Mission to Mars – Day 2
Traveling through Space (to Mars)
Please note, underlined words are ones you
need to write down.
What do we need to know?
• Details about each planet (did last class)
• Distance between (from Sun and from each
other); time it would take to travel
• Forces at work – these help us travel!
• Space crafts, tools and equipment
Solar System
Where are we and where is Mars?
Distances and Light in Space
 How far is it from the Sun to Earth?
 Solar radiation and the amount of it are one of the
reasons we can survive on Earth!
The distance of Earth to the Sun is about 94.5
million miles
 How far is it from the Sun to Mars?
 From the Sun to Mars is about 142 million miles
 Mars gets 44% amount of solar energy that Earth
does, Mars is roughly 1.5 times as far away from
the Sun as the Earth is.
 So Mars gets 2.25 times less light than the Earth
does, Consider what this means for heat too.
Earth to Mars Travel:
 The distance from Earth to Mars is 140 million
miles – keep in mind this is an average,
because the planets are constantly moving!
 This means that it is estimated that it will take
around160 days (if we could travel in a straight
line) to get there
 But we can’t travel in a straight line, we have to
go around the sun, and the planets are
constantly moving, so really it would be more
common for it to take more than 200 days.
 If we have this far to travel – how can we
possibly do it?
Past missions to mars
Here is a list of how long it took several historical missions to
reach the red planet. Their launch dates are included for
perspective. (pick two example to write in your notes)
 Mariner 4, the first spacecraft to go to Mars (1964 flyby): 228
days
 Mariner 6 (1969 flyby): 155 days
 Mariner 7 (1969 flyby): 128 days
 Mariner 9, the first spacecraft to orbit Mars (1971): 168 days
 Viking 1, the first U.S. craft to land on Mars (1975): 304 days
 Viking 2 Orbiter/Lander (1975): 333 days
 Mars Global Surveyor (1996): 308 days
 Mars Pathfinder (1996): 212 days
 Mars Odyssey (2001): 200 days
 Mars Express Orbiter (2003): 201 days
 Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (2005): 210 days
 Mars Science Laboratory (2011): 254 days
Orbits and the movements of the planets and
other things in space!
How gravity rules!
• The Sun, as the most massive object in our
solar system, governs the motion of all
other bodies in the system.
• All of the celestial bodies in the solar
system move in predictable patterns
known as orbits, and this motion is
controlled by gravity.
• If everything that has mass has gravity,
then these objects have gravitational
attraction.
Distance and Gravity
 As the distance between two
masses gets bigger, the
gravitational pull gets weaker.
What are the objects in our solar system
that have an orbit?
Have an orbit:
Planets, moons, asteroids, comets, meteors, and
even satellites, move within the solar system,
around more massive objects (the Sun), along paths
known as orbits.
So an example is:
Earth’s orbit around the Sun is determined by the
balance of the Sun’s gravitational pull on Earth and
Earth’s momentum as it travels around the Sun.
Without gravity, Earth would not move in a circle
around the Sun, but would continue moving
straight throughout the Milky Way.
Without the pull of gravity:
Without the sun’s
gravitational pull,
the earth would
not continue on
it’s path, but
would go straight.
Inertia and gravity
keep the planets
revolving in its
orbit!
In order to travel in space…
 Space crafts use forces like gravity to
propel them through space
 How does this work?
 Video: Sling shot or gravity assisted power
In order to travel in space…
 Space crafts also use Newton’s Laws –
Law number 3; for every action there is an
equal and opposite reaction
 How does this work?
 Video: Rocket launches
Space
Exploration
In 1958, congress established the National
Aeronautics and Space administration
(NASA). NASA oversees all US space
missions and equipment.
Why travel to space?
 Humanity's interest in the heavens
has been universal and enduring.
Humans are driven to explore the
unknown, discover new worlds, push
the boundaries of our scientific and
technical limits, and then push
further.
Human space exploration helps to
address fundamental questions
about our place in the Universe and
the history of our solar system.
The first satellites
 1957 Sputnik – the first man-made satellite to
orbit Earth was launch by the Soviet Union. This
is the beginning of the space age.
 1958 – the United States launched their
satellite, Explorer 1.
 Today thousands of satellites orbit Earth. They
are used to transmit signals for TV, phones and
weather information.
Satellites – What do they look like?
 Sputnik
 Today’s satellites
Space Missions
 Apollo Missions – 1961. President Kennedy
challenged the American people to place a
person on the moon by the end of the
decade. The result was Project Apollo – a
series of space missions designed to send
people to the moon
 Gemini Missions - the second human space
flight program of NASA. It had 10 manned
flights occurring in 1965 and 1966.
America Astronauts
Alan Shepard - was an astronaut who in 1961,
became the second person, and the first
American to travel in space. He went on both
Mercury and Apollo missions. He is the one
who hit golf balls on the lunar surface.
America Astronauts
Neil Armstrong – the first person to walk on the
moon. Armstrong's second and last
spaceflight was as mission commander of
the Apollo 11 moon landing in July 1969.
Moon Landing
(1969)
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More recent Missions
Space Shuttles: First flight
in April 1981
 The five orbiters — Columbia,
Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis
and Endeavour — have flown
more than 130 times, carrying
over 350 people into space
and travelling more than half a
billion miles, more than
enough to reach Jupiter.
Designed to return to Earth
and land like a giant glider, the
shuttle was the world's first
reusable space vehicle.
1990 Hubble Telescope
 Launched in 1990, it orbits Earth and has
beamed hundreds of thousands of images
(photos) back to Earth, shedding light on
many of the great mysteries of
astronomy. For example, Hubble has
revealed the age of the universe to be about
13 - 14 billion years old.
1997 Mars Pathfinder
 It took 7 months to get to Mars. Mars Pathfinder was
a lander and sent a free-ranging robotic rover to the
surface of Mars.
 Mars Pathfinder returned 2.3 billion bits of
information, including more than 16,500 images from
the lander and 550 images from the rover, as well as
chemical analyses of rocks and soil and extensive
data on weather factors.
2000 International Space Station
 The US has its own space program, but also
cooperates with other countries. In 1998, 15
nations built the International Space Station.
 Occupied since 2000, the satellite is a
research lab where astronauts from many
countries work and live for months at a time.
Current Explorations
 Ongoing missions – there are several (all
un-manned)
 Voyager 1 and 2 are still in operation –
they are believed to keep going until their
generators (power source) fails
 They are currently gathering information
about the solar system and beyond
Space suits

The Mercury astronauts,
seen here in their flight
suits, were introduced to
the world in April of 1959.
• The spacesuit provides
protection and a means for
survival for the astronaut.
Like a small spacecraft, the
spacesuit allows
astronauts to work outside
of their space vehicles.
• Suits that are used today
have changed from the first
suits. Technology has
played a huge part in its
development
Special Equipment
 Of course space travel is different that
travelling here on Earth – you need different
clothes and equipment!
 What do you think it is like to “live” in space?
What space
colonization
might look like
Can we do it?
Complete the “action” part of the lab!
 Follow the instructions to make and test
your rocket
 Make sure to place data in the data tables
 Conclusion questions may be started in
class, but might need to be completed at
home.
 Make sure to answer these questions!!