Space Exploration on Pitara Kids Network

Space Quiz

Fri, 25 Aug 2000 11:00:23 +0000

Check out your space facts. Learn more about asteroids, meteors and planets.

Planets! Planets! and more Planets!

Mon, 22 Jul 2002 22:20:18 +0000

Astronomers working at Berkeley and Geneva have found nine new planets circling nearby stars. With this discovery, we now know of 50 extra-solar planets, also called exoplanets. That is a big increase from 41 planets last known five years ago.

All these individual planets move in an orbit around a star, which is called their parent star. The astronomers estimate that the Beta Pictoris star has a planet ten times the mass of Earth. It orbits at a distance of about 10.5 billion kilometers, more than ten times the distance of the earth from the sun. And Vega, one of the brightest stars in the sky appears to have a planet twice the mass of Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system. This planet is 8 billion kilometers from its parent star. In comparison, our solar system seems almost tiny. The distance between Pluto, the farthest planet in our solar system and the sun is “just” 5.9 billion kilometers!

What were the Voyager Missions?

Sat, 19 Jul 2003 22:32:53 +0000

Imagine a journey that takes you a billion kilometres away from earth, to the edge of the solar system, from where you can look back over your shoulder and see our sun as just another star in the sky.

We are not talking about a science fiction movie but the Voyager space mission. On August 20, 1977, the Voyager 2 spacecraft was launched. Close on its heels, the Voyager 1 was launched on September 5, 1977. Both the unmanned spacecraft were launched from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, USA.

A Beautiful Ship in the Sky

Tue, 18 Jul 2000 05:30:49 +0000

In the boundless ocean of space, a beautiful ship sails serenely around the sun. Our earth – Lovelier than the moon, this fragile ship travels one hundred and sixty thousand kilometres every hour.

Space is full of countless such ships.
But our Earth is special.
It is the only ship which carries life –
the only ship with voyagers on board.

Four hundred thousand different kinds of life make their home on Earth.
Together, they make it beautiful and precious.

Logging on to Aliens

Thu, 19 Apr 2001 15:00:31 +0000

Do you believe that there might be life on other planets? Would you like to be the first ‘Earthling’ to make contact with an alien? Well, you can start your search from home. All you need is a computer and Internet access, and you can join the project of the US-based National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

Logging on to Aliens [Illustrations by Kusum Chamoli]

NASA launched the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI) project, eight years ago. Based at the University of California, SETI’s goal is to examine the radio signals coming from nearby stars. Researchers involved in the project believe that a large number of stars in the universe could have planets orbiting around them. And they want to know if these planets have conditions suitable to sustain life forms.

The Dark Kingdom of Uranus

Wed, 31 Mar 1999 06:44:15 +0000

Named after the father of the Titans in Greek mythology, Uranus is the seventh planet in the solar system. It was first observed through a telescope by Sir William Herschel on March 13, 1781. Although Herschel wished to call the newly discovered planet Georgium Sidus (Georgian Star) for King George III of England, Johann Bode’s proposal of the name Uranus gained more acceptance over the years and finally became universal in the mid-19th century.

The Uranian realm is a dark kingdom, so remote from the sun that daylight there approximates a total solar eclipse on Earth. Such distance from the sun also makes Uranus unimaginably cold. Sample this: The temperature in Uranus would be minus 250 C (-346F) i.e. if a space traveler were to stick his hand out in that environment he would find it instantly freeze-dried.

Indian Children on US Mars Project

Wed, 15 May 2002 22:36:15 +0000

October 6: The planet Mars, or the ‘red-planet’ as it’s called, has fascinated people on earth for centuries. The fourth planet from the sun, Mars is the nearest planet to earth.

This stunning landmass of craters, an uneven surface and dark skies has been a highly favoured destination for space travelers in science fiction, the body of literature that deals with stories of exploration into alien worlds.

The possibility of humans visiting Mars and even colonizing it some day, is the dream of astronomers and space scientists the world over. That is why when two American scientists announced evidence of ground water on Mars recently, the news created a great deal of excitement.

Celebrity Camera

Tue, 22 May 2001 16:16:58 +0000

When man took the first steps on the moon, a camera captured the moment forever. Today those pictures are a part of history. And so is the camera that was used to shoot them. The Hasselblad camera.

Celebrity Camera

The first space photographs were taken with Hasselblad cameras. One Hasselblad is still orbiting around the earth. It was dropped by an astronaut while on a space walk. Do you know that a few Hasselblads are also lying on the moon? They were left behind to save weight on the return trip from the moon.

These Boots are meant for Flying!

Thu, 04 Jul 2002 02:39:28 +0000

October 21: Two weeks ago, as the Russian government was aiming to steer history by trying to reduce the tension between Israel and Palestine in West Asia, history from below was being created in its backyard, at the rundown Salavat Ulayev sports stadium, in Moscow. The fastest boots in the world were being tested out under the watchful gaze of a ‘Sunday Times’ journalist.

These Boots are meant for Flying! [Illustration by Sudheer Nath]

Chief boot tester Atanov was getting ready to race Russia’s 1,500 metre national champion, 22-year-old Alexei Ivanov, to see if the stilt-like petrol-powered and turbo-charged boots would enable him to take strides nine feet long, past the athlete.

Water-Ice on the Moon?

Mon, 02 Apr 2007 01:45:30 +0000

Where: Bangalore, India

January 29, 2009 : The possibility of water-ice existing on the polar regions of the moon is one of the questions that scientists aim to discuss at a meeting to mark the first hundred days of Chandrayaan-I. The scientists include representatives from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the United States’ National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the European Space Agency (ESA).

Chandrayaan-I has so far captured the first-ever images of the dark side of the moon, detected the presence of iron and received X-ray signals from its cratered surface. Chandrayaan-I was launched on October 22, 2008, from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh. The launch marked a major step ahead in India’s space programme, and India became the fourth country to put its flag on the moon.The unmanned craft carries on board 11 scientific instruments. Five of these were developed by Indian scientists and the rest by foreign agencies, including NASA and ESA.

UFO Landing

Sat, 27 Jul 2002 13:01:24 +0000

December 9: Did ‘Unidentified Flying Objects’ (UFOs) cause life on earth? Those UFOs that are supposed to float around in space, which are more like distant dreams of an outer space enthusiast?

To test this theory, special balloons filled with neon gas (used in electric lamps) were launched into space from Hyderabad recently by a team of Indian scientists. The balloons are expected to collect air samples at different altitudes in space ranging between 10 and 35 km.

Hunting for Planets in Earth's Galaxy

Fri, 19 Sep 2008 16:09:53 +0000

Where: Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA

March 7, 2009 : The USA’s space agency NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) launched its Kepler Telescope successfully from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The telescope is designed to search for planets orbiting stars other than the Sun in our galaxy, the Milky Way. William Borucki, principal science investigator of the mission, said, “Even if we find no planets like Earth, that by itself would be profound. It would indicate that we are probably alone in the galaxy.” Planets around stars other than the Sun have been thought to exist for centuries. In 1988, a team of Canadian astronomers found evidence that the star Gamma Cephei had planets.

'Ibuki' : Japan's 'Green' Monitor Orbits the Earth

Sun, 25 Feb 2007 01:02:42 +0000

Where: Tokyo, Japan

January 23, 2009 : A space centre in Tanegashima, a remote island about 970 kilometers southwest of Tokyo, today launched the first satellite designed to monitor carbon dioxide emissions. It is named ‘Ibuki’, which means ‘breath’. The satellite has sensors which can measure light reflected from earth, and gauge the density of carbon dioxide and methane. These two gases are the biggest contributors to global warming,

Ibuki will circle the globe every 100 minutes, and will monitor the levels of carbon dioxide and methane from 56,000 locations for the next five years. At present the sites that measure these emissions are land-based, and they are unevenly distributed over the globe. Ibuki’s capabilities will make it possible to monitor levels all over the world, especially in developing nations where there are no facilities.