Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Monday, August 27, 2012
Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon
during the 1969 Apollo 11 mission, died Saturday at age 82.
His family says he was "a reluctant American hero who always believed he was just doing his job."
His family says he was "a reluctant American hero who always believed he was just doing his job."
Official Portrait
Portrait of Astronaut Neil A. Armstrong, commander
of the Apollo 11 Lunar Landing mission in his space suit, with his helmet on
the table in front of him. Behind him is a large photograph of the lunar
surface.
Image Credit: NASA
Image Credit: NASA
Apollo
11 Crew
The Apollo 11 lunar
landing mission crew, pictured from left to right, Neil A. Armstrong,
commander; Michael Collins, command module pilot; and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr.,
lunar module pilot.
Image Credit: NASA
Image Credit: NASA
Beginning the Mission
The
Apollo 11 crew leaves Kennedy Space Center's Manned Spacecraft Operations
Building during the pre-launch countdown. Mission commander Neil Armstrong,
command module pilot Michael Collins, and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin
prepare to ride the special transport van to Launch Complex 39A where their
spacecraft awaited them. Liftoff occurred at 9:32 a.m. EDT, July 16, 1969.
Image credit: NASA
Fly
Me to the Moon
Grammy
Award-winning producer Quincy Jones presented a platinum copy of 'Fly Me to the
Moon' to Senator John Glenn and Apollo 11 Commander Neil Armstrong during
NASA's 50th anniversary gala in 2008, a song he originally produced and
performed with Frank Sinatra.
Senator Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth as an astronaut in NASA's Mercury Program. Neil Armstrong is the first person to set foot on the moon.
During the gala, Jones performed 'Fly Me to the Moon' with Frank Sinatra Jr.
Image Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls
Senator Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth as an astronaut in NASA's Mercury Program. Neil Armstrong is the first person to set foot on the moon.
During the gala, Jones performed 'Fly Me to the Moon' with Frank Sinatra Jr.
Image Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls
Giants
Among Us
Apollo
11 astronauts, from left, Michael Collins, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin stand
during a recognition ceremony at the U.S House of Representatives Committee on
Science and Technology tribute to the Apollo 11 astronauts at the Cannon House
Office Building on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, July 21, 2009, in Washington. The
committee presented the three Apollo 11 astronauts with a framed copy of House
Resolution 607 honoring their achievement, and announced passage of legislation
awarding them and John Glenn the Congressional Gold Medal.
Image Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls
Image Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls
Mission Accomplished
Astronaut
Neil A. Armstrong, Apollo 11 Commander, inside the Lunar Module as it rests on
the lunar surface after completion of his historic moonwalk.
Image Credit: NASA
Image Credit: NASA
On
the Lunar Surface
Apollo
11 astronauts trained on Earth to take individual photographs in succession in
order to create a series of frames that could be assembled into panoramic
images. This frame from Aldrin's panorama of the Apollo 11 landing site is the
only good picture of mission commander Neil Armstrong on the lunar surface.
Image Credit: NASA
Image Credit: NASA
Friday, August 24, 2012
CURIOSITY - THE MARS ROVER
CURIOSITY
Curiosity is a car-sized, six-wheeled robot destined for Gale Crater on Mars.
Its mission: to see if Mars ever could have supported small life forms called microbes...and if humans could survive there someday!
In addition to super-human senses that help us understand Mars as a habitat for life, Curiosity's parts are similar to what a human would need to explore Mars (body, brains, eyes, arm, legs, etc.). Check it out though--sometimes they are located in odd places!
Its mission: to see if Mars ever could have supported small life forms called microbes...and if humans could survive there someday!
In addition to super-human senses that help us understand Mars as a habitat for life, Curiosity's parts are similar to what a human would need to explore Mars (body, brains, eyes, arm, legs, etc.). Check it out though--sometimes they are located in odd places!
- Length: 10 feet (3 meters)
- Width: 9 feet (2.7 meters)
- Height: 7 feet (2.2 meters)
- Mass: 1,982 pounds (899 kilograms)
Hand
Tech Specs
Names of Tools on the Turret:
Curiosity's "body" is an insulated container that protects "vital organs" inside the rover such as its computer "brains." Its body is high off the ground, so the rover won't get stuck on any rocks. The power system, which looks like its "tail," flows excess heat into the body to keep the computer "brains," avionics, instrument electronics, and interior instruments (SAM and CheMin) warm in the extremely cold Martian temperatures. By analogy, the rover's body also contains a "digestive system." A tool on the rover's "hand" (a drill system) "chews" the rock samples by grinding them into a powder, then pours the samples through funnels on its "back" into its "body." Once "digested" inside, the rover can tell what it just "ate" with science tools in the "body" that identify what the samples are made of. The rover hopes to find two things: 1) minerals altered in water, which is necessary to life as we know it, and 2) signs of organics, the chemical building blocks of life. That will help explain if Mars could have been a habitat in the past for small life forms called microbes.
Curiosity's "body" is an insulated container that protects "vital organs" inside the rover such as its computer "brains." Its body is high off the ground, so the rover won't get stuck on any rocks. The power system, which looks like its "tail," flows excess heat into the body to keep the computer "brains," avionics, instrument electronics, and interior instruments (SAM and CheMin) warm in the extremely cold Martian temperatures. By analogy, the rover's body also contains a "digestive system." A tool on the rover's "hand" (a drill system) "chews" the rock samples by grinding them into a powder, then pours the samples through funnels on its "back" into its "body." Once "digested" inside, the rover can tell what it just "ate" with science tools in the "body" that identify what the samples are made of. The rover hopes to find two things: 1) minerals altered in water, which is necessary to life as we know it, and 2) signs of organics, the chemical building blocks of life. That will help explain if Mars could have been a habitat in the past for small life forms called microbes.
The backside of the rover is less crowded with instruments than other parts of the rover. The power source is the main feature, giving electrical power to allow the rover to perform all of its functions. Since the rover may at times move in reverse, hazard avoidance cameras showing the ground view are important (and help with driving at all times).
- MAHLI
- APXS
- Sample Processing & Handling (SA/PaH) subsystem
- Powder Acquisition Drill System (PADS)
- Dust Removal Tool (DRT)
- Collection and Handling for in-situ Martian Rock Analysis (CHIMRA)
Body
Tech Specs
- Main Function: Protect the Computer, Electronic, and Instrument Systems
- Components: bottom and sides are the frame of the chassis; top is the rover equipment deck (its "back")
Body
Tech Specs
- Main Function: Protect the Computer, Electronic, and Instrument Systems
- Components: bottom and sides are the frame of the chassis; top is the rover equipment deck (its "back")
Tail
Tech Specs
- Main Function: Provide power to the rover
- Location: At side of the rover
- Size: 25 inches (64 centimeters) in diameter by 26 inches (66 centimeters) long
- Weight: about 99 pounds (45 kilograms)
details taken from......
www.nasa.gov
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