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What are Comets?

In ancient cultures comets were seen as omens and were therefore looked upon with reverence and fear. But these beautiful objects are little more than balls of dust and ice that orbit around our Sun. However, those that do stray into our path can cause significant damage, and may have been responsible for some of histories mass extinctions.

What are Asteroids

It seems like a monthly occurrence that the media is touting some new threat to the very survival of mankind. Whether it is a new plague, a solar flare or an approaching asteroid, there is always cause for concern. But should we really be worried about asteroids? What are these objects and where do they come from?

Acamar Information

Acamar means the end of the river (Eridanus) before the star Achernar was added to the constellation. Acamar means the end of the river (Eridanus) before the star Achernar was added to the constellation.

1600 BC

The Xia Dynasty of China ended and the Shang dynasty began. Emergence of historical China along the Yellow River Valley. Middle Bronze Age ended and the Late Bronze Age began. The Dilmun Civilization ended. The Hittites invented iron forged weapons and many siege tactics End of the Fourteenth Dynasty in Egypt. The earliest known perfumes were created. The Hittites raided down the Euphrates, destroying Babylon.

Visiting Dryden Flight Research Center

Visiting Dryden Flight Research Center. Tours are limited to organized groups of 15 or more U. S. citizens and are subject to approval by the 95th Security Forces Squadron at Edwards Air Force Base. Dryden Flight Research Center Tours are offered free of charge Monday through Friday (except for federal holidays, special engagements and a shuttle landing) at 10:15 a.m. and 1:15 p.m. on a reservation-only basis.

What is a Star?

When you gaze out into the darkness of space you will undoubtedly notice tiny balls of light shimmering in the night. What are these beautiful objects? Well, most of them are stars and there are billions upon billions of them out there waiting to be discovered.

Surveyor 1 - Surveyor 1 Lunar Mission

The Surveyor spacecraft was designed to attain the engineering objectives of the Surveyor program, which included the first lunar soft landing. No instrumentation was carried specifically for scientific experiments, but considerable scientific information was obtained. The Surveyor 1 spacecraft carried two television cameras -- one for approach, which was not used, and one for operations on the lunar surface. Over 100 engineering sensors were on board Surveyor 1.

Venera 6 Spacecraft - USSR Mission to Venus

Venera 6 was launched from a Tyazheliy Sputnik towards Venus to obtain atmospheric data. The spacecraft was very similar to Venera 4 although it was of a stronger design. When the atmosphere of Venus was approached, a capsule containing scientific instruments was jettisoned from the main spacecraft. During descent towards the surface of Venus, a parachute opened to slow the rate of descent. For 51 min on May 17, 1969, data from the Venusian atmosphere were returned.

Venera 5 Spacecraft - USSR Mission to Venus

Venera 5 was launched from a Tyazheliy Sputnik (69-001C) towards Venus to obtain atmospheric data. The spacecraft was very similar to Venera 4 although it was of a stronger design. During satellite descent towards the surface of Venus, a parachute opened to slow the rate of descent. For 53 min on May 16, 1969, while the capsule was suspended from the parachute, data from the Venusian atmosphere were returned.

STS-7 Space Shuttle Challenger Mission

Sally Ride became first American woman to fly in space. 2 com- munications satellites deployed, ANIK C-2 for TELESAT Canada & PALAPA-B1 for Indonesia, both attached to Payload Assist Module-D motors. 7 Get Away Special canisters in cargo bay held variety of experiments, including ones studying affects of space on social behavior of ant colony in zero gravity. 10 experiments mounted on Shuttle Pallet Satellite performed research in forming metal alloys in microgravity.

STS-51F Space Shuttle Challenger Mission

Primary payload was Spacelab-2. Despite abort-to-orbit, which required mission replanning, mission declared success. Special part of modular Spacelab system, the Igloo, located at head of three-pallet train, provided on-site support to instruments mounted on pallets. Main mission objective was to verify performance of Spacelab system sand determine interface capability of orbiter, and measure environment induced by spacecraft.

STS-51B Space Shuttle Challenger Mission

Primary payload was Spacelab-3. 1st operational flight for Spacelab orbital laboratory series developed by European Space Agency. 5 basic discipline areas: materials sciences, life sciences, fluid mechanics, atmospheric physics and astronomy main mission objective with Spacelab-3 was to provide high quality microgravity environment for delicate materials processing and fluid experiments. 2 monkeys and 24 rodents observed for effects of weightlessness. 14 of 15 experiments considered successful.

STS-8 Space Shuttle Challenger Mission

Bluford became first African-American to fly in space. INSAT-1B, a multipurpose satellite for India attached to Payload Assist Module-D motor, was deployed. Nose of orbiter held away from sun 14 hours to test flight deck area in extreme cold. For Development Flight Instrumentation Pallet, crew filmed performance of experimental heat pipe mounted in cargo bay.

The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO)

SOHO is designed to study the internal structure of the Sun, its extensive outer atmosphere and the origin of the solar wind, the stream of highly ionized gas that blows continuously outward through the Solar System. The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory - SOHO.

STS-41b Space Shuttle Challenger Mission

First untethered space walks by McCandless and Stewart, using manned maneuvering unit. WESTAR-VI and PALAPA-B2 satellites deployed, but failure of Payload Assist Module-D (PAM-D) rocket motors left them in radical low-Earth orbits. German-built Shuttle Pallet Satellite (SPAS), first flown on STS-7, became first satellite refurbished and flown again. SPAS remained in payload bay due to electrical problem with Remote Manipulator System (RMS).

The Moon

Discover the Moon with this Guide the Solar System. The Moon is the only natural satellite of the planet Earth. The moon was known as Luna to the Romans, Selene and Artemis to the Greeks, and many other names in other languages. Because of its size and rocky composition, the moon has also been called a terrestrial planet along with Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars. The moon is the only extra-planetary body that a human has visited.

Mars - The Red Planet - 4th From the Sun

Discover Mars

Ceres

Discover Ceres. The first asteroid to be discovered, Ceres is by far the largest and most massive body in the main asteroid belt. Ceres was discovered by Giuseppe Piazzi, a monk in Sicily and the founding director of the Palermo Astronomical Observatory. Named after the Roman goddess of the harvest, of growing plants, and motherly love, Ceres is the smallest of the dwarf planets, a new category of astronomical bodies created by the IAU in 2006.

STS-61A Space Shuttle Challenger Mission

Dedicated German Spacelab (D-1) mission conducted in long module configuration, which featured Vestibular Sled designed to give scientists data on functional organization of human vestibular and orientation systems. Spacelab D-1 encompassed 75 numbered experiments, most performed more than once. Mission included basic and applied microgravity research in fields of materials science, life sciences and technology, and communications and navigation.

Saturn - Ringed Planet - 6th From Sun

Saturn - Pictures and Astronomy Facts - Solar System Planetary Astronomical Data and Images of Saturn. Saturn. Astronomy Guide to Space exploration close to home. Information on our solar system. Saturn planetary data and graphics.

Viking 1 and Viking 2 Missions Information

Like the Mariners 6 and 7 missions, Viking was a twin spacecraft mission as well, consisting of Viking 1 and Viking 2, launched within a couple of weeks of each other. Each Viking spacecraft consisted of an orbiter and a lander, which traveled attached together for nearly a year to reach Mars orbit. Upon arrival at Mars, the orbiters began taking pictures of the Martian surface, from which a landing site was selected.

Hubble Space Telescope

The Hubble Telescope, NASA's first space based telescope was named for American astronomer Edwin P. Hubble. Dr. Hubble confirmed an "expanding" universe, which provided the foundation for the Big Bang theory. The Hubble Telescope provide a closer look at the universe around us.

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