For millennia, people observed space and wondered what was up there. It’s only in the second half of the 20th century, though, that travelling into space began, an extraordinary feat made possible by organisations like the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
SPACE RACE
In fact, the founding of NASA had much to do with pride. Less than a year before, the USSR launched Sputnik, the first artificial satellite to orbit the Earth. It was not all about getting ahead of the Soviets, though. NASA’s achievements had consequences that expanded into all the scientific fields, contributing hugely to the understanding of the cosmos and our own planet.
THE UNIVERSE
Thanks to NASA’s manned missions, but also to its telescopes and probes, scientists have been able to study the evolution and expansion of the universe, from the Big Bang to the present. We have learned, for example, that the universe is 13.77 billion years old, and that only 4.6 per cent of it is made up of atoms – with the rest being dark matter and dark energy.
LIFE IN SPACE
In November 2013, scientists used data from the Kepler space observatory to conclude that there could be up to forty billion Earth-like planets orbiting stars at a distance that could make life possible. So if anyone finally does discover life out there in space, the odds are it will be NASA.
THE MOON ROCKS
“I’m gonna step off the LM now. That’s one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind.” These are the famous words astronaut Neil Armstrong said before becoming the first human to set foot on the Moon. It was July 20th 1969 and the mission was called Apollo 11. Five other Apollo missions would land on Earth’s satellite afterwards. Along with the research data they brought home, the astronauts carried back some four hundred kilograms of Moon rocks, sand, dust and other celestial materials for us to study. Dr. Ryan Zeigler is a curator of Moon rocks at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, where the samples are preserved for teaching and experiments. We know now that these pieces of the Moon are harmless, but that was not the case, he says, when they were first brought to Earth.
Ryan Zeigler (American accent): Because they had no real idea what lunar samples were like and because everyone has read War of the Worlds, they actually designed it as a quarantine facility. And so, both the astronauts and the samples went into quarantine for 21 days after Apollos 11, 12, and 14 to make sure all the bugs from the Moon didn’t kill all life on Earth. And once they got to the surface and they realized there was no water, and really no atmosphere – and they already knew that – they’re like, ‘There’s no bugs in these samples.’ But through an abundance of caution, for the first three missions they kept the quarantine going.
AN IMAGE PROBLEM
Study of rock and soil samples from the Moon provide useful information about the early history of the Moon, the Earth, and the Solar System. Although they may not seem that interesting at first sight, says Zeigler.
Ryan Zeigler: If you look at Moon rocks, most of them are kind of boring to look at. I mean they have a bit of an image problem. Most of them are sort of gray rocks but there’s a few things about them that really set them apart. They’re really old. They formed on a body with no atmosphere, so there’s a lot of micrometeorite impacts into them.
A BIT OF DEBRIS
NASA’s research indicates that the Moon could have been formed from the debris resulting from the Earth being struck by a celestial body the size of Mars. This theory is backed by the chemical composition of the lunar rocks and the meteorite remains that have been found on its surface.
Ryan Zeigler: The meteorites are all really old. So, almost all the meteorites are older than all the Apollo samples, and all the Apollo samples are older than the Earth. And so, each of them gives you a different window into how the Solar System formed. And if we only had one, we wouldn’t know the whole story, or even if we only had two. Having all three is really important. And so, it was telling us about how the Moon formed and evolved, all from one rock on the surface.
BACK TO the MOON
It has been forty-five years since the last human walked on the Moon, but Zeigler tells us that NASA is indeed planning to go back up there.
Ryan Zeigler: NASA is refocusing on the Moon and I think want to send people back to the Moon. And there was some talk about robotic missions, both to do in situ science on the surface, but also to hopefully bring back some samples.