Discoveries of

the Universe
Sana Zunnoon
[FA05-BF-0014]
M
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• In 1959, scientists began to explore the moon with robot
spacecraft. In that year.
• On July 20, 1969, the U.S. Apollo 11 lunar module landed on
the moon in the first of six Apollo landings. Astronaut Neil A.
Armstrong became the first human being to set foot on the
moon.
• In the 1990's, two U.S. robot space probes, Clementine and
Lunar Prospector, detected evidence of frozen water at both
of the moon's poles.
• 1994, the United States sent the orbiter Clementine. From
February to May of that year, Clementine's four cameras took
more than 2 million pictures of the moon.
• The U.S. probe Lunar Prospector orbited the moon from
January 1998 to July 1999.
• The SMART-1 spacecraft, launched by the European Space
Agency in 2003, went into orbit around the moon in 2004.
A basalt rock that
astronauts brought to
Earth from the moon
formed from lava that
erupted from a lunar
volcano. Escaping gases
created the holes before
the lava solidified into
rock. Image credit: Lunar
and Planetary Institute.
The vast
majority of the
moon's craters
are formed by
the impact of
meteoroids,
asteroids, and
comets. Craters
on the moon
are named for
famous
scientists. The
shape of
craters varies
with their size.
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• The United States Mariner 10 became the
first and only spacecraft to reach Mercury.

• In 2004, the United States launched the

Messenger probe to Mercury. Messenger was
scheduled to fly by Mercury twice in 2008
and once in 2009 before going into orbit
around the planet in 2011.
Mariner
10 is the
only
space
probe
that has
visited
the plant
mercury.
V
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M
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 Life at Mars
Mars might once have harbored life, and
living things might exist there even
today. The evidence included complex
organic molecules, grains of a mineral
called magnetite that can form within
some kinds of bacteria, and tiny
structures that resemble fossilized
microbes. The scientists' conclusions are
controversial, however. There is no
general scientific agreement that Mars
has ever harbored life.
A curved, rod like
structure shown in
the center has been
referred to as a
fossilized maritime
creature. The
structure is about
200 billionth of a
meter long and is
part of a maritime
rock found on earth.
• The United States launched Mariner 4 to
Mars in 1964 and Mariners 6 and 7 in 1969.
• In 1971, Mariner 9 went into orbit around
Mars.
• Viking, launched by the United States in
1975.
• In April 2001, the United States launched
the Mars Odyssey probe. In 2002, the probe
discovered vast amounts of water ice
beneath the surface.
• Current mission launch on Aug. 4, 2007, the
Phoenix Mars Lander successfully landed on
the north polar region of Mars. Its mission is
to dig up and analyze icy soil.
Mars Global
Surveyor studied
the composition
of the Martian
surface,
photographed
the surface in
detail, and
measured its
elevation. The
space probe
went into orbit
around Mars in
1997. Image
 NASA Spacecraft Detects
Buried Glaciers on Mars
11.20.08
Orbiter has revealed
vast Martian glaciers of
water ice under
protective blankets of
rocky debris at much
lower latitudes than
any ice previously
identified on the Red
Planet. This discovery
is similar to massive ice
glaciers that have been
detected under rocky
coverings in Antarctica.
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 Callisto, a moon of
Moons of Jupiter Jupiter, is covered with
craters produced when
asteroids and comets
struck its icy surface.
Beneath the surface may
be an ocean of salty liquid
water. Image credit: NASA

Ganymede, a moon of
Jupiter, has craters and
cracks on its surface.
Asteroids and comets that
hit Ganymede made the
craters. The cracks are due
to expansion and
contraction of the surface.
The United States has sent six
space probes to Jupiter:

1. Pioneer 10.
2. Pioneer-Saturn.
3. Voyager 1.
4. Voyager 2.
5. Ulysses.
6. Galileo.
S
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The dark side of
Saturn's rings
was
photographed
by Voyager 1 as
it flew by the
side opposite
the sun. The
dense B-ring --
the reddish-
brown band --
appears dark
because it
blocks much of
the sunlight. It
is the brightest
ring when
viewed from
earth. Image
credit: JPL
 Missions
• In 1973, Pioneer-Saturn, the United
States launched a space probe to study
both Saturn.
• 1977, the United States launched two
space probes -Voyager 1 and Voyager 2
-to study Saturn. Voyager 1 flew within
78,000 miles of Saturn on Nov. 12, 1980.
On Aug. 25, 1981, Voyager 2 flew within
63,000 miles of the planet.
• In 1997, the United States launched the
Cassini probe to study Saturn, its rings,
and its satellites. The probe began
orbiting Saturn in 2004.
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In August 1989, the Voyager
2 spacecraft provided the
first close-up views of
Neptune and most of its
moons. The spacecraft also
discovered the planet's rings
and six of its moons --
Despina, Galatea, Larissa,
Naiad, Proteus, and
Thalassa.
Uranus
P
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In 2006, the U.S. National
Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA)
launched the New Horizons
probe. The probe was
expected to fly by Pluto in
2015.
Discoverie
s of
universe
Hubble
Resolves
Puzzle
About
Loner
Starburst
Galaxy
11.20.08
 Recent discoveries
The galaxy is producing stars
two times faster than first
thought. The galaxy is forming
stars at a rate more than 100
times higher than in the Milky
Way. This high star-formation
rate has been almost continuous
for the past 100 million years.
 Future mission

• In December 2008 there is one

mission to be carried out.

• There are 17 missions planned

in 2009 and 4 missions in 2010.
Thank you!