Asteroids: Physical and Chemical Properties
by
James
As seen through a telescope without special image compensation (adaptive optics), an individual asteroid is an unresolved starlike point. The word asteroid means starlike. Before about 1970, almost nothing was known about the physical nature of asteroids, and research was confined to discovering and charting orbits and determining rotational rates
Basic Asteroid Statistics
by
James
Our census of the larger asteroids is fairly complete by now, based primarily on ground-based surveys, complemented by infrared space observations, such as those from the Infrared Astronomy Satellite (IRAS) in 1983. It is likely that we have discovered all main-belt asteroids 25km or more in diameter, and discovery should be more than 50% complete
Discovery of Asteroids
by
James
Asteroids are too faint to be visible to the unaided eye, so their discovery belongs to the era of telescopic astronomy. On New Year’s Day in 1801, Giuseppe Piazzi at Palermo Observatory found the first asteroid, which he named Ceres for the Roman patron goddess of Sicily. This faint object (now known as the largest asteroid) orbited the Sun at a d
Asteroids
by
James
Asteroids are small members of the solar system in heliocentric orbits concentrated between Jupiter and Mars. Since most of them have orbits that are roughly similar to those of the planets (low inclination and eccentricity), they have sometimes been called minor planets, although this term is no longer in common use. More important is the distinct
Space Disasters
by
Saqib Ansari
Space disasters, either during operations or training, have killed 18 astronauts and 4 cosmonauts (5% of all people who have been in space, 2% per flight), and a much larger number of ground crew. This is an overview of all acknowledged fatalities and near-fatalities that occurred during manned space missions, accidents during astronaut training an
Vision for Space Exploration
by
Saqib Ansari
The Vision for Space Exploration is the United States space policy announced on January 14, 2004 by President George W. Bush. It is seen as a response to the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, the state of human spaceflight at NASA, and a way to regain public enthusiasm for space exploration.
The Vision calls for the space program to:
Complete
Space Tourism and Weddings
by
Saqib Ansari
As of 2006 there have been four space tourists to the ISS, each spending ca. US$20 million; they went there aboard a Russian supply mission. There has also been a space wedding when cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko on the station married Ekaterina Dmitrieva, who was in Texas.
Golf Shot Around The World was a planned event in which, on an EVA, a specia
The International Space Station
by
Saqib Ansari
The International Space Station (ISS) is a manned research space facility that is being assembled in orbit around the Earth. It is a joint project between five space agencies: the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA, United States), the Russian Federal Space Agency (RKA, Russian Federation), the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (J
Space Station MIR
by
Saqib Ansari
Mir (Мир, which can mean both world and peace in Russian) was a Soviet (and later Russian) orbital station. It was humanity's first consistently inhabited long-term research station in space. Through a number of collaborations, it was made internationally accessible to cosmonauts and astronauts of many different countries. Mir was
Types of Space Station
by
Saqib Ansari
Broadly speaking, the space stations so far launched have been of two types; the earlier stations, Salyut and Skylab, have been "monolithic", intended to be constructed and launched in one piece, and then manned by a crew later. As such, they generally contained all their supplies and experimental equipment when launched, and were considered "expen
A Space Station
by
Saqib Ansari
A space station is an artificial structure designed for humans to live in outer space. So far only low earth orbit (LEO) stations are implemented, also known as orbital stations. A space station is distinguished from other manned spacecraft by its lack of major propulsion or landing facilities — instead, other vehicles are used as transport to and
Reusable Spacecraft
by
Saqib Ansari
The first partially reusable spacecraft, the X-15, was air-launched on a suborbital trajectory on July 19, 1963. The first partially reusable orbital spacecraft, the Space Shuttle, was launched by the USA on the 20th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's flight, on April 12, 1981. During the Shuttle era, six orbiters were built, all of which have flown in
Key People in Early Space Exploration
by
Saqib Ansari
The dream of stepping into the outer reaches of the Earth's atmosphere was driven by rocket technology. The German V2 was the first rocket to travel into space, overcoming the problems of thrust and material failure. During the final days of World War II this technology was obtained by both the Americans and Soviets as were its designers. The initi
Non-tether Space Elevator Concepts
by
Saqib Ansari
At this time orbital tethers are the only space elevator concept that is the subject of active research and commercial interest in space. However, there are two related concepts worth mentioning: a space fountain and a very tall compressive structure (i.e. a structure that stands on its own).
A space fountain would use pellets fired up from the
First Manned Space Flight
by
Saqib Ansari
The first manned spaceflight was Vostok 1, carrying 27 year old cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin on the historic date April 12, 1961. The spacecraft completed one orbit around the globe, which lasted about 1 h 48 min. Currently this milestone date is celebrated as Cosmonautics Day (Space Day).
Gagarin's flight resonated around the globe not only showing t
Space Eelevator
by
Saqib Ansari
Space elevator is a proposed structure designed to transport material from a planet's surface into space. Many different types of space elevators have been suggested. They all share the goal of replacing rocket propulsion with the traversal of a fixed structure via a mechanism not unlike an elevator in order to move material into or beyond orbit. S
Space Exploration
by
Saqib Ansari
Space exploration is the physical exploration of outer space by both manned and unmanned spacecraft. The development of large liquid-fueled rocket engines during the early 20th century allowed space exploration to become a practical possibility; it is distinct from the earth-based observation of outer space, known as astronomy, which has occurred f
Black hole gulps remote star
by
Saqib Ansari
A giant black hole displaying horrifying table manners has been caught in the act of guzzling a star in a galaxy 4 billion light-years away, scientists using an orbiting NASA telescope said on Tuesday.
For the past two years, scientists have monitored the dramatic events as the star, residing in a galaxy in the Bootes constellation, was ripped a
Photos suggest recent water on Mars
by
Saqib Ansari
New photographs from space suggest that water occasionally flows on the frigid surface of Mars, raising the tantalizing possibility that the red planet is hospitable to life, scientists reported Wednesday.
The new images, taken by NASA's Mars Global Surveyor before it lost contact with Earth, do not actually show flowing water. Rather, they show
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