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Beyond earth

Beyond earth. Thomas Abraham . Today’s lecture. Commercialisation of near earth activities Three scientific areas goals for space exploration: Search for new frontiers for human habitation and exploitation Search for extra terrestrial life: planets where forms of life might exist

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Beyond earth

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  1. Beyond earth Thomas Abraham

  2. Today’s lecture • Commercialisation of near earth activities Three scientific areas goals for space exploration: • Search for new frontiers for human habitation and exploitation • Search for extra terrestrial life: planets where forms of life might exist • Search for understanding of the universe, its origins and its structure

  3. Today’s lecture • China’s space plans • Conflict and cooperation in space

  4. The age of private space exploitation • SpaceX- a company started by Elon Musk, 41 year old entrepreneur who developed PayPal http://www.spacex.com/index.php • Richard Branson hopes to take the first passengers into space by end 2013 http://www.virgingalactic.com/ • Mining asteroids

  5. What does all this mean? • Near space is slowly becoming part of our world • In the way that we expanded our world by exploring new continents, now our world is being expanded by the conquest of near space • An important step for the human race

  6. Endeavour Crater, Mars. March 9 2012

  7. The scientific quest • “We are in the middle of a major revolution in the understanding of the origin and evolution of the solar system and if there is life beyond Earth” Jim Green, Director, Planetary Science Division NASA

  8. http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/carolyn_porco_flies_us_to_saturn.htmlhttp://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/carolyn_porco_flies_us_to_saturn.html

  9. The prime targets for exploration: Mars • The Obama administration had declared the ultimate destination for human exploration to be Mars • But budget cuts on Mars programmes-two planned Mars probes with the European Space Agency have been dropped • NASA still hopes a 2018 mission to collect samples from Mars will happen • 2030s date for a manned mission

  10. Curiosity- NASA’s latest Mars rover. Launched Nov 26 last year. Expected to land on Mars in August.

  11. More on planetary exploration • http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2012/

  12. China’s space programme • Oct 15, 2003 China becomes the third country after the US and USSR to put a man into space independently • Oct 12 2005, Shenzhou 6 takes two astronauts into space • Oct 1.2010- China’s launches moon exploration sattelite • 2011- Tiangong 1, the first part of an orbiting space station was launched

  13. Future plans • June 2012- Shenzhou 9 will dock with Tiangong 1? • Unmanned moon landing 2013 • Build an orbiting space station by around 2015 • Manned lunar missions by 2020/25

  14. International cooperation • The International Space station; launched in 1998 – joint project between US, Russia, Japan, Europe and Canada • http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/videogallery/index.html?collection_id=66521&media_id=97766082

  15. Some sources to follow • NASA- www.nasa.gov • Science and Nature • The private companies involved • China National Space administration http://www.cnsa.gov.cn/n615709/cindex.html

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