Probes

Anna and HannaEuclid Middle School

Period 6Space Odyssey

What is a Probe?

A space probe is a scientific space exploration mission in

which a robotic spacecraft leaves the gravity well of Earth

and enters space

Probe MissionsFuture Missions:~Aquarius Launch: 2010~GRAIL Launch: 2011~Juno Launch: August 2011~Mars Science Laboratory Launch: 2011

Current Missions:~Space Technology 8~Moon Mineralogy Mapper~ Jason 2

Past Missions:~Explorer 1-5 Launch: 1958~Pioneer 3-4 Launch: 1958-1959~Rangers to the moon Launch: 1961-1965~Mariner 1-2 Launch: 1962

Rangers to the Moon

Historical Developments

The first space mission, Sputnik 1 was an artificial satellite put into Earth orbit by the Soviet Union on 4 October 1957. On 3 November 1957, the Soviets orbited Sputnik 2, the first to carry a living animal into space – a dog.

The United States achieved its first successful space probe launch with the orbit of Explorer 1 on 31 January 1958. Explorer 1 weighed less than 14 kilograms compared to 83.6 kg and 508.3 kg for Sputniks 1 and 2 respectively. Nonetheless, Explorer 1 detected a narrow band of radiation surrounding the Earth, named the Van Allen belts after the scientist whose equipment detected it.

Probe Facts• The space probe Galileo traveled for over six years before it reached Jupiter in December 1995

• Most probes are not designed to return to Earth

Pictures

Magellan space probe

Juno Space probe

Works Cited _____. Holt Science and Technology Astronomy.

London: Holt, Rinehart, Winston, 2002 136-141.

“Space Probes.” Wikipedia. Internet: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_probe .

6 February 2009.

“ Space Probes.” Google. Internet: http://education.yahoo.com/reference/encyclopedia/.

9 February 2009.