Spacecraft carriers are ships used to transport and launch spacecraft for missions into space. This chapter introduces a model useful in planning space program initiatives. This concept carrier utilizes a long flight deck similar to modern seafaring aircraft carriers. It houses multiple fighter spacecraft along with their rocket launchers for transportation purposes. It is a…
Honey bees are relatively newcomers to North America, having been introduced by early settlers from Europe. Honey bees pollinate flowers by sucking nectar through their proboscises and mixing it with enzymes for processing. When worker bees sting an insect, their barbed stinger punctures through its skin and releases poison, killing its victim quickly. They have…
If you look up, the sky appears blue due to Earth’s atmospheric gases and particles scattering blue light more than any other color, an effect known as Rayleigh Scattering. Violet light has longer wavelengths than blue light, so it doesn’t disperse as quickly, creating reddish-orange tones during sunset and sunrise. Light Scattering Why the sky…
New Horizons was launched into space one afternoon in 2006 on an unprecedented journey towards Pluto. Carrying an array of instruments with it, New Horizons broke records as it set course towards this distant planet. Visible light cameras could count craters, map hills and valleys, scan for frosty methane lakes and observe how stars dim…
Manned spacecraft come in many different forms, but all must serve both transportation and survival in space. This is particularly important during reentry when high acceleration and vibration can pose several hazards. Spacesuits provide astronauts with oxygen to breathe in space and protection against harmful space dust particles that could prove fatal. Furthermore, some spacesuits…
Starfish are carnivorous marine predators that consume mollusks such as clams, mussels, snails, shrimps, hermit crabs and fishes for sustenance. Additionally, starfish consume seaweed, sponges and hermit crab shells as sources of sustenance. Starfish use suction created by their arms to trap prey near the ocean floor and then extend their stomach pincers over digestible…
Have you ever wondered why the sky is blue? To achieve its color requires more than sunshine alone: when sunlight hits Earth’s atmosphere it gets scattered all directions by gaseous particles; shorter wavelengths like blue tend to get spread more widely than others. George Strait’s 1996 song, “Blue Clear Sky,” tells of encountering love when…
Greeks were known as the pioneers of democracy, theatre and the Olympic Games – but there’s so much more to them than this! Are You aware that the phrase ‘taking the bull by its horns’ originates in ancient Greece? Or did you know they had a unique way of dispelling evil through spitting without actually…
There are currently eleven robotic missions to Mars, such as rovers and orbiters, providing pictures that thrill and excite scientists alike. They study its surface, atmosphere, climate and seasonal and annual cycles. At each poster, participants roll the die and advance in their mission or begin one from scratch. How do we get to Mars?…
