Tag Archives: exploration

Ten Events of Great Significance in Space Exploration during the Twenty-first Century’s First Decade

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As the first decade of the twenty-first century comes to a close—I know that one could make the case that the first decade ended in 2009 but we had this argument during Y2K and I’m not going to rehash it here—what might we consider the ten most important events in space exploration and discovery? Everyone is free to come up with their own lists, but here is mine. These are in no particular order, at least it is not a countdown, and it is weighted toward recent acquisitions at the National Air and Space Museum. What would your list look like?

•   SpaceShipOne, June 21, 2004, September 29, 2004, and October 4, 2004: Launched from its White Knight mothership, the rocket-powered SpaceShipOne and its pilot ascended just beyond the atmosphere, arced through space (but not into orbit), then glided safely back to Earth. The three flights of SpaceShipOne represented the first times in which a privately-developed spacecraft reached space. The flights were part of the Ansari X-Prize competition to develop a robust and reliable piloted space vehicle that could offer space tourism to a broad set of participants. Based on this success, prospects for suborbital space tourism are expanding as successor vehicles are being built. SpaceShipOne is on display in the National Air and Space Museum’s “Milestones of Flight” exhibition.

SpaceShipOne

•    Mars Exploration Rovers, 2004-Present: On January 3, 2004, the “Spirit” rover landed on Mars in Gusev crater, followed on January 25 by “Opportunity” reaching the Sinus Meridiani region, halfway around the planet from its twin. Since that time, both rovers have been operating on the Martian surface and returning stunning scientific findings that are restructuring our knowledge of the red planet. For one, we now know that Mars was once a watery world, and that water may yet be under its surface. This discovery has profound consequences for the possibilities of life having once been there. A mockup of the Mars Exploration Rover is on display in the National Air and Space Museum’s “Exploring the Planets” exhibition.

Mars Exploration Rover (Image courtesy NASA/JPL)

•    Stardust Comet Sample Return Mission, 1999-2006, extended mission, on-going: Stardust was the first U.S. space mission dedicated solely to returning extraterrestrial material from beyond the Moon. It collected samples from Comet Wild 2 and interstellar dust. Launched in 1999, it returned to Earth seven years later, parachuting to a landing in the Utah desert in 2006. The Stardust canister containing samples was sealed in an exterior shell that protected them from the heat of reentry. The material Stardust returned may date from the formation of the solar system. Scientific studies of the samples are altering our understanding of the universe. One major discovery is that ice-rich comets, the coldest and most distant bodies in the solar system, also contain fragments of materials. This return capsule is on display in the National Air and Space Museum’s “Milestones of Flight” exhibition.

Stardust Return Capsule on display in "Milestones of Flight"

•    Columbia Accident, 2003, and return to flight, 2005: The tragedy of STS-107 on February 1, 2003, cannot be overemphasized. It led to a stand down of the Space Shuttle program for more than two years, a hiatus on most construction for the International Space Station, and the decision to retire the shuttle by the end of the decade. The loss of the crew of seven, including international astronauts, was traumatic. The return to flight with STS-114 on July 26, 2005, brought a return to activity for the U.S. human spaceflight program, but the imminent retirement of the Space Shuttle opens questions about how the U.S. will undertake human activities in space. The Space Shuttle program is a major focus of the “Moving Beyond Earth” exhibition at the National Air and Space Museum.

Space Shuttle Discovery Launches on Return to Flight mission STS-114, July 26, 2005. (Image courtesy NASA/KSC)

•    Building of International Space Station (ISS), 1998-2009: With the first elements launched and joined in orbit in 1998, the building of ISS has consumed most of the human space missions of both the United States and Russia for the last decade. Since the occupation of the Expedition One crew to ISS—William M. (Bill) Shepherd, Yuri Pavlovich Gidzenko, and Sergei K. Krikalev—in 2001 there has been a crew of between two and six aboard the station throughout the decade. The ISS is a major focus of the “Moving Beyond Earth” exhibition at the National Air and Space Museum.

International Space Station (ISS) in August of 2001. Photographed from the Shuttle Orbiter Discovery (STS-105) after separating from the ISS. (Image courtesy NASA/MSFC)

•    Discovery of Extrasolar Planets, 1995-present: The first planet discovered around another star was announced on October 6, 1995, and since that time 358 extrasolar planets have been discovered. Although no Earth-like planets have been discovered yet, the prospects seem good for discovery in the next few years. Imagine the excitement of such a discovery? Information about cosmology, astronomy, and astrophysics is available in the National Air and Space Museum’s “Explore the Universe” exhibition.

Artists concept of an extrasolar planet. (Image courtesy NASA/STScI)

•    Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) Shoemaker Mission, 1996-2001: NEAR Shoemaker was launched on February 17, 1996, journeyed to the Mathilde asteroid for a flyby, and then landed on the Asteroid 433 Eros on February 12, 2001, while transmitting 69 close-up images of the surface during its final descent. It was the first spacecraft mission specifically designed to study an asteroid. We would really like to collect NEAR Shoemaker for the National Air and Space Museum, but that will have to await a return to Asteroid 433 Eros with capability to return cargo. I probably won’t see this in my lifetime. There is more information on asteroids and their exploration in the National Air and Space Museum’s “Exploring the Planets” exhibition.

433 Eros (Image courtesy JHU/APL)

Last image of 433 Eros sent back from NEAR Shoemaker before it landed. (Image courtesy JHU/APL)

•    Chandra X-Ray Observatory, 1999-Present: Since its launch on July 23, 1999, the Chandra X-ray Observatory has engaged in X-ray astronomy of the universe, taking its place in the fleet of what NASA calls its “Great Observatories” program. Designed to observe X-rays from high-energy regions of the universe, such as the remnants of exploded stars and even particles up to the last second before they fall into a black hole, Chandra has greatly enhanced our understanding of the origin and evolution of the universe. There is a Chandra 1/5-scale model in the National Air and Space Museum’s “Explore the Universe” exhibition.

1/5-scale model of Chandra X-ray Observatory hangs in "Explore The Universe"

•    Hubble Servicing Missions, STS-109 (2002), STS-125 (2009): The Hubble Space Telescope is acclaimed as one of the most significant astronomical instruments in history. First deployed in 1990, it has been serviced five times by astronauts visiting it aboard the Space Shuttle. These missions have extended its service life, and the most recent in 2009 appears to have extended its capabilities for the better part of the next decade. The structural dynamics test article for the Hubble Space Telescope is on display in the “Space Race” exhibition at the National Air and Space Museum. During that last servicing mission, NASA removed the Corrective Optics Space Telescope Axial Replacement (COSTAR) and it is on display in the National Air and Space Museum’s “Moving Beyond Earth” exhibition.

Hubble Test Telescope in "Space Race"

COSTAR

•    Shenzou V, 2003: Until 2003 only two nations had sent humans into space. On October 15-16, 2003, China joined Russia and United States in that exclusive club when taikonaut Yang Liwei completed 14 orbits of the Earth. The trip into space started when the Long March rocket carrying Yang in the Shenzhou V capsule blasted off from the Jiuquan launch center. The National Air and Space Museum looks forward to the prospect of displaying objects associated with the Chinese space program.

I could have offered several other events for this list—the completion of the Milstar constellation, the advance of GPS into everyday life, the launch of Falcon 9 with its Dragon capsule, and the recognition of John Mather and George Smoot with the Nobel Prize for their elucidation of the Big Bang theory with data from the Cosmic Background Explore—all come to mind. I invite others to offer their own lists of significant space events in the first decade of the twenty-first century.

Roger D. Launius is senior curator in the Space History Division of the National Air and Space Museum.

Fourteen Days on “The Moon” in Arizona

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It’s a quarter of a million miles to the Moon, we’ve got fully charged batteries, half a pack of space food, it’s daytime, and we’re wearing spacesuits. Hit it.

NASA's Lunar Electric Rover (LER). Photo courtesy NASA.

Last week I returned home from the adventure of a lifetime, a simulation of a mission on the Moon where I lived and worked inside NASA’s Lunar Electric Rover (LER) for 14 days during NASA’s Desert RATS (Research and Technology Studies) analog field test.  For the last 12 years, Desert RATS has been testing new concepts for spacesuits, robots, vehicles and tools in rugged environments that are similar to the surfaces of the Moon and Mars.  This year, Desert RATS tested how a crew of two would live and work inside a small pressurized rover (the LER), dock with various equipment and robots, and use of the rear-entry suitport for donning and doffing spacesuits.  These concepts are being tested in an effort to provide Astronauts new ways to explore the lunar surface efficiently and effectively for long duration missions.  The LER provides the crew the necessary shelter and safety to live away from their original landing site, while the suitport saves valuable time and resources by allowing Astronauts to slide in through the backpack of the spacesuits, which are attached to the outside of the rover, and be on the surface in less than 15 minutes.

Brent Garry climbs through LER suitport.

For our mission, Astronaut Mike Gernhardt and I explored Black Point Lava Flow, north of Flagstaff, Arizona.  These 14 days were packed with activities that would be completed by a crew during a real mission.  Days 1 and 2 were spent checking out the vehicle and supplies, rendezvousing with ATHLETE, and docking with the Portable Utility Palette (PUP).  Days 3 through 10 were spent studying the local geology, where we followed a series of traverses planned by the Science Team.  Using only a black and white satellite image of the area for planning, specific locations were selected for us to visit and collect samples based on a series of science questions and prioritized objectives.  Since I was the crew geologist, this was obviously my favorite part of the mission.  My favorite view was at the far end of the lava flow looking over a river valley towards the rock formations to the east.  On days 11 through 14, we docked with a portable habitat being carried by ATHLETE, moved regolith around with the LANCE, and rescued another two person crew from a broken down LER.  Four of us spent 24 hours inside one LER simulating a rescue mission on the Moon.  Surprisingly, there was still a lot of room inside with four people.  We each took turns driving and sleeping through the night.  By the time the mission was completed, Mike and I had driven over 120 kilometers (75 miles) and spent over 300 hours inside the LER.

Brent on an EVA to collect samples. Photo courtesy NASA.

Daily life inside the LER was very fun and it was convenient to have everything you needed literally within arms reach.  Each morning we tagged up with Houston to go over our daily plan and had our breakfast.  Our meals consisted of real space food and dehydrated camping food.  There was a “sink” with hot and cold water to make our meals with, which were actually really tasty.  The bathroom was a glorified camping toilet, nothing fancy, just some special plastic bags.  Our personal gear and food was stowed in lockers within the side hatches and beneath the floor boards and bunks.  We exercised for at least one hour each day using a stationary bicycle machine and resistance bands.  Special clothing with silver lined threads to kill odors allowed us to reuse the same set of shirts and shorts for the entire mission.  At night, we unfolded curtains attached to the walls and ceiling to create individual sleep stations which were both dark and sound proof.  After a good night sleep, we woke up and did it all over again.

This mission would not have been possible without an absolutely amazing ground support team who followed us every step of the way and served as the mission control back in “Houston”.  This experience truly shows that human exploration of the Moon takes more than just the crew, but relies heavily on a dedicated and hard working team back on the ground to make it all possible.

Brent Garry is a Planetary Geologist in the National Air and Space Museum’s Center for Earth and Planetary Studies.