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Overview. The purpose of this lab is to acquaint you with some current NASA missions. Listed below are a few selected missions within and beyond our solar system. Go to the following URL: to obtain basic profiles on the missions listed below. You will need to navigate through the site to fill in the profiles. Successful navigation is part of this exercise (also, have some fun).
Solar System Missions
1. Cassini-Huygens. The Cassini spacecraft is the first to explore the Saturn system of rings and moons from orbit. Cassini entered orbit on Jun. 30, 2004 and immediately began sending back intriguing images and data. The European Space Agency's Huygens Probe dove into Titan's thick atmosphere and landed on the surface in January 2005. The sophisticated instruments on both spacecraft are providing scientists with vital data and the best views ever of this mysterious, vast region of our solar system. Cassini-Huygens is an international collaboration between three space agencies. Seventeen nations contributed to building the spacecraft. The Cassini orbiter was built and managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The Huygens probe was built by the European Space Agency. The Italian Space agency provided Cassini's high-gain communication antenna. More than 250 scientists worldwide are studying the data streaming back from Saturn on a daily basis.
Mission Profile for Cassini-Huygens
Flyby, Orbiter, Lander, or sample return ? ______
If landing mission, names of the lander(s): ______
Launch date(s): ______
Arrival date(s): ______
Landing site (if any): ______
Science Instruments: ______
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Important findings to date and/or goals:
2. Mars Exploration Rovers (MERs).(Hint: Go to Rover Mission Site link at the bottom of the MER page).Overview: NASA's twin robot geologists, the Mars Exploration Rovers, launched toward Mars on June 10 and July 7, 2003, in search of answers about the history of water on Mars. They landed on Mars January 3 and January 24 PST (January 4 and January 25 UTC). The Mars Exploration Rover mission is part of NASA's Mars Exploration Program, a long-term effort of robotic exploration of the red planet. Primary among the mission's scientific goals is to search for and characterize a wide range of rocks and soils that hold clues to past water activity on Mars.
Mission Profile for MERs
Flyby, Orbiter, Lander, or sample return ? ______
If landing mission, names of the lander(s): ______
Launch date(s): ______
Arrival date(s): ______
Landing site (if any): ______
Science Instruments: ______
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Important findings to date and/or goals:
5. MESSENGER. Overview:The MESSENGER (MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging) mission is a scientific investigation of the planet Mercury.MESSENGER launched on August 3, 2004, aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, FL. It will return to Earth for a gravity assist a year after liftoff; swing past Venus twice, then fly by Mercury three times before starting a yearlong orbit of the innermost planet in March 2011.
Mission Profile for MESSENGER
Flyby, Orbiter, Lander, or sample return ? ______
If landing mission, names of the lander(s): ______
Launch date(s): ______
Arrival date(s): ______
Landing site (if any): ______
Science Instruments: ______
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Important findings to date and/or goals:
6. A mission of your choice:
Mission Profile for ______
Flyby, Orbiter, Lander, or sample return ? ______
If landing mission, names of the lander(s): ______
Launch date(s): ______
Arrival date(s): ______
Landing site (if any): ______
Science Instruments: ______
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Important findings to date and/or goals:
Deep Space
7. Hubble Space Telescope.Overview: Not since Galileo turned his telescope towards the heavens in 1610 has any event so changed our understanding of the universe as the deployment of the Hubble Space Telescope. Hubble orbits 600 kilometers (375 miles) above Earth, working around the clock to unlock the secrets of the Universe. It uses excellent pointing precision, powerful optics, and state-of-the-art instruments to provide stunning views of the Universe that cannot be made using ground-based telescopes or other satellites. Hubble was originally designed in the 1970s and launched in 1990. Thanks to on-orbit service calls by the Space Shuttle astronauts, Hubble continues to be a state-of-the-art space telescope. Hubble's accomplishments are extraordinary. For example, before Hubble, distances to far-off galaxies were not well known. Questions about how rapidly the universe is expanding, and for how long, created great controversy.
List 2 of your favorite Hubble Highlights and how they have enlightened us on deep space:
1. ______
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2. ______
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