3. Voyager Probe
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In September 2017, The Voyager celebrates 40 years in the stars. It's a time of reflection. Why was the Voyager built? What purpose has it served? What purpose will it serve in the future?
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The Voyager was built in 1977 by NASA. It's mission is to explore the vast reaches of space beyond Pluto. Voyager has continuously sent back pictures to NASA headquarters regularly, all of the great unknown.
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The Voyager's future purpose: In 1977, space's contents were still mostly huge guesses. Pluto had only been discovered in 1930! Even leading scientists had no fixated idea about what was out there. That was why, in the Voyager, they left a golden record. It held within it Earth's culture, complete with film, art, and music. It also featured photos, sounds, and messages from NASA. In space, the ship could last billions of years, as well as the documents it held within it. "These circular time capsules could one day be the only traces of human civilization (NASA.gov)." Not only that, but it was in some workers heads that maybe, just maybe, these records would be played. If not by future generations or human civilizations, then by others. Who exactly, no one knows, or even if they are out there. To us, they are the people of the stars.
1. ISS
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The International Space Station (or ISS) has been in orbit for over 6,800 days! Since it’s construction in 1998, the ISS has been the temporary home for many an astronaut since 2000.
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Some quick facts:
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The ISS has a total mass of ​925,335 pounds (419,725 kilograms)!
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It's total length is 240 feet (73 meters).
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The ISS’s solar array surface area alone could cover the US Senate Chamber three times.
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The electrical power system is made up of 8 miles of wire!
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The ISS has a robot! Named "Robonaut", it's job is to have "Versatility and dexterity to manipulate hardware, work in high risk environments, and respond safely to unexpected obstacles (NASA.gov)." Robonaut is the poster child of humanoid robotics. He's also the start of robots being engineered who could go to other planets and their moons to learn more about them.
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​2. Space Launch System
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The official NASA web page says that The Space Launch System (or SLS): “...is a powerful, advanced launch vehicle for a new era of human exploration beyond Earth’s orbit…SLS will launch crews of up to four astronauts in the agency’s Orion spacecraft on missions to explore multiple, deep-space destinations (Nasa.gov).” It’s almost unbelievable how far the human race has come in space exploration. In a few short years, NASA will break the record of farthest distance into space that a manned spacecraft has ever gone. Engineers are aimed towards its first liftoff being sometime in 2018, where it will perform a test run past the Moon. Next stop, Mars!
NASA has been working for over 50 years, and has accomplished a great deal! Some of the most important are the International Space Station, the Space Launch System, and the Voyager Probe.
On this page, you will find some of NASA's greatest deeds it has/will have completed or contributed to.