet about the existence of a mysterious planet. This planet is called Nibiru, but its existence has never been proved by the scientific community. Well, not that they have not tried doing that. To avoid the spread of false alarmism, many astronomers have spent a lot of energies trying to find this imaginary planet in collision route with the Earth. Since the planet does not exist, of course nobody was able to find it in the predicted orbits (that were published online by some fanatic catastrophists). However, after all this efforts, a very curious, yet pathetic, phenomenon occurred: the catastrophists started to consider the fact that astronomers could not find the phantom planet as the ultimate proof of its existence.

The most shocking fact is that according to the absurd rumors that claim Nibiru's existence, the planet should have already collided with the Earth and destroy it, more precisely in May 2003. Now this planet has been “recycled” to scare once again, thus pointing at the collision as the event that according to the Mayan calendar will deter mine the end of the world in December 2012 (see Theory n.1).

To sum up: “recycled” nonsense is still nonsense!

Art representation of the

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collision between Nibiru and the Earth.

Theory n.6 – A space cloud that alter the equilibrium of the Solar System.

This theory is not so well known and is often confused with theory n.3 or n.4, even though it states something completely different. Some Russian scientists believe the Solar System is now crossing a region with high cosmic energy that is able to alter its equilibrium.

It is an interesting theory. Too bad no scientific magazine accepted it, since it is only based on online data (that can have been invented by anyone). No real measurement can verify the crossing of the Solar System in this mysterious space cloud.

Theory n.7 – Calculation based on Egyptian advanced astronomical knowledge.

To analyze this theory it is good to remind you readers that everything is relative: the “advanced” astronomical knowledge of the ancient Egyptians is nothing compared to the modern astronomical and engineering knowledge.

The Egyptians were probably able to imitate the position of the stars of the Orion belt with the Giza pyramids. Our astrophysicists and aerospace engineers are able to launch a spacecraft at a speed of tens of kilometers per second and to make it pass between Saturn and its rings to finally reach Titan (one of Saturn's moons) and make a second probe land that takes high definition pictures and then sends them to Earth (we are referring to the Cassini-Huygens mission).

Apart from this gigantic results, since the calculation on which this theory is based has never been published nor revealed, we can easily give for granted that it is just nonsense.

No offense for the Egyptian advanced astronomical knowledge, of course.

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The end of the world in December 2012? I do not think so. Oh, well, actually there is going to be an end: the end of all the lies of the profiteers that desperately try to exploit this planetary white lie.

Do not worry, they will come up with something new... or just “recycle” one of these ones in another moment.

An ancient Mayan construction.

References for “The World will not end in 2012!” - July 2012 in Itsly

http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epoca_(astronomia) http://www.focus.it/curiosita/mistero/21-dicembre-2012-fine-del-mondo-verita-o-bufala-apocalisse-o-fesseria-9887-23273-23472_C12.aspx http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ciclo_undecennale_dell'attività_solare http://www.nibiru2012.it/forum/astronomia/oscillazioni-orbita-del-sole-all-interno-della-via-lattea-e-estinzioni-di-massa-139775.0.html http://archeologia360.wordpress.com/il-calendario-maya/ http://www.maya12-21-2012.com/effects-of-nibiru-on-earth.html

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At this point, after analyzing the main and most common theories, there is little (if nothing at all) left to believe in. Actually, in my opinion, the only theory that is still valid is the one that all the previous theories have been invented by alarmists and catastrophists and have no scientific value.

ESMI- #2 How do planes fly?

by Martina Flaccovio Student of Space Engineering Translation by Claudia Alvarenga

Man and flight. A multitude of airplanes dart every day above our heads, making our eyes rise, even for just a second, allowing us to look at that wake they often leave behind them. How did this all begin? How could men do what only birds and few other animals can do, by making enormous metal machines fly? Since a long time ago, human beings have always imagined and dreamt about flying, showing this will by representing winged creatures, first in artworks (sculptures Art representation of or paintings, graffiti or mythology tales), in and Daedalus.

Icarus order to try and manage to work out something real capable of allowing men to raise from the ground. It’s told in mythology that the first flight was Icarus’, who, neglecting his father Daedalus’ advice, went too close to the Sun, resulting in the melting of the wax which kept bound the feathers of his wings, falling abruptly into the sea.

Actually, in order to fly, feathered wings like Icarus and Daedalus’ are not required : it’s enough to have a surface with certain properties, associated to a properly high velocity and it’s done: it’s only one surface we’re dealing with! In fact, it is necessary to clarify something that many people are not aware of, that is to say, that airplanes only have one wing and those incorrectly called wings are halves of only one wing and are thus defined the left or the right half of a wing.

The first engineer, a great historical figure who gave a great contribution to the study of birds’ flight and anatomy (writing his “Codex on the Flight of Birds”) and who figured out the characteristics to design flying machines, was Leonardo Da Vinci. His studies, carried out in XVI century, led to understand that, instead of taking advantage of wing’s fluttering, birds benefit from air streams.

Hence, Leonardo observed how birds, using air streams, kept balance while flying, thanks to their wings and tails’ movements, and moreover understood how they are able to brake.

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A flying seagull.

Saving ourselves the efforts to understand the (very late) studies carried out in the past and which nowadays are still an object of analysis, the simplest way to understand how something can fly is an experiment: try to put your hand outside of the window pane of your car while running through a highway: at first keep it parallel to the ground, with you hand’s palm towards the ground, then slightly turn it upwards. You will notice that your hand will tend to rise up. Now imagine that, immersed into the air, instead of your hand, there’s a bird’s or plane’s wing airfoil. What is meant by “airfoil”?

Easier said than done: let’s consider a wing and imagine to cut it with a plane perpendicular to its length ; what is seen onto the imaginary plane is the airfoil. The wing’s front part, which meets the flow first, is called “leading edge”; the opposite extreme is instead called “trailing edge”.

Airfoils (in blue).

At this point, understood what an airfoil is, it is easy to understand that the plane is suspended in air without any support but, like every object having a mass, is subject to gravity and thus would tend to drop to the ground, differently from your hand, kept by your arm. Moreover, as the profile moves through air, it faces some drag. Physically, in order for any object to be flowing into the air, all the forces acting on it must be in balance and, since being in balance means that the resultant of all the forces is zero, two forces equal and opposite to each other are needed, one against weight and one against air drag, so that they contrast them. With regards to the force balancing drag, it is called “thrust” and this is why the planes need at least one engine (exception made for gliders, flying by means of a greater wing surface); about the force balancing the airplane’s weight, preserving it to falling onto the ground attracted by gravity, it is called “lift” and it is just the force you experience with your hand (referring to the above mentioned experiment) and which leads it to move upwards.

Flow over an airfoil (PORTANZA = LIFT).

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Detail of a half-wing in flight.

Hence, lift is the main character of flight, so let’s try to better understand its origin and way of acting. Lift is the principle observed by Daniel Bernoulli, a XVII Swiss mathematician, who observed that a fluid such is air, when required to overcome a curved surface, tends to increase its velocity, whilst pressure onto such surface will decrease. Thus, with regards to civil airplanes we are used to fly, if our wing is designed to have on its upper surface a more curved geometry than the lower surface, air will move faster onto the upper surface rather than the lower. Hence, according to Bernoulli’s principle, pressure onto the upper surface will be lower than the one on the lower and, since flows move from high-pressure areas to low-pressure areas, air pushes the object from below and pulls it from above. This is lift! Nowadays, lift is more correctly explained by using Newton’s principle of Action-Reaction, but Bernoulli’s explanation (even if it presents some problems) is still often used when simplicity is the driving requirement. Such principles are the same used by birds to fly and thanks to them, it’s been figured out which geometries must be reproduced to fly. Properly observing birds’ wings it may be observed how they are made of several parts that allow their own movement. Such complexity, which nature gives to birds helping them maximize their lift, or change direction or, even more, brake, is hard to reproduce on an airplane’s wing. This is why, same mobile surfaces have been introduced on the wing and on vertical and horizontal tails; mobile parts on the wing have different names depending on their function and position: there are ailerons, flaps and spoilers. Flaps are particularly important, they might seem something complex or strange, but they are nothing else but mobile surfaces set to the fixed part of the wing and used to increase the airfoil’s curvature and lifting surface. At this point, it may be questioned why we would like to increase the airfoil’s curvature. In order to reply to such question, lift’s dependence on other quantities must be understood. Without going too deep into details, it is enough to be aware that the lift depends on several factors, including the angle at which the airfoil meets air flow (if we increase airfoil’s curvature we will end up increasing the angle of attack). It is also important to observe how lift depends on velocity. What just pointed out it crucial to show how, when velocities are low, such is at taking off and landing, to increase lift, flaps or slats are needed. Their Possible configurations of name depends on their position onto the leading or trailing flap and slats. edge.

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Now, let’s try to understand how, once the plane is flying, it manages to keep its track or: how can we know where we are going? Nowadays, thanks to the technological progress, one may trivially say “everything must be automatic”, but the answer is actually much more complex. First of all, it has to be observed that every machine might have problems and, in such case, everything is in the pilot’s hand and he has to supervise the situation, being the only one able to make any decision.

With regards to this, if the ground is visible, navigation must be led according to the so called VFR (Visual Flight Rules). Such rules fix constraints on minimum and maximum heights, velocity, visibility, and distance from clouds and obstacles on the ground and thus must be respected. In particular, weather conditions are a critical aspect and are defined VMC (Visual Meteorological Conditions).

The pilot must know meteorology in deep in order to understand the entity of the issues that might come up during the flight. Only related to clouds, there are two fundamental kind of problems: a decrease of visibility and the damage on the airplane’s performance due to ice. For example, inside such clouds as cumulus clouds, there’s no visibility at all and going through them is strictly forbidden; or, across some other particular clouds there’s a very high risk of ice forming, which, if gathered on the wing or other surfaces could damage the airplane’s performance resulting in the total loss of control leading to catastrophic consequences.

New Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

Cockpit of a commercial airplane.

Now there’s only one concept missing: why do we need to fly? There’s only one answer: freedom!

Man, flying, can feel free; free to move in space and play with air, free to reach far away places, trade easily, communicate with other cultures and discover realities different from his own and, most of all, free from time that would have been wasted to do all this without using planes.

References for “How do planes fly?” - July 2012 in Italy http://www.aeroservice-va.it/tutorial/tut_fp/tut_fp_files/Tutorial_Piano_di_Volo_VFR.pdf http://www.malignani.ud.it/WebEnis/aer/Portfolio/bf109g/L'ala/Struttura.htm http://www.mugellogliding.aero/soaring/soaring.htm http://inhabitat.com/boeing-dreamliner-a-more-sustainable-aircraft/

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Obviously, even radio assisted navigation is possible which, by means of proper instrumentation on board, make angular detection with respect to signals on the ground, whose position is known, and all is supported by GPS. In order to keep errors “small” during the navigation, it is crucial to determine and calculate the optimal route, according to some specific parameters used.

The Higgs boson.

by Andrea Pizzoferrato Student of Physics Translation by Luca Nardini

The Higgs boson. God’s Particle. It is said that it generates the mass and that it completes the theory of Standard Model. Let us try to bring order to all this ideas to understand (or at least, guess) the nature of the Higgs boson.

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The CERN experiment.

CERN is the name of the laboratories where the experiment on the Higgs boson took place. The organization that approved the construction of these laboratories was called European Council for Nuclear Research, from which the name derived (the acronym CERN, from the French “Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire”). The organization was later renamed European Organization for Nuclear Research, but they kept the former acronym.

Inside the CERN facility there are a lot of particle accelerators, also a LHC (Large Hadron Collider) that allowed scientists to reach the necessary energies to put into act the experiment on the Higgs boson. The objective of such experiments is to accelerate as much as possible some particles and make them collide, either with each other or with a target (in the Higgs boson experiment, protons collided frontally).

Collision inside a particle accelerator.

Prof. Peter Higgs.

The huge amount of energies linked to the collision allow the formation of other particles with a certain mass, as stated by the well-known law E=mc^2.

The measurements of the amount of the particles' masses always come with a percentage of error.

It is said that Higgs boson's mass has been determined with a 99.996% accuracy. What we have just said may seem odd, since when we use the scale we are not given with a weight and a percentage of error: we are 100% sure of our mass. However, subatomic particles are described by quantum mechanics, a science that entails a certain degree of uncertainty in the measurements.

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The Higgs boson, name and surname of a particle.

Name: Boson.

Surname: Higgs.

As far as its surname is concerned, there are no doubts about its origin. The physicist Peter Higgs was the first to hypothesize its existence. And what about the name? To understand this, we have to keep in mind that atomic and subatomic particles are classified according to their quantum numbers, that indicate the value of their peculiar features. Among these one, there is the spin. Let us keep it simple and just say that the spin is a feature of a particle, just like the color of the eyes of us human beings. The spin is classified with a number that can be an integer or a fractional number.

In the first case, the particle is a boson (for example, a proton), in the second case it is a fermion (for example, an electron). Therefore, the Higgs particle is considered a boson because the theory entails that its spin is an integer.

Contribution of Higgs boson to the mass.

The reason why the Higgs boson is also called God's particle (a fact that really annoys prof. Higgs, since he is a fervid atheist), is that it is able to determine the mass (not the volume!) of other particles, thus “creating” the substance that composes the bodies, in a certain sense.

Let us try to understand more clearly the physics of the Higgs boson through an analogy (it has been edited) used by Rolf Heuer, the present general manager of the CERN facilities, during a press conference on the 4th of July 2012: There is a field that permeates the universe through which the fundamental particles, like bosons and quarks, gain mass. We can explain this process using this analogy: let us take a room filled with journalists evenly distributed in the space. This is the field that gives mass to the elemental particles through the interaction between them and the field itself. A person, unknown to the journalists, goes through this field without slowing down, let us say, at the speed of light (photons, the particles that compose the light have no mass). However, the more this person is famous, the more journalists tend to encircle him to ask him questions. As a consequence, this persons is slowed down, he can not reach the speed of light and gains mass. So, the more the journalists know this person, the more he will gain mass. Now, if we consider that the journalists, so the field, have a constant interaction with each other, we can say that this field “auto-interacts” and that this process generates the Higgs boson. How can we imagine this process? It is simple; we open the door of the room and whisper something. The curious journalists will gather to ask: “What did he say?”. Here, this gathering of journalists is the Higgs boson.

To further clarify what has been said before, here is another analogy by John Ellis, an important theoretical physicist: The universe is permeated by a “mean” that is crossed by particles. Some of them interact with it, some do not. Those that interact gain mass, and those that do not are without mass.

Art representation of a particle with mass that interacts with the Higgs field.

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Art representation of a photon immersed in a Higgs field.

Let us take now as an example a flat and unified field covered with snow and let us imagine that we have to cross it.

If we are wearing skis, we can slide very fast, without sinking. Therefore, we are like particles without mass that travel at the speed of light.

On the contrary, if we are not wearing skis we sink in the snow and we are slower because we interact directly with the field. In this case, we are like particles with mass. The more we sink in the snow (interact with the field), the more mass we have. So, the Higgs field is this immense field of snow.

Conclusion.

Up to now, the theory of the Higgs boson has led to the creation of some theoretical models and to reach new experimental goals. The most accepted theory that explains the properties and the behavior of elemental particles is called Standard Model. Actually, it is not the only model that entails the existence of the Higgs boson. There are other that require the Higgs boson to be completed (although many of them are just a reinterpretation of the Standard Model). This boson has different behaviors according to the model in use. For example, the theory of supersymmetry requires at least 5 Higgs bosons.

To sum up, what can be deduced from these experiments is that a new boson has been discovered and it has a mass that is compatible with the one hypothesized for the Higgs boson with an 99,9996% accuracy.

All that is left to do is to verify whether it really is the Higgs boson and which model it follows (which means, whether it has or not the features required by the Standard Model or if it follows other physical theories).

But what is the purpose of this kind of research? In our daily lives, whether this boson is or is not the Higgs boson will not have any practical utility in the immediate future, maybe only after decades and decades.

However, the Higgs boson would allow us to explain why objects have a mass, from where our material nature is born (without this boson, we would not exist) and the relation between this and the fundamental structure of the universe (through the interaction with the Higgs field).

References for â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Higgs boson.â&#x20AC;? - July 2012 in Italy

http://cdsweb.cern.ch/record/1458922 http://www.manolith.com/files/2012/07/peter-higgs.jpg http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzX0dwbY4Yk http://images.gizmag.com/hero/higgs-like-boson-discovered.png

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Lunar phases.

by Armando Marotta Student of Space Engineering Translation by Maria Maddalena Petrocelli

In peasant tradition people usually do certain works (cereal, fruit and leaf vegetables, flowers sowing, etc.) during the so-called “waxing moon phase”, while others (root vegetables sowing, wood cutting, healing herbs gathering) during the “waning moon phase”.

Picture of the Moon.

Scheme 1

B

A

Difference between the synodic period and the sidereal period.

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ESMI- #2

Now, entering into details, let’s give a scientific explanation of the lunar phases trying to understand the factors that lie at the bottom of its periodicity.

The Moon, the only natural satellite of the Earth, is a synchronous celestial body; it means that its rotation period, that is the time used to rotate around its own axis, lasts as its revolution period, that is the time used to rotate around the Earth.

As a consequence of the coincidence between the above mentioned periods, the Moon always faces the Earth the same surface but in reality, for reasons we can leave out in this context, we can observe only the 59% of that surface.

The mean distance between Moon and our planet is about 384400 km and our satellite moves in an orbit characterized by an eccentricity value near to 0 (almost-circular orbit). The revolution period of the Moon around the Earth, in reference to Moon’s position in regard to the fixed stars, is called “sidereal period” and lasts nearly 27.322 days.

But in reference to lunar phases it is necessary to introduce the notion of “synodic period” (or synodic month) for which it must be considered Moon’s motion instead, that is its position seen form the Earth in relation to the Sun. Synodic period lasts nearly 29.530 days and the difference of more than 2 days if compared to the sidereal one can be easily understood considering the Scheme 1 below.

ESMI- #2 In Scheme 1 both orbital motion of the Earth around the Sun (light blue curve) and the orbital motion of the moon around the Earth (grey curve) are shown.

Let’s consider as initial moment for the two motion typologies that in which the Moon is in the position indicated with letter “a” and the Earth in that indicated with letter “A”. From this moment, the Earth starts its revolution around the Sun and, at the same time, the Moon starts its revolution around the Earth.

Once the Earth lies in position “B” and the Moon in “b”, the latter has completed a full revolution, that is a full orbit (grey circumference in Scheme 1) with respect to an hypothetic point set at an infinite distance along the direction that joins the Earth and the Moon, just by this position (direction of the fixed stars).

The time necessary to complete this motion is the above-mentioned sidereal period. But we can observe that, in order that the Moon lies at the same position with respect to the Sun (in celestial mechanics the term used is “conjunction”), it is necessary that it continues its orbital motion until the point indicated with letter “c” in Scheme 1; obviously to cover this extra stretch it is necessary a further lapse of time (in this case nearly two days) that, added to the previous one, gives as total result the duration of what is defined synodic month (period).

Clarified the difference between sidereal month and synodic month, to explain the celestial phenomenon of lunar phases it is necessary to consider only the last one. So, let’s see how the Moon appears to the Earth in this lapse of time, considering the following two schemes.

Scheme 2

Moon positions around the Earth.

Scheme 3

In Scheme 2 it is easy to notice that the Sun is to the right of the Earth-Moon system, so it is obvious to take it as the origin direction of solar rays: besides, to simplify the treatment, it’s licit to view (Scheme 3) even just the Moon’s motion around the Earth, taking that this last is fixed in the space.

What we considered the initial moment of the motion of lunar revolution (“a”) in Scheme 1, in Scheme 3 is indicated with number 1. The way that leads form position 1, after a full revolution, to the same position is just Moon’s orbital motion completed in a “synodic revolution”.

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References for “Lunar phases.” - July 2012 in Italy

http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/?sat_elem http://www.bo.astro.it/universo/venere/Sole-Pianeti/planets/terimm/lmeses.jpg http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mond_Grafik.svg

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By observing carefully the image in Scheme 2 again, we can initially distinguish the first four fundamental positions the Moon occupies during its orbital motion around the Earth, here indicated correspondingly with number 1, 3, 5, 7. In these positions we will have respectively: the new moon phase, when the Moon faces the Earth its shadow surface, so the three celestial bodies are in conjunction; the first quarter phase, when the west half of the moon face turned to the Earth is lighted (quadrature of the Moon); the full moon phase, when the moon side that faces the Earth is completely lighted by the Sun (Moon in opposition) and, finally, the last quarter phase, when the east half of the moon face turned to the Earth is lighted. By bearing in mind the rotation wise of the Earth towards the east it is interesting to notice that the new moon is visible all night long, the waxing moon in the evening and the waning moon is visible before the dawn.

In Scheme 3 lighting conditions of the Moon during the aforesaid phases can be better observed.

Once stressed the four main moon phases and the corresponding moon positions, let’s see what happens in what we can define intermediate phases.

In Scheme 2 these phases are numbered 2, 4, 6, 8.

In position 2 we have what it’s called waxing moon phase; this nomenclature is linked to the fact that the moon face visible from the Earth moves from a condition of total shadow (position 1) to a position in which it is, as already seen, half lighted (position 3). In position 4, the Moon lies in a waxing gibbous phase and nearly three-fourths of its surface are lighted by the Sun (the Moon is continuing its motion towards the following phase, the full moon).

Position 6, instead, highlights the so-called waning gibbous moon phase, through which the lighting condition of the moon surface is decreasing; it’s necessary to remember that the satellite is passing from full moon phase to last quarter one.

Finally, in position 8 we find our satellite in waning moon phase, so its lighting condition decreases further, preparing to reach again the new moon phase position in order to retake the entire cycle.

To remember what said, a saying goes: “The Moon is a liar: it spells "C", as in “crescere” (Latin word for "to grow") when it wanes, and "D" as in “decrescere” (Latin word for "decrease") when it waxes”.

ESMI- #2

Smart materials.

by Fabio Capece PhD in Space Engineering Translation by Maria Maddalena Petrocelli

“Smart materials” are all the materials with one or more “particular” properties (in addition to the standard behavior, typical of all the common materials). In technical terms, we could say that such materials can react to a non-mechanical stimulus (like a magnetic field) with a mechanical response (a deformation, for example) or, vice versa, they can react to a mechanical stimulus (an applied force) with a non-mechanical response (for example, by producing electric current).

The best way to clarify this notion is to report some examples of smart materials, also explaining the features that distinguish them from the “traditional” materials that everybody know:

• “Piezoelectric materials”. These materials can produce voltage and so electric current, when under stress they are subjected to a deformation; it also goes with the reverse behavior: when electric current flows inside these materials, they deform;

• “Shape-memory materials”. These materials, after a deformation, can recover their initial shape through temperature change (it is not the only possible way). Generally these materials are alloys;

• “Magneto-strictive materials”. This typology of materials can produce a magnetic field, if a determined strength modifies its shape; vice versa, they can change their shape if subjected to a magnetic field;

• “Dielectric elastomers”. Such materials are characterized by polymers that have the capacity to expand up to 300% if subjected to a magnetic field;

• “Photomechanical materials”. Such materials react to the light, modifying their shape if exposed to it;

• “Chromic materials”. Materials that belong to this typology have the capacity to change their color if subjected to thermal, optical or electrical changes (liquid crystal display and eyeglasses that darken when exposed to the sun are two common examples);

• “pH-sensitive polymers”. Structures made of this type of materials lengthen or shorten if the pH value in which they are immersed is modified.

The list of smart materials just presented is not exhaustive; indeed, much other types exist.

In plain words, the peculiarity of smart materials is that of matching different “behaviors”.

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ESMI- #2 Now, let’s consider piezoelectric materials (which can match the mechanical behavior to the electrical one) and see their application: in the 80’s, American soldiers had at their disposal boots which sole contained some piezoelectric: when soldiers marched, the weight of their body pushed the sole together with the piezoelectric set inside; in this way, during the march, soldiers could produce electric current useful to charge the batteries of their tools, from the GPS to the radio or the satellite phone.

But this is not the only case of application of piezoelectric materials.

For example in Holland, exactly in Rotterdam, in 2006 a discotheque called “Off-Corso” was inaugurated, and under its floor a large number of these items, capable of producing energy while people dance, is been set.

And that’s not all!

”Off-Corso”: dance floor.

Shoe with a piezoelectric device to produce energy.

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ESMI- #2 Smart materials wide open a world of new opportunities that, until few years ago, were totally unimaginable: think to a load-bearing structure (of a building, of a car, or even of an airplane) capable to monitor autonomously its state of integrity, to send to maintenance technicians signals in time; again, imagine a plane whose wings can change their shape, to adapt to every flight condition and to execute every type of maneuver; think to ski boots with a timing device latch depending on your weight in order to assure always the maximum comfort to the skier; wouldn’t it be nice if our car could fix by itself after any crash? And how comfortable would be if our wireless computer keyboard charged thanks to the pressure we apply on the keys to type? We would never change batteries… or better, we would not even worry about batteries.

Research on smart materials, and on what are defined “Smart Structures” it’s still on an early stage, but many working devices are already on the market with phenomenal results.

Modern engineering is ”rolling up its sleeves” to amaze the world with innovations that nowadays seems to have com from our strangest dreams, but that will soon became essential.

The wing structure capable to modify its shape.

The wing structure capable to modify its shape.

References for “Smart materials.” - July 2012 in Italy

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Gaudenzi, P. “Smart Structures: Physical Behaviour, Mathematical Modelling and Applications”, Ed. John Wiley & Sons http://www.corriere.it/Primo_Piano/Scienze_e_Tecnologie/2006/10_Ottobre/31/ecodisco.shtml http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mM790Txxmv4

Extra Space People - K. E. Tsiolkovsky

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by Dario De Angelis Student of Aerospace Engineering Translation by Luca Nardini

Name: Konstantin Eduardovich Surname: Tsiolkovsky Dates: September 17, 1857 - September 19, 1935 Born in: Ijevskoe, Russia Field of Interest: Rocket Propulsion and Space Exploration.

K. E. Tsiolkovsky

In 1883, the first car factory was opened in France. In the same year a Russian self-taught boy (he did not attend elementary school because of a hearing disorder caused by scarlet fever) came up with the first theory on rocket propulsion, stating that it is possible to put a satellite in orbit outside of the atmosphere.

Try to imagine how revolutionary these ideas were 130 years ago. For this reason Konstantin E. Tsiolkovsky is considered the father of space exploration, the scientist who cleared the way for the studies of Robert Goddard and Wernher von Braun.

Due to his hearing disorder, the young Tsiolkovsky was forced to study in the main library in Moscow, where he met the great Russian philosopher Nikolai Fyodorovich Fyodorov, who stimulated the boy's curiosity towards space. This encounter, and the worlds described by Jules Verne, made Tsiolkovsky believe that one day mankind would not only be able to escape the Earth's atmosphere, but also be able to colonize the Solar System.

Even though just the thought of space traveling at a time when the Wright brothers had not made their first flight yet was already a sign of a genius mind, the Russian scientist went even further: he was able to mathematically demonstrate that his ideas were possible.

If fact, in 1897 he wrote the fundamental Tsiolkovsky's rocket equation that demonstrated that by consuming the fuel inside the rocket, it was possible to reach an extremely fast speed necessary to escape the planet's atmosphere.

The extent of such genius is more evident if we think that at that time there was no knowledge about what there was â&#x20AC;&#x153;beyond the skyâ&#x20AC;?. In spite of this, Tsiolkovsky successfully hypothesized the absence of atmosphere outside the planet and that only an engine with fuel inside, just like a rocket, could be able to fly where a normal jet engine cannot go.

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However, this is still not enough to fully understand how cutting edge this scientist's ideas were. In 1926, he created a list of the necessary steps to follow to achieve the space conquest:

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1) The creation of jet aircrafts with wings; 2) The progressive increase of the speed and hight that aircrafts can reach; 3) The production of wingless rockets; 4) The ability to perform sea landings; 5) To reach escape velocity (around 8 Km/s) and make a low orbit around the Earth; 6) To increase the flight time in space; 7) The experimental use of plants for oxygen production on spaceships; 8) The use of pressure suits for extra-vehicular activities; 9) The creation of orbital greenhouses; 10) The construction of orbital habitats around the Earth; 11) To use solar radiation for food and energy production in space; 12) The colonization of the asteroid belt; 13) The colonization of the Solar System and beyond; 14) To reach social and personal perfection; 15) The colonization of the Milky Way once the Solar System is overcrowded; 16) The Sun starts to die and the inhabitants of the Solar System move to other stars; These ideas that at the time were considered as the delirium of a crazy man, have proved to be more realistic than expected, since up to now we have completed all the steps until the creation of a International Space Station (point number 10 on the list).

Konstantin Tsiolkovsky died in 1935 and was buried in the Kremlin after a state funeral. He will always be remembered as the father of astronautics.

The monument to Tsiolkovsky in Russia.

Drawings of rocket engines by Tsiolkovsky.

References for â&#x20AC;&#x153;K. E. Tsiolkovskyâ&#x20AC;? - July 2012 in Italy Immagini http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/14/Tsiolkovsky.jpg http://www.informatics.org/museum/graphics/rockets.gif http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/df/Ciolkovskij2_vdnx_sep2008.jpg/220pxCiolkovskij2_vdnx_sep2008.jpg Bibliografia: http://www.informatics.org/museum/tsiol.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konstantin_Tsiolkovsky

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ESMI- #2

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Picture of GOCE satellite.

ESMI- #2

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