Post on 25-Feb-2016
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Starry Monday at Otterbein
Astronomy Lecture Series-every first Monday of the month-
March 7, 2005
Dr. Uwe Trittmann
Welcome to
Today’s Topics
• Mission to Mars
• The Night Sky in March
Feedback!• Please write down suggestions/your interests on the
note pads provided
• If you would like to hear from us, please leave your email / address
• To learn more about astronomy and physics at Otterbein, please visit– http://www.otterbein.edu/dept/PHYS/weitkamp.asp (Obs.)– http://www.otterbein.edu/dept/PHYS/ (Physics Dept.)
Mission to Mars
• A first look at Mars
• Early Mars missions
• Last years missions: Spirit, Opportunity & Mars Express
• Future Mars missions
Mars - A Terrestrial Planet(i.e. small, dense and rocky)
Mercury
Venus
Earth
Mars
Mars• Half the diameter of Earth• Density similar to that of
the moon• Surface temperature –180 F to -10 F• Day ~ 24.6 hours• Year ~ 2 Earth years• Seasons like on Earth• Thin atmosphere, mostly
carbon dioxide– 1/150 the pressure of
Earth’s atmosphere
Mars’ Surface Features
• Tharsis region rises 10 km above Martian surface– Contains huge volcanoes
• Valles Marineris – Martian “Grand Canyon”– 4000 km long, up to 120 km
across and 7 km deep– So large that it can be seen
from Earth
Martian Volcanoes• Olympus Mons
– Largest known volcano in the solar system– 450 mi across at base– Peak ~16 mi high (almost 3 times as tall as Mt. Everest!)
Dust Storms
Mars – The next Earth?
• Mars looks a lot like Earth• The big questions:
– Is there (or was there) water?– Is there (or was there) life?– Can we as humans get there?– Can we as humans survive there in the long
term?
Martian Surface Iron gives the characteristic Mars color: rusty red!
View of Viking 1 1 m rock Sojourner
Martian Panorama
Note: the sky is not black as on the moon, but pale pink of the dust in the atmosphere!
“Twin Peaks” – about 1 mile away
Viking Lander Experiments (1976)
• Search for bacteria-like forms of life
• Assumed such life would be similar to Earth bacteria
• Results inconclusive at best
• Did not test for extinct life forms
Today’s Mars Panorama: Opportunity, Spirit & Mars Express
Mars Rovers Homepage
• http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/home/
• Has great images, slide shows of week to week progress and discoveries and more
Size of the Rovers
Landing Sites
A couple of 1000 miles apart!
Rover life is tough!
• Both rovers have outlived their life expectancy threefold …and counting
• They are remote-controlled, though they have some amount of built-in strategies
• However: one mistake – and it might be all over!
• Time delay from control center to rover:– Distance: 60 – 370 million kilometers – or: 3 – 20 light minutes
Important Mission: Find water!• Why is water so important?
– Without water• No chance for life on Mars• No chance for humans surviving on Mars
• Isn’t there a lot of ice at the poles?– Yes, but it’s mostly dry ice (CO2)
• The search for water is very subtle, like a detective you look for “hints” and “traces”
Water on Mars? - HintsMars Louisiana
Outflow ChannelsRunoff channels
European Space Agency (ESA)
• http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Mars_Express/index.html• Another great resource for Mars information• Mars Express is spectacularly successful, although in
public opinion this is overshadowed by the Beagle 2 failure (the lander was lost during landing)
Mars Express
• Launched June 2, 2003
• Arrived at Mars December 2003
• Lander: Beagle 2 (lost)
• Mass: 1200 kg (equivalent to a large car)
Mars Express Orbiter Mission• image the entire surface at high resolution (10 meters/pixel) and
selected areas at super resolution (2 meters/pixel)
• produce a map of the mineral composition of the surface at 100 meter resolution
• map the composition of the atmosphere and determine its global circulation
• determine the structure of the sub-surface to a depth of a few kilometers
• determine the effect of the atmosphere on the surface
• determine the interaction of the atmosphere with the solar wind.
Mars Express Pictures
• Glacial, volcanic and fluvial activity on Mars
Estimates of abundance of Water
… have changed dramatically over the decades
Where is the Water?
• The water could have been lost to space, trapped underground, or both.
• Mars Express will observe the atmosphere and reveal processes by which water vapor and other atmospheric gases could have escaped into space.
• Also examines the surface and will actually look for underground water and ice.
A Trip to Mars?• Wernher von Braun (1952): first realistic proposal
for a Mars mission• 1969: Space Task Group called for a manned
mission to Mars by 1981• Space program lost momentum in early 1970s• Ride report (1989) urged manned mission to Mars• Report of the Advisory Committee on the Future
of the Space Program (1990) acknowledged that “…the long term magnet for the manned space
program is the planet Mars – the human exploration of Mars… Such an undertaking probably must be justified largely on the basis of intangibles”
The Moon-Mars Initiative
• NASA website: “The Vision announced by President George W. Bush on Jan. 14, 2004, offers a "building block" strategy of human and robotic missions, beginning with returning the Space Shuttle to flight and completing the International Space Station. It calls for humans to return to the moon by 2020 and eventually explore Mars and beyond.”
•http://www.nasa.gov/missions/solarsystem/explore_main.html
Moon-Mars is highly controversial
• Report from the American Physical Society Panel on Public Affairs: “The cost of overcoming technological
challenges could far exceed budgetary projections. Many approved science programs could be jeopardized”
(http://www.aura-astronomy.org/nv/APS_Report.pdf)
Going to Mars: Is it realistic?
• Judge for yourself!• Keep in mind:
– To the moon it takes a week round trip– To Mars it takes a year round trip– Space Hazards
• Radiation• Micrometeorites • High g forces during liftoff• Low gravity• Psychological effects
•Requirements–Air
–Food
–Water
–Temperature
–Personal hygiene
On the way to Mars: Moon Station
On Mars
Current Mars Plan• Mars Surveyor 2003 (Discovery of water!)
– Twin rovers (Spirit & Opportunity) arrived January ‘04
• Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (2005)• 2007: “Scout missions”• 2009: Italian communications satellite to provide
data transfer capability; smart lander; long range rover
• 2014–2016: return of Martian soil and rock samples to Earth ($1-2 billion)
• A human on Mars by 2020 @ $500 billion (?)
The Night Sky in March
• The sun is getting higher -> shorter nights!
• Spring constellations (Cancer,Leo,Coma,Virgo,…) contain few bright stars but many galaxies
• Jupiter is in opposition this month (i.e. at its brightest)
Moon Phases• Today (Waning crescent, 10%)
• 2 / 10 (New Moon)
• 2 / 17 (First Quarter Moon)
• 2 / 25 (Full Moon)
• 4 / 1 (Last Quarter Moon)
Today at
Noon
• Sun at meridian, i.e. exactly south
10 PM
Typical observing hour, early March
• no Moon
• Jupiter
• Saturn at meridian
Zenith
High in the sky:
Perseus andAuriga
with Plejades and the Double
Cluster
South-West
• The Winter Constellations– Orion– Taurus– Canis Major– Gemini– Canis Minor
South
Spring Constellations
- Cancer- Leo- Hydra
Deep Sky Objects:- Beehive Cluster (M44)
Mark your Calendars!
• Next Starry Monday at Otterbein: April 4, 2005, 7 pm (this is a Monday )
• Web pages:– http://www.otterbein.edu/dept/PHYS/weitkamp.asp (Obs.)– http://www.otterbein.edu/dept/PHYS/ (Physics Dept.)
Mark your Calendars II
• Physics Coffee is every Wednesday, 3:30 pm • Open to the public, everyone welcome!• Location: across the hall, Science 256• Free coffee, cookies, etc.
• This week: “Mythbusters: The strange case of Dr. Trittmann’s nebulous
pictures”
Disclaimer: No, I don’t think it’s a UFO – but judge for yourself!
Strange Picture #1
• Taken Sat night, 30s exp., there shouldn’t be a nebula next to the open cluster; it’s not a plane!