Read the “Space Exploration” passage set.
Space Exploration
Source 1: Why Explore Space?
1 Why should we explore space? Why should money, time and effort
be spent researching something with apparently so few benefits?
Why should resources be spent on space rather than on conditions
and people on Earth?
2 Perhaps the best answer lies in our history. Nearly all successful
civilizations have been willing to explore and adapt. Earth is the
only planet known to sustain life, but our ability to adapt could
eventually allow us to inhabit other planets and moons. By
studying alien worlds, such as Venus, Mars or Saturn’s moon Titan,
we can focus on understanding the Earth’s relationship with the
other planets, essential stepping stones for exploring the wider
Universe. Space allows us to expand and succeed.
3 In exploring, the dangers of surrounding areas may be identified
and prepared for. Without knowledge, these dangers have the
ability to harm us. With knowledge, their effects or consequences
may be lessened. While space may hold many wonders and
explanations of how the universe was formed or how it works, it
also holds dangers. The chance of a large asteroid or comet hitting
the Earth is small. But given time, it will happen. Some
explanations for extinctions include strikes by asteroids or comets.
Our technology is reaching the point where we can detect such a
threat and might be able to do something about it. The dangers
exist, and knowledge of space can allow us as a species to survive.
4 While many resources are spent on what seems a small return, the
exploration of space allows new resources to be created. Resources
translate into success at survival. Resources may be more than
physical things. Knowledge or techniques acquired in exploring
space always filter from space programs to the general population.
Such knowledge includes new medicines, medical procedures, and
medical equipment. With the space program, scientists from many
nations can function in co-operation rather than competition to
create new ideas and products.
Go OnSource 2: Space Exploration Has Given
Us New Viewpoints
5 Throughout history, the study of stars and planets has inspired new ideas.
As we meet the challenges of space exploration, we gain valuable
technology. Space exploration is also an exciting adventure.
6 Space science has advanced knowledge in other scientific fields, such as
physics. For example, observations of the Moon and other bodies in space
helped scientists understand how gravity works. Scientists figured out that
the same force that causes an object to fall to the ground causes the Moon
to orbit Earth.
7 Finally, the study of other worlds can teach us about our own. Earth has
changed considerably since its formation. By comparing Earth with
different worlds, scientists can learn more about the history of Earth’s
surface features and atmosphere.
8 Surface Features
Exploration of other worlds has helped us learn about the impacts of space
objects. Earth has little evidence of impacts because its surface is
constantly being worn down by wind and water and altered by forces
beneath the surface. However, impact craters remain on the Moon,
Mercury, and many other bodies that have no wind or liquid water.
9 Atmosphere
We are also learning about Earth’s atmosphere from space exploration.
Mars and Venus, the planets closest to Earth, have no liquid water on their
surfaces. By comparing Earth with those planets, we can see how liquid
water has affected the development of Earth’s atmosphere. Another area
of study involves the energy Earth receives from the Sun. Many scientists
think that small changes visible on the Sun’s surface can affect weather on
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Earth. These changes may have caused periods of cooling in Earth’s
atmosphere.
10 Space technology has practical uses.
Space exploration has done more than increase our knowledge. It has also
provided us with technology that makes life on Earth easier. Each day you
probably benefit from some material or product that was developed for the
space program.
11 Satellite Views of Earth
One of the most important benefits of space exploration has been the
development of satellite technology. Satellites collect data from every
region of our planet. Weather satellites show conditions throughout
Earth’s atmosphere. Images and data from weather satellites have greatly
improved weather forecasting. Scientists can now provide warnings of
dangerous storms long before they strike populated areas. Other satellites
collect images of Earth’s surface to show how it is being changed by
natural events and human activity. Satellite data are also used for wildlife
preservation, conservation of natural resources, and mapping.
12 Technology Spinoffs
Have you ever come up with a new way to use something that was
designed for a different purpose? NASA often creates advanced technology
to meet the special demands of space travel. Many spinoffs of technology
from the space program can be found in homes, offices, schools, and
hospitals. Everything on a spacecraft must be as small and lightweight as
possible because the heavier a spacecraft is, the more difficult it is to
launch. Design techniques developed to meet this need have improved
devices used on Earth, such as tools for diagnosing diseases and devices
that help people overcome disabilities. Materials and parts on a spacecraft
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have to endure harsh conditions, such as extreme heat and cold. Many
new homes and buildings contain fire-resistant materials developed for the
space program. Firefighters wear protective suits made from fabric
originally used in space suits. NASA has also helped design devices that
allow firefighters to avoid injury from inhaling smoke. Humans need a safe
environment in spacecraft and space stations. NASA has developed
systems for purifying air, water, and food. These systems now help protect
people on Earth as well as in space.
Source 3: The Dangers of Space Travel
13 It is probably every rookie astronaut’s nightmare, and probably even a
veteran astronaut’s nightmare…scratch that it’s probably every single
astronaut’s biggest fear that their spacecraft is destroyed whilst out on a
space walk and he or she is stranded in space completely alone with no way
of contacting Earth! What must it be like to be stranded alone in space
awaiting whatever fate the dark, vast universe has in store for him or her!
But what does it have in store? What are the realistic dangers of space
travel? Let’s find out, to see what potential hazards await us on those future
space holidays we all hope becomes normal practice in the not so distant
future!
14 Space debris is a growing problem with space travel. Space debris can be
literally anything, from tiny flecks of paint, a metal bolt, or a fully-sized
defunct satellite. Thousands of satellites have been launched into space
since the first, Sputnik in 1957. But these are usually big objects that can
be easily spotted, right? Well imagine the mess if two satellites collided! In
Earth’s orbit now, there are millions of pieces of trash. These pieces of
trash are “floating” at roughly 4 miles per second, turning a tiny fleck of
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paint into the equivalent of a bullet! So imagine the damage it could do to
space suits or to space ships!
15 Not only is man-made space debris a very worrying issue, but so are the
natural space debris including meteoroids and micrometeoroids! These
pieces of rock and metal can get nasty! NASA’s Mariner 10 satellite ran
into one of these formidable cosmic clouds which resulted in part of its
insulation being ripped off and the impact of the cloud being so great it
changed the trajectory of the spacecraft! Imagine an astronaut caught up
in such a scary cloud and wonder if a space suit could withstand what a
heavy duty satellite couldn’t.
16 Space is a crazy place where in the shadow you could freeze to death in
seconds and boil in the sunlight the next! Your space suit is vital in keeping
you alive making it a mini space ship itself. It regulates the body’s
temperature to cancel the hot and cold temperatures outside. Near Earth
space itself is about -180˚C so it is extremely cold! But when in direct light
from our Sun it is a sizzling 115˚C. So space walks can be fine in space for
a short period of time, but if there’s a glitch in the space suit’s cooling
system or a tear happens from a piece of space debris hitting the suit,
things could go fatally wrong!
17 Another very big problem for humans and space travel is the risk of
radiation. On Earth, we are protected from 99.9% of the Sun’s radiation by
the planet’s atmosphere. But what will happen to us if we leave the
Earth’s protection and float freely in the vastness of space or visit another
planet in the Solar System? Radiation particles from the Sun and space
are moving at high speeds and can rip through our DNA molecules causing
damage or cancer and other diseases. It has been revealed that the level
of radiation that astronauts will be exposed to could raise their chances of
cancer! Accumulating dangerous doses of radiation would be hazardous
to crews on any long mission.
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18 One of the most dangerous places for an astronaut is the launch and reentry of their rocket. A lot of rocket fuel is required to attain even a low
Earth orbit. The spacecraft needs to get up to least 7 miles per second or
25,000 miles per hour, which is a very scary and dangerous speed. Proof
of such a thing is the Challenger disaster of 1986 when a Space Shuttle
blew apart 73 seconds into its launch costing the lives of all seven
members of its crew. Some may argue that the re-entry of a spacecraft is
even more dangerous. The friction of air on the rocket would cause the
rocket to burn up like a meteor and be destroyed in seconds, so spacecraft
have been designed to allow them to re-enter the atmosphere slowly by
gradually circling downward. Now this has not always ran smoothly with
Columbia disintegrating during its return to Earth in 2003 after a small part
of the Shuttle Orbiter’s wing was damaged on launch.
19 Finally, space is weightless! If an astronaut is sent hurtling through space,
by the time another Shuttle is sent up he will never be found. An accident
in space could send him flying through space at roughly 24,000 miles per
hour on top of his orbital velocity. He will have exceeded the Earth’s
escape velocity! Say it takes Earth a week to send a rescue mission to
retrieve him. By the time they are up there, he will be millions of miles
away. It is a very scary thought!
20 So hopefully this has not put you off the prospect of a future holiday to the
Moon and or becoming an astronaut but I am sure it has given you an
even deeper respect and admiration for the dangers astronauts face to
advance our knowledge of this vast and scary Universe!
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Source 4: The Space Race is a Waste of Money
21 Good sense means “down to earth.” Outer space, on the other hand,
means madness.
22 “Lunacy” and “lunatic” originate from lunar, or the idea that the Moon’s
gravitational pull adversely affects the brain. That perhaps explains the
insanity that typifies American space policy.
23 Forget giant leaps for mankind, NASA is a machine for spending money.
That fact has been driven home by the failure of the Orbiting Carbon
Observatory, a $278 million package which blasted off from Vandenberg
air force base on Tuesday and promptly crashed into the Pacific. The
satellite, we were told, would advance the study of global warming. But
NASA isn’t interested in global warming; it simply realizes that wearing
green is a way to get government money.
24 While most Americans have moved on, NASA is stuck in the 1960s. That
explains the desire to go to Mars, an aspiration given the seal of
presidential approval in 2004. Bush’s project, priced at $400 billion, was
inspired by his desire to stay ahead of the Chinese in the new space race.
During a recent radio program, a NASA astronaut asked me how the
American people might react if the next man on the moon were Chinese. I
replied with a question: “Why are Americans so insecure?” If the Chinese
want that worthless rock, so be it.
25 Extremely expensive manned missions mean that practical, earth-based
science suffers, as does the genuinely valuable satellite research so
essential to the way we live today. It is no wonder that the most articulate
opposition to the Apollo missions came from scientists who objected to the
way their budgets were cut in order to fund the trip to the moon.
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26 Recently, Stephen Hawking has argued that we must colonize other
planets to ensure mankind’s long-term survival. Much as I admire
Hawking, that’s nonsense. The Earth is indeed doomed, but where might
refugees go? Mars makes Antarctica seem like paradise. As for distant
galaxies, a spaceship capable of travelling at a million miles per hour (20
times faster than Apollo) would take 4,000 years to reach the nearest star
system that might possibly be inhabitable.
27 The time has come to pull the plug on meaningless adventures in space.
An expensive mission to the moon (especially at a time of global recession)
seems like lunacy when real problems such as disease, starvation and
drought cry out for more funding. Former President Eisenhower once
reminded Americans that “every rocket fired means a theft from those who
hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed.”
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