I need some help on a science project. It's about the Upsilon Andromedae planetary system. I have to 'create' a probe that will go out and search for habitable planets in that system. I don't even know where to start. I've done some research on the system and I've looked at other probes but I can't figure out what to do. If someone has some advice I'd be really happy and really grateful.
2007-01-09 03:30:30 · 5 answers · asked by Abby 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
I guess all you would need to do is figure out what your probe will be made of, and what it will be carrying as far as equipment is concerned. Once you have that and it's theoretical weight, just figure out what its escape velocity is. This will determine how fast it needs to be travelling to get out of the Earth's atmosphere and away from the Earth's gravitational pull. Once you have this figured out, determine how you are getting to Upsilon Andromedae. What trajectory do you need to send your probe out into space at? Or will it be able to control itself once in Space, and if so, what kind of fuel are you going to be using. Maybe use Solar energy to create small amounts of propulsion. But make sure that if you're passing close to any stars or planets, you are far enough away to not get pulled in by their gravity, or burned up completely. In fact, you could say your probe will "skip" off of other planet's gravitational forces in order to gain even more speed.
2007-01-09 03:39:46 · answer #1 · answered by John K 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
That is going to be a very long term mission; Upsilon Andromedae is about 44 light-years away. Your main problem will be communications over that distance. The probe will have to be completely automatic; any command signals you send won't reach it for 44 years once it is at its destination. As far as detecting life, I am assuming you will be looking for life as we know it. This means you will be looking for Oxygen and CO2 in atmospheres to start off with, and also probably the presence of liquid water. Looking for intelligent life would involve looking for radio transmissions and things of that nature. The three know planets there are all (presumably) gas giants, that means any sort of life would have to live in the atmospheres. Some sort of parachute assisted probe like Galileo could be used to detect that. You could also check larger moons for soil-borne bacteria using something similar to Viking. I hope this gives you a place to start off!
2007-01-09 12:22:56 · answer #2 · answered by That Guy 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The methods of propulsion of the probe could be look into as its definitely quite interesting :)
2007-01-09 13:29:52 · answer #3 · answered by lalala 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I suggest you look on NASA site. Look for mars probes They will tell you what is on their probes. Anyway it's a place to start.
2007-01-09 11:43:45 · answer #4 · answered by oldmanwitastick 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
why on earth is school getting you to do this hehe you need to learn to live on this plannet first
2007-01-09 11:35:04 · answer #5 · answered by whitecloud 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋