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National Aeronautics and Space Administration (view source)
Revision as of 01:36, January 24, 2010
, 01:36, January 24, 2010no edit summary
Science research at Langley, specifically in atmospheric science, can trace its beginnings to the Center's aeronautical studies. In the 1960s, scientists began exploring how atmospheric dynamics, density and temperature varied with altitude to understand their effects on aircraft performance. Langley scientists expanded this effort in the 1970s to include atmospheric chemistry research and then shifted their research emphasis to environmental concerns. Rich in aeronautical heritage, Langley's atmospheric science research impacts how all of NASA studies the Earth and other planets. <ref>http://science.larc.nasa.gov/AboutUs.html</ref>
Science research at Langley, specifically in atmospheric science, can trace its beginnings to the Center's aeronautical studies. In the 1960s, scientists began exploring how atmospheric dynamics, density and temperature varied with altitude to understand their effects on aircraft performance. Langley scientists expanded this effort in the 1970s to include atmospheric chemistry research and then shifted their research emphasis to environmental concerns. Rich in aeronautical heritage, Langley's atmospheric science research impacts how all of NASA studies the Earth and other planets. <ref>http://science.larc.nasa.gov/AboutUs.html</ref>
== Magellan Spacecraft ==
The Magellan spacecraft, named after the sixteenth-century Portuguese explorer whose expedition first circumnavigated the Earth, was launched May 4, 1989, and arrived at Venus on August 10, 1990. Magellan's solid rocket motor placed it into a near-polar elliptical orbit around the planet. During the first 8-month mapping cycle around Venus, Magellan collected radar images of 84 percent of the planet's surface, with resolution 10 times better than that of the earlier Soviet Venera 15 and 16 missions. Altimetry and radiometry data also measured the surface topography and electrical characteristics.
During the extended mission, two further mapping cycles from May 15, 1991 to September 14, 1992 brought mapping coverage to 98% of the planet, with a resolution of approximately 100m.
Precision radio tracking of the spacecraft will measure Venus' gravitational field to show the planet's internal mass distribution and the forces which have created the surface features. Magellan's data will permit the first global geological understanding of Venus, the planet most like Earth in our solar system. <ref>http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/magellan/fact.html</ref>