Collection of Information in Space
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MISSION 1 - Collection of Samples
For a better understanding of our universe, we have been systematically collecting samples of all the known worlds. With our newest spaceship, NWSSTAR, our team has been able to travel farther than ever before.
Today is the day all our training comes to fruition. We have only 15 minutes to explore the surface of the planet and collect 5 samples, before the poisonous gas starts affecting our cognitive abilities. Choose things that are unusual, representative, informative or potentially useful. Notice where samples were found and what was around them.
Please try to avoid the creatures you see. They may attack -- you never know! Take only your collecting tray and stay on your toes. If native creatures try to make contact, please remember the sounds and movements for "I come in peace."
After collecting the samples, we will move forward with our mission by analysing them and comparing them to what we know from our own world.
Mission Question: If these were the only materials we could bring from this planet, what would this tell us about it?
Did you choose your samples randomly, or were you looking for certain things? What might you have missed because of the limited area you searched?
Today is the day all our training comes to fruition. We have only 15 minutes to explore the surface of the planet and collect 5 samples, before the poisonous gas starts affecting our cognitive abilities. Choose things that are unusual, representative, informative or potentially useful. Notice where samples were found and what was around them.
Please try to avoid the creatures you see. They may attack -- you never know! Take only your collecting tray and stay on your toes. If native creatures try to make contact, please remember the sounds and movements for "I come in peace."
After collecting the samples, we will move forward with our mission by analysing them and comparing them to what we know from our own world.
Mission Question: If these were the only materials we could bring from this planet, what would this tell us about it?
Did you choose your samples randomly, or were you looking for certain things? What might you have missed because of the limited area you searched?
MISSION 2 - Study of Samples
The exploration team has returned safely to the ship, and everyone had a good night of sleep! Now the samples move from the field team to the science team.
Your task is to observe, describe, classify, and interpret your sample as carefully as possible. At this stage, scientists must remember to separate what they can observe from what they can infer -- or, what do you see from what it may mean.
"The sample is green” is an observation.“The sample must have chlorophyl and use sunlight to produce energy” is an inference.
An inference may eventually turn out to be correct, but it requires evidence.
As you analyze your sample, ask yourself:
What do I know? What do I suspect? What evidence would I need to tell the difference?
Your task is to observe, describe, classify, and interpret your sample as carefully as possible. At this stage, scientists must remember to separate what they can observe from what they can infer -- or, what do you see from what it may mean.
"The sample is green” is an observation.“The sample must have chlorophyl and use sunlight to produce energy” is an inference.
An inference may eventually turn out to be correct, but it requires evidence.
As you analyze your sample, ask yourself:
What do I know? What do I suspect? What evidence would I need to tell the difference?
THE ASTRONOMY CONNECTION (bet you thougth I cray cray)
Planetary scientists face this problem constantly. How do you know what is relevant, when it comes from so far away?
When spacecraft explore places such as Mars, the Moon, asteroids, or distant moons, scientists cannot examine an entire world. They receive small amounts of evidence: photographs, rock samples, chemical measurements, temperatures, radiation readings, or data from instruments aboard spacecraft.
For most celestial bodies, we cannot collect samples at all. Instead, astronomers study the information that reaches us from across space, especially light, and from that small little evidence, they try to reconstruct something much bigger.
When spacecraft explore places such as Mars, the Moon, asteroids, or distant moons, scientists cannot examine an entire world. They receive small amounts of evidence: photographs, rock samples, chemical measurements, temperatures, radiation readings, or data from instruments aboard spacecraft.
For most celestial bodies, we cannot collect samples at all. Instead, astronomers study the information that reaches us from across space, especially light, and from that small little evidence, they try to reconstruct something much bigger.
MISSION DEBRIEF: HOW MUCH CAN ONE SAMPLE TELL US?
On the first mission, you were like the Rover who was sent up to Mars.
One of the central challenges of astronomy and planetary science is that scientists often try to understand enormous objects, distant worlds, and even the history of the universe from small amounts of evidence.
Good science therefore requires more than finding evidence, but also thinking about what may be missing, and thinking of ways to close those gaps. Seeing a planet through a telescope is evidence of the planet, but astronomical photography steps in to close gaps and add a bigger understanding to what we know, just like testing samples of the Moon's surface helped us understand how different or similar we are.
One of the central challenges of astronomy and planetary science is that scientists often try to understand enormous objects, distant worlds, and even the history of the universe from small amounts of evidence.
Good science therefore requires more than finding evidence, but also thinking about what may be missing, and thinking of ways to close those gaps. Seeing a planet through a telescope is evidence of the planet, but astronomical photography steps in to close gaps and add a bigger understanding to what we know, just like testing samples of the Moon's surface helped us understand how different or similar we are.
A Day in the Life of a Rover
A Mars rover lives its life in "sols" (Martian days, which are about 40 minutes longer than Earth days).
This is its routine, every day:
This is its routine, every day:
- Morning (The Download): The rover wakes up and points its high-gain antenna toward Earth. It receives a massive "master script" transmitted by engineers at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). This script contains its entire to-do list for the day.
- Mid-Day (The Work): The rover executes its tasks completely alone. It might spend a few hours driving, then deploy its 7-foot robotic arm to drill into a rock or zap a target with lasers.
- Late Afternoon (The Upload): The rover transmits the data, photos, and scientific findings it collected back to Earth. Because Earth might be below the horizon, the rover usually beams this data up to an orbiter (like the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter), which acts as a relay to pass the data back home.
- Night (The Sleep): To survive temperatures that drop below -140°F (-96°C), the rover shuts down its main computers and goes to sleep to conserve energy, relying on internal heaters powered by its battery or nuclear battery (RTG) to keep its electronics from freezing.
MOST THINGS ARE HELLA FAR!
Remember when we talked about the photographs of the nebulas and other planets? We hinted a bit on data collection and how the photographs were "tuned" to capture specific information. There are many ways to gather data about the universe, and we can pack them up into three main groups:
Three ways astronomers collect evidence
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1. Bring the instrument to the object
Mars rovers are the most popular example. Instead of waiting for information to reach Earth, we send cameras and scientific instruments to Mars. 2. Let the universe send information to us Telescopes and detectors collect electromagnetic radiation such as visible light, radio waves, and microwaves. Redshift is extracted from that incoming light. |
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3. Put instruments where interference is reduced
The International Space Station (ISS) gets experiments above much of Earth’s atmosphere. Ontario's SNOLAB, a Canadian deep underground science laboratory, goes in the opposite direction and places detectors deep underground to block unwanted radiation and particles. This is important for SNOLAB because they are measuring highly sensitive data on neutrinos, dark matter physics and quantum energy, besides life sciences.
The International Space Station (ISS) gets experiments above much of Earth’s atmosphere. Ontario's SNOLAB, a Canadian deep underground science laboratory, goes in the opposite direction and places detectors deep underground to block unwanted radiation and particles. This is important for SNOLAB because they are measuring highly sensitive data on neutrinos, dark matter physics and quantum energy, besides life sciences.
