On October 5, 1957, the headline on the front page of the "Baltimore News-Post" proclaimed "Russ "Moon" Circling Earth." The "Russ" Moon was Sputnik I, launched by the Soviet Union a day earlier. The launch had far-reaching and unexpected outcomes for the United States. Almost immediately, President Dwight…

This paper examines how the exploration of space has affected life on earth. Examined are milestones in space, war or peace in space, learning about earth from space, the satellite communications revolution, space industrialization, and the ownership of space. The real beginning of the Space Age was the October 1957 Soviet launch of a 184-pound…

Presents activities to help students develop an awareness and appreciation of star patterns through observation of the night sky. Includes the name of a contact person for acquiring star maps. (HTH)

It is so obvious that the sky is blue in the daytime and black at night, but it took the smartest humans thousands of years of observation, thought, discussion, conjecture, and analysis to finally come up with answers that make scientific sense as to why the sky is these colors. This article discusses light and the scientific research…

The events that led to the spectacular destruction of the Space Shuttle "Challenger" in 1986 are detailed here. They show how NASA should have heeded engineers' worries over materials problems resulting from a launch in cold weather. Suggestions are made of how pupils could also learn from this tragedy. (Contains 4 figures and 2 footnotes.)

Fifty years ago, with the Soviet Union's launch of the Sputnik satellite, millions of Americans found themselves peering anxiously into the night sky--and also looking inward, as they reconsidered previously cozy assumptions about their nation's technological and educational superiority. The 184-pound, unmanned aluminum beacon lasted just three…

The International Asteroid Search Campaign (IASC, fondly nicknamed "Isaac") is an Internet-based program for high schools and colleges. Within hours of acquisition, astronomical CCD images are made available via the Internet to participating schools around the world. Under the guidance of their teachers, students analyze the images with free…

The possibility of life on other worlds is one of enormous fascination. This book emphasizes how intelligence and culture helped humans form a civilization that now has the technology to detect and communicate with possible extraterrestrial civilizations. Topics discussed include indications and characteristics of intelligence, the evolutionary…

This report, the third and final part of a three-part study of Soviet space programs, provides a comprehensive survey of the Soviet space science programs and the Soviet military space programs, including its long history of anti-satellite activity. Chapter 1 is an overview of the unmanned space programs (1957-83). Chapter 2 reports on significant…

Several major space programs in development for a decade or more will come to fruition in 1986. This illustrated summary amplifies several of these projects including: California space shuttle operations; fly-by Uranus; look at Comet Halley; space observatory; and others. Projects are significant in scientific potential and capability advancement.…

Reviews software packages under these headings: (1) simulations of experiments; (2) space flight simulators; (3) planetariums; (4) space adventure games; and (5) drill and practice packages (designed for testing purposes or for helping students learn basic astronomy vocabulary). (JN)

Includes transcript, editorial analysis, and judges' critiques of the final debate between students from the University of Iowa and Harvard University. (PD)

The Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) is a survey instrument that has provided an overall view of the infrared sky and identified objects that merit further investigation. A description of the IRAS and examples of the types of astronomical data collected are presented. (JN)

Argues that research in personality and social psychology has an important role in the nation's spage program. Holds that psychologists' indifference and the structure of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration have led to underutilization of psychological data in space exploration. Presents suggestions for increasing psychology's role…

Reviews six books dealing with geology, physics, and space. (AEA)