Space Exploration

1. Space Exploration 1969-1972

2. 1969 • On July 16, U.S astronauts Neil Armstrong, Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin and Michael Collins set off on the Apollo 11 space mission, the first lunar landing attempt • After 1 ½ orbits around Earth, the Saturn V thrusters flared once again and the crew had to manage the delicate process of attaching the lunar module onto the nose of the joined command and service module

3. 1969 • On July 19 at 1:28 PM EDT, Apollo 11 entered the moon’s orbit • After spending a full day in the moon’s orbit, Armstrong and Aldrin boarded the lunar module and detached from the command for their descent to the moon’s surface • At 4:18 PM on July 20, the landing module landed on the moon’s surface in the Sea of Tranquility with only seconds of fuel left

4. “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”

5. 1970 • Apollo 13 was the 3rd lunar landing • It was launched on April 1, 1970 • The crew: James A. Lovell, John L. Swigert, Jr. and Fred W. Haise

6. 1970 • Luna 16 was the first robotic probe to land on the moon • The spacecraft landed on the lunar surface in the Sea of Fertility • This was the first landing made in the dark side of the moon, as the sun had set about 60 hours earlier

7. 1970 • Luna 17 was designed to deliver a robotic rover called “Lunokhod 1” to the lunar surface • While on the moon, it transmitted more than 20,000 TV image and 206 high resolution panoramas, and performed 25 soil analyses

8. 1971 • Salyut 1 was the first space station put into orbit • The Soviets launched it from BaikonurCosmodrome using a 3 stage Proton launch vehicle • It completed 362 orbits before de-orbiting and re-entering the atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean • The main purpose of Salyut 1 was to study the effects of long duration spaceflight on the human body & to take photographs of the Earth from space

9. 1971 • It carried a telescope for studying star spectra, a greenhouse to analyze plant growth, a camera & film plates to study cosmic rays and a telescope that could detect gamma rays coming from the sun

10. 1971 • The 1st crew to visit Salyut launched in April, it included: Vladimir Shatalov, Alexei Yeliseyev & Nikolai Rukavishnikov • They reached the state and attempted to dock with it twice, but the hatch would no open • The mission failed and they returned home

11. 1971 • Aims of the Lunar Rover Mission: • To explore lunar surface, survey & sample material in the Hadley-Apennine region • To make engineering evaluations of new Apollo equipment • To set up & activate lunar surface scientific experiments • To conduct lunar orbital experiments and photographic tasks • Apollo 15 was launched on a Saturn V rocket from Kennedy Space center on July 26 • Falcon lunar module landed on the moon on July 30, it landed near the Apennine Mountains

12. 1971 • They set up an ALSEP and gathered 169 pounds of interesting rocks, including the “genesis” rock, thought to date from the early solar system and a rock that contained spheres of green glass

13. 1971 • The Mariner 9 was the first spacecraft to orbit another planet- Mars • It arrived at Mars on November 14, after a 167 day flight • Because of a dust storm, no surface details could be seen except the summits of Olympus Mons & the 3 Tharsis volcanoes

14. 1972 • The last 2 people on the moon were Eugene Cernan and Harrison “Jack” Schmitt • They landed on the surface on Dec. 20, without incident • Near Shorty Crater, Schmitt exclaimed that he could see orange soil! • Later examination showed the rocks were tiny spheres of colored glass that probably came from a surface vent

15. 1972 • Cygnus X-1 is a so-called stellar-mass black hole • Using X-ray data from Chandra, the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer, and the Advanced Satellite for Cosmology & Astrophysics, scientists were able to determine the spin of it with unprecedented accuracy