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Outer Space
Cecilia Gaytán
Informática médica
Cecilia Gaytán
Table of Contents Outer space ....................................................................................................................... 3 Early astrounauts ........................................................................................................... 5 More Recruiting .......................................................................................................... 7 Apollo Expeditions to the Moon ...................................................................................... 8 Apollo 11..................................................................................................................... 8 Apollo 12................................................................................................................... 10 Apollo 13................................................................................................................... 12 Apollo 14 and 15 ....................................................................................................... 12 Apollo 16 and 17 ....................................................................................................... 14 Main Space Accidents .................................................................................................. 16 1967-Apollo 1 ........................................................................................................... 16 1971-Soyuz 11 ......................................................................................................... 16 1980-USSR .............................................................................................................. 16 1986-Challenger ....................................................................................................... 17 2003-Columbia ......................................................................................................... 17 Space Facts ................................................................................................................. 19 Illustrations Index ......................................................................................................... 20 Key Words Index .......................................................................................................... 20 References ................................................................................................................... 20
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Illustration 1
Outer space
Often simply called space, is the void that exists beyond any celestial body including the Earth. It is not completely empty (i.e. a perfect vacuum1), but contains a low density of particles, predominantly hydrogen plasma, as well as electromagnetic radiation, magnetic fields, and neutrinos. Theoretically, it also contains dark matter and dark energy. From our small world we have gazed upon the cosmic ocean for untold thousands of years. Ancient astronomers observed 1
Volume of space that is essentially empty of matter.
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points of light that appeared to move among the stars. They called these objects planets, meaning wanderers, and named them after Roman deities -- Jupiter, king of the gods; Mars, the god of war; Mercury, messenger of the gods; Venus, the god of love and beauty, and Saturn, father of Jupiter and god of agriculture. The stargazers also observed comets with sparkling tails, and meteors or shooting stars apparently falling from the sky. Science flourished during the European Renaissance. Fundamental physical laws governing planetary motion were discovered, and the orbits of the planets around the Sun were calculated. In the 17th century, astronomers pointed a new device called the telescope at the heavens and made startling discoveries. But the years since 1959 have amounted to a golden age of solar system exploration. Advancements in rocketry after World War II enabled our machines to break the grip of Earth's gravity and travel to the Moon and to other planets. The United States has sent automated spacecraft, then human-crewed expeditions, to explore the Moon. Our automated machines have orbited and landed on Venus and Mars, explored the Sun's environment, observed comets, and asteroids, and made close-range surveys while flying past Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. These travelers brought a quantum leap in our knowledge and understanding of the solar system. Through the electronic sight and other "senses" of our automated spacecraft, color and complexion have been given to worlds that for centuries 4
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appeared to Earth-bound eyes as fuzzy disks or indistinct points of light. And dozens of previously unknown objects have been discovered. Future historians will likely view these pioneering flights through the solar system as some of the most remarkable achievements of the 20th century.
Illustration 2
Early astrounauts
Spacemen of fiction - Jules Verne's travelers to the Moon, or the comic strip heroes Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers - were familiar characters midway through the 20th Century, but nobody could describe accurately a real astronaut. There were none. 5 Outer Space
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Then in 1959 the National Aeronautics and Space Administration2 asked the United States military services to list their members who met specific qualifications. The search was underway for pilots for the exciting new manned space flight program. Illustration 3
In seeking its first space pilots, NASA emphasized jet aircraft flight experience and engineering training, and it tailored physical stature requirements to the small cabin space available in the Mercury capsule then being designed. Basically, those 1959 requirements were: Less than 40 years of age; less than 5ft. 11 inches tall; excellent physical condition; bachelor's degree or equivalent in engineering; 2
NASA: agency of the US government, responsible for the nation’s civilian space program.
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qualified jet pilot; graduate of test pilot school, and at least 1500 hours of flying time. More than 500 hundred men qualified. Military and medical records were examined; psychological and technical tests were given; personal interviews were conducted by psychological and medical specialists. At the end of the first screening, many candidates were eliminated and others decided they did not want to be considered further. Even more stringent physical and psychological examinations followed, and in April 1959 NASA announced its selection of seven men as the first American astronauts. They were Navy Lieutenant M. Scott Carpenter; Air Force Captains L. Gordon Cooper, Jr., Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom, and Donald K. "Deke" Slayton; Marine Lieutenant Colonel John H. Glenn, Jr., and Navy Lieutenant Commanders Walter M. Schirra, Jr., and Alan B. Shepard, Jr. Each flew in Project Mercury except Slayton, who was grounded with a previously undiscovered heart condition. After doctors certified that the condition had cleared up, Slayton realized his ambition to fly in space 16 years after his selection. He was a member of the American crew of the Apollo Soyuz Test Project in July 1975, the world's first international manned space flight. More Recruiting
Three years after that first selection, NASA issued another call for Gemini and Apollo astronaut trainees. Experience in flying high-performance aircraft still was stressed, as was education. The limit on age was lowered to 35 years, the maximum height raised to 6 feet, and the program was opened to 7
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qualified civilians. This second recruitment brought in more than 200 applications. The list was screened to 32, then finally pared to nine in September 1962. Fourteen more astronaut trainees were chosen from nearly 300 applicants in October 1963. By then, prime emphasis had shifted away from flight experience toward superior academic qualifications. In October 1964 applications were invited on the basis of educational background alone. These were the scientist-astronauts, so called because the 400-plus applicants who met minimum requirements had a doctorate or equivalent experience in natural sciences, medicine, or engineering. These applications were turned over to the National Academy of Sciences in Washington for evaluation. Sixteen were recommended to NASA, and six were selected in June 1965. Although the call for volunteers did not specify flight experience, two of the applicants were qualified jet pilots and did not need the year of basic flight training given the others. Another 19 pilot astronauts were brought into the program in April 1966, and 11 scientist-astronauts were added in mid1967. When the Air Force Manned Orbiting Laboratory program was cancelled in mid 1969, seven astronaut trainees transferred to NASA. Apollo Expeditions to the Moon Apollo 11
Armstrong, in his bulky space suit, descended the ladder and, at 10:56 pm (Eastern Daylight Time) stepped onto the surface of the moon. His first words were, "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind." 8 Outer Space
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Illustration 4
He was soon joined by Aldrin, and the two astronauts spent more than two hours walking on the lunar surface. They gathered 21 kg (47 lb) of soil samples, took photographs, and set up a solar wind experiment, a laser-beam reflector, and a seismic experiment package. Armstrong and Aldrin also erected an American flag and talked, by satellite communications, with U.S. President Richard M. Nixon in the White House. They found that walking and running at onesixth the gravity of earth was not difficult. Also by satellite communications, millions of people watched live television broadcasts from the moon. Returning to the LM and discarding their space suits, the two astronauts rested several hours before takeoff. They left the moon in the ascent stage of the LM, using the lower half of the module, which remained on the moon, as a launchpad. The ascent stage was jettisoned after docking with the command and service module and the 9
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transfer of the astronauts to the spacecraft. The return flight of Apollo 11 to the earth was completed without mishap, and the vehicle splashed down and was recovered on July 24 in the Pacific Ocean near Hawaii. Because of the slight possibility of terrestrial contamination by living lunar organisms, the astronauts put on "biological isolation garments" before leaving the spacecraft and were placed under quarantine for three weeks. They remained in good health. The Apollo 11 flight attracted great interest around the world. The general feeling was that the lunar landing signaled a first step on a new plateau of evolution. Apollo 12
The next moon-landing flight began on Nov. 14, 1969, when Apollo 12 was launched with astronauts Charles Conrad, Jr. (1930-99), Richard F. Gordon, Jr. (1929- ), and Alan L. Bean (1932- ), all of the navy, aboard. After entering 10
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Little biography about Neil Armstrong Neil Alden Armstrong was born on August 5,1930 in Wapakoneta, Ohio. He holds a degree in aeronautical engineering from Purdue University and a masters degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Southern California. From 1949 to 1952, Armstrong was a naval aviator. Upon leaving military service, he became a test pilot. In July of 1969, Neil Armstrong was the commander of Apollo 11, America's first attempt to land a manned vehicle on the Moon. On July 20, 1969 Commander Armstrong and fellow astronaut Edwin Aldrin successfully touched down on the lunar surface. As Armstrong became the first person to touch the Moon's surface, he spoke the unforgettable phrase, "That's one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind". He and Aldrin explored the Moon's surface for 2.5 hours. Neil Armstrong left NASA in 1971 to join the faculty of the University of Cincinnati. He remained there as a professor of aerospace engineering until 1979. Armostrong served on the National Commission on space from 1985 to 1986. In 1986 he was appointed as vice chairman of the presidential commission that investigated the Challenger explosion. Neil Armstrong is married and has two children. He currently lives quietly in Ohio.
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lunar orbit, command pilot Conrad and Bean, the pilot of the LM, transferred to the LM. They landed north of the Riphaeus Mountains, at a spot just 180 m (600 ft) from where the Surveyor 3 spacecraft had landed two years before. The two astronauts explored their surroundings during two periods, each lasting nearly four hours. They set up scientific experiments, took photographs, collected samples of lunar soil, and removed pieces from Surveyor 3 to be examined on their return to earth. After takeoff from the moon and rendezvous with the CM piloted by Gordon, successful splashdown and recovery took place on November 24. Quarantine procedures were repeated but, as with the Apollo 11 crew, the astronauts emerged in good health on December 10.
Illustration 5
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Apollo 12 demonstrated many improvements over Apollo 11 techniques, particularly in the accuracy of landing guidance. So successful were these changes that Apollo 13 was intended to land on more rugged terrain on the moon. Apollo 13
On April 11, 1970, Apollo 13, carrying veteran astronaut Lovell and the civilian astronauts Fred W. Haise, Jr. (1933- ), and John L. Swigert, Jr. (1931-82), was launched. The spacecraft encountered difficulties during the flight when an oxygen tank ruptured. As a result the astronauts were obliged to cancel their planned landing on the lunar surface. Instead, using the power and survival systems of the LM, the astronauts swung behind the moon and were then brought back to earth by the navigating technology of the mission control center in Houston, Tex., for a splashdown south of Pago Pago in the South Pacific Ocean on April 17. Apollo 14 and 15
The mission of the aborted Apollo 13 was accomplished by the crew of Apollo 14, launched on Jan. 31, 1971, after modifications were carried out in the spacecraft to prevent the malfunctions encountered by Apollo 13. Capt. Shepard, who had been promoted after his successful suborbital flight in 1961 (see Vostok and Mercury Programs above), and Comdr. Edgar D. Mitchell (1930- ), also of the navy, successfully landed the LM in the rugged Fra Mauro region of the moon, while astronaut Stuart A. Roosa (1933-94) of the air force remained in lunar orbit in the CM. Shepard and Mitchell spent more than 9 hr exploring an area that was believed to contain some of the oldest rocks yet recovered, collecting about 43 kg (95 lb) of geological samples and deploying scientific 12
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instruments. The astronauts returned to earth without incident on Feb. 9, 1971. Apollo 15 was launched on July 26, 1971, with Col. Scott as flight commander, Lt. Col. James B. Irwin (1930-91) as pilot of the LM, and Maj. Alfred M. Worden (1932- ) as pilot of the CM, all officers of the air force. Scott and Irwin spent 2 days 18 hr on the lunar surface at the edge of Mare Imbrium, close to the 366-m (1200-ft) deep Hadley Rille and the Apennine mountain range, one of the highest on the moon. During their 18 hr 37 min exploration of the lunar surface, the astronauts traversed more than 28.2 km (17.5 mi) in the vicinity of Mount Hadley in an electrically propelled four-wheeled "lunar rover." They also deployed an elaborate package of scientific instruments and collected about 91 kg (about 200 lb) of rocks, including what was believed to be a sample of anorthosite, a crystalline piece of the original lunar crust, about 4.6 billion years old. A television camera left on the moon photographed Scott and Irwin's departure from the surface, and before the crew left the lunar orbit for their return to earth, they launched into lunar orbit a 35.6-kg (78.5-lb) "subsatellite" designed to transmit data about gravitational, magnetic, and high-energy fields in the lunar environment. On the return journey, Worden made a 16-min walk in deep space while the spacecraft was about 315,400 km (196,000 mi) from the earth, a record distance. The Apollo 15 astronauts splashed down without incident on August 7, about 530 km (about 330 mi) north of Hawaii, and were the first moon-landing crew that was not required to undergo quarantine.
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Illustration 6
Apollo 16 and 17
On April 16, 1972, astronauts Young, Charles Moss Duke, Jr. (1935- ), and Thomas Kenneth (Ken) Mattingly (1936- ) were launched on the Apollo 16 mission to the moon, to explore the Descartes Highlands and the Cayley Plains regions. While Mattingly remained in orbit, the two other astronauts landed in the assigned area on April 20. They spent 20 hr 14 min on the moon, setting up a number of experiments powered by a small nuclear station, traveling about 26.6 km (about 16.5 mi) in the lunar rover, and collecting more than 97 kg (214 lb) of rock samples.
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The Apollo series missions to the moon concluded with the flight of Apollo 17, Dec. 6-19, 1972. During their smooth 13day voyage, veteran astronaut Cernan and the American civilian geologist Harrison H. Schmitt (1935- ) spent 22 hr on the moon, traveling 35 km (22 mi) in the lunar rover and exploring the Taurus-Littrow Valley region, while Comdr. Ronald E. Evans (1933-90) of the navy remained in lunar orbit3. Illustration 7
3
This refers not to the orbit of the Moon about the Earth, but to orbits by various manned or unmannedspacecraft around the Mon.
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Main Space Accidents
Cecilia Gaytán Illustration 8
1967-Apollo 1
Jan. 27, Apollo 1: a fire aboard the space capsule on the ground at Cape Kennedy, Fla., killed astronauts Virgil I. Grissom, Edward H. White, and Roger Chaffee.
1971-Soyuz 11
June 6–30, Soyuz 11: 3 cosmonauts, Georgi T. Dolrovolsky, Vladislav N. Volkov, and Viktor I. Patsayev, found dead in the craft after its automatic landing. Apparent cause of death was loss of pressurization in the space craft during reentry into Earth's atmosphere. 1980-USSR
March 18, USSR: a Vostok rocket exploded on its launch pad while being refueled, killing 50 at the Plesetsk Space Center.
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1986-Challenger
Jan. 28, Challenger Space Shuttle: exploded 73 seconds after liftoff, killing all 7 crew members. They were: Francis R. Scobee, Michael J. Smith, Judith A. Resnik, Ronald E. McNair, Ellison S. Onizuka, Gregory B. Jarvis, and schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe. A booster leak ignited the fuel, causing the explosion. Illustration 9
2003-Columbia
Feb. 1, Columbia Space Shuttle: broke up on reentering Earth's atmosphere on its way to Kennedy Space Center, killing all 7 crew members. They were: Rick D. Husband, William C. McCool, Michael P. Anderson, David M. Brown, Kalpana Chawla, Laurel Clark, and the first Israeli astronaut, Ilan Ramon. Foam insulation fell from the shuttle during launch, damaging the left wing. 17
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On reentry, hot gases entered the wing, leading to the disintegration of the shuttle.
Illustration 10
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Space Facts
An Astronaut can be up to 2 inches taller returning from space. The cartilage disks in the spine expand in the absence of gravity. The surface speed record on the moon is 10.56 miles per hour. It was set with the lunar rover. The Hubble Space Telescope weighs 12 tons (10,896 kilograms), is 43 feet (13.1 meters) long, and cost $2.1 billion to build. Today, the solar cells we use to power calculators, highway emergency phones, and satellites can convert over 25 percent of the sunlight that hits them into useful energy. The hottest planet in the solar system is Venus, with an estimated surface temperature of 864 F (462 C).
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Illustrations Index Illustration 1 ____________________________________________________________________ 3 Illustration 2 ____________________________________________________________________ 5 Illustration 3 ____________________________________________________________________ 6 Illustration 4 ____________________________________________________________________ 9 Illustration 5 ___________________________________________________________________ 11 Illustration 6 ___________________________________________________________________ 14 Illustration 7 ___________________________________________________________________ 15 Illustration 8 ___________________________________________________________________ 16 Illustration 9 ___________________________________________________________________ 17 Illustration 10 __________________________________________________________________ 18
Key Words Index
Apollo ... 2, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 automated spacecraft ............................ 4 lunar rover ......................... 13, 14, 15, 19
NASA ............................................ 6, 7, 8 space ......... 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 13, 16, 19, 20
References
History.com/Space, Lincoln, Abraham [Internet], february 19, 2010, http://www.history.com/content/space About.com/Space/Astronomy [Internet], february 19, 2010, http://space.about.com/cs/challenger/a/challenger.htm Hamilton, Calvin J., Solar Views [Internet], 2009, february 19, 2010, http://www.solarviews.com/eng/history.htm
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