Space Exploration- ToolsYEAR 1 SCIENCE

Class Opener

Use your timeline to construct an Instagram post about an important event that took place in space history.

Your post must contain: color a username (actual or made-up) at least 3 hashtags that relate to your image a caption about your image

What tools do we use for space exploration?

Space Exploration Tools

Why do we explore space?

Exploring space allows us to learn about our solar system, the composition of the planets and moons, and the effects of the sun on Earth (such as radiation and gravitational force).

With exploration comes the use of important tools.

Space Probes

Unpiloted device sent to explore space and gather information

Is given instruments and tools to use to study planets, moons, comets, etc.

Can land on a body (lander), orbit (orbiter), or may fly out one way and never return

The next probe will arrive to Pluto this year!

Probe Video

International Space Station

A type of satellite that orbits Earth Can be seen from Earth Orbits Earth about 16x a day! Serves as a “science lab” that will test

spacecraft systems and equipment needed for future missions

Hubble Telescope

Orbits the Earth at 5 miles/second Was launched in 1990 Takes many pictures of our solar system Helps scientists understand

1) the uniqueness of Earth and its place in our solar system and universe

2) there are millions of galaxies in space, each containing solar systems

Fermi-Gamma Ray Space Telescope

Has found an unknown structure in the middle of our galaxy

The feature stretches 50,000 light-years and may be the remains of an eruption from a black hole at the center of our galaxy

Gamma Ray Telescope

The Chandra Ray Observatory

Chandra detects X-ray images from very hot regions of the Universe such as exploded stars, clusters of galaxies, and matter around black holes.

Part of the “Great Observatories”

The Great Observatories

4 telescopes that specifically are made to different parts of the electromagnetic spectrum: The Hubble Space Telescope observes visible light,

some UV, and infrared Fermi Gamma Ray Telescope observes gamma

rays The Chandra X-Ray Observatory observes X-rays Spitzer Space Telescope observes infrared