Improvements in Technology SPACE Improvements in Technology Sunday, September 7th, 2008

There have been a lot of improvements over the years that have made the space program possible. Here are just a few examples:

Galileo's telescope 1609 This is Galileo’s telescope – the one he used to figure out that the planets were revolving around the sun, and not around the Earth…

Venus …and this is how clear the planet Venus appeared through that telescope.

Hubble Telescope This is the Hubble Space Telescope, a long way from Galileo’s telescope…

…and these are the images it can take from across millions of light years.

Model T Ford 1908 This is the Model T Ford, the first mass produced car in history…

Moon buggy 1971 …and this is the moon buggy we brought to the moon with us.

Sputnik 1957 This is the first satellite that was launched into space.

It travelled around the earth for 22 days and was capable of measuring atmospheric pressure.

Voyager 1, 1977 Voyager, by comparrison, travelled throughout our solar system, taking pictures and measurements of our planets for the first time. It left our solar system in 2003 and is still functioning.

Salyut 1 (1971) and Skylab (1973) The first space stations were amazing achievements, but we’ve come a long way in 35 years.

Space station 2008

NASA Home and Space There have been many spinoffs from the space program that affect all of our lives. To see how many there are, click on this link or click this picture and answer the questions on your worksheet. http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/mmgallery/index.html