UNIVERSE EXPLORATION

Universe Exploration – very short view...

[at the beginning I would like to inform you that I’m not allowed to place here every worth news and information – this is a topic for hours, even days. If you read and decide that it’s not enough you will find more at provided links]

Space exploration is the use of astronomy and space technology to explore outer space.

Physical exploration of space is conducted both by human spaceflights and by robotic spacecraft. While the observation of objects in space, known as astronomy, predates reliable recorded history, it was the development of large and relatively efficient rockets during the early 20th century that allowed physical space exploration to become a reality. Common rationales for exploring space include advancing scientific research, uniting different nations, ensuring the future survival of humanity and developing military and strategic advantages against other countries. Various criticisms of space exploration are sometimes made.

The early era of space exploration was driven by a "Space Race" between the Soviet Union and the United States. The USSR launched the first man-made object to orbit the Earth - Sputnik 1 on October 4 1957. But American Apollo 11 craft putted the first man on the Moon on July 20 1969 The Soviet space program achieved many of the first milestones, including the first living being in orbit in 1957, the first human spaceflight (Yuri Gagarin aboard Vostok 1) in 1961, the first spacewalk (by Aleksei Leonov) in 1965, the first automatic landing on another celestial body in 1966, and the launch of the first space station (Salyut 1) in 1971.

After the first 20 years of exploration, focus shifted from one-off flights to renewable hardware, such as the Space Shuttle program (Space Shuttle – kind of a spacecraft designed by NASA for orbital spaceflight missions), and from competition to cooperation as with the International Space Station (ISS – internationally developed research facility placed on the lower Earth orbit).

From the 1990s onwards, private interests began promoting space tourism and then private space exploration of the Moon.

In the 2000s, the People's Republic of China initiated a successful manned spaceflight program, while the European Union, Japan, and India have also planned future manned space missions. The United States has committed to return to the Moon by 2018 and later Mars. China, Russia, Japan, and India have advocated manned missions to the Moon during the 21st century, while the European Union has advocated manned missions to both the Moon and Mars during the 21st century.

Targets of exploration

The Sun

While the Sun will probably not be physically explored in the close future, one of the reasons for going into space includes knowing more about the Sun. Once above the atmosphere in particular and the Earth's magnetic field, this gives access to the Solar wind and infrared and ultraviolet radiations that cannot reach the surface of the Earth. The Sun generates most space weather, which can affect power generation and transmission systems on Earth and interfere with, and even damage, satellites and space probes.

Mercury

Mercury remains the least explored of the inner planets. As of January 2008, the Mariner 10 and Messenger (http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/messenger/main/index.html) missions have been the only missions that have made close observations of Mercury. Messenger made a fly-by of Mercury on 14 January 2008, to further investigate the observations made by Mariner 10 in 1975 (Munsell, 2006). A third mission to Mercury, scheduled to arrive in 2020, BepiColombo is a joint mission between Japan and the European Space Agency.

Flights to other planets within the Solar System are accomplished at a cost in energy, which is described by the net change in velocity of the spacecraft, or delta-v. Due to the relatively high delta-v to reach Mercury and its proximity to the Sun, it is difficult to explore and orbits around it are rather unstable.

Venus

Venus was the first target of interplanetary flyby and lender missions and, despite one of the most hostile surface environments in the solar system, has had more lenders sent to it (nearly all from the Soviet Union) than any other planet in the solar system. The first successful Venus flyby was the American Mariner 2 spacecraft, which flew past Venus in 1962. Ten successful orbiter missions have been sent to Venus, including later missions which were able to map the surface of Venus using radar to pierce the obscuring atmosphere.

Earth

Space exploration has been used as a tool to understand the Earth as a celestial object in its own right. Orbital missions can provide data for the Earth that can be difficult or impossible to obtain from a purely ground-based point of reference.

Earth's Moon

Earth's Moon was the first celestial body to be the object of space exploration. It holds the distinctions of being the first remote celestial object to be flown by, orbited, and landed upon by spacecraft, and the only remote celestial object ever to be visited by humans.

In 1959 the Soviets obtained the first images of the far side of the Moon, never previously visible to humans. The U.S. exploration of the Moon began with the Ranger 4 in 1962.

In 1969 the Apollo 11 (http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/apollo/index.html.) mission marked the first time humans set foot upon another world. Manned exploration of the Moon did not continue for long, however. The Apollo 17 mission in 1972 marked the last time humans would visit the Moon in any form and no human exploration mission is planned to reach the Moon any time in the near future.

Mars

The exploration of Mars has been an important part of the space exploration programs of the Soviet Union (later Russia), the United States, Europe, and Japan. Dozens of robotic spacecraft, including orbiters, landers, and rovers, have been launched toward Mars since the 1960s. These missions were aimed at gathering data about current conditions and answering questions about the history of Mars. Just to find the water and possible future of Earth.

The exploration of Mars has come at a considerable financial cost with roughly two-thirds of all spacecraft destined for Mars failing before completing their missions, with some failing before they even began.

The Phoenix lander descended on Mars on May 25, 2008. Mission scientists used instruments aboard the lander to search for environments suitable for microbial life on Mars, and to research the history of water there. May 25, 2010 NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander has ended operations after repeated attempts to contact the spacecraft were unsuccessful. A new image transmitted by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows signs of severe ice damage to the lander's solar panels.

Phobos [Mars’s Moon]

The Russian space mission Phobos-Grunt, Scheduled to launch in 2011, will begin exploration of the Phobos and Martian circumterrestrial orbit, and study whether the moons of Mars, or at least Phobos, could be a "trans-shipment point" for spaceships travelling to Mars.

Jupiter

The exploration of Jupiter has consisted solely of a number of automated NASA spacecraft visiting the planet since 1973. The Galileo ( ) spacecraft is the only one to have orbited the planet. As Jupiter is believed to have only a relatively small rocky core and no real solid surface, a landing mission is nearly impossible.

Jupiter has over 60 known moons, many of which have relatively little known about them.

Saturn

Saturn has been explored only through unmanned spacecraft launched by NASA, including one mission planned and executed in cooperation with other space agencies. These missions consist of flybys in 1979 by Pioneer 11, in 1980 by Voyager 1, in 1982 by Voyager 2 (http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/voyager/index.html) and an orbital mission by the Cassini (http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/cassini/main/index.html) spacecraft which entered orbit in 2004 and is expected to continue its mission well into 2010.

Saturn has at least 62 satellities, although the exact number is debatable since Saturn's rings are made up of vast numbers of independently orbiting objects of varying sizes.

Uranus

The exploration of Uranus has been entirely through the Voyager 2 (see upper link) spacecraft, with no other visits currently planned. Given its axial tilt of 97.77°, with its polar regions exposed to sunlight or darkness for long periods, scientists were not sure what to expect at Uranus. The closest approach to Uranus occurred on January 24, 1986. Voyager 2 studied the planet's unique atmosphere and magnetosphere. Voyager 2 also examined its ring system and the moons of Uranus including all five of the previously known moons, while discovering an additional ten previously unknown moons.

Neptune

The exploration of Neptune began with the August 25, 1989 Voyager 100 (see upper link) flyby, the sole visit to the system as of 2009. The possibility of a Neptune Orbiter has been discussed, but no other missions have been given serious thought.

Pluto

The dwarf planet (is a celestial body orbiting a star that is massive enough to be spherical as a result of its own gravity but has not cleared its neighbouring region of planetesimals and is not a satellite).

Pluto presents significant challenges for spacecraft because of its great distance from Earth (requiring high velocity for reasonable trip times) and small mass (making capture into orbit very difficult at present). Voyager 1 could have visited Pluto, but controllers opted instead for a close flyby of Saturn's moon Titan, resulting in a trajectory incompatible with a Pluto flyby. Voyager 2 never had a plausible trajectory for reaching Pluto.

Current missions:

http://www.nasa.gov/missions/current/index.html

Future missions:

http://www.nasa.gov/missions/future/index.html

Hot news about the Space:

On 2024 NASA is going to start a colonization of the Moon by finishing the first space base. It will be a short stop between Mars expansion in 2030.

NASA, based on Stephen Hawking knowledge and discoveries, plans to find an alternative planet (solution) for the Earth. “People should start to colonize Universe, otherwise they would destroy life on the Earth.

The European astrologists discovered the Earth-like planet that could be covered in oceans and may support life is 20.5 light years away, and has the right temperature to allow liquid water on its surface.

Worth to see:

http://phoenix.lpl.arizona.edu/index.php,

http://www.universetoday.com/,

http://www.nasa.gov/,

http://www.space.com/

1) What is your opinion about colonization of the Universe? Should humans do that?

2) Is there any other life out there?

3) Should we find The Star Wars and Star Treck plots more realistic nowadays?