My Science School

Today there are many artificial satellites that revolve round the Earth. Why is all the time, money and effort required to launch them considered worthwhile? The answer is that the satellite performs many useful scientific tasks as it journeys through space.

Artificial satellites can act as spies that seek out military installations and equipment on the Earth below. Another function is communications between distant points of the globe.

They can study the solar radiation and environment of space and this knowledge helps us to understand the forces at work on our own planet and the causes of natural phenomena which effect our living conditions.

Meteorological satellites also exist which record details of weather conditions throughout the world and help in weather forecasting.

 

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During the 1700s after a great deal of hard work astronomers were able to calculate the speed and direction of many stars. By 1805 the astronomer Herschel proved that the Sun itself was subject to the same laws of movement. We now know that the Sun with its whole accompaniment of planets travels through space at the terrifying speed of about 270 kilometres a second together with the whole galaxy in which the solar system lies. The Sun also travels along a path of its own which is directed at a point in the heavens near the star Vega.

Herschel had studied the distant nebulae which astronomers before him believed to be millions of stars. Even the Milky Way was a nebula, but it was much brighter than the others and therefore must be nearer.

Herschel then thought that the Sun, like hundreds of other stars visible from the Earth, was part of huge nebula, separate from all the others and forming a universe of its own:  the galaxy.

During the 1870s the first powerful telescopes found other nebulae outside the galaxy and this proved that Herschel was right. New searches were made in our own century with the installation of the Mount Wilson telescopes in 1905 and the one at Mount Palomar in 1948.Today we can even begin to draw a map of the galaxy. It appears to be shaped like a 100,000 light years (one light year is equal to 10 million kilometres) and contains about 100,000 million stars.

 

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One of the weirdest features in space travel is the spacesuit worn by astronauts, with its huge spherical helmet, the tunic, the bulky gloves and boots and all the various gadgets and fittings.

The space-suit is a highly perfected machine in itself. It consists of no fewer than fifteen layers of special materials to protect the body of the astronaut. The space suit must provide oxygen for the astronaut to breathe and protect the astronaut from the vacuum and heat or cold of space. It must also be flexible enough to allow the astronaut to move freely. For travel in space, the astronaut wears an MMU (manned maneuvering unit), which contains small gas-powered thrusters. 

The space-suit must also contain food and water supplies, fitting to dispose of bodily wastes and surface to deflect heat and radiation. The helmet visor requires protective tilters to prevent the astronaut from viewing the Sun directly and risking severe dazzling and retinal burns. The suit also has to be fireproofed to the maximum possible extent.

The space-suit took years and millions of dollars to develop.

 

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With the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and next man on the Moon by 2024, using innovative technologies to explore more of the lunar surface than ever before. We will collaborate with our commercial and international partners and establish sustainable exploration by the end of the decade. 

Following a successful hot fire test, the core stage will be shipped to the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida for integration with the spacecraft. NASA will launch an SLS and an Orion together on two flight tests around the Moon to check performance, life support, and communication capabilities. The first mission – known as Artemis I – is on track for 2021 without astronauts, and Artemis II will fly with crew in 2023.

In the Phase 1 plan, NASA notes additional details about conducting a new test during the Artemis II mission – a proximity operations demonstration. Shortly after Orion separates from the interim cryogenic propulsion stage, astronauts will manually pilot Orion as they approach and back away from the stage. This demonstration will assess Orion’s handling qualities and related hardware and software to provide performance data and operational experience that cannot be readily gained on the ground in preparation for rendezvous, proximity operations, and docking, as well as undocking operations in lunar orbit beginning on Artemis III.

In 2024, Artemis III will be humanity’s return to the surface of the Moon - landing the first astronauts on the lunar South Pole. After launching on SLS, astronauts will travel about 240,000 miles to lunar orbit aboard Orion, at which point they will directly board one of the new commercial human landing systems, or dock to the Gateway to inspect it and gather supplies before boarding the landing system for their expedition to the surface.

Wearing modern spacesuits that allow for greater flexibility and movement than those of their Apollo predecessors, astronauts will collect samples and conduct a range of science experiments over the course of nearly seven days. Using the lander, they will return to lunar orbit before ultimately heading home to Earth aboard Orion.

Work is progressing rapidly on the Gateway. NASA will integrate the first two components to launch – the power and propulsion element and the habitation and logistics outpost – in 2023. This foundation for the Gateway will be able to operate autonomously, conducting remote science experiments when astronauts are not aboard. NASA has selected the first two science instrument suites to conduct space weather investigations in lunar orbit before crew visits.

 

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As of December 2019, of the 565 total space travelers, 65 have been women. There have been one each from France, Italy, South Korea, and the United Kingdom; two each from Canada, China, and Japan; four from the Soviet Union/Russia; and 50 from the United States. The time between the first male and first female astronauts varied widely by country. The first astronauts originally from Britain, South Korea, and Iran were women, while there was a two-year gap in Russia from the first man in space on Vostok 1 to the first woman in space on Vostok 6. The time between the first American man and first American woman in space was 22 years between Freedom 7 and STS-7, respectively. For China, this interval was almost eight and a half years between the Shenzhou 5 and Shenzhou 9 space missions, and for Italy, there was approximately twelve years between the STS-46 and Expedition 42 spaceflights.

A span of 19 years separated the first and second women in space. They were cosmonauts on the Vostok 6 and Soyuz T-7 missions. Though the Soviet Union sent the first two women into space, only four of the women in space have been Russian or Soviet citizens. However, British, French, Italian, dual-citizen Iranian-American and South Korean women have all flown as part of the Soviet and Russian space programs. Similarly, women from Canada, Japan, and America have all flown under the US space program. A span of one year separated the first and second American women in space, as well as the first and second Chinese women in space, taking place on consecutive missions, Shenzhou 9 and Shenzhou 10.

 

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Indian-American astronaut Sunita Williams, who holds the record of the longest space flight (195 days) for a woman, arrived at her new home amid stars with an international cast of crew for another four-month stay.

In 1993 she became a naval test pilot, and she later became a test pilot instructor, flying more than 30 different aircraft and logging more than 2,770 flight hours. When selected for the astronaut program, she was stationed aboard the USS Saipan.

Williams completed an M.S. in engineering management from the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne in 1995, and she entered astronaut training in 1998. She traveled to Moscow, where she received training in robotics and other ISS operational technologies while working with the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roskosmos) and with crews preparing for expeditions to the ISS.

 

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Born on March 17, 1962, in Karnal, Kalpana Chawla was the first Indian-origin woman to go into space. Chawla joined NASA in 1988 and first flew aboard Space Shuttle Columbia in 1997. The astronaut died on her second mission aboard Columbia in 2003. Sunita Williams, born in the US, became the second Indian-origin woman to travel into space in 2006.

Born in Karnal, Chawla received a degree in aeronautical engineering from Punjab Engineering College before moving to the United States for her masters and PhD. In 1994, she was selected as an astronaut candidate at NASA.

Chawla first travelled to space aboard the ill-fated space shuttle Columbia flight STS-87. The shuttle made 252 orbits around the Earth in a little over two weeks, before the tragic accident that took place in February while it was returning to Earth.

Chawla moved to the United States to pursue her graduate education; in 1984 she received a Master's degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Texas, and a Ph.D. in aerospace engineering from the University of Colorado in 1988. She held commercial pilot's licenses for single- and multi-engine aeroplanes, seaplanes and gliders, and was also a certified flight instructor.

After becoming a naturalised US citizen in April 1991, Chawla applied for the NASA astronauts corps. She was selected in December 1994 and reported to the Johnson Space Center in Houston in 1995 as an astronaut candidate in Group 15. In November 1996, Chawla was assigned as a mission specialist on STS-87 aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia, becoming the first woman of Indian descent to fly in space.

 

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NASA astronaut Christina Koch has completed the longest-ever single spaceflight by a woman.

The Russian Soyuz spacecraft carrying Koch parachuted down to the grasslands of Kazakhstan at around 09:12 GMT.

She spent 328 days on the International Space Station (ISS), surpassing the previous record held by fellow American Peggy Whitson.

Her stay is just 12 days short of the all-time US record set by Scott Kelly, who was on the ISS from 2015-2016.

During her mission, Koch completed six spacewalks -- including another two with Meir -- and spent 42 hours and 15 minutes outside of the station.

Koch also devoted much of her time to a variety of experiments and investigations. The space station acts as an orbiting laboratory that can be used to test how different aspects of everyday human life on Earth react to the lack of gravity.

On the station, astronauts experience a plethora of science activities. Sometimes, they're the test subject, contributing to studies about human health in space. Other times, they're working with scientists on Earth to test their experiments.

 

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On just her second spaceflight, Expedition 16, NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson became the first woman to command the International Space Station.

This year marks a milestone in spaceflight history, 20 years of continuous human presence aboard the International Space Station (ISS)

She became NASA’s first ISS Science Officer during her first flight (Expedition 5), the first female ISS commander with her second (Expedition 16), and the first two-time female commander of the ISS with her third and final stay on station (Expedition 50/51/52).

She has conducted 10 spacewalks totaling 60 hours and 21 minutes, holding the record for most spacewalks by a female astronaut. Whitson has also logged 665 days in space, the most for any American astronaut, placing her in the eighth spot on the all-time space endurance list.

From Oct. 2009 to July 2012, Whitson served as the Chief of the Astronaut Corps, the first woman and non-military astronaut to fill the role.

In 2018, Whitson retired from NASA.

 

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On June 18, 1983, NASA Astronaut Sally K. Ride became the first American woman in space, when she launched with her four crewmates aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger on mission STS-7.  Ride and five other women had been selected in 1978 for NASA Astronaut Group 8, the first American selection class to include females.  With the advent of the space shuttle, NASA expanded astronaut selection from only pilots to scientists and engineers, and women became eligible for selection.  NASA announced Ride and her classmates to the public on Jan. 16, 1978.

NASA announced Ride would be part of the STS-7 crew on April 30, 1982, serving as mission specialist and joining Commander Robert L. Crippen, mission specialist John M. Fabian, physician-astronaut Norman E. Thagard and pilot Frederick H. Hauck on the historic flight.

Over six days, the crew’s complex tasks included launching commercial communications satellites for Indonesia and Canada and deploying and retrieving a satellite using the shuttle’s robotic arm. Ride, who was 32 at the time, was the first woman to operate the shuttle’s mechanical arm. 

 

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Svetlana Savitskaya was just the second woman to reach space. She was also a record-breaking jet pilot. Savitskaya was born in Moscow in 1948, and likewise started skydiving as a teenager. Her father, a high-ranking officer in the Soviet military, was allegedly unaware of her skydiving exploits. However, he soon supported her passion for flying jets, and Savitskaya quickly found herself competing in aerobatic competitions.

In 1970, while she was still in her early 20s, Savitskaya won the prestigious competition: the World Aerobatic Championship. That flying prowess helped her earn a spot as a cosmonaut, and she went on to earn her astronaut wings in 1982. That made her just the second woman to travel to space, following Tereshkova’s in 1963. Unlike Tereshkova, however, Savitskaya did get to fly a second time, making her the first woman to travel to space multiple times.

 

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The first woman to travel in space was Soviet cosmonaut, Valentina Tereshkova. On 16 June 1963, Tereshkova was launched on a solo mission aboard the spacecraft Vostok 6. She spent more than 70 hours orbiting the Earth, two years after Yuri Gagarin’s first human-crewed flight in space.

In 1963, Tereshkova became the first woman in space, just two years after Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space.

However, as the investment in the space programmes grew, so did the gender gap. It took another 19 years until Soviet cosmonaut Svetlana Savitskaya, aboard the Soyuz T-7 mission in 1982, became the second woman to travel into space. 

Savitskaya returned on a 1984 mission to become the first woman to fly to space twice, and the first woman to perform a spacewalk. 

While over 500 people have flown in space, to date, only 11% of them have been women. Nearly all of these women flew in the NASA program, and the rest were in the Soviet/Russian and Chinese space programmes. 

 

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