S P A C E M I S S I O N S - Presented by Earthrise

S P A C E M I S S I O N S - Presented by Earthrise
This is a simple guide to the basic information about humanity in the heavens.

Sputnik
Pioneer
Mariner
Venera
Apollo
Skylab
Viking
Voyager
MIR
Phobos
Magellan
Galileo
Hubble Space Telescope
Space Shuttle
Mars Pathfinder
International Space Station

S P U T N I K

Sputnik was the first satellite shot into orbit around the Earth. It was of Russian design and stealth, and that meant that the United States was loosing the space race. Sputnik was desugned to be a radio transmitter in space. When it was launched, all it did was send out bleeps to where ever it was over Earth. There's an audio sample at left. It's shape was a giant sulver sphere with four long pointy rods. It was launched, and after orbiting the Earth a few times, it fell back to Earth and burned up in the atmosphere.

To Graphical Sputnik Page
Back to Top

P I O N E E R

The Pioneer Probes were the first of the outer planetitary probes. Pioneer 10 was the first to cross the Asteroid Belt.

To Graphical Pioneer Page
Back to Top

M A R I N E R

The Mariner spacecrafts were the second of a series of spacecraft used for planetary exploration in the flyby, or nonlanding, mode and the first spacecraft to successfully encounter another planet. Mariner 2 was a backup for the Mariner 1 mission which failed shortly after launch to Venus. The objective of the Mariner 2 mission was to fly by Venus and return data on the planet's atmosphere, magnetic field, charged particle environment, and mass. It also made measurements of the interplanetary medium during its cruise to Venus and after the flyby. Later missions went to Mars, Venus, and Mercury.

To Graphical Mariner Page
Back to Top

V E N E R A

This Russian series of probes took on Venus. The program lasted for 20 years of Venus study, and has turned up great amounts of data about what type of climate and atmosphere lie below the dense clouds.

To Graphical Venera Page
Back to Top

A P O L L O

Drawing form the experience and knowledge from the Mercury and Gemini projects, NASA undertook a series of spaceflights that accomplished the program¹s goal with the Apollo 11 mission of July 1969. Neil Armstrong became the first man to set foot on the Moon, marking the occasion with his now-famous comment " That¹s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind", which was televised live to the millions watching on Earth. He was also the test pilot in 1960 for the NASA¹s X-15 rocket plane and Commander of Gemini VIII.

To Graphical Apollo Page
Back to Top

S K Y L A B

America's first experimental space station. Designed for long duration mission, Skylab program objectives were twofold: To prove that humans could live and work in space for extended periods, and to expand our knowledge of solar astronomy well beyond Earth-based observations. Successful in all respects despite early mechanical difficulties, three three-man crews occupied the Skylab workshop for a total of 171 days, 13 hours. It was the site of nearly 300 scientific and technical experiments: medical experiments on humans' adaptability to zero gravity, solar observations, and detailed Earth resources experiments. The empty Skylab spacecraft returned to Earth July 11, 1979 scattering debris over the Indian Ocean and the sparsely settled region of Western Australia.

To Graphical Skylab Page
Back to Top

V I K I N G

NASA's Viking Mission to Mars was composed of two spacecraft, Viking 1 and Viking 2, each consisting of an orbiter and a lander. The primary mission objectives were to obtain high resolution images of the Martian surface, characterize the structure and composition of the atmosphere and surface, and search for evidence of life. Viking 1 was launched on August 20, 1975 and arrived at Mars on June 19, 1976. The first month of orbit was devoted to imaging the surface to find appropriate landing sites for the Viking Landers. On July 20, 1976 the Viking 1 Lander separated from the Orbiter and touched down at Chryse Planitia (22.48° N, 49.97° W planetographic, 1.5 km below the datum (6.1 mbar) elevation). Viking 2 was launched September 9, 1975 and entered Mars orbit on August 7, 1976. The Viking 2 Lander touched down at Utopia Planitia (47.97° N, 225.74° W, 3 km below the datum elevation) on September 3, 1976. The Orbiters imaged the entire surface of Mars at a resolution of 150 to 300 meters, and selected areas at 8 meters. The lowest periapsis altitude for both Orbiters was 300 km. The Viking 2 Orbiter was powered down on July 25, 1978 after 706 orbits, and the Viking 1 Orbiter on August 17, 1980, after over 1,400 orbits. The Viking Landers transmitted images of the surface, took surface samples and analyzed them for composition and signs of life, studied atmospheric composition and meteorology, and deployed seismometers. The Viking 2 Lander ended communications on April 11, 1980, and the Viking 1 Lander on November 13, 1982, after transmitting over 1,400 images of the two sites.

To Graphical Viking Page
Back to Top

V O Y A G E R

The Voyager Mission, which includes the twin spacecraft Voyager 1 and 2, was launched by NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) in the summer of 1977. The original objective of this particular mission was to take advantage of a rare geometric arrangement of the outer planets in the late 1970s and the 1980s. This layout of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, which occurs about every 175 years, allows a spacecraft on a particular flight path to swing from one planet to the next using this "gravity assist". The flyby of each planet bends the spacecraft's flight path and increases its velocity enough to deliver it to the next destination. The flight time to Neptune can be reduced by a big margin from 30 years to 12. Though NASA originally budgeted only for the flyby of Jupiter and Saturn, they later decided to let the spacecraft continue with their journey towards Uranus and Neptune.

To Graphical Voyager Page
Back to Top

M I R

Mir is the culmination of the Russian space program's efforts to maintain long-duration human presence in space. The permanently-manned space station regularly hosts 2 to 3 cosmonauts (on occasion up to 6, for shorter periods of up to a month). At present, Mir is a complex of different modules that have been through many mutations; modules get added and moved around, like a giant tinker toy in the sky.

To Graphical MIR Page
Back to Top

P H O B O S

Phobos 1, and its companion spacecraft Phobos 2, were the next-generation in the Venera-type planetary missions, succeeding those last used during the Vega 1 and 2 missions to comet P/Halley.

To Graphical Phobos Page
Back to Top

M A G E L L A N

The Magellan spacecraft was launched on May 4, 1989, arrived at Venus on August 10, 1990 and was inserted into a near-polar elliptical orbit with a periapsis altitude of 294 km at 9.5 deg. N. Radio contact with Magellan was lost on October 12, 1994. The primary objectives of the Magellan mission were to map the surface of Venus with a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and to determine the topographic relief of the planet. At the completion of radar mapping 98% of the surface was imaged at resolutions better than 100 m, and many areas were imaged multiple times.

To Graphical Magellan Page
Back to Top

G A L I L E O

The Galileo spacecraft was designed to study Jupiter's atmosphere, satellites, and surrounding magnetosphere for two years. It was carried into space by the shuttle Atlantis on October 18, 1989. Galileo spent five years traveling to Jupiter, where it will become the first spacecraft to make direct measurements from an instrumented probe within Jupiter's atmosphere. It will also become the first spacecraft to conduct long-term observations of Jupiter, its magnetosphere, and satellites from orbit around Jupiter. But Galileo has already earned a "first" -- the first spacecraft to encounter an asteroid and to photograph an asteroid's moon.

To Graphical Galileo Page
Back to Top

H U B B L E

The Hubble Space Telescope is a cooperative program of the European Space Agency (ESA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to operate a long-lived space-based observatory for the benefit of the international astronomical community. HST is an observatory first dreamt of in the 1940s, designed and built in the 1970s and 80s, and operational only in the 1990s.

To Graphical Hubble Page
Back to Top

S P A C E S H U T T L E

The Space Shuttle is developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NASA coordinates and manages the Space Transportation System (NASA's name for the overall Shuttle program), including intergovernmental agency requirements and international and joint projects. NASA also oversees the launch and space flight requirements for civilian and commercial use.

To Graphical Space Shuttle Page
Back to Top

M A R S P A T H F I N D E R
The Mars Pathfinder Mission is a NASA program for planetary missions. The spacecraft took 3 years to complete and an amazing low cost of $150M, which is 1/15 of the previous Viking. It is managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California.

It was launched on December 10, 1996 and has a flawless eight-month flight to reach Mars on July 4, 1997. Pathfinder landed lightly on the downstream of the great catastrophic outflow channel of Ares Vallis. It then landed a single mobile vehicle called Sojourner and several instruments on the surface of Mars. Sojourner's mobility provides the capability of investigating the Martian ground, a landing area over hundreds of square meters on Mars. Pathfinder also investigated the surface of Mars with three special science instruments, namely IMP, Alpha Proton X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) and an Atmospheric Structure Instrument/Meteorology package (ASI / MET). These instruments enabled Pathfinder in investigating the geological properties of the soil and the atmospheric conditions of Martian¹s thin atmosphere.

To Graphical Mars Pathfinder Page
Back to Top

I N T E R N A T I O N A L S P A C E S T A T I O N

The International Space Station is the largest and most complex international scientific project in history. And when it is complete just after the turn of the century, the the station will represent a move of unprecedented scale off the home planet. Led by the United States, the International Space Station draws upon the scientific and technological resources of 16 nations: Canada, Japan, Russia, 11 nations of the European Space Agency and Brazil.

To Graphical International Space Station Page
Back to Top

Back to Text Front Page