World beyond the stars – Space exploration missions

Chonmipem Horam

Human curiosity is boundless. We are forever willing to go where, so to say, angles fear to tread. The quest and the race to go beyond the known, the explored and where others have already gone, is a perennial urge. The conquest of space, the ultimate frontier, was made possible with the development of rockets. What followed was a rapid launch of satellites, probes, space shuttles and manned missions which have travelled to the Moon and have extended our knowledge of all other planets in the Solar system. Here`s a brief recap of our exploration of different planets of the solar system. Mercury- Scientists from USA launched a mission called `Mariner 10`. The spacecraft reached Mercury in 1974 and collected over 10,000 images covering 57% of the planet surface. After this, US launched another mission `Messenger Probe` in 2004. NASA`s first image from Mercury probe reveals unusual dark-rimmed craters. Messenger probe is also scheduled to fly by Mercury planet in September in 2009 before it goes to orbit around the planet in 2011. Venus- Several missions were launched by the USA and USSR scientists way back in 1960`s to 1990`s. While some landed successfully, others failed to reach the surface. These missions were called Venera 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16, Mariner 2, 5, Zond 1, Pioneer Venus 1(Pioneer12), Pioneer Venus 2 (Pioneer 13), Vega 1, Vega 2, Galileo, Magellan. It delivers data of the planet, obtains black and white pictures of the surface and even conducted soil analysis. In 2005, European Space Agency launches `Venus Express` that reached Venus in 2006. It reveals astounding detail of the planets cloud system, temperatures and chemical composition of the atmosphere. Earth- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of the US launched an `IMP-8 `spacecraft that measures Earth`s magnetic fields, plasmas, cosmic rays of the sun way back in the 1970`s. In the 1990`s, another mission was carried by the USA and France called `The Ocean Topography Experiment`(TOPEX) that measures sea levels. This was followed by several missions such as Geotail, Upper Atmospheric Satellite (UARS), POLAR, WIND, Fast Auroral Snapshot (FAST) that study, analyse, and measure high altitude polar region, upper atmosphere and Earth`s region. In 2000, European Space Agency’s `Cluster mission` was launched that started working in 2001. It gives information about Earth`s magnetosphere and the effects of solar activity on the near-Earth environment. Mars- Russian and American spacecrafts Mariner 4, 6, 7, 9 were sent to Mars in the 1960`s. They captured pictures of the planet showing Mars as a barren land with no sign of life or water. Then in 1970`s, USSR sent Mars 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 to the planet. These missions studied Martian atmosphere, surface, gravity, planet`s canyons and volcanoes. In 1992, Mars Observer mission was launched but was lost due to explosion. After which NASA launched the Mars Surveyor Program comprising of Mars Pathfinder and Mars Global Surveyor. `Mars Odyssey` was launched in 2001 by USA exploring what chemicals and minerals make up Martian surface. In 2003, European space Agency`s `Mars Express` was launched and made a number of discoveries. It studied the density of the Martian surface and detected methane in Mars’ atmosphere. Again in 2004- `08, NASA`s Rovers mission, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), Phoenix Mars Lander were launched. Rovers mission sent two Robotic rovers for exploring the sites of Mars. `Phoenix` landed on Mars in 2008 and sent back samples of the Martian soil confirming the presence of water ice on Mars. Jupiter- In 1970`s and 80`s, the USA sent mission to Jupiter such as Voyager1, 2 and Galileo. In voyager 1, 2 mission, scientists discovered that Jupiter`s moon`Io` has active volcanism. Galileo went into orbit around Jupiter in 1995. It made many discoveries, it sent back pictures of Jupiter`s moon `Io`, `Europa`, `Ganymede` and `Callsito`. It measured the atmospheric pressures, density, planet`s radiation belts, volcanic activity. But this mission ended in 2003 when mission managers crashed Galileo intentionally to avoid crashing with Jupiter`s moon `Europa`. According to scientists, Jupiter is believed to have an Ocean below its surface which is capable of supporting life. Saturn- From 1970`s – 2000, NASA’s and ESA`s missions such as Pioneer 11, Voyager 1, 2, and Cassini have unraveled the unexpected complexity of Saturn`s rings, moons, nature of Titan`s atmosphere and magnetosphere. Voyager probes confirmed the presence of Saturn`s 7th ring and 9 satellites. Cassini spacecraft is currently in orbit around Saturn studying the planet and its many moons. Recently in 2009, Cassini`s camera spotted for the first time high-vertical waves on the edges of a gap in Saturn`s outer ring. Mission managers are pushing to extend Cassini`s flight by seven years till 2017. Uranus- `Voyager2` mission of the USA in 1977 discovered a strange magnetic field around Uranus caused by the tilt of the planet`s axis. Neptune- The planet, which is not visible to naked eye but can be seen through a telescope, was observed by the USA`s `Voyager 2 mission` in 1997. It discovered that the strongest winds in the solar system exists on Neptune. Pluto- The smallest planet in the solar system was discovered in 1930 and is visible only through a telescope. In 2006, NASA launched the New Horizons probe which is expected to fly by Pluto in 2015. Besides these existing missions, space agency NASA and ESA have announced that they will conduct several more missions in future. This includes sending multiple spacecraft to explore Jupiter`s ice-covered moon Europa and Saturn`s shrouded moon Titan. NASA said it will launch the spacecraft in 2020 from different spaceports with the goal of reaching Jupiter by 2026. The Saturn expedition will consist of both NASA and ESA spacecraft.