Exploring The Planets - Exhibition Information

Below is a general description and highlights from the Museum gallery.

A model of the Mars Pathfinder Lander and Sojourner rover are on display in the
Where Next Columbus? gallery.

Links to recent events in Earth and planetary exploration are available on the Earth and Planetary Links page.

How long have we gazed at distant planets suspended in the night sky? As long as anyone can remember. What have our observations revealed? This exhibit highlights the history and achievements of planetary explorations, both Earth-based and by spacecraft.

As you enter the gallery, stop at the exhibit called "Tools of Exploration." Here, you will learn about the Surveyor spacecraft, five of which landed on the Moon between June 2, 1966, and January 10, 1968. Each Surveyor photographed the lunar surface and measured its physical, electrical, and thermal properties. The last three missions also analyzed the chemical composition of the surface materials. (A Surveyor spacecraft used in ground tests is on display in the Lunar Exploration Vehicles gallery 112.)

Surveyor 3 television camera
[42k GIF] - Smithsonian Institution photograph. Do not use without written permission.: The Surveyor 3 television camera landed on the Moon as part of Surveyor 3 on April 20, 1967. On November 24, 1969, the crew of Apollo 12 carried the camera back to Earth.

Alan Bean retrieves Surveyor 3 camera
[153k GIF] or [61k JPEG] - NASA photo #AS12-48-7134: This photo shows Apollo 12 astronaut Alan Bean grasping the Surveyor 3 camera with his right hand. The Apollo 12 Lunar Module is on the horizon, about 100 meters (330 feet) away.

Mars, the Red Planet, goal of space expeditions detailed in science fiction, has begun to yield its secrets to unmanned spacecraft. The first flyby missions - Mariner 4 (1964), and Mariners 6 and 7 (1969) - looked down on a lifeless, cratered surface reminiscent of the Moon. Mariner 9 arrived at Mars during a major dust storm; it began orbiting Mars on November 13, 1971, but was unable to transmit images until February 6, 1972. When the storms cleared, scientists on Earth saw a dramatically different view of Mars. In contrast to the cratered Moon-like surface of the southern hemisphere observed by earlier Mariner spacecraft, the northern hemisphere was a region of volcanoes, lava fields, canyons, and eroded valleys. Mariner 9 tumbled out of control on October 27, 1972, when its supply of attitude control fuel was exhausted.

Two Viking spacecraft, each vehicle consisting of a Lander and an Orbiter, sped toward Mars in 1975. The Orbiter section stayed above the planet for its observations; the Lander section descended, and touched down on the surface. Aside from their transmissions of breathtaking images of the planet, the two Viking spacecraft confirmed the existence of storms of reddish dust that had been seen from Earth by powerful telescopes. The spacecrafts' instruments measured Martian weather and analyzed the Martian chemistry. Viking 1 now belongs to the National Air and Space Museum; a plaque renaming the spacecraft the Thomas A. Mutch Memorial Station is on display with a Lander in gallery 100, and will be attached to the Lander when astronauts journey to Mars and set foot on Chryse Planitia, the landing site.

Early space probes, launched more than two decades ago, were the first to encounter the asteroid belt and the first to fly past the more-distant planets such as Jupiter and Saturn.

Voyager (96k GIF) or (48k JPG)
Smithsonian Institution photograph #80-13717, D. Penland
Do not use without written permission.

The full-scale engineering test model of the Voyager spacecraft displayed in the Exploring the Planets gallery approximates two sent to explore Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. Launched on different trajectories, they passed Jupiter during March and July of 1979, and cruised on toward Saturn, Voyager 2 several months behind Voyager 1. The images of Jupiter they sent back revealed to scientists that Jupiter has rings and that Io, one of Jupiter's moons, has active volcanoes.

Voyager 1's encounter with Saturn occurred during the summer of 1980, with Voyager 2 following nine months later. As Voyager 1 approached Saturn, the spacecraft detected increasingly more detail about the planet's rings. Once thought to be discretely separate bands of material, scientists now know Saturn's rings to consist of thousands of small bands of icy particles that differ in size and composition. After its exploration of Saturn, Voyager 1 proceeded on a path taking it directly out of the solar system, while Voyager 2 began a five-year journey to dark-ringed Uranus, which it encountered in January, 1986. During the summer of 1989, Voyager 2 reached Neptune, and provided the first close-up observations of the planet and its moon.

The exhibit "Exploring Comets" traces the study of comets from the earliest historical observation to the international Halley's Comet Watch. Families will enjoy the "Family of the Sun" display, consisting of children's art and an accompanying audio tape. Visitors can test their knowledge of the solar system by playing the "Space Quiz" or take a look at the latest imagery and missions at the "What's New?" display.

Planet Data - physical data on all of the planets in our Solar System (large table).
Planetary Satellites Data - physical data on all of the planetary satellites in our Solar System.

Preview the Exploring The Planets online exhibit under construction. Don't miss MARS: The Red Planet.

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This page updated: 7/14/99
Author: NASM Webmaster
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