Astronomy Semester 2 Module 6: The Future of Space Travel

What was the average speed of the first flight of a powered airplane?

10 feet per second

what's another way SpaceX is attempting to lower the cost of launching rockets?

Another way that SpaceX is attempting to lower the cost of launching rockets into outer space is by innovation of their autonomous spaceport drone ships (ASDS), or large ships that wait in a strategic portion of the ocean to be available for returning spacecrafts to land on. These were designed in order to allow rockets to land in a location in the ocean without being damaged by landing in the water, as many re-entering spacecrafts are. If a rocket doesn't have enough fuel to reach the landing pad on solid ground, it now has the ability to land on one of two operating ASDSs without being damaged by landing in open water. As of April 11, 2019, SpaceX's rocket Falcon 9 has successfully landed in 23 of 29 attempts on an ASDS. Currently, the only two operating drone ships are called Just Read the Instructions, which is stationed in the Port of Los Angeles, and Of Course I Still Love You, which is stationed at Port Canaveral off the Florida coast. Funny names for such important pieces of engineering magic!

Final Questions: Which of the following goals was NOT a goal for the Curiosity mission to Mars? A. to begin preparing for human exploration of Mars B. to set up stationary satellites around Mars C. to characterize the climate and geology of Mars D. to determine fi there was ever life on Mars

B; Since Curiosity was a rover, or land-based vehicle, it wouldn't be used to set up satellites in space.

Why did climate change gain prevalence in the 1970s

Before the middle of the 1960s, geologists and other Earth scientists believed that our climate would change very slowly over time—hundreds and thousands of years. However, in the 1970s (the same time NASA was handed Earth science-based responsibilities), scientists began to speculate that perhaps climate change could progress more rapidly. The evidence showed that in the past, Earth's climate had changed drastically, within decades in some cases. This evidence brought importance and urgency to the study of climate change. It also gained political interest as well. For about half of a century, scientists have known that human activity plays a part in increasing the amount of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Some of these gases include carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and chlorofluorocarbons.

Lesson 01: Looking to the Future

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Lesson 02: : Life Out There

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Lesson 03: The Technology Behind Future Space Travel

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Lesson 04: Astronomy and Climate Change - A Modern Perspective

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SpaceX rocket reusability

But, in order to reuse a rocket, it must be designed very carefully with great attention to the details of construction and the materials engineers select. It must be able to launch, complete its mission (whatever that may be), return to Earth's atmosphere, and land without any major damage to the spacecraft. In contrast, many other spacecrafts essentially self-destruct as they re-enter Earth's atmosphere and approach landing (or "splashing" into the ocean). SpaceX, however, is changing the game, again with Falcon 9. On December 21, 2015, the Falcon 9 rocket completed its mission of delivering 11 communications satellites into Earth's orbit and landing back onto the surface of Earth. This was the first-ever orbital class rocket landing.

Final Questions: Where would you MOST likely find an organism that would be considered an extremophile? A. the Arctic circle B. the Amazon rainforest C. the Mariana Trench D. the Sahara desert

C; In the deepest ocean depths, there is no light and incredibly intense pressure, making this hostile to life as we know it.

What are Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)?

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are the most complex of the semi-abundant greenhouse gases. This gas is anthropogenic, or man-made, and is a synthetic compound. CFCs are generally safe in the lower atmosphere of Earth and are mainly found in refrigerants such as air conditioners, refrigerators, aerosols, packing materials, and solvents—substances used to dissolve other substances.

You are talking to your grandmother—who grew up in the 1960s—about climate change. She asks you a lot of questions about the issue, and in the end, isn't sure she believes it to be a problem. Upon reflection, what belief about climate that was popular in the 1960s might have influenced your grandmother's conclusion that she isn't sure climate change is a problem?

Climate change happened over hundreds and thousands of years, not quickly.

how do we conduct research and observations and hypothesize how our climate might change over a given period of time?

Currently, NASA has around 17 space missions that collect data from observations of Earth. Some of these observations include ocean temperature, amount of ice at the poles, sea level rise, and the abundance of ozone gas in the atmosphere. Over the last 30 or more years, the data has been analyzed and studied, and in 2007, this information helped the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change come to a conclusion about the risks climate change may pose in the near future. They announced that the rise in average temperature across the globe since the mid-20th century is very likely due to anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. But we still don't know what the actual outcomes will be. Will it continue to get warmer? Will we begin to cool down soon into a small ice age? Will the sea level rise progress? And furthermore, what will happen socially and economically as a result of this apparent climate change? If we study what has happened in the past with our planet's climate and study precise observations from above with NASA's satellites, the hope is that we can come together as a species to continue to thrive as, so far, the only intelligent life in the known universe.

Final Questions: Which of the following is an example of sublimation? A. water being turned into ice cubes B. droplets appearing on a cold glass of water C. vapor above a boiling liquid D. gas being expelled from dry ice

D; Sublimation refers to a solid turning directly into a gas without passing through a liquid stated first; dry ice releasing gas is an excellent example of this.

What are extremophiles? And why are they important to study when talking about habitable zones?

Even though humans cannot survive many extreme conditions, there are organisms that have been found on Earth that can—though maybe not to the extent of the conditions on Venus. But if there is a planet out there in the habitable zone of their own star with a slightly more extreme environment than that of Earth, that doesn't necessarily rule out the possibility of life. By studying these extremophiles, or organisms that can survive in harsh conditions, scientists have learned about how some organisms react to extreme temperatures, pressure, and acidity levels. For example, on Earth extremophiles flourish in volcanic vents with temperatures far above boiling and even in the deepest parts of the ocean where pressure can be equal to 1,000 times greater than it is here on the surface.

what is one element that is a very significant factor when it comes to supporting life?

Hydrogen in gas form is one example and is a very significant factor when it comes to supporting life.

What is the Trappist-1 System

In 2016, a planetary system was discovered 39 light years from Earth. This planetary system consisted of a dim and ultracool dwarf star, along with seven rocky Earth-sized exoplanets. What's interesting about this planetary system is that three of the exoplanets orbiting their host star lie within the habitable zone of their star, Trappist-1. The planets are easily named Trappist-B, Trappist-C, Trappist-D and so on until the last planet, Trappist-H. Trappist-E, -F, and -G are the three planets that orbit in the habitable zone, and each has a high potential for harboring liquid water.

What does SpaceX aim to do in regards to the cost of launching a mission to outer space?

In addition to making space travel accessible to the masses, SpaceX also aims to lower the cost of launching a mission to outer space. To put this into perspective, all of the Apollo missions that landed on the Moon—beginning in the early 1970s—cost the US government a total of about $25.4 billion, or the equivalent of $150 billion today. In other words, each one of the six Apollo missions individually would have cost $25 billion in today's currency. If humans want to continue to explore the cosmos, the cost of building and launching, as well as any payload costs, must decrease. As we'll learn, the Falcon 9 from SpaceX is aiming to change the game by launching for around $57 million—quite the savings over Apollo prices (and with much more advanced technology to boot!)

What needs to happen in order for planets to form liquid water on the surface?

In order for planets to form liquid water on the surface, they need to be in what is called the habitable zone. This is the area located around a star where liquid water can be formed and pooled; it is also known as the Goldilocks Zone. The habitable zone—or Goldilocks Zone if you prefer—differs depending on the type of star it is associated with. Larger stars have a habitable zone that extends further from the star, and smaller stars have a habitable zone that is closer because they give off less heat than their larger counterparts.

What other natural occurrences have an effect on our climate?

Increased solar activity, natural occurrences such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, and even Earth's tilt can have a large effect on our climate as well. The Sun is the primary source of energy when it comes to driving our climate. So the more energy output that the Sun releases, the more heat energy accompanies it. This heat can force the temperature of our atmosphere to increase as well. Earth's axis tilts anywhere from 22.1° to 24.5°. Right now, Earth's axis is tilted at 23.5°. As Earth's axis shifts, which happens gradually over a 41,000-year period, it can have a noticeable effect on our weather patterns, as it causes the Sun to direct its energy to different parts of Earth for longer periods of time.

Earth is not the only planet in the habitable zone; Venus and Mars are technically in our own solar system's habitable zone, so why don't they harbor life?

It all comes down to atmosphere—they're just not quite right. Venus's atmosphere is too thick and Mars's is too thin. Venus has developed a thick atmosphere as a result of an extreme greenhouse effect, or when some of the Sun's heat is trapped in a planet's lower atmosphere by certain gases. Over time, this process creates a warmer planet. Interestingly though, scientists believe that billions of years ago Venus, which is only 5 percent smaller than Earth, actually may have had the ability to sustain life.

How do computers help astronauts with their plans for future travel?

Just like the computers that helped the Apollo mission travel to the Moon and back, computers are now used for every space mission, in almost every single aspect of the process. NASA, with the help of Hewlett Packard Enterprises, an informational technology company, is attempting to design a new type of computer system that would help complete a manned mission to Mars. One debacle that the Apollo Moon mission had was that the computer system read error "1202" just before landing on the Moon. This caused quite a stir aboard the spacecraft and in the control room. The engineers on the ground eventually learned that the 1202 error was caused by the computer system holding too much data—it was nearly filled to capacity, as the information it had to compute in order to land was almost too much for it to hold. Thankfully, everything went according to plan, but not before shaking up the Apollo team.

What are other natural gases that contribute to climate change, as greenhouse gas? And how are they produced?

Methane is a natural gas, but when landfills are created or coal is mined, this greenhouse gas increases. Similarly, when rice is harvested, the bacteria from the water-logged soil releases large quantities of methane, along with nitrous oxide. Nitrous oxide, sometimes referred to as laughing gas, is nothing to joke about. This efficient greenhouse gas is produced when coal plants burn fossil fuels. The nitrogen in the air combines with the oxygen creating this heat-trapping gas.

Curiosity (Mars Rover)

NASA's Curiosity rover landed on Mars on August 6, 2012, and in March of 2018 it celebrated its 2,000th sol (Mars day) on the planet. The goals for this mission were to determine if there was ever life on Mars, characterize the climate and geology, and begin preparing for human exploration. Remember, NASA and SpaceX plan to send humans to Mars by 2030!

What happens when the Chlorofluorocarbons make their way to the ozone layer?

Once this gas makes its way up into the stratosphere and comes into contact with the Sun's radiation though, it starts to decompose. The decomposition of this man-made gas creates inorganic chlorine, a compound that has been found to damage the ozone layer around Earth. The ozone protects everything on Earth from the Sun's harmful UV-B radiation.

What is one extremophile that has caught the eye of many scientists? And why?

One extremophile that has caught the eye of many scientists is the tardigrade. Tardigrades have proven themselves to be the most indestructible organisms on the planet. Since their discovery in 1773, scientists have continued to be surprised at how far they can push the boundaries of the tardigrade's survival mechanisms without them dying. Tardigrades have been tested in a number of extreme environments. Scientists have frozen tardigrades down to "functional" absolute zero, or -459.31° F (-273.12°C). Absolute zero is theoretically the coldest temperature imaginable and corresponds to 0° Kelvin. At this point, particles essentially stop moving and thus cease to create a measurable amount of heat. Even after being exposed to this temperature, when the tardigrades thawed out, they began to function normally, as if nothing happened. They have survived being boiled. They have withstood extreme pressure and even gone on to live after being suffocated with various gases. And what baffled scientists the most is when they were launched into the vacuum of space completely unprotected, and—you guessed it—still lived. Their survival in these harsh environments helps aid the search for life on other planets because scientists are able to understand what conditions certain forms of life can actually withstand.

Why did NASA shift their focus to Earth Science in the 1970s?

Originally, the organization's main objective was to carry out space observations, and Earth science was far from their focus. However, in the early 1970s, NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) and USGS (US Geological Survey) had their budgets cut due to the economy at the time. This put pressure on NASA to begin collecting the data and observations along with now taking on the responsibility of conducting the research and presenting it themselves. However, they were not awarded with a larger budget; on the contrary, their budget was also cut significantly. But in 1976, Congress asked NASA to start doing more research addressing national needs such as ozone depletion, air pollution, energy efficiency, and, lastly, climate change. Congress revised the Space Act to give NASA the necessary budget and authority to carry out their new objectives, finalizing NASA's place in Earth science research.

Which planets have hydrogen in one form or the other within them?

Saturn's moon Enceladus contains this element in a gaseous state. Another of Saturn's moons, Titan, is home to lakes and rivers. But, as we previously discussed, these lakes and rivers are composed of methane and ethane, not liquid water unfortunately. However, Titan is the only body that we know of in our solar system that contains any kind of stable liquid.

What is something that is being developed to stop an error like 1202 from happening again?

Scientists keep past experiences like this in mind when developing the technology to accomplish new space explorations, like a manned mission to Mars, which would take much more computing power than ever before. A memory-driven computer system is being developed, although it is still in its infancy, that would solve a 1202-like error resulting from data overload on a mission to Mars. This computer system would be lightweight and hundreds of times faster than today's most advanced computers.

Since when had NASA been investigating Mars with rovers?

Since 1997, NASA has been investigating Mars with rovers, or space exploration vehicles designed to move about the surface of a planet and either carry humans or act as complete autonomous robots. There have been four successful Mars rovers

What is special about SpaceX's rockets (or something that they aim to do with their rockets in order to reduce the cost)

SpaceX believes in rocket reusability in order to save money instead of building brand new rockets for each mission. For example, the Falcon 9 rocket was built and tested in 2010. This rocket has already been reused over 60 times. The cost to build a new rocket each time greatly outweighs the cost of re-launching the already built rocket.

Which company other than NASA stationed in the US is at the forefront of private for-profit space endeavors?

SpaceX created by Elon Musk

Who is Elon Musk and how did he gain relevance not only in the space discussion?

SpaceX was founded in 2002 by CEO Elon Musk, the South-African-born entrepreneur known not only for SpaceX but also for the massively successful luxury car manufacturing company Tesla Motors. In terms of serious space travel, SpaceX is considered the biggest name outside of NASA because of the historical "firsts" that it has accomplished. In fact, SpaceX has been hired by NASA to create, design, and build some of the latest rockets for launch. Most famously, in March 2012, SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft became the first commercial spacecraft to visit the International Space Station. Although this mission was unmanned, plans for the next versions of the Dragon spacecraft include hosting humans in a comfortable environment as they travel to their destination in space—anywhere from the International Space Station to the Moon, and maybe even Mars!

Sojourner (Mars Rover)

The first rover, Sojourner, was deployed to Mars in 1997. Originally designed for about a 7-day mission, it ended up being active for 85 days (or 83 "Martian" days)! Did you know it was named after Sojourner Truth, the women's rights and anti-slavery advocate?

What led to the increase in carbon dioxide emissions that caused climate change?

The industrial revolution (coal and gas) and deforestation; Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere increases both naturally and as a by-product of human activities. For example, when volcanoes erupt, they produce immense amounts of carbon dioxide—a process that has been ongoing since the birth of our planet. The much more recent Industrial Revolution brought a drastic change in human behavior overall—from smaller agrarian-based societies to larger, more complex industrial societies that relied on transportation and technology to propel business growth. Since this point, humans have been engaging in processes that create excess carbon dioxide. Two notable activities by which humans have added more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere are clearing land and cutting down forests for human settlement and business development and burning fossil fuels to power this expansion. Deforestation, or the process of clearing large amounts of land by cutting down trees, increases carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. This is a problem because plants "breathe in" carbon dioxide and "breathe out" oxygen; the exact opposite of humans, who breathe in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide. More plants on Earth consume more carbon dioxide and create more oxygen; so fewer plants (or trees) means that more carbon dioxide stays in the atmosphere. Likewise, when humans burn fossil fuels (which are carbon-based) to power industrial mechanisms, more carbon dioxide is emitted. Coal and gas are the two biggest fossil fuels being burned off today

What is the largest telescope in the world?

The largest telescope, for example, the Gran Telescopio CANARIAS, is maintained by computers. This telescope measures a total of 10 meters (34 feet) across. Its home is in the Canary Islands of Spain, just southwest of the African country Morocco. The power of this gigantic telescope is immense. To compare, it has the viewing power of 4,000,000 human eyes. It could distinguish car headlights over 19,312 kilometers (12,000 miles) away. That's roughly the distance from Spain to Australia!

What is the most important substance when it comes to sustaining life?

The most important of all elements that we know of in order to truly sustain life is water. Where water is found on Earth, there is life. It's the most crucial part of carbon-based life, which is the only life we know of so far.

What happened to the water that astronomers theorized Venus had at one point?

They have reason to believe that there was liquid water on the surface of the planet at one time. But Venus's greenhouse effect began to take off in a catastrophic way. The carbon dioxide in the atmosphere—which is very effective at trapping heat—began to rise, causing the temperature to rise with it. All of the water on the planet boiled off and turned to water vapor. What's more, water vapor is even more effective at trapping heat than carbon dioxide, causing more exponential warming. Eventually, it became so hot that the carbon trapped in rocks sublimated into the atmosphere. Sublimation is a chemical process by which a solid turns directly into a gas without passing through a liquid state first. Because of these events, Venus is the hottest planet in our solar system.

Why are the planets in the Trappist-1 system theorized to be inhospitable to life despite the presence of water?

They might actually have too much water! A new study suggests that these three "water worlds" found in the Trappist-1 system are comprised of up to 5 percent water. That's roughly 100 times the amount of water found on our home planet Earth (which is, by mass, about 0.05 percent water), yet these exoplanets are just about the same size as Earth. This suggests that too much water may actually deter the evolution of life.

How did astronomers find out the human body could survive falling from the edge of the stratosphere? Or if a human body could break the sound barrier?

Today, computers run the game, but in the almost literal sense of the phrase, human space flight was achieved by Felix Baumgartner with his record-breaking free fall from 39,045 meters (128,100 feet) above the ground, which is considered to be within the stratosphere of our planet. He opened the door of his one-man capsule and stepped out toward Earth on October 14, 2012. The main goal of this Red Bull Stratos mission was to explore human limits for research in future space travel. Other goals for the mission were to see if a human body alone could travel fast enough to break the sound barrier, at 343 meters per second (1125 feet per second) and reach Mach 1—which is another name for the speed of sound. The last goal was to break the record for highest balloon flight. A helium-filled balloon, thinner than a plastic Ziploc bag, carried Felix into the stratosphere. It weighed over 3,000 pounds, and if stretched out, would be as large as 40 acres.

the NASA computers that launched the Apollo Missions have considerably less computational power than an average smartphone True or False?

True; That's right. Your smartphone has more computing power than the four computers NASA used to send the Apollo mission to the Moon. While these older computers might pale in comparison to what we have today, there is one important design aspect of those NASA computers that would beat out a smartphone any day: they were crash-proof—and not in a physical impact crash kind of way. Remember, the computers that controlled the Apollo mission to the Moon were all on the ground in mission control, so they weren't going to get hit with anything. Rather, their software was designed to never turn off, stop, or update ("crash") at an inopportune time, the way our smartphones or even laptops can. These NASA computers, at the time, were technically about 10 years ahead of their commercial counterparts.

What is CIMON?

With robots literally paving the way for our future, SpaceX, along with European company Airbus, have developed the first robot with AI (artificial intelligence) specially design to be sent into space. CIMON, short for Crew Interactive Mobile Companion, was sent to the International Space Station in SpaceX's Dragon cargo capsule in the summer of 2018. It successfully completed the two-day journey to the ISS. This is a ground-breaking mission because it will create more opportunities to launch other AI technologies into space to complete missions on their own without relying on human intercession. These types of technologies can be programed with mission objectives and even the skills needed to pilot a spacecraft!

Test Questions: Not only did the Red Bull Stratos mission break the record for highest free-fall by a human, it also set what record?

highest BASE jump

When our planet makes a complete revolution around our axis, we call it a "day." What is the term used for the same instance on Mars?

sols (short for "solar day")