A QUICK VIEW OF
THE SOLAR SYSTEM
AND NASA
MISSIONS
THE SUN
• 91 Million Miles from Earth
• 5 billion years old
• The Source of all Energy (food) here on Earth
• Drives the seasons, currents in the ocean, weather, and climate
• Burns at 29 million degrees Fahrenheit – Process called FUSION
• Makes up 99% of the mass of the solar system
• In the picture up above you can see a “solar flare” that stretches
365,000 miles off the surface of the sun.
MERCURY
• Closest planet to the sun
• Much like our moon, rocky full of craters, no
atmosphere
• Circles the sun every 88 days.
• Temperature range 800° to -300°F
MARINER 10
• Only spacecraft to visit Mercury
• 1974-1975
• Used the gravity of Venus to slingshot to
Mercury (first gravity assist)
VENUS
• 2nd planet from the sun
• Heavy, thick atmosphere, very hot
greenhouse effect (like Earth?)
MARINER 2
• First visited Venus in 1962.
• Found Venus to be hot with an atmosphere
of toxic gases and a surface of lava flows.
• Although it is similar in size to Earth, it is a
very inhospitable planet.
MARS
• “The Red Planet”
• Most studied planet outside of the
Earth.
• Maybe the next destination for Humans?
• NASA is searching for life on Mars.
Mars has been visited several times:
Viking II - 1975
Viking I - 1975
Pathfinder - 1997
MARS (CON’T)
Additionally, we have 2 spacecraft orbiting the planet:
The Mars Global Surveyer The Mars Odyssey
Mission: To Map the surface Mission: To determine the
of Mars composition of the
soil and to find water
JUPITER
• Largest Planet in the solar system
• Has 39 moons (although many may be
asteroids)
• Giant red spot – 300 year old storm 3
times the size of Earth!
JUPITERS MOONS ARE MOST
INTERESTING:
I. Io – most volcanically active body in
solar system
II. Ganymede – Largest moon, has its own
magnetic field
III. Europa & Callisto– May have an ocean
under their icy crust
MISSIONS TO JUPITER
1. VOYAGER MISSIONS: Two aircraft were launched in 1977
They flew by Jupiter in 1979.
2. GALILEO MISSION: Launched October 18, 1989
In orbit around Jupiter and its moons
HOW DOES NASA COMMUNICATE WITH DEEP SPACE?
THE DEEP SPACE NETWORK
Imagine having a
conversation on a
sidewalk in Los
Angeles, CA with a
person on a sidewalk
in San Francisco, CA.
That’s the equivalent
of what the DSN
does daily with
spacecraft in the
outer parts of the
solar system.
SATURN
• May be the most majestic of all the planets
• Ring system is the most fascinating to
astronomers – probably made of ice and rock.
• Has at least 30 moons, the largest of which
is Titan – a moon larger than Pluto and
Mercury.
MISSIONS TO SATURN
1. VOYAGERS I & II: Visited
Saturn back in the late 1970’s
early 1980’s
2. CASSINI-HUYGENS: Will
begin orbiting Saturn in 2004 –
contains Huygens Probe which
will land on Titan
THE HUYGENS PROBE
THE VOYAGER MISSIONS
http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/
THE MOST OUTER PLANETS
URANUS: Has 10 moons and a small ring system
3rd largest planet in the solar system
NEPTUNE: spends 20 out of every 248
years as the farthest planet
from the sun
Has 6 moons, 1 with active
geysers.
Has the coldest recorded
temperature in the solar system
PLUTO: Smallest planet.
Only planet not visited by NASA