Erica

=**__SPACE TRAVEL__**=

Yuri Gagarin was the first human launched into space on April 12th in 1961.A space shuttle called Sputnik was launched on a R-7 rocket by the USSR on October 4 1957. Alan Shepard was the first American launched into space a month after Yura Gagarin.
 * When did space travel start?**

Through space travel we have learned many many things like what the different planets in our solar system are made up of.
 * What have we discovered through space travel?**


 * Sun**=H2(hydrogen),HE(heilium),iron silicone,plasma,carbon,neon,O2(oxygen),nickel,chromium,sulfer,magnesium and calcium.


 * Mercury**=Mercury's core is made up of a liquid metal surrounded by silica and then the outer crust. Mercury,s core takes up 42% of the planet, while earths core takes up 17%.Mercury's core has a higher metal content than any other planet in out vast solar system. Astronomers recently found out that Mercury's core is a liquid not a soild.


 * Venus**=Powerful waves from earthquakes on this planet bounce off the inside of this celestial body. Few people have attempted to land on Venus and they never lasted long. The core of Venus is mostly liquid. The surface and atmosphere of venus is very dry and hot this is why Venus no plate tectonics. Venus doesn't have an internally magnetic field like the one here on Earth. This planet was named after the roman goddess of love and beauty, this goddess was named Venus.


 * Earth**=32% iron, 30% O2,15% silicone, 14% magnesium, 3% sulphur, and 2% nickel. Smaller amounts of calcium aluminum and other elements are also included in the body of our wonderful Earth. 47% of the Earth is the crust. The core is mainly made of iron (80%).


 * Mars**=The core is mainly iron and sulphur which is covered in a layer of silicates, which is wrapped in a layer that is made of basalt and just enough iron-oxide to give this interesting planet its reddish-orange hue. The core mainly consists of iron just like earths core. The crust is mainly basalt from volcanoes that erupted billions and billions of years ago. Most of the outer crust is made of iron-oxide dust.


 * Jupiter**=Jupiter is mostly made of H2 and HE.Other elements that make Jupiter what is today is water, CH4,and ammonia. Rock and metallic H2 make up Jupiter's core. Jupiter is not just a ball of gas, it has a layer of liquid, an H2 and HE area where it doesn't have distinct gas and liquid phases.


 * Saturn**=The core is composed of iron and rock, around the core is liquid H2. Saturn is made of 96% H2, 3% HE and 1% of different elements that include CH4, ammonia, ethane and H2 deuteride. As you come closer to the core of Saturn, pressure and heat increase. this causes the H2 to become very metallic. The outer most layer is made of ice and HE


 * Uranus**=Uranus has 3 main layers, a rocky core then an icy mantle that covers the core and an outer layer that covers the core, and a outer layer made of H2 and HE. The mantle isn't real ice, instead it is a boiling dense liquid with water ammonia and other substances.


 * Neptune** =The atmosphere is about 80% H2, 19% HE and other elements such as ice, water, ammonia and CH4. Underneath Neptune's atmosphere is a super large mantle,it consists of water ammonia and CH4 and other elements. The core of Neptune is made of iron nickel and other silicates that make up 1.2 times the weight of earth.


 * Pluto**=is composed of 98% nitrogen, ice and little bits of carbon monoxide and CH4. Scientists are not sure about the core but according to their calculations the core is probably 50%-70%rock and 30%-50% ice. The core would mostly be a big ball of rock with a layer of ice surrounding it.



Nobody would know any of this if space travel were not possible. We maybe wouldn't know about all of the planets that orbit around the sun! Presently we all know that those planets are out in our solar system. We know tons about these popular celestial bodies but there is probably more to discover about them, and there are probably other planets and other things in our universe that are waiting to be discover by intelligent astronomers scientist astronauts and many other people who explore and learn about outer space.


 * Where have we sent manned spaceships to? Where have we sent unmanned spaceships to?**

Nobody has ever visited Jupiter because the pressure is way too intense. We haven't even been able to get a robot on Jupiter. We haven't sent a man to Mercury because it is way too close to the sun but we have been able to send probes to take pictures of Mercury. We have sent 7 probes to Saturn. Nasa's first space shuttle ever sent up to space was in the year 1981 on April 12.//The Endeavour// is the most current shuttle that was launched into space on May 16 2011. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon with the Apollo 11 during the time of John F. Kennedy's rule over the United States of America. While Neil Armstrong was stepping on the moon for the first time in Earth's history Michael Collins stayed in the space craft in orbit around the moon. In this age of day many scientists astronauts and many other people who are involved in Nasa and many other space programs are working on the topic of will we ever be able to live on mars or the moon. This is a big project and a goal of the future. If this were to happen it would be a massive accomplishment for the humans here on earth. To build a colony on Mars would be extremely hard work because we haven't even sent a space shuttle to it yet! We have only sent robots to the red planet.

Neil Armstrong on the moon.


 * What are the costs involved in space travel?**

The chances of an astronaut dying in space or during take off are very high. The biggest mistake that Nasa has ever made was the //Challenger// explosion. //The Challenger// exploded on January 28 1986 11:39 am. Several people died in this tragic accident, pilot Mike Smith, Ellison Onizuka, Gregory Jarvis, Dick Scobee, Ron Mcnairl, Judy Resnik and Sharon Christa McAuliffe who was to be the first school teacher ever to be in space. Due to poor decision making and unusually cold weather this incident was a extremly terrible mess-up. When we send people into outer space their lives are on the line. Its almost impossible to predict whether the space craft will blow up like //The Challenger// or have a fantastic flight like //Apollo 11.//


 * [|Challenger Explosion Video]**



7 Crew Members of the Challenger that exploded on January 28, 1986.

ADVANTAGES OF SPACE TRAVEL


 * Space travel has inspired many to keep on advancing.
 * Exploring space has gave birth to many different things such as... the non stick frying pan, velcro and a couple other useful inventions.
 * Space programs and rocket building creates jobs for many people.

DISADVANTAGES OF SPACE TRAVEL


 * While in space you could get hit by an asteroid or you could die of your space craft blowing up.
 * It is better to save our earth than to go and destroy other planets (mars and the moon) this is why we should discontinue looking for a home on mars and the moon until the earth is nearly or totally destroyed.


 * What is the role of NASA in space travel?**


 * The Kennedy Space Center**

NASA started up on its business on October 1st 1958. NASA is a group of scientists, engineers, architects, builders, astronauts and astronomers etc. who worked together to find out as much as possible about space. NASA is the USA's government agency that is responsible for science and technology related to air and space. NASA stands for National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Astronauts conduct scientific research for NASA. NASA shares whatever new information they find out about our universe, so that the world has a better life.