How to Plan a Space Mission



[pic] How to Plan a Space Mission [pic]

Hi there!

Today we are going to plan a space mission. We are going to do all the things that have to be done to get a real mission off the ground. From the first planning stages to the actual blast off can take NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) or ESA (European Space Agency) as much as ten years. We only have about 20 minutes, so we have to work fast!

Stage 1. Where are you going?

You need to decide what planet or asteroid you would like to visit

Mission Destination…………………………………………………………

Stage 2. You need a team

Planning a space mission is all about great teamwork. So who is in your team?

Team members………………………………. ………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………….

Stage 3. You need a name

You need to give your mission a name. Here are some examples: Apollo, Rosetta, Viking etc

Your Mission Name……………………………………………………………

Stage 4. You need a map

As with any long journey you are going to need a map. Here are the distances (in millions of miles) of all the eight planets (and Pluto) from the Sun.

Distance from Distance scaled to

Sun (millions of 1 million miles = 1mm

miles) and then divided by 20

Mercury 36 2 mm

Venus 67 3 mm

Earth 93 5 mm

Mars 142 7 mm

Asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter

Jupiter 483 24 mm

Saturn 886 44 mm

Uranus 1,783 89 mm

Neptune 2,794 140 mm

Pluto 3,666 183 mm

Just show each planet as a dot to start with.

But what about the size of the planets?

Diameter (miles) Relative diameter

(Mercury = 1)

Mercury 3,031 1

Venus 7,521 3

Earth 7,926 3

Mars 4,221 1

Jupiter 88,734 29

Saturn 74,566 25

Uranus 31,566 10

Neptune 30,199 10

Pluto 1,450 0.5

We can’t use the same scale for distance and size but when you draw the planets try to keep them in proportion.

Stage 5. How long is it going to take?

Distance from Earth Time to destination

(millions of miles) (months or years)

Mercury 57

Venus 26

Earth 0 0

Mars 49

Jupiter 390

Saturn 793

Uranus 1690

Neptune 2701

Pluto 3573

A car can travel at up to 70 miles per hour (mph) but rockets have to go much faster. To escape the Earth’s gravity a rocket must travel faster than 25,000 mph. Once it’s on its way average speeds are a bit less, let’s say10,000 mph. If we convert that to miles per day (or year) we can work out roughly how long our mission will take.

10, 000 mph x 24 hours x 365 days = 88 million miles per year

Example:

Distance to Jupiter = 390 million miles ÷ 88 million miles = 4.4 years

So how long is it going to take (roughly) to your destination?

……………………………………………………………………………………...……………………………………………………………………………………...

Stage 6. Do you hire some astronauts?

It would be fun to plan a mission with astronauts but they are expensive and need very big rockets. The space agency is short of cash, so sorry go to Stage 7.

Stage 7. What sort of spacecraft do you want?

Your mission will involve sending an unmanned spacecraft to study your destination. But what will you do when you get there. Here are the choices:

1. Fly round it taking pictures and collecting lots of scientific information.

2. Fly round and collect some information and also drop a small probe on the surface.

3. Send a rover.

4. Send a probe to bring back a sample.

So what would you like to do?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Stage 8. Now you can design your spacecraft.

Your rocket comes in two bits. A launch vehicle and the spacecraft itself. Don’t worry about the launch vehicle they are quite standard. Here is probably the best one in the world at the moment, Europe’s Ariane 5 launcher:

[pic]

It is your job to design the spacecraft. Weight is the problem. Your spacecraft has a maximum launch weight of 2000kg. The engines, computer and solar panels weigh 1000kg, you will need about 500kg of fuel, that leaves just 500kg for you scientific instruments. Now you have to make some choices:

[pic][pic]

Small orbiter: 250kg Big orbiter 500kg

[pic] [pic]

Small lander: 250kg Big lander: 500kg

[pic] [pic]

Little rover: 250kg Big rover: 500kg

So what sort of spacecraft are you going to send and why?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………

Stage 9. Choose your instruments.

Your spacecraft will carry various instruments to investigate the conditions at your destination. You can choose only five. Here is a list of possibilities.

Movie camera

High-resolution camera

Rock analysis instrument

Thermometer

Wind speed sensor

Microphone

Instrument to look for signs of life

Radar system to look through dense clouds

Instrument to detect water

Instrument to measure gases

Stage 10. What do you hope to learn about your destination?

Having chosen your spacecraft and its instrument what sorts of things do you hope to learn about your destination?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

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