Daily Extra :
Astronomy & Space Word of The Day
Pluto: Pluto is the most distant planet from the sun. It is named for the Roman god of the underworld. It was not discovered until 1930 and its status as a planet remains the source of debate.
Today in History:
1969: Apollo 11 - USA Lunar Manned Lander (July 16-24, 1969) Crew: Neil A. Armstrong, Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr., Michael Collins. Apollo 11 was the first manned lunar landing, which took place on July 20, 1969. The landing site was Mare Tranquillitatis at latitude 0°67' N and longitude 23°49' E. Armstrong and Aldrin collected 21.7 kilograms of soil and rock samples and deployed experiments.
1976: Viking 1 - USA Mars Orbiter/Lander (August 20, 1975 - August 7, 1980) touched down on the western slopes of Chryse Planitia. Viking 1 and 2 were designed after the Mariner spacecraft. They consisted of an orbiter and lander. The orbiter weighed 900 kg and the lander 600 kg. Viking 1 went into orbit about Mars on June 19, 1976. Both landers had experiments to search for Martian micro-organism. The results of these experiments are still being debated. The landers provided detailed color panoramic views of the Martian terrain. They also monitored the Martian weather. The orbiters mapped the planet's surface, acquiring over 52,000 images. Viking 1 orbiter was deactivate on August 7, 1980 when it ran out of altitude-control propellant. Viking 1 lander was accidentally shut down on November 13, 1982, and communication was never regained.
1994: Hubble Space Telescope - USA & Europe Telescope photographed the collision of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 with Jupiter.
1999: Deep Space 1 (DS1) - USA Asteroid and Comet Flyby - (launched 24 October 1998) flew by the Mars-crossing near-Earth asteroid 9969 Braille. The Deep Space 1 (DS1) is the first of a series of technology demonstration probes being developed by NASA's New Millennium Program. It again flew by comet Borrelly in September 2001.
