Space Race

International Space Station

sputnikandmore — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 03:36:23 +0000

The International Space Station was a joint effort by five countries: The US with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Japan with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Russia with the Russian Federal Space Agency, Canada with the Canadian Space Agency, and Europe with the European Space Agency. It was launched on November 20th, 1998. The crew arrived on November 2nd, 2000.

Voyager 1 and 2

sputnikandmore — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 01:53:28 +0000

The Voyager 1 & 2 were twin probes launched by the US. Their mission was to Jupiter and Saturn. They both did, but then Voyager 2 went on to Uranus and Neptune. Voyager 1 passed Uranus and Neptune, but never got close enough to photograpd them. Soon after it became the first spacecraft to experience heliopause.

Apollo 1

sputnikandmore — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 23:12:50 +0000

Apollo 1 was the first of the US’ Apollo spacecrafts. Apollo 1′s crew of three, Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee all died during a fire that started during a test of the spacecraft. The Apollo 1 led the way for the many Apollo missions soon to come.

Mars Rover

sputnikandmore — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 22:32:09 +0000

The two twin Mars rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, have been on Mars since 2004. They were originally a three month mission but are still up there today. They are designed to take pictures of the planet and send them back to Earth. Together, they have covered alot of land. Spirit recently got stuck in some mud on Mars and can’t move. It may be a while before we can get it working again.

Space Monkeys

sputnikandmore — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 15:51:10 +0000

Able and Baker were monkeys (Able: rhesus monkey)(Baker: squirrel monkey). The important thing about Able and Baker was that they were the first living creature to go into space, and get back to earth alive. Able and Baker were placed in the nose-cone of a Jupiter missile, and launched into space by NASA. Able and Baker’s trip to space was 15 minutes, getting recovered near Puerto Rico. Both monkeys were back in good condition, Baker lived on, but Able died during an operation after his trip to space.

Apollo 11

sputnikandmore — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 03:37:09 +0000

The Apollo 11 was the first manned spacecraft landed on the moon. It was launched July 16, 1969. Two US astronauts, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, took the first steps on the moon by humans on July 20, 1969. The crew on the Apollo 11 were the first to get pieces of material from other planets. Neil Armstrong once said, ”That was one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.”

The Pioneer 11

sputnikandmore — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 03:26:01 +0000

The Pioneer 11 is a US spacecraft. The Pioneer 11 was first launched on April 6, 1973 on a mission to Jupiter.

On September 1, 1979 the Pioneer 11 passed within 12,980 miles of Saturn identified an never before seen ring, that was named the F ring. Then the Pioneer 11 discovered 2 new moons of Saturn. The Pioneer 11 also discovered that Saturn’s temperature is -180 C, or -292 F.

The Pioneer 11 exploration ended September 30, 1995. The Pioneer 11 was last sent heading towards the constellation Aquila (the Eagle). The Pioneer should reach near a star in that constellation in about 4 million years.

The Explorer 1

sputnikandmore — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 02:52:47 +0000

The Explorer 1 was the first artificial satellite launched by the US. It was launched on February 1, 1958. The Explorer 1 led the Explorer series, with 13 successful satellites launched by 1962.

Priroda

sputnikandmore — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 01:41:45 +0000

The Priroda was the sixth and last edition to the Mir Space Station. The Priroda was launched on 4/23/96. The Priroda was first attached to the Mir Space Station on April 26, 1996, then moved to a permanent spot on April 27, 1996. The Priroda was sent into space to study the water masses (oceans & seas), atmosphere, and land on earth.

Mariner 10

sputnikandmore — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 00:42:21 +0000

There were 10 Mariner space probes, in part of a US space race program called the Mariner mission during the 1960’s and ’70’s. Their purpose was to explore Mercury, Venus, and Mars. The total cost for all ten of the spacecrafts was approximately $554 million.

The Mariner 10 was the first spacecraft to use the gravitational pull of a planet (Venus) to reach another (Mercury). It took pictures and collected data on Mercury. It was the first too take close up pictures of Venus and Mercury. In all, it cost about $100 million.