Lecture 27: The Future of Space Exploration Astro 202; Spring 2008 Profs. Jim Bell, Don Campbell But first... Please complete the online course evaluation form for Astro 202: http://eval.arts.cornell.edu/eval.cfm Poster session is this Thursday May 1 That s your final exam! No extensions! Be Ready! Any questions about preparing your posters? Here s what will happen Thursday... CNN Video Clip Space & Presidential Politics http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/politics/2008/04/26/foreman.space.race.candidates.cnn Outline: The Future of Space Exploration Looking back: 50 Years Since Sputnik A quick overview of Astro 202... What might we achieve in space in the next 50 years? What must happen to bring that about?
October 4, 1957... May 25, 1961 We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one in which we intend to win." - John F. Kennedy Sept. 12, 1962 July 21, 1969 The last 50 years have also seen equally stunning achievements in the robotic exploration of space... Let s Review Astro 202... in 10 minutes!
Mercury Venus Earth Mars http://www.globalwarmingart.com/wiki/
Spirit rover exploring Home Plate Today: Sol 1536? Victoria Crater Eagle Endurance Yellowstone National Park Purgatory sand trap? Erebus 200 m Exploring Home Plate MRO/HiRISE NASA/JPL/U. Arizona Beagle Victoria!
Cape Desire Cabo Corrientes Cape of Good Hope Rover today Cabo Anomino Bahia Blanca Valley without Peril (Cape St. Vincent) Bay of Toil Bottomless Bay (Bahia sin Fondo) Golfo San Matias Arrived: September 2006 Duck Bay Cape Verde? Cape St. Mary Cabo Frio Alcove Panorama Crater Panorama MRO/HiRISE NASA/JPL/U. Arizona Victoria Crater Opportunity rover descending into Victoria Crater Phoenix landing set to arrive near the Martian north pole on graduation day! Mars Science Laboratory rover preparing to launch to Mars next year, landing in 2010
Asteroids Comets Jupiter Europa Io Saturn Titan Enceladus Tempel-1
Uranus Neptune Is Pluto a Planet? Pluto & Beyond New Horizons flyby in 2015 & the Sun! & now >200 more planets around other stars! & who knows where life might be found among all these worlds...
To call humanity s first 50 years of space exploration a golden age would be an understatement... Flyby, Orbit, Land, Rove, & Return We have essentially completed the reconnaissance of the solar system... The Future... Probably the only prediction about the future that anyone should believe is that the prediction will be wrong. And perhaps dramatically so. Still, with appropriate caveats, it s fun to speculate... What We Need to Know to Predict the Future of Space Exploration Can anyone make money off it? How much will it cost? Will anyone care?
since then 10 x Historical NASA Average Apollo Post-Apollo aerospace depression Challenger replacement Average: $14.2B Post-Apollo depression NASA could carry out a complete Apolloscale effort every 15 years between the present day and the 100 th anniversary of Sputnik. Michael Griffin, NASA Administrator Mercury, Gemini, Apollo <--- The Future?? ---> NASA Budget, First 50 Years, Thousands of FY2000$ M. Griffin, Aviation Week & Space Tech., March 2007 NASA s Budget, Ten Years at a Time... M. Griffin, Aviation Week & Space Tech., March 2007 Flyby, Orbit, Land, Rove, & Return
What We Need to Know to Predict the Future of Space Exploration Can anyone make money off it? How much will it cost? Will anyone care? Why do we explore space? I like IKE Inspiration Knowledge Education Are those enough? Our society today seems to need more than just those intangibles People care about, and can be motivated by, specifics like: Climate Change Planetary Protection Extraterrestrial Life Active Participation in the process NASA must find a way to energize a new generation of explorers
Next time... Poster session! Thursday May 1! Bring your poster to class! That s your final exam! No extensions! Don t forget! Please complete the online course evaluation form for Astro 202: http://eval.arts.cornell.edu/eval.cfm