******************************************************** HOME PAGE CONTENT ******************************************************** Space - The Final Frontier Space exploration began only 60 years ago and look at where we are now! The first man in space was Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin. He completed one orbit of the Earth and beat the Americans to space by only a few months. Some other famous firsts include the first satellite launched into space in 1957. The first animal in space was Laika the dog, also in 1957. John Glenn was the first American in space in 1962. Neil Armstrong was the first man to walk on the Moon in 1969. The first private commercial space mission happened in 2012 when SpaceX send an unmanned capsule with supplies to the International Space Station. Just last year, in 2021, the original captain of Star Trek's Enterprise, William Shatner, became the oldest person in space at the age of 90 years old. In 2013, Canadian Chris Hadfield created the first music video in space. Only 9 Canadians have ever been in space. Marc Garneau was the first to go to space in 1984. In 2013, Canadian Col. Chris Hadfield joined the crew of the International Space Station. He became famous during his mission to space by documenting the daily life of an astronaut (such as "how astronauts sleep") using social media and by sharing breathtaking photographs on his Twitter account. He also charmed his fans with his rendition of David Bowie's "Space Oddity". Some quotes about space: "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind." - Neil Armstrong "Space is for everybody. It’s not just for a few people in science or math, or for a select group of astronauts. That’s our new frontier out there, and it’s everybody’s business to know about space." – Christa McAuliffe "NASA's next urgent mission should be to send good poets into space so they can describe what it's really like." - Shannon Hale "Astronauts are inherently insane. And really noble." – Andy Weir "Once you can accept the universe as matter expanding into nothing that is something, wearing stripes with plaid comes easy." – Albert Einstein. "No one ever accomplished anything great sitting down." - Chris Hadfield Click here to find out more about the history of Canada in space, or reach out to us by email at canadaspace@uwo.ca ******************************************************** MOON PAGE CONTENT ******************************************************** The Moon is the only natural satellite revolving around the Earth. The Moon is the only place besides Earth where humans have set foot. The rotation between the Moon and the Earth are so in sync that we only see one side of the Moon. Only 24 humans have travelled from the Earth to the Moon and of those 24, only 12 have walked on the surface. Man first visited the Moon in 1969 and the last time a person set foot on the lunar surface was in 1972. The most widely accepted explanation for the existence of the Moon is that it was created when a rock the size of Mars ran into the Earth. A full moon occurs when the Moon is on the opposite side of the Earth from the Sun and the Sun illuminates the it's face fully. Usually lunar craters are either named for deceased scientists, scholars, explores and artists OR for deceased astronauts/cosmonauts. ******************************************************** SOLAR SYSTEM PAGE CONTENT ******************************************************** Our solar system is centered on the Sun, a star. There are 8 planets that revolve around the Sun, bound to it by gravity. To get an idea about the relative size and distances of the objects in our solar system, this site does an amazing job to help you visualize it. A common mnemonic device to help you remember the order of the planets relative to the Sun is the sentence: My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nachos! - Mercury - Venus - Earth - Mars - Jupiter - Saturn - Uranus - Neptune Mercury Mercury does not have any moons or rings. It is the smallest planet and is the closest planet to the Sun. Mercury has the largest orbital eccentricity of all our planets because its distance from the Sun ranges from 46 million KM to 70 million KM. Venus Even though Venus is farther from the Sun than Mercury, it is the hottest planet in our solar system. Venus is almost exactly the same size as Earth. Venus is the second brightest object in our sky, only the Moon is brighter. It can even, occasionally, during daytime be seen on a clear day! The atmospheric pressure on Venus is almost 100 times greater than that of Earth. Venus was the first planet to have its motion plotted across the sky. Earth The name "Earth" is at least 1000 years old, all the planets except Earth were named after Greek and Roman gods and goddesses. Earth is the only planet with liquid water on the surface. If the Sun was as tall as a typical front door, then, relative to the Sun, Earth would be the size of a nickel. Earth's atmosphere protects it from incoming meteorites because most of them break apart before they can strike the surface. The first Earth Day started in 1970 on April 22 with hopes of increasing awareness about the importance of protecting our planet. Mars Also known as the Red Planet, Mars is smaller than Earth. One day on Mars is almost exactly the same length as a day on Earth. The atmosphere on Mars is very thin, meaning it can't trap the Sun's heat very well, so it is very cold. The gravity is very weak, on Mars you can jump 3X higher than you can on Earth. Mars is tilted at a 25 degree angle so it has seasons similar to Earth when different parts of the planet are closer to the Sun. Jupiter Jupiter is over 300 times more massive than Earth. It is not only the largest planet but it is 2.5 times more massive than ALL the other planets in our solar system combined. It is also the fastest spinning planet in our solar system. It only takes 10 hours to complete one rotation on its axis. Jupiter has at least 67 moons (named and confirmed natural satellites). It has four major moons called Io, Europa, Ganymede and Calisto. It is the third brightest object in our sky. Saturn Saturn is the farthest planet from Earth that can be seen without a telescope. Saturn orbits the Sun every 29.4 Earth years. It has the most rings of any planet in our solar system. The rings are made up of ice and carbonaceous dust. They stretch out 120000 km from the planet but are surprisingly thin, only 20 meters thick. Saturn has over 150 moons and moonlets, the largest 2 are called Titan and Rhea. Uranus Uranus is the coldest planet in our solar system. It was the first planet discovered in the modern age. It was first recorded in 1690 but it wasn't till 1781 that astronomers realized it was a planet. It is named after the Greek god of the sky, Ouranos. Uranus is tilted must more than the other planets, the other planets are like spinning tops but Uranus is more like a rolling ball as it orbits the Sun. Neptune The farthest planet from the Sun is Neptune. It was discovered in 1846. When the dwarf planet of Pluto was discovered in 1930, it was thought that Pluto was the farthest planet from the Sun but Pluto's orbit is very elliptical so there are periods where Pluto is actually close to the Sun than Neptune. Neptune's surface gravity is very similar to Earth. It has the strongest winds in the solar system, reaching up to 2,100 km/hour. ******************************************************** IMAGE OF THE DAY PAGE CONTENT ******************************************************** Nasa posts an "Image of the Day" page every day. Here are 3 of my favourite images: ******************************************************** REFERENCES PAGE CONTENT ******************************************************** You will add the content for this page yourself