Solar System Exploration: Solar System 101: Homework Helper

HOMEWORK HELPER

Ancient Space Rubble
Asteroids are rocky fragments left over from the formation our the solar system about 4.6 billion years ago. Most of these chunks of space rubble, sometimes called minor planets, can be found orbiting the Sun in a belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. The Asteroid Belt or Main Belt probably contains millions of asteroids.

News

Features

People

Extreme Facts

Dictionary

1 2

Show All

Radar Imaging of Near Earth Asteroids
Radar is a very powerful astronomical technique for studying the physical properties and refining the orbits of near-Earth asteroids.

Regenerative Fuel Cells, Energy Storage Systems for Space Applications
This talk provides an introduction to fuel cells and regenerative fuel cell systems. It also highlights the features of this technology for enabling future NASA missions to the moon, near-Earth asteroids and Mars.

The Long and Storied Path to Human Asteroid Exploration
Within NASA's new FY2014 budget proposal lies a project known as the Asteroid Retrieval and Utilization Mission.

NASA's Asteroid Initiative Benefits From Rich History
NASA's FY2014 budget proposal includes a plan to robotically capture a small near-Earth asteroid and redirect it safely to a stable orbit in the Earth-moon system where astronauts can visit and explore it.

What Exploded over Russia?
"It was a meteor strike--the most powerful since the Tunguska event of 1908," says Bill Cooke of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office.

One Close Fly-by: DA14 - What We Learn from NEOs
On February 15, 2013, asteroid 2012 DA14, a 50-meter stony asteroid, will pass the Earth at a distance of about 27,680 kilometers (17,200 miles).

Possible Seismic Activity on Asteroid 2012 DA14
For eons, Earth has felt the tremors of asteroids striking our planet. From the extinction of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago to the felled forests around Tunguska in 1908, the space rocks keep coming. This week, Earth strikes back.

Asteroid DA14 Flyby Toolkit
Everything you need to know about Friday's historic asteroid flyby.

50 Years of Robotic Planetary Exploration: Julie Castillo-Rogez, Planetary Geophysicist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
We asked them and here is what the experts had to say about the last 50 years of planetary robotic exploration.

State of the Solar System
As the president prepares to give his annual State of the Union Address, we offer our own update from the ongoing exploration of our cosmic neighborhood.

Asteroid 2012 DA14 - Earth Flyby Reality Check
Small near-Earth asteroid 2012 DA14 will pass very close to Earth on February 15, so close that it will pass inside the ring of geosynchronous weather and communications satellites.

Record Setting Asteroid Flyby
On Feb. 15th an asteroid about half the size of a football field will fly past Earth closer than many man-made satellites. Since regular sky surveys began in the 1990s, astronomers have never seen an object so big come so close to our planet.

Big Asteroid Tumbles Harmlessly Past Earth
Asteroid 4179 Toutatis is tumbling past Earth this week. Astronomers are taking advantage of the flyby to ping the space rock using NASA radars and obtain images of unprecedented clarity.

50 Years of Robotic Planetary Exploration: Nancy Grace Roman (Retired Chief of NASA's Astronomy and Relativity Programs at NASA Headquarters)
We asked them and here is what the experts had to say about the last 50 years of planetary robotic exploration.

50 Years of Robotic Planetary Exploration: Ralph Carruth (Manager, Materials and Processes Laboratory at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center)
We asked them and here is what the experts had to say about the last 50 years of planetary robotic exploration.

A New Count of Potentially Hazardous Asteroids
Observations from NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) have led to the best assessment yet of our solar system's population of potentially hazardous asteroids.

Impacts Could be Boon for Subterranean Life

Research... at a Glance

Impacts Could be Boon for Subterranean Life
A drilling project into the Chesapeake Bay impact structure has found evidence that the subsurface may become more habitable after a large impact

Radioisotope Power Systems: Power to Explore

Research... at a Glance

Radioisotope Power Systems: Power to Explore
For more than four decades, Radioisotope Power Systems (RPS) have played a critical role in the exploration of space, enabling missions of scientific discovery to destinations across the solar system.

NASA Plans to Visit a Near-Earth Asteroid
In a few years a NASA spacecraft will seek the building blocks of life in a shovelful of asteroid dirt. The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft is targeted for launch in September 2016.

1 2

Show All

1 2

Show All

Radar Imaging of Near Earth Asteroids
Radar is a very powerful astronomical technique for studying the physical properties and refining the orbits of near-Earth asteroids.

The Long and Storied Path to Human Asteroid Exploration
Within NASA's new FY2014 budget proposal lies a project known as the Asteroid Retrieval and Utilization Mission.

What Exploded over Russia?
"It was a meteor strike--the most powerful since the Tunguska event of 1908," says Bill Cooke of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office.

One Close Fly-by: DA14 - What We Learn from NEOs
On February 15, 2013, asteroid 2012 DA14, a 50-meter stony asteroid, will pass the Earth at a distance of about 27,680 kilometers (17,200 miles).

Asteroid DA14 Flyby Toolkit
Everything you need to know about Friday's historic asteroid flyby.

State of the Solar System
As the president prepares to give his annual State of the Union Address, we offer our own update from the ongoing exploration of our cosmic neighborhood.

Research... at a Glance

Impacts Could be Boon for Subterranean Life
A drilling project into the Chesapeake Bay impact structure has found evidence that the subsurface may become more habitable after a large impact

Research... at a Glance

1 2

Show All