Space+Exploration

Escape From Earth: Voyages Through Time by Peter Ackroyd New York: DK Publishing, Inc., 2003



Call Number: 629.4 ACK **__Summary/Description__:**  Space exploration is an one of the greatest chapters in human history. The question had been asked since the dawn of human intelligence, "What is beyond our world?" In the early 1900s, scientists began imagining ways to answer this question. At first, man experimented with small rockets and liquid oxygen, but soon space exploration became an academic. Two groups in particular found space to be something worth studying: Americans and the Soviets. Not only does space exploration have an enormous effect on science, but politics as well. One main part of the history of science, and the world as a whole, is the Space Race. During this period, the two sides of the Cold War began challenging each other with rockets and probes as well as bombs. Numerous advancements were made during this time, though, including the iconic NASA. Although the Soviets had the first man in space, America's NASA made Neil Armstrong the first man on the moon. This effectively ended the Space Race, but opened up an even bigger chapter in the history of space exploration.

 Soon after man became familiar with the moon, we focused our fascination on the entire Universe around us. Mars, our neighboring planet, was the next to explore. While the moon continued to be sampled and studied, NASA sent the first probe to Mars in the mid 1960s. We learned that it had once resembled Earth, which many of the probe's photos represents. It provided views of ancient water channels, and discovered that Mars' atmospheric pressure is drastically lower than Earth's, less than one percent. Next, man sent probes to uncover the secrets of Jupiter, the fifth planet from the sun and the largest in our Solar System. This planet is not anything like Earth, as it is a vast sphere of various liquids and gases, with a tiny rock core. Man was getting to know the immediate area of space by establishing Space Stations throughout this time of exploration. We also went on to probe Saturn, the sixth planet from the Sun, which is well know for it's rings. The Universe was getting increasingly vast, even though we were learning more things with every year. The next phase was living in space, in the space stations the world had united to build. In this experience, humans observed the effects of zero gravity on our bodies, plant growth, and daily activities such as eating. This was all very fascinating, and inspired scientists to build the famous Hubble Space Telescope. Images taken by it feature enchanting nebulae and hundreds of distant galaxies. It became clear to us that we will never stop learning about the magical, astronomical Universe we are such a tiny part of.

Mission Control, this is Apollo

by Andrew Chaikin, Victoria Kohl, and Alan Bean

Viking, 2009

Call Number: 629.45 CHA

__**Beyond the Book**__: Go beyond the book by exploring these recommended web resources:
 * Space Race Programs In the Space Race, the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo missions were vital to America's success. This particular website is dedicated to these missions. It has an encyclopedia with extended entries for each mission, complete with dates and important astronauts to each launch. This website also features information on the history if international space programs and current news for these programs. It is an exceptional summary of our country's history in space exploration.
 * NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is America's iconic space program. This organization is world famous for such feats as putting the first man on the moon and receiving images of distant galaxies. On this website one can learn about past missions, news of recent space exploration, and the technological advancements in this field. It even features videos of recent training and studies! Plus, it includes information on the important people in this organization. This site is an exceptional place to learn about the past, present, and future of humanity's exploration beyond our planet.
 * Sputnik and The Dawn of the Space Age This website features information on the other side if the Space Race, the Soviet space program. Now run by Russian and Ukrainian powers, this space exploration is as prosperous as the Americans'. They actually launched the first man into space in the world famous Sputnik I, back in 1957. The information on the site is provided by NASA, which now has a peaceful relationship with the program. Other feats performed by the organization include launching the first satellite in space and successfully housing astronauts in space stations.
 * Solar System - National Geographic One key reason for space exploration is to learn about our own little cosmic neighborhood, our Solar System. National Geographic's website features information on the Solar System as a whole, as well as links to pages about each individual planet. There are 8 planets in our system, the Sun, and the newly demoted Pluto. They also have information about the other occupants of the immediate space: asteroids, satellites, comets, and various space junk. Here, one can learn about these topics, see photos, and read more articles related to space exploration.
 * [|Hubble Telescope]The Hubble Space Telescope is one of the most successful technologies of our age. Mankind has been utilizing it to discover distant wonders for years now, but each new photo is a magnificent wonder. This site features information on the Hubble program, the famous telescope, and a gallery of all its amazing pictures. Space exploration has reached new frontiers using this technology. This website in particular is an extraordinary example how beautiful space can be.
 * [|General Space Exploration] This website is overflowing with facts and news about space exploration. It features a time line of all our feats in space, and pages of all the technologies used throughout history. In addition, on can learn the basics of astronomy, the study of everything outside of Earth's atmosphere. This site has information of the entire history of space exploration, and encourages the reader to learn more about the subject. It is an informational pool of facts and science.