The senseless heroes of science

Russians and Americans honor their first astronauts as heroes. But the real hero of the research is what is made of metal and silicon: unmanned explorer ship.
> What did behind the NASA / NASA achievements and failures do with animals and plants in orbit?

Setting foot on the Moon is one thing. Dig deep into Mars' dust or explore the depths of the universe with telescopes. Since humans fly into space, some researchers have criticized that this is just a costly elegant demonstration project that brings little new knowledge to science. The history of the US Space Agency shows that critics have made sense: Truly spectacular discoveries are not made by astronauts, but unmanned explorers.

Exploration ship "Viking 2" sends greetings from Mars. "Viking 2" landed on the neighboring planet of the Earth on September 3, 1976, a great success of the space travel industry. Photo: NASA.

The missions, starting from the "Mariner" program through "Viking" to "Hubble", "Cassini-Huygens" and Mars robots "Spirit" with "Opportunity" among NASA's greatest successes. Both "Voyager" explorers, which departed in 1977, are still transmitted to Earth data today.

The image of the planets of the solar system that humans have today would probably not be possible without exploratory ships. Medieval astronomers knew that Saturn had a belt. But until "Pioneer 11" (1979), "Voyager" (1980/1981) and "Cassini-Huygens" ships (since 2004), people can get high resolution images.

The mission is to work with the European Space Agency ESA, "Cassini-Huygens", and also open a new era of planetary research: The explorer ship not only captures simple images, they also for the first time landing on another planet's satellite: "Huygens" landing on Saturn's Titan satellite in 2005.

Both NASA's "Spirit" and NASA's "Opportunity" , which landed on Mars in 2004, are still active so far, always on the path to finding traces of life. Of course, they are still undetectable, but instead "Opportunity" provides evidence that water has existed in liquid form on Mars.

Space shuttle: Victory and disaster

After landing on the Moon, NASA began a new project: Planning and building spacecraft that could be reused. Shuttles are responsible for reducing the cost of transporting and turning astronautics into a common practice. People have thought about a shipping cost of about 200 USD for 1 kg.

The first shuttle flights brought many satellites into space. But it was quickly realized that the use of shuttles was much more costly than originally calculated - and therefore not suitable for transporting commercial satellites. From that time the shuttle is only used for national satellite transport, but is especially used for research.

The illusion broke up on February 28, 1986 - more than a minute after the departure of ST-51-L flight, and the whole world looked through television. A damaged ring in one of the two solid rockets caused the "Challenger" explosion , killing seven people. Carelessly entered the Shuttle program, because the problem with the seals was known before the accident.

The Martian landscape is captured by the "Opportunity" . Photo: NASA / JPL

After the accident, the shuttles stopped working for 36 months. The charm of the shuttle project was destroyed overnight. The ship "Endeavor" replaced the "Challenger" and gradually returned to normal: "Hubble " telescope was brought into orbit slower than planned for 4 years.

In the construction of the ISS International Space Station, the largest human-made object in the universe, the shuttle has proved their ability. In total, there have been 25 flights to ISS so far, with 10 more planned. But the construction of the space station was only carried out slowly, many parts of the original plan were crossed out - and it is still unclear whether Americans will support a costly project that only brings little how long this result is.

Second accident certified for all reviewers of Shuttle project. On February 1, 2003, the Columbia ship shattered at a height of 60 km, only 16 minutes before landing on the plan. Similar to the "Challenger" catastrophe , it is also a problem that NASA knows about. Belief in the technology of the shuttle is destroyed. Shuttles are still irreplaceable in continuing to build the ISS but on the other hand are considered outdated models.

A new race in the universe

Celebrating its 50th birthday, NASA is in trouble. On the one hand, the organization has ambitious new goals since President George W. Bush announced more than four years ago that the United States wanted to return to the Moon. And after the Moon people also aim at Mars. The time plan is very tight: NASA wants to return to Earth's satellite in 2020, where a long-term base is expected to take shape; NASA director Michael Griffin set a sights on Mars in 2037.

But instead of the original atmosphere of excitement, dominating at NASA these days is the feeling of demolition. The shuttle will be retired in the early summer of 2010. Before the shuttle Endeavor makes the final departure, the shuttles will fly nine more flights to the ISS space station and will help "Hubble" again in the rest of it.

NASA employees have a high average age - currently 50 years old. The time of "Apollo" excitement has long since passed, when the space agency is the dream of young researchers. Today they prefer to turn to the financial sector, the medical industry or the prosperous homeland protection area.

Fears

NASA leaders gradually realized that building a new missile to the Moon was more difficult than originally envisaged. An internal dispatch talked about backing up the "Ares" program . The giant missile "Ares V" intends to bring four astronauts, a landing ship and other equipment into space.

So far, $ 7 billion has been poured into the development of "Ares". Despite spending huge numbers, the agency foresaw the possibility of a public relations failure: NASA Director has repeatedly stated that China may send people to the Moon in front of Americans.

Those of them who won were unimportant, indicating one thing: NASA's overwhelming past has been permanently gone. In addition to the emerging countries like India and China, Europe is also trying to put itself in position with plans for a separate carrier. The Russians plan to fly into space not to find new scientific awareness but to please paying customers.