Science Experiments Children & Teens Can Do At Home !

A Solar Pinhole Viewing Box, used to safely view the Sun during a Solar Eclipse or Eclipse of the Sun, can also be used to determine the diameter of the Sun. This is one of several simple science experiments that young people can do themselves, at home! Internet links to instructions for this experiment, and more simple science experiments, can be found in a list of science projects near the end of this blog-post.
(Graphic Source: Eric G. Canali, former Floor Operations Manager of Pittsburgh's original Buhl Planetarium and Institute of Popular Science and Founder of the South Hills Backyard Astronomers amateur astronomy club.)

By Glenn A. Walsh

Reporting for SpaceWatchtower

Officially, Summer does not begin until the moment of the Summer Solstice: Thursday Morning, 2018 June 21 at 6:07 a.m. Eastern Daylight Saving Time (EDT) / 10:07 Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). However, most school children and teenagers are about to begin, what is known as, “Summer Vacation.”

How can parents, grandparents, and legal guardians keep young people engaged in learning during the warm weather months, particularly students who may have an interest and aptitude in the sciences?

Most public libraries have free-of-charge Summer reading programs to encourage reading throughout the Summer. Often, public libraries have Summer reading program kick-off events, which include several children's activities, in June of each year.

In the case of The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, their “Summer Reading Extravaganza” will be this Sunday, June 10 from 12:00 Noon to 5:00 p.m. EDT at the Main Library in the Oakland section of the city. For Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh's West End Branch, their Summer reading program kick-off event will be the following Saturday, June 16 from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. EDT. Also, The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh provides “STEM: Super Science” programs at several branch libraries, supported in part by the PPG Foundation.

Some schools, colleges, science centers / science museums, natural history museums, and even some public libraries offer science classes during the Summer months, sometimes referred to as “Summer Camps.” At Pittsburgh's original Buhl Planetarium and Institute of Popular Science, Summer classes were known as the “Summer Science Academy.”

But, how can young students directly participate in some simple science experiments?

One way may be to visit a science center / science museum, which sometimes allows the public to help conduct science experiments. Several days of the week (particularly on Sundays), people could participate in science experiments in the Discovery Lab of Pittsburgh's Buhl Science Center (a.k.a. original Buhl Planetarium and Institute of Popular Science).

But, there are several simple science experiments children and teenagers can perform themselves, right at home!

Here are Internet links to some Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Science Experiments recommended by Children's Services of the West End Branch of The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh (the West End Branch, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, is noted for originating the Library Children's Story-Hour in 1899) ---

Balloon Rockets:
Link >>> http://cse.ssl.berkeley.edu/AtHomeAstronomy/activity_06.html

Meteors and Craters:
Link >>> http://cse.ssl.berkeley.edu/AtHomeAstronomy/activity_05.html

Finding the Size of the Sun and Moon:
Link 1 >>> http://cse.ssl.berkeley.edu/AtHomeAstronomy/activity_03.html
Link 2 >>> http://buhlplanetarium2.tripod.com/FAQ/soleclipse/solarviewboxgraphic.gif
(Link 2 Graphic Source: Eric G. Canali, former Floor Operations Manager of Pittsburgh's original Buhl Planetarium and Institute of Popular Science and Founder of the South Hills Backyard Astronomers amateur astronomy club.)
Link 3 >>> http://buhlplanetarium2.tripod.com/FAQ/soleclipse/solareclipseviewingtips.html

Solar Cooker: Link >>> https://climatekids.nasa.gov/smores/

Make Your Own Sundial:
Link >>> https://sunearthday.nasa.gov/2005/images/Sun_Dial_pdf.pdf

Projects for Younger Children ---

Building 3-D Constellations with Marshmallows:
Link >>> https://www.kcedventures.com/blog/astronomy-activities-for-kids-books-about-the-stars 

Constellation Flashlight:
Link >>> https://www.handmadecharlotte.com/diy-constellation-flashlight-discs/

Constellation Cards and Myths:
Link >>>  https://www.howweelearn.com/constellation-myths-kids/

More Science Experiments from Steve Spangler Science - Click on the following Internet links ---
Lists of free-of-charge Science Experiments (Click on a particular Science category in drop-down menu):
Link >>> https://www.stevespanglerscience.com/lab/experiments/
Free-of-charge, 44-page (.pdf file), Summer Science Outdoor Activity Guide:
Link >>> https://www.stevespanglerscience.com/summer-science-fun/

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Book Lists compiled by The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh ---
Link >>> https://www.carnegielibrary.org/stem-booklists/

Special Thanks: Beth Zovko, Children's Services, and Maria Joseph, Library Services Manager, The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, West End Branch.

Source: Glenn A. Walsh Reporting for SpaceWatchtower, a project of Friends of the Zeiss.
              2018 June 5.

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gaw

Glenn A. Walsh --- < http://buhlplanetarium2.tripod.com/weblog/spacewatchtower/gaw/ >
Electronic Mail: < gawalsh@planetarium.cc >
Project Director, Friends of the Zeiss: < http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/fotz/ >
SpaceWatchtower Editor / Author: < http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/ >
Formerly Astronomical Observatory Coordinator & Planetarium Lecturer, original Buhl Planetarium & Institute of Popular Science, Pittsburgh's science & technology museum from 1939 to 1991.
Author of History Web Sites on the Internet --
* Buhl Planetarium, Pittsburgh:
  < http://www.planetarium.cc >
* Adler Planetarium, Chicago:
  < http://adlerplanetarium.tripod.com >
* Astronomer, Educator, Optician John A. Brashear:
  < http://johnbrashear.tripod.com >
* Andrew Carnegie & Carnegie Libraries:
  < http://www.andrewcarnegie.cc >

Astronomical Calendar: 2018 June

Photograph from a Soviet Academy of Science 1927 expedition led by Leonid Kulik shows hundreds of trees fallen from a huge explosion, now known as the Tunguska Event, which occurred on June 30, 110 years ago. Occurring in a remote area of Siberia near the Stony Tunguska River in 1908, no known person actually observed the explosion, which is speculated to have been caused by an air burst of a meteor, asteroid, or comet fragment.
(Image Source: https://todiscoverrussia.com/tunguska-meteorite-in-siberia-is-the-mystery-unraveled/)

Astronomical Calendar for 2018 June ---
Link >>> http://buhlplanetarium4.tripod.com/astrocalendar/2018.html#jun


 Related Blog Posts ---

"Science Experiments Children & Teens Can Do At Home !" 2018 June 5.

Link >>> https://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2018/06/science-experiments-children-teens-can.html

"Astronomical Calendar: 2018 May." 2018 May 1.

Link >>> http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2018/05/astronomical-calendar-2018-may.html

Source: Friends of the Zeiss.
              2018 June 1.

                             Like This Post? - Please Share!

            More Astronomy & Science News - SpaceWatchtower Twitter Feed:
            Link >>> https://twitter.com/spacewatchtower

        Astronomy & Science Links: Link >>> http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/#sciencelinks

                Want to receive SpaceWatchtower blog posts in your in-box ?
                Send request to < spacewatchtower@planetarium.cc >.

gaw

Glenn A. Walsh --- < http://buhlplanetarium2.tripod.com/weblog/spacewatchtower/gaw/ >
Electronic Mail: < gawalsh@planetarium.cc >
Project Director, Friends of the Zeiss: < http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/fotz/ >
SpaceWatchtower Editor / Author: < http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/ >
Formerly Astronomical Observatory Coordinator & Planetarium Lecturer, original Buhl Planetarium & Institute of Popular Science, Pittsburgh's science & technology museum from 1939 to 1991.
Author of History Web Sites on the Internet --
* Buhl Planetarium, Pittsburgh:
  < http://www.planetarium.cc >
* Adler Planetarium, Chicago:
  < http://adlerplanetarium.tripod.com >
* Astronomer, Educator, Optician John A. Brashear:
  < http://johnbrashear.tripod.com >
* Andrew Carnegie & Carnegie Libraries:
  < http://www.andrewcarnegie.cc >

Library to be Established on the Moon !

Artist's rendering of Astrobotic's Peregrine Lunar Lander, which will take a "Lunar Library," among other payloads, to the Moon in 2020. (Image Source: Astrobotic)

By Glenn A. Walsh

Reporting for SpaceWatchtower

In the latter part of the 19^th century and the beginning of the 20^th century, famous industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, who grew-up on the North Side of Pittsburgh, funded the construction of 2,509 public libraries worldwide (including 1,689 in the United States), as well as several academic libraries. Now, a Pittsburgh aerospace company, Astrobotic, plans to fly a digital library to the Moon, as a way to preserve human knowledge.

The “Lunar Library” will be transported to the Moon on Astrobotic's first lunar lander, called the Peregrine Lunar Lander, in 2020, which will be the first commercial mission to the Moon. The Peregrine Lunar Lander will also include time capsules with children's messages and cremated remains (for a Moon “burial”), as well as a couple small Moon rovers and a scientific instrument for the Mexican Space Agency.

Astrobotic plans to provide cost-effective, frequent, and reliable transportation to the Moon for a variety of clients, including businesses and governments as well as academic and non-profit organizations. The cost to send an item to the Moon is $1.2 million per kilogram.

Although the Lunar Library will be digitized, it will not use regular digital media. Millions of pages of text and images will be laser-etched onto thin, tiny discs of nickel (each disc about the size of a U.S. dime-coin), termed “analog microfiche.” This analog microfiche, which will include the entire contents of Wikipedia and the Rosetta Project of the Long Now Foundation (a digital library of human languages), as well as other informational content to be announced closer to the launch date, is expected to be invulnerable to the Moon's variable temperatures and the cosmic radiation that hits the Moon.

It will require a 1,000-power magnification, optical microscope to read this analog microfiche. It is expected that this library of human knowledge could last on the Moon for billions of years!

This Lunar Library will be one of several “Arch Libraries” expected to be sprinkled around our Solar System over the next several years. The Arch Mission Foundation (Arch is pronounced “Ark”, of course, reminiscent of Noah's Ark) is creating these digital libraries to back-up and help preserve human knowledge, including Earth's cultural heritages and biological records, for future generations (and, perhaps, for alien civilizations visiting our Solar System sometime in the distant future).

The Lunar Library project will be the second project sponsored by the Arch Mission Foundation. An Arch Mission “data crystal,” which contained Isaac Asimov's Foundation trilogy of science-fiction novels, flew last February on the premiere flight of the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket.

Internet Links to Additional Information ---

Arch Mission Foundation:
Link 1 >>> https://archmission.org/
Link 2 >>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arch_Mission_Foundation

Astrobotic:
Link 1 >>> https://www.astrobotic.com/
Link 2 >>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astrobotic_Technology

Peregrine Lunar Lander:
Link 1 >>> https://www.astrobotic.com/peregrine
Link 2 >>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astrobotic_Technology#Moon_missions

Andrew Carnegie & Carnegie Libraries: Link >>> http://www.andrewcarnegie.cc

Related Blog Post ---

"Web-Cast: 1st Test Launch of SpaceX Falcon Heavy Rocket Tue. Afternoon."

 2018 Feb. 6.

Link >>> http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2018/02/web-cast-1st-test-launch-of-spacex.html

Source: Glenn A. Walsh Reporting for SpaceWatchtower, a project of Friends of the Zeiss.
             2018 May 21.

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           More Astronomy & Science News - SpaceWatchtower Twitter Feed:
            Link >>> https://twitter.com/spacewatchtower

        Astronomy & Science Links: Link >>> http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/#sciencelinks

                Want to receive SpaceWatchtower blog posts in your in-box ?
                Send request to < spacewatchtower@planetarium.cc >.

gaw

Glenn A. Walsh --- < http://buhlplanetarium2.tripod.com/weblog/spacewatchtower/gaw/ >
Electronic Mail: < gawalsh@planetarium.cc >
Project Director, Friends of the Zeiss: < http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/fotz/ >
SpaceWatchtower Editor / Author: < http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/ >
Formerly Astronomical Observatory Coordinator & Planetarium Lecturer, original Buhl Planetarium & Institute of Popular Science, Pittsburgh's science & technology museum from 1939 to 1991.
Author of History Web Sites on the Internet --
* Buhl Planetarium, Pittsburgh:
  < http://www.planetarium.cc >
* Adler Planetarium, Chicago:
  < http://adlerplanetarium.tripod.com >
* Astronomer, Educator, Optician John A. Brashear:
  < http://johnbrashear.tripod.com >
* Andrew Carnegie & Carnegie Libraries:
  < http://www.andrewcarnegie.cc >

NASA InSight Space Lander on Way to Mars

        
                                NASA InSight Mars Lander with labeled instruments.
(Image Sources: NASA, Wikipedia.org, By NASA/JPL-Caltech - http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/figures/PIA17358_fig1.jpg, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=31906999)

By Glenn A. Walsh

Reporting for SpaceWatchtower

NASA's newest space probe to Mars launched this-past weekend from California, the first U.S. interplanetary launch from outside of Cape Canaveral, Florida. Aimed particularly to seek-out “Mars-Quakes,” this mission is scheduled to land on the Red Planet at the end of the Thanksgiving Weekend.

Called “InSight” (Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport), this probe will be a lander, not a rover. So, it will stay in one place to better study the interior of Mars, which is its primary mission. It is hoped that “Insight” will help provide insight into how all of the rocky planets in the Inner Solar System, and the Earth's Moon, were formed 4.6 billion years ago.

Despite thick fog before sunrise, which made it difficult for people to watch the launch, InSight was launched, atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, from Vandenberg Air Force Base Saturday morning (2018 May 5) at 4:05 a.m. Pacific Daylight Saving Time (PDT) in California [7:05 a.m. Eastern Daylight Saving Time (EDT) / 11:05 Coordinated Universal Time (UTC)]. The West Coast launch site had less of a back-log of launches then did Cape Canaveral. InSight is expected to land on Mars on Monday Afternoon, November 26, around 3:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) / 20:00 UTC.

The launch was timed to allow InSight to travel when Mars and Earth are closest, something that only happens once every two years. InSight will fly 301 million miles / 485 million kilometers to reach Mars. The primary mission of InSight is expected to last one Martian year, about the same as two Earth years.

InSight will land in an area of Mars known as Elysium Planitia, not far north of the Gale Crater where NASA's Curiosity Rover (the last NASA mission to Mars in 2012) is still exploring. The landing site is also just north of a boundary between the older, cratered southern highlands and Mars' northern lowland plains.

Seismology, which has previously been studied on Earth and on Earth's Moon, is now to be studied on Mars. The primary purpose of the InSight mission is to better understand the Martian interior, particularly whether the planet's core has solid and / or liquid components similar to Earth's core (Earth's core is composed of a solid inner core and a liquid outer core).

Seismographs were included on the first American spacecraft to land on Mars, the two Viking probes which landed in July of 1976. However, these seismographs were mounted on the spacecrafts, and the results did not measure Mars-Quakes, only the Martian wind buffeting the two space probes.

The Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure (SEIS) will be placed directly onto the surface to record any specific shaking of the planet. It is expected that faint seismic signals will simply record meteorite impacts, which could help determine the composition of the interior structure of Mars. Stronger tremors, or Mars-Quakes, would be evidence that the planet is geologically active.

Another important experiment on InSight is the Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package instrument, which will seek heat coming from Mars' core. Nicknamed “the mole,” this "self-hammering nail" will burrow itself up to 16 feet / 5 meters below the Martian surface to sense heat.

A corner-cube retro-reflector, called the Laser Retro-Reflector for InSight (LaRRI) instrument has been installed on the top deck of the NASA InSight Mars Lander, for laser range-finding by Mars orbiters. Provided by the Italian Space Agency, this is a passive instrument that can still be used once the InSight Lander is retired. It could also form a node as part of a future Mars geophysical network.

Other experiments on InSight include the Rotation and Interior Structure Experiment (RISE), which will use InSight's X-band radio to provide a more precise measurement of Mars' rate of rotation and whether the rotation has a wobble. Weather at the landing site will be monitored by the Temperature and Winds for InSight (TWINS) instrument. And, two color television cameras (one which will provide stereoscopic views of Mars) are mounted on the Lander.

Two silicon wafers, etched with the names of 2.4 million public supporters of the InSight mission, are being sent to Mars with the InSight Lander. This was part of a public outreach program set-up by NASA, to allow members of the public to be a part of the project. Each letter, etched by an electron beam, measures only 1/1000 the width of a human hair, while each of the two silicon wafers measures 0.3 inch / 8 millimeters in diameter.

In addition to InSight, the Atlas V rocket launched two independent, miniature communications satellites, known as Cube-Sats, toward Mars. Each Cube-Sat is modular, about the size of a briefcase. These are the first two Cube-Sats bound for Deep-Space.

The mission of Mars Cube One (both A and B), the two MarCO Cube-Sats, is to follow the Insight Lander to Mars, while the two Cube-Sats go into orbit around the Red Planet. Mars Cube One will test miniature spacecraft technology, particularly communications technology, in the Deep-Space environment. The Cube-Sats will particularly be watching the three-legged InSight as it enters the Martian atmosphere and lands on the surface via parachute and engine firings, the infamous 'Seven Minutes of Terror.'

                           
                                 
                              Laser Retro-Reflector for InSight (LaRRI) instrument installed
                              on the top deck of the NASA InSight Mars Lander, for laser
                              range-finding by Mars orbiters.
(Image Sources: NASA, Wikipedia.org, By NASA/JPL-Caltech/Lockheed Martin - https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA22206, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=66080315)

Internet Links to Additional Information ---

NASA Mars InSight Space Lander:
Link 1 >>> https://mars.nasa.gov/insight/
Link 2 >>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/InSight

Mars Cube One (MarCO):
Link 1 >>> https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/cubesat/missions/marco.php
Link 2 >>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Cube_One

Retro-Reflector: Link >>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retroreflector

Source: Glenn A. Walsh Reporting for SpaceWatchtower, a project of Friends of the Zeiss.
             2018 May 7.

                             Like This Post? - Please Share!

           More Astronomy & Science News - SpaceWatchtower Twitter Feed:
            Link >>> https://twitter.com/spacewatchtower

        Astronomy & Science Links: Link >>> http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/#sciencelinks

                Want to receive SpaceWatchtower blog posts in your in-box ?
                Send request to < spacewatchtower@planetarium.cc >.

gaw

Glenn A. Walsh --- < http://buhlplanetarium2.tripod.com/weblog/spacewatchtower/gaw/ >
Electronic Mail: < gawalsh@planetarium.cc >
Project Director, Friends of the Zeiss: < http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/fotz/ >
SpaceWatchtower Editor / Author: < http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/ >
Formerly Astronomical Observatory Coordinator & Planetarium Lecturer, original Buhl Planetarium & Institute of Popular Science, Pittsburgh's science & technology museum from 1939 to 1991.
Author of History Web Sites on the Internet --
* Buhl Planetarium, Pittsburgh:
  < http://www.planetarium.cc >
* Adler Planetarium, Chicago:
  < http://adlerplanetarium.tripod.com >
* Astronomer, Educator, Optician John A. Brashear:
  < http://johnbrashear.tripod.com >
* Andrew Carnegie & Carnegie Libraries:
  < http://www.andrewcarnegie.cc >

Astronomical Calendar: 2018 May

                    
Illustration of NASA's Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy, and Heat Transport (InSight Martian Lander), scheduled to be launched to Mars on May 5. (Image Source: NASA)
More Information: Link >>> http://buhlplanetarium4.tripod.com/astrocalendar/2018.html#insight

Astronomical Calendar for 2018 May ---
Link >>> http://buhlplanetarium4.tripod.com/astrocalendar/2018.html#may


 Related Blog Posts ---

"Science Experiments Children & Teens Can Do At Home !" 2018 June 5.

Link >>> https://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2018/06/science-experiments-children-teens-can.html

 

"Astronomical Calendar: 2018 April." 2018 April 2.

Link >>> http:/s/spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2018/04/astronomical-calendar-2018-april.html

Source: Friends of the Zeiss.
              2018 May 1.

                             Like This Post? - Please Share!

            More Astronomy & Science News - SpaceWatchtower Twitter Feed:
            Link >>> https://twitter.com/spacewatchtower

        Astronomy & Science Links: Link >>> http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/#sciencelinks

                Want to receive SpaceWatchtower blog posts in your in-box ?
                Send request to < spacewatchtower@planetarium.cc >.

gaw

Glenn A. Walsh --- < http://buhlplanetarium2.tripod.com/weblog/spacewatchtower/gaw/ >
Electronic Mail: < gawalsh@planetarium.cc >
Project Director, Friends of the Zeiss: < http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/fotz/ >
SpaceWatchtower Editor / Author: < http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/ >
Formerly Astronomical Observatory Coordinator & Planetarium Lecturer, original Buhl Planetarium & Institute of Popular Science, Pittsburgh's science & technology museum from 1939 to 1991.
Author of History Web Sites on the Internet --
* Buhl Planetarium, Pittsburgh:
  < http://www.planetarium.cc >
* Adler Planetarium, Chicago:
  < http://adlerplanetarium.tripod.com >
* Astronomer, Educator, Optician John A. Brashear:
  < http://johnbrashear.tripod.com >
* Andrew Carnegie & Carnegie Libraries:
  < http://www.andrewcarnegie.cc >

NASA 'Gateway' Moon Orbital Space Station: Start of Construction Contracts

The Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway in lunar orbit as imagined in 2017.
(Image Sources: NASA, Wikipedia.org; By NASA? - https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/picture1_3.jpg, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=57804871)

By Glenn A. Walsh

Reporting for SpaceWatchtower

NASA has begun seeking construction contracts for construction of a new crewed space station, this time a space station orbiting Earth's Moon. The “Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway” is expected to be completed by 2025.

The announcement of the first contract being sought by NASA for the new space station was announced last week by NASA Associate Administrator for Human Exploration and Operations William Gerstenmaier at the Space Symposium conference in Colorado Springs, as reported by Bloomberg News.

Once habitable, the Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway is not to be staffed continually, as is Earth's International Space Station (ISS). Rather, it will be designed to house four astronauts / cosmonauts for 30 to 60-day missions, for the study of the deep-space environment – for observations outside of the Earth's magnetosphere which may not be possible in Earth orbit.

This new lunar orbital outpost will allow for future missions (including both human and robotic missions) on the Moon, as well as being a way-station for deep-space missions to Mars, and perhaps the Asteroid Belt.

As with the ISS, this new space station will be an international venture. In addition to NASA, other national space agencies involved in this project include the Russian Space Agency (Roscosmos), European Space Agency (ESA), Japanese Space Agency (JAXA), and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).

In addition to the aforementioned ISS partners, there is an interest to work with other nations, no matter how small their space agency. NASA Associate Administrator Gerstenmaier, during a Space Transportation Association luncheon on March 5, mentioned Luxembourg and the United Arab Emirates as two countries that have expressed an interest in participating in this new project. Additionally, the several private space companies that are now working with NASA could also become involved in the project.

As with the ISS, China would not be involved with the Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway. China, which is considering building its own second space station in Earth orbit, as well as plans to land people on the Moon, has a space program which is controlled by the country's military. Only nations with non-military space programs can be involved in the ISS, and now with the Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway.

The first construction contract being sought by NASA is for the space station's high-power and propulsion element. The power and propulsion element will provide solar electric propulsion so the Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway can maintain and adjust its lunar orbit.

The power element will also allow for communication between the space station and Earth, Moon, other spacecraft, and astronauts during extra-vehicular activity (EVA: i.e. space-walks). For greater efficiency of larger data packages, laser communication will be used instead of radio.

Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Orbital ATK, Sierra Nevada Corporation, and Space Systems / Loral are the five firms competing for the power and propulsion element contract. NASA expects to award the contract early next year.

Other modules for later contracts include the habitation space, an airlock, and a logistics module for experiments. The launch of the power and propulsion element, expected in 2022, will mark the beginning of construction of the space station.

The Orion space capsule, being developed by NASA and Lockheed Martin, will provide transport to the new space station aboard the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, also being developed by NASA. The first unmanned test flight of Orion is planned for next year, when the spacecraft will orbit the Moon. A crewed test flight of Orion is anticipated in 2023.

By having a space station in lunar orbit, NASA sees this as part of its goal of landing people on Mars in the 2030s. One advantage of such a lunar way-station is that the Moon's gravity can be used to slow-down spacecraft returning from Mars.

Internet Links to Additional Information ---

Lunar Orbital Platform - Gateway:
Link >>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_Orbital_Platform-Gateway

NASA's Deep Space Exploration Planning:
Link >>> https://www.nasa.gov/topics/journeytomars/index.html

Related Blog Posts ---

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 2018 April 10.

Link >>> http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2018/04/50th-anniversary-classic-science.html

 

"Web-Cast: 1st Test Launch of SpaceX Falcon Heavy Rocket Tue. Afternoon."

 2018 Feb. 6.

Link >>> http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2018/02/web-cast-1st-test-launch-of-spacex.html

 

"Lasers in Space ?" 2017 November 13.

Link >>> http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2017/11/lasers-in-space.html

"NASA Laser Com-System Miniaturized & Improved Data Precision."

2015 Oct. 24.

Link >>> http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2015/10/nasa-laser-com-system-miniaturized.html

"NASA Orion Spacecraft: Near-Perfect Test Mission After Day-Delay."

2014 Dec. 5.

Link >>> http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2014/12/nasa-orion-spacecraft-near-perfect-test.html

Lunar Laser Com-System Sets Data Transmission Record." 2013 Oct. 24.

Link >>> http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2013/10/lunar-laser-com-system-sets-data.html

Source: Glenn A. Walsh Reporting for SpaceWatchtower, a project of Friends of the Zeiss.
             2018 April 25.

                             Like This Post? - Please Share!

            More Astronomy & Science News - SpaceWatchtower Twitter Feed:
            Link >>> https://twitter.com/spacewatchtower

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Glenn A. Walsh --- < http://buhlplanetarium2.tripod.com/weblog/spacewatchtower/gaw/ >
Project Director, Friends of the Zeiss: < http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/fotz/ >
SpaceWatchtower Editor / Author: < http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/ >
Formerly Astronomical Observatory Coordinator & Planetarium Lecturer: original Buhl Planetarium & Institute of Popular Science, Pittsburgh's science & technology museum from 1939 to 1991.
Electronic Mail - < gawalsh@planetarium.cc >
Author of History Web Sites on the Internet --
* Buhl Planetarium, Pittsburgh:
  < http://www.planetarium.cc >
* Adler Planetarium, Chicago:
  < http://adlerplanetarium.tripod.com >
* Astronomer, Educator, Optician John A. Brashear:
  < http://johnbrashear.tripod.com >
* Andrew Carnegie & Carnegie Libraries:
  < http://www.andrewcarnegie.cc >

50th Anniversary: Classic Science-Fiction Film "2001: A Space Odyssey"

Image of a futuristic space hotel in Earth orbit, from the 1968 classic, science-fiction motion picture
"2001: A Space Odyssey." In this concept, the space hotel would rotate to create artificial gravity
equivalent to the gravity people experience on Earth.
(Image Source: Pinterest.com)

By Glenn A. Walsh

Reporting for SpaceWatchtower

Today (April 10) marks the 50^th anniversary of the general release of the classic science-fiction motion picture, 2001: A Space Odyssey. Produced and directed by veteran American film director Stanley Kubrick, and written by Mr. Kubrick and English science-fiction writer and futurist Arthur C. Clarke, 2001: A Space Odyssey is now considered one of the most influential films of all time.

However, 2001: A Space Odyssey is not an-action adventure film like the Star Trek or Star Wars series of films (and of course, in the case of Star Trek, also several television series). 2001: A Space Odyssey is a highly philosophical drama about the-then (1968) future of crewed space flight, as well as a look at evolution, from the very beginning of human-kind to a possible future evolution of humans.

Dialogue is minimized in 2001: A Space Odyssey. And, instead of an original musical score as with other major theatrical productions, this motion picture is particularly notable for the innovative use of classical music from commercial sources.

The motion picture begins four million years in the past in an African desert, when a dark monolith appears to human ancestors. Apparently this monolith, from an alien civilization, helps spur mankind's evolution.

In 1999, astronauts find a similar monolith on the Moon. Once discovered, the lunar monolith starts transmitting a strong radio signal aimed at Jupiter. Apparently, this is a signal to the makers of the monolith that humans have found the lunar monolith, allowing the monolith makers to infer a certain level of evolution by Earthlings.

A year and a-half later in 2001, five U.S. astronauts are launched on Discovery 1 (three of the astronauts in cryogenic suspension) on a mission to Jupiter. This is a classified government mission, where the purpose of the mission is unknown to the astronauts; the mission purpose is only encoded into the spacecraft's computer system.

A much-discussed issue today, the future of artificial intelligence was first brought to the general public's attention in 2001: A Space Odyssey. As part of the American space mission to the Jupiter system on the spacecraft Discovery 1, most of the spacecraft systems are controlled by the new artificial intelligence (AI) computer HAL 9000. The name HAL stands for Heuristically programmed ALgorithmic computer.

After the film's release, several people quickly realized that the letters HAL were only a one-letter shift (ahead) from the letters used for the abbreviation of a well-known computer company, IBM. Stanley Kubrick, Arthur C. Clarke, and the IBM Company all state that this was just a coincidence.

In 2001: A Space Odyssey, “HAL” seems to have a soft-spoken personality while interacting with the astronauts. However, the two astronauts piloting Discovery 1 notice computer errors, later confirmed by Mission Control. What is considered a perfect AI, “foolproof and incapable of error," kills all but one of the five astronauts, claiming the astronauts' attempt to disable the computer system would jeopardize the mission! The one remaining astronaut, after nearly dying himself, does finally succeed in disabling HAL.

After disabling HAL, the remaining astronaut, from a pre-recorded video message, learns of the monolith on the Moon, which has aimed a strong radio transmission towards Jupiter; the mission of Discovery 1 is to investigate why the radio signal is aimed at Jupiter. When the spaceship arrives in orbit of Jupiter, the one astronaut uses an EVA (extra-vehicular activity) pod to investigate another monolith in orbit of Jupiter, which apparently is receiving the special radio signal from the Moon.

At this point, the astronaut encounters many bizarre phenomena. The movie ends with the astronaut being transformed into a “star child,” orbiting the Earth. Apparently, this denotes the future of evolution for Earthlings.

2001: A Space Odyssey was lauded for, what appeared as, a scientifically accurate depiction of what the near-future may look like. As a futurist and science writer, in addition to being a science-fiction author, Arthur C. Clarke made sure the future in 2001 looked scientifically plausible.

One example is the appearance of a space hotel, in Earth orbit, near the beginning of the movie. Today, Bigelow Aerospace is working on expandable space modules that could be used for space stations, and a possible future hotel in space.

What makes the space hotel appear scientifically accurate is the fact that this satellite would use rotation to provide a centrifugal force. Hence the people in such a hotel would feel what is equivalent to the gravity we feel on Earth. The Discovery 1 spacecraft going to Jupiter, and the Aries Trans-Lunar Shuttle, also used rotation to simulate Earth-type gravity.

At the space hotel, a scientist telephoned his daughter on Earth, using a video pay telephone. This predicted the type of video-phone service we have today, with services such as Skype. However, video-phone service did have its beginnings in the mid-1960s, from research at Bell Laboratories. But, due to the high cost of the service at that time, picture-phone service was not commercially successful.

AT&T first displayed picture-phone service [black-and-white, real-time picture (not slow-scan)] to the general public in 1964, via a transcontinental connection between Disneyland in Anaheim, California and the World's Fair in New York City (the author of this blog-post, Glenn A. Walsh, used the picture-phone at the New York World's Fair in June of 1965). Picture-phone booths were also set-up in New York's Grand Central Terminal, Washington, and Chicago in 1964.

The first general, commercial picture-phone service started in Pittsburgh on 1970 June 30. Picture-phones (38) were leased by eight Pittsburgh corporations including Alcoa and Westinghouse, and by NBC's news / talk radio station, WJAS-AM 1320 (which had helped inaugurate the Pittsburgh service). Two public demonstration, picture-phone booths were set-up on the Mezzanine of Pittsburgh's original Buhl Planetarium and Institute of Popular Science, as a part of Buhl's Bell Telephone Exhibit.

At the stroke of midnight on 2000 January 1, many people mistakenly celebrated the beginning of a new millennium. However, due to the fact that when our current calendar was established it never included a year zero, the new millennium actually did not begin until 2001 January 1. Hence, this is the reason the title, 2001: A Space Odyssey, used the year 2001 rather than the year 2000.

The 1968 April release of the film was in a 70-millimeter format. In several motion picture theaters, particularly theaters in the larger cities (including the Warner Theater in Downtown Pittsburgh), the film was shown in “Cinerama.” Cinerama was an early version of a wide-screen motion picture format, first demonstrated on Broadway in New York City on 1952 September 30. Cinerama was seen as a way for the motion picture industry to compete with the-then new technology known as television.

Today, many people may be familiar with the wide-screen format known as “Omnimax” or “Imax Dome.” Also using a 70-millimeter film format, Omnimax theaters are often found as part of a museum or science center complex (in Pittsburgh, The Carnegie Science Center's long-time Rangos Omnimax Theater was recently up-graded to a large, digital, flat-screen theater).

While today (April 10), marks the 50^th anniversary of the general release of 2001: A Space Odyssey, the world premiere of the film occurred on 1968 April 2 at the Uptown Theater in Washington DC. On 1968 April 4, the film opened in the Warner Cinerama Theatre in Hollywood and in Loew's Capitol Theater in New York City. Just before the general release on 1968 April 10, Mr. Kubrick deleted 19 minutes of footage from the film. The international release of the film occurred the next day, 1968 April 11.

Internet Links to Additional Information ---

2001: A Space Odyssey:
Link 1 >>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2001%3A_A_Space_Odyssey_(film)
Link 2 >>> http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0062622/plotsummary?ref_=tt_stry_pl

Centrifugal Force: Link >>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centrifugal_force

Cinerama Motion Pictures: Link >>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinerama

Omnimax Motion Pictures: Link >>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IMAX#Dome_and_OMNIMAX

Related Blog Post ---

"50th Anniversary: 'Star Trek'." 2016 September 6.

Link >>> http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2016/09/50th-anniversary-star-trek.html

Source: Glenn A. Walsh Reporting for SpaceWatchtower, a project of Friends of the Zeiss.
             2018 April 10.

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gaw

Glenn A. Walsh, Project Director, Friends of the Zeiss: < http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/fotz/ >
& SpaceWatchtower Editor / Author: < http://buhlplanetarium2.tripod.com/weblog/spacewatchtower/gaw/ >
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Author of History Web Sites on the Internet --
* Buhl Planetarium, Pittsburgh:
  < http://www.planetarium.cc >
* Adler Planetarium, Chicago:
  < http://adlerplanetarium.tripod.com >
* Astronomer, Educator, Optician John A. Brashear:
  < http://johnbrashear.tripod.com >
* Andrew Carnegie & Carnegie Libraries:
  < http://www.andrewcarnegie.cc >
* Civil War Museum of Andrew Carnegie Free Library:
  < http://garespypost.tripod.com >
* Duquesne Incline cable-car railway, Pittsburgh:
  < http://inclinedplane.tripod.com >
* Public Transit:
  < http://andrewcarnegie2.tripod.com/transit >