Discovering the Solar System

Where to Start
your exploration?

Quiz

Citation
Pictures
Jovian planets picture: http://aschy.kicks-ass.net/solsys/raw/misc/Jovian.jpg
Neptune:
http://www.solarviews.com/raw/nep/neptunes.jpg
Saturn
http://www.harrisburgacademy.org/computer/decade%20project/20062007/2007%20students/6th%20grade/luke/space%20web
page/Saturn.jpg
Uranus
http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/image/uranus_voy2.jpg
Jupiter
http://wallpapers-sky.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Planet-Jupiter-wallpaper.jpg
Mercury
http://twittface.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/solar-mercury2.jpg
Venus:
http://sos.noaa.gov/images/Solar_System/venus.jpg
Mars:
http://www.parabolicarc.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/marsglobe2.jpg
Asteroid belt
http://www.indiana.edu/~geol105/images/gaia_chapter_2/asteroids_compare4.jpg
EVA
http://ipadwallpaper.eu/wallpapers/2/eva-wall-e.jpg

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Citation
Sputnik:
Pictures and more
http://www.celestiamotherlode.net/catalog/images/screenshots/various/satellites_Sputnik_1_1__K
ukanotas.jpg
Rovers:
http://www.scientificamerican.com
Cassini:
http://forum.celestialmatters.org/userpix/7_cassini_1.jpg
NASA Research about all planets and exploration:
http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/profile.cfm?Sort=Target&Target=SolarSys&MCode=JWST
Messenger:
http://www.celestiamotherlode.net/catalog/images/screenshots/various/spacecraft_Messenger_1_
_Cham.jpg

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Citation
TEKS
Knowledge and skill:
(11) Earth and space. The student understands the organization of our
solar system and the relationships among the various bodies that
comprise it. The student is expected to:
(A) describe the physical properties, locations, and movements of the
Sun, planets, Galilean moons, meteors, asteroids, and comets;
(B) understand that gravity is the force that governs the motion of our
solar system; and
(C) describe the history and future of space exploration, including the
types of equipment and transportation needed for space travel.

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Mercury the Closes Planet to the Sun
It is also the smallest Planet
As you can see Mercury ‘s surface is covered
with craters.
Craters are formed when large comets
and asteroids plummet onto the surface of
mercury
The reason you can see so many craters on
Mercury is because Mercury is what
Astronomers call a “Dead World”.
“Dead world”- Means that the planet is no
longer volcanically active


It wasn’t until the Space age of 1950s that
astronomers got the opportunity to see the
surface of Mercury. This is because mercury
is about 57 million miles at it’s closest
distance to the Earth.
Mariner 10 was the first mission to go to
Mercury.
Mariner 10 Flew past Mercury 3 times
in 1974.
Mapped 57% of its surface

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 Since mid-March, NASA has a spacecraft
called Messenger in orbit around Mercury.
 Messenger main purpose was to
gather more information about the
interior structure of Mercury
 Future Exploration:
 ESA (European Space Agency) is
currently building a spacecraft called
BepiColombo, to send to Mercury in
collaboration with the Japanese
Space Agency, JAXA

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Venus is the second planet form the sun .
It is the warmest of the Terrestrial planets
due to it’s thick atmosphere.
There are very few impact craters found on
Venus this is because
around every 500 million years the
entire planet’s temperature rises so high
that the rocky surface of Venus
completely melts .

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 ESA currently has a spacecraft in
orbit around Venus called Venus
Express
 The main goal of the
mission is to gather long-
term studies of the
Venusian atmosphere.

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 Earth is the 3rd planet form the
sun.
 It’s distance form the sun is ideal
for supporting life
 Moderately thick atmosphere
 There are few crater on Earth
because it is an active planet.
 “Active planet”- Volcanically
active

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 Sputnik was the first satellite in
space launched by the Soviet
Union

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 Mars is the 4th Planet from the
Sun.
 It is also Earths closest neighboring
planet
 When we look at Mars’ surface we
can see what look like river valleys.
 Mars is the Largest of the
Terrestrial Planets
 Mars is our primary focus of
exploration

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 Mars has always fascinated the
people of earth
 The first successful mission to
Mars was a satellite named
mariner 4

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 While spirit was driving around
one of it’s wheels broke so it
began to drag the wheel
 From dragging it’s wheel along
the surface Spirit discovered
that underneath Mars’ dirt
surface is a layer of ice and
snow.

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 Opportunity landed on Mars on
January 25, 2004
 Opportunity’s task on Mars was to
take samples of the dirt and
examine them for water
molecules.
 It found that in the deeper
craters there was evidence of
a large body of water once
was there

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 Curiosity is the next rover destined to
landed on Mars’ surface
 It is the largest rover sent to Mars today
 Curiosity will have on board with it:
 The first colour cameras with zoom
lenses, that are capable of video
imaging
 It will be searching for fossilized organic
compounds (such as plants and
bacteria… anything that resembles life)

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 Jupiter is the 5th Planet from the
sun.
 Jupiter is the Largest Planet in our
solar system
 It is a Jovian planet because it is
composed entirely of gas
 Jupiter also has the largest Moons
orbiting it known as the Galilean
Moons


 The voyager missions (voyger1 and
Voyger2) were the first missions to
Jupiter in the 1970s
 The Voyager missions found
active volcano on Jupiter’s
moons
 The Galilean mission was sent to
discover more about these moons.
Galilean Spacecraft
 Most of the exploration dealing
with Jupiter is focused on it’s
Galilean Moons.

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 Saturn is the 6th planet from the
Sun.
 Saturn is BEST known for its
magnificent ring system.
 The rings are formed form
different material such as, water
particles and carbon dioxide,
orbiting the planet.
 Various small Moons orbiting
give the Rings their structure

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 The first mission sent Saturn was
Pioneer 11
 It discovered that Saturn has
many more rings then what
we can seen from Earth
 Cassini is the current mission
heading to Saturn
 Its primary gold is to discover
more information on Saturn's
Atmosphere Cassini

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 Uranus is the 7th planet from the
Sun
 Uranus is a very abnormal planet
because:
 It’s north and south poles are
the Warmest part of the
planet
 It spins on its side with one of
the Poles facing the Sun at all
times

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 The first clear pictures of this
planet were taken by Voyager 2
 After Voyager 2 studied
Jupiter and Saturn it went on
to the other Jovian Planets
 There are currently no future
missions headed to Uranus due to:
 Uranus’ distance from Earth
 The lack of funds

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 Neptune is the 8th and furthest
planet in our solar system
 It is an extremely cold planet due
to its distance form the Sun 2.68
billion miles
 Neptune has extremely high winds
 Up to 1025.26 Miles/hour
 These highs winds cause
storms such as the Great Dark
Spots to form on Neptune

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 The first picture ever seen of
Neptune was taken by Voyager 2
 Voyager 2 discovered the
Great Dark Spot .
 Currently there are no future
missions planed for Neptune due
to:
 Distance from Earth
 The lack of funds

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 Asteroids are small atmosphere free worlds that orbit the Sun
 Due to Asteroids relatively small size they can not be called
planets
 Asteroids are irregular in shape , they do not have enough
gravity to form a unified circle, like the planets.


 The majority of the Asteroids in
our solar system are found in the
Asteroid Belt
 The Asteroid Belt is located
between Mars and Jupiter

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 Asteroids are highly difficult to
study from the Earth due to their
small size
 Thankfully every mission that has
gone to Jupiter and beyond has
had the opportunity to visit some
of the Asteroids in the belt
 Such as the Galilean Mission

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 Dawn is the first mission to an Asteroid and is on its way to the
asteroid Vista
 Vista is the 4th largest Asteroid in the Asteroid belt
 After visiting Vista Dawn will contuse on to study Ceres
 Ceres is the largest Asteroid

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What is a Dead World?
A. A place where people die
B. A planet that is no longer
volcanically active
C. A planet where people once lived
but have now become extended
D.A lost Planet

Continue to the next
Question

What was the name of the first satellite to
orbit Mars?

A. Mariner 4
B. Sputnik
C. Rover
D.Odyssey

What is the name of the future Rover
mission to Mars?

A. Spirit
B. Rover 2
C. Sputnik
D.Curiosity

Which Terrestrial planet has the highest
surface temperatures?

A. Earth
B. Mars
C. Venus
D.Mercury

Which Jovian planet has the Galilean
Moons orbiting it?

A. Jupiter
B. Saturn
C. Neptune
D.Uranus

What is the name of the current
mission to Saturn?

A. Voyager 1
B. Pioneer
C. Cassini
D.Voyager 2

Which planet rotates with the poles
facing the Sun?

A. Neptune
B. Venus
C. Uranus
D.Mars

Which planet is the primary focus of
future exploration?

A. Mars
B. Earth
C. Saturn
D.Mercury

What is the 2nd planet from the Sun?

A. Earth
B. Venus
C. Mercury
D.Jupiter

What is the furthest planet from the
Sun?

A. Pluto
B. Venus
C. Neptune
D.Jupiter

What are Asteroids?

A. Major Planets
B. Uniformed in shape
C. Small atmosphere free worlds
D.Rocks larger than the planets

Where is the Asteroid Belt located in our
solar system? Between_____

A. Mars and Earth
B. Mercury and Venus
C. Mars and Jupiter
D.Saturn and Uranus

What is the largest Asteroid in the Asteroid
Belt?

A. Ceres
B. Ables
C. Vista
D.Spirit

Discovering the Solar System

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