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Mercury from Mariner 10 outbound 1974 Radius 2,440 km Mars – Two images showing effects of dust storms Radius 3,396 km Mars Rovers, Mars Reconnaissance orbiter, Mars Express orbiter (ESA), Odyssey orbiter Messenger Mission
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MESSENGER MISSION
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Mercury Messenger image Jan 14 2008 flyby 500 km in size From 18,000 km away
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Harmon et al, Icarus, 149, 1-15, 2001 Ice at the poles of Mercury Surface temperature at equator can be 400 0 C
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Mars – Schiaparelli’s map Percival’s Lowell’s map
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Viking I lander image of surface of Mars 1976
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Mars topography from MOLA – the Mars Orbiting Laser Altimeter on the Odyssey Orbiter
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Mars rover Image of Cape Verde in Victoria crater from Mars Opportunity Rover
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The Opportunity Mars Rover imaged by the HiRISE camera on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Resolution of the camera is ~30 cm.
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Pluto and Charon Radii 1,150 and 625 km Two small recently discovered moons Pluto now a minor planet
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NEW HORIZONS Launch - January 2006 Jupiter Gravity Assist – Feb 2007 Cruise – 2007 to 2015 Pluto/Charon flyby – July 2015 Kuiper Belt object flybys – 2016 to 2020
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Extrasolar Planets ~300 found to date Kepler mission – looking for Earth sized, habitable planets
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Major Issues in Planetary Science: Formation and evolution of planetary systems History of Mars, the most Earth like planet in terms of temperature, water, etc Has life arisen anywhere in our solar system? Is water necessary for life? Mars, Europa, Titan, Enceladus may have sub-surface liquid water The climate history of Earth, does Venus have something to tell us? Planetary Decadal Survey – Currently underway, report due in 2011 http://sites.nationalacademies.org/SSB/CurrentProjects/ssb_052412 For all current info, organization, white papers, etc
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The First Billion Years of Solar System History 1.What processes marked the initial stages of planet and satellite formation? 2.How long did it take the gas giant Jupiter to form, and how was the formation of the ice giants (Uranus and Neptune) different from that of Jupiter and its gas-giant sibling, Saturn? 3. How did the impactor flux decay during the solar system’s youth, and in what way(s) did this decline influence the timing of life’s emergence on Earth? From: New Frontiers in the Solar System: An Integrated Exploration Strategy Solar System Exploration Survey, National Research Council (2003) http://www.nap.edu/catalog/10432.html
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Volatiles and Organics: The Stuff of Life 1.What is the history of volatile compounds, especially water, across the solar system? 2.What is the nature of the organic material in the solar system? Its history? 3.What global mechanisms affect the evolution of volatiles on planetary bodies? From: New Frontiers in the Solar System: An Integrated Exploration Strategy Solar System Exploration Survey, National Research Council (2003) http://www.nap.edu/catalog/10432.html
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The Origin and Evolution of Habitable Worlds 1.Where are the habitable zones for life in the solar system, and what are the planetary processes responsible for producing and sustaining habitable worlds? 2.Does (or did) life exist beyond Earth? 3.Why did the terrestrial planets differ so dramatically in their evolution? 4.What hazards do solar system objects present to Earth’s biosphere? From: New Frontiers in the Solar System: An Integrated Exploration Strategy Solar System Exploration Survey, National Research Council (2003) http://www.nap.edu/catalog/10432.html
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Processes: How Planetary Systems Work 1.How do the processes that shape the contemporary character of planetary bodies operate and interact? 2.What does the solar system tell us about the development and evolution of extrasolar planetary systems, and vice versa? From: New Frontiers in the Solar System: An Integrated Exploration Strategy Solar System Exploration Survey, National Research Council (2003) http://www.nap.edu/catalog/10432.html
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Rotational Dynamics: (Fixed Axis) LINEAR ROTATIONAL Force F SI: T = r x F ┴ Torque SI: Mass m SI: I = ∑m i r i 2 or I = ∫m(r)r 2 dr Moment of Inertia I SI: Momentum p=mv SI: L = r x p ┴ Angular Mom L = Iω SI: Energy of Motion SI:
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CASSINI-HUYGENS at SATURN Cassini image of Titan Went into orbit about Saturn on June 30, 2004 Titan surface observations with: Imaging system Visible and Infra-red mapping spectrometer Radar system Huygens probe
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Huygens Lander SimulationHuygens landed on January 14, 2005 European Space Agency/NASA
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Surface of Titan from Huygens
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Radar image of probable lakes of liquid methane in the northern hemisphere of Titan
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Hubble Space Telescope image of Ceres ~1,000 km in diameter DAWN mission to largest main belt asteroids Ceres and Vesta – launched Sept 28 2007
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Positions of all known asteroids projected onto the plane of the Earth’s orbit on Jan 20, 2008 Red ones (Apollo and Alten) cross the orbit of Earth so are potentially hazardous. Yellow ones (Amors) don’t cross Earth’s orbit now but could in the future if their orbits are disturbed.
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Asteroid Itokawa from the Hayabusa orbiter October, 2005
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Mainbelt asteroid Gaspra from the Galileo spacecraft Comet Borelly from Deep Space 1 spacecraft
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DEEP IMPACT – July 4, 2005
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STARDUST Mission to Comet Wild 2. Flyby Jan 2, 2004 Return to Earth, Jan 15, 2006
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