The Moon and the Entire Solar System - Research Proposal Example

of Teacher Submitted Lunar Science Origin of the Earth's Moon The hypothesis of how the Earth's Moon was formed is similar to the theories of how planets were formed (Taylor, 1). It suggests that the moon was formed through a massive impact on to the amassing Earth, heating it up and hurling the raw elements for the Moon to move around the Earth. According to two hypothesis made by two groups in 1975, William K. Hartmann and Donald Davis (Planetary Sciences Institute in Tucson, Arizona) and Alfred G. W. Cameron and William Ward (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, Massachusetts), the giant impact hypothesis which happened around 4 billion years ago entails "a big impactor smashed into the Earth near the end of its construction" (Taylor 1-4). Cameron concluded that the "angular momentum" or the rotation or orbital movement of the Moon was caused by the size of Mars, which is about 10% of the Earth and sometimes referred to as the Theia. The giant impact created a ring of very hot molten debris in orbit around the very young Earth in 10 years or less. Taylor illustrated that the young Earth was spinning faster, throwing out a huge blob forming the Moon ("Moon Beams and Elements" 6). The moon is now surrounded by an ocean of magma as it formed in orbit around the Earth. Hartmann concluded that the Earth must have been hit strong enough to send off sufficient materials into orbit and form the Moon because of the large impact craters, ten or more times bigger than 150 km projectiles. This theory was the most widely accepted theory about the origin of the Moon for it could account for most of the available evidences. The Apollo Moon Landing Program The Apollo Moon Landing Program was an American lunar spaceflight program carried out by the National Aeronautics Space Administration (NASA) during the years 1961 to 1975 (MSN Encarta, par. 1-3). It aims to conduct manned moon landing missions and overtake Soviet Union in space exploration as well. President John F. Kennedy initiated the first astronauts to send to the moon in 1961, inspired by the first American astronaut in space, Alan Sheperd (NASA, par. 2). Portraying the years of effort and expense, NASA employed 36, 000 civil servants and 376, 700 contractor employees on the peak of the program in 1965 and spent $25.4 billion between 1961 and 1973 for the Apollo missions. The first Apollo mission was delayed due to a tragedy caused by a destructive fire inside the capsule ("Apollo Mission Landing," par. 3-17). The astronauts Roger Chaffee, Edward H. White II and Virgil I. (Gus) Grissom all died in the tragic accident on the launch pad. In April 4, 1968, Apollo 6 was lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida to accomplish a revolution around the Earth's orbit, followed by Apollo 7 and 9. The first ones to orbit the Moon were the Apollo 8 and 10 missions. In 1969, Neil Armstrong, commander of Apollo 11 and the first human to walk on the Moon along with Michael Collins, commander module pilot and Edwin "Buzz" E. Aldrin Jr., lunar module pilot. Apollo 12 and 14 successfully landed on the Moon also except for Apollo 13 which left the astronauts in a deadly situation when they were about to return to Earth without a scheduled landing though they used the lunar module as a lifeboat in order to survive. Apollo 15, 16, and 17 conducted lunar explorations missions that are much longer and involved more in-depth scientific exploration. Apollo's Analysis on their Discoveries There was a broad range of over 60 experiments done on the lunar surface and 30 experiments of the lunar orbit of the Moon (MSN Encarta 5). Six unique and scientifically significant lunar locations collected a total of 381.7 kg (841 lb) of lunar material. In the Apollo 11 mission, Neil Armstrong and his companions brought to Earth samples from another planetary body-basalts and dark-colored igneous rocks that were about 3.7 billion years old. After every mission, they brought back more lunar rocks and soil samples. Using radiometric dating techniques, the rocks were found out to be extremely cold compared to the Earth's rocks. One important rock found in the Apollo Program was called the "Genesis Rock" founded by astronauts James Irwin and David Scott in during the Apollo 15 mission ("The Apollo Program"). This rock was an anorthosite and a representative of the highland crust which composes of a geochemical component called the KREEP concluding that the combination of anorthosite and KREEP could predict that the rocks of the Moon were once completely molten. Almost all of the rock samples show evidences that they had been affected by huge impact processes for some of them were found to possess little impact craters and signs of high pressure shock waves. Being subjected to multiple impact events, all samples from the Moon were highly "brecciated." The results of these Apollo experiments gave birth to a lot of scientific discoveries about the Moon. According to Top Ten Scientific Discoveries of the Apollo program, the Moon is not a primeval object but an evolved terrestrial planet with a thick crust, a fairly uniform lithosphere, and a partly liquid asthenosphere and a possibility of a small iron core at the bottom of the asthenosphere, similar to the Earth. Though some rocks indicate a hint for ancient magnetic fields, lunar rocks were found to give evidence that the Moon is made of rocks that clearly proved the presence of an internal zoning within it. According to the Apollo Program, the lunar rock and soil samples also indicated that the Moon is ancient and still upholds an early history, the first billion years, similarly to other planets in the solar system ("Top Ten Scientific"). The extensive record of astronauts and scientists on meteorite craters on the Moon made it possible to unravel time scales for the geologic evolution of other planets' craters. Another discovery was that the Moon is as old as the Earth through the rocks found on the Moon that were found alike with the rocks on Earth ("Top Ten Scientific"). This helped scientists conclude that the earliest processes and events that affected both planetary bodies could be found in the Moon, making the Moon's rock ages 3.2 billion years in the maria, the dark low basins to 4.6 million years in the terrae, the light rugged highlands. The Moon rocks and Earth rocks both contain a distinctively similar oxygen isotopic composition that makes them "genetically related." The need for iron and volatile elements to form atmospheric gases and water are both necessary in both the Moon and the Earth. Unlike the Earth, the Moon is lifeless for it could not contain living organisms, fossils or native organic compounds and even non-biological organic compounds. With the use of extensive testing among the lunar samples, the past or present time in the Moon revealed no sign of life. All moon rocks-basalts, anorthosites, and breccias, originated through "high temperature processes with little or no involvement of water." There is no presence of sandstones, shales, or limestones in its surface unlike the Earth where water-borne processes among rocks are given great importance. The lunar highlands of the Moon left remnants of the early, low density rocks that made the assumption "the Moon was melted to great depths form a "magma ocean'" true ("Top Ten Scientific"). Moreover, a series of huge asteroid impacts were found to follow the formation of the "magma ocean." Deposits of orange and emerald-green glass beads were found to be a product of a lunar volcanism. The Moon was observed to have a slightly asymmetrical bulk form due to the Earth's gravitational force ("Top Ten Scientific"). "Mascons" or large mass concentrations were the crust is thicker on the far side and most volcanic basins and unusual mass concentrations on the near side facing toward Earth. The surface of the Moon is covered by the lunar regolith, a rubble pile of rock fragments and dust that were only produced by numerous meteorite impacts through geologic time. The regolith is enriched with chemical elements and isotopes implanted by the solar radiation of the Sun. In 1984, the scientists who analyzed the lunar samples concluded that the Moon was created through a "giant impact" of a large astronomical body with the Earth. The Apollo Program is still in the act of research for further studies about the Earth's Moon. The Apollo lunar samples and photographs as well on the surface and orbit of the Moon are much more examined by the third generation scientists through new analytical technologies. General Comments Many scientists had benefit a lot from the Apollo experiments and results about the Moon. It provided important information not only about the Moon but the entire solar system, particularly the planet Earth and the other planets as well. However, there are issues rising about the Apollo 11 Lunar Landing Mission being a movie studio hoax by the NASA (Watson 1). It was argued that NASA did not have the technology to land on the Moon in the 1960s and the pictures portrayed false stars in the background. But rock samples gathered during this mission was enough evidence to conclude that they have landed on the Moon's surface. Like President Kennedy who had been inspired of the first American who came into space, President George W. Bush also called for a new program, "Constellation Program" in order to conduct more explorations in Moon and in Mars. Basically an improvised of the "Apollo Program," the number of people to see the Moon is increasing by the year 2020. Obviously the aircrafts were much better built with high technology including design elements in the heat shield and rocket engines, ensuring economical cost and safety of the astronauts. There is truly a future in Lunar Exploration though being untouched by humans for more than three decades (Watson 6). President Bush has envisioned a much extreme lunar expedition and an establishment of temporary residences such as living quarters, power plants, and communication systems in order to launch explorations on the bases of the Moon and Mars. Neil Armstrong has stated in 2005 that the lunar expeditions would be much easier than in 1960s, ""I suspect that even though the various questions are difficult and many, they are not as difficult and many as those we faced when we started the Apollo (space program) in 1961." For the astronauts and cosmonauts, seeing the Earth from space has had profound effects on them. They now view the Earth as a fragile small planet which made a lot of people believe in environmentalism. The Moon would become like a neighbor planet of Earth, no longer lifeless and a mystery. Bibliography Kids' Cosmos. 2002. Apollo Mission Landing on the Moon. 20 Nov. 2008 . Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia. 2008. Apollo Program. 21 Nov. 2008 < http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761564360/Apollo_Program.html> Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia. 2008. Moon. 21 Nov. 2008 < http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761564360/Apollo_Program.html> Taylor, Jeffrey. "Origin of the Earth and Moon." Planetary Science Research. 31 Dec. 1998. Hawai'i Institute of Geophysics and Planetology. 20 Nov. 2008. < http://www.psrd.hawaii.edu/Dec98/PSRD-OriginEarthMoon.pdf>. Taylor, Jeffrey. "Moon Beams and Elements." Planetary Science Research. 20 Oct. 1997. Hawai'i Institute of Geophysics and Planetology. 20 Nov. 2008. < http://www.psrd.hawaii.edu/Oct97/PSRD-MoonFeO.pdf> The Apollo Program. Top Ten Scientific Discoveries Made During Apollo Exploration of the Moon. n.d. 22 Nov. 2008 Watson, Stephanie. "How Lunar Landings Work." 30 January 2008. HowStuffWorks.com. 24 November 2008. Read More