Engineering 370I – Astronautics and Space

Part A. Writing Component, Global Issues

1. International Space station:
The purpose of the International Space Station (ISS) was to allow long-term exploration of space and provide benefits to the people of Earth. All the space agencies involved in building and operating the ISS include NASA, CSA, ESA,DSRI, CNES, ASI, NSC, INTA, SSC, NASDA, PKA and INPE. Exploration Technologies Corporation (known as SpaceX) is the name of the first privately owned company to send a cargo load to the station. On January 29, 1998, senior government officials from 15 countries met and signed agreements that would start the framework, design and development of the Space Station. Phase 1 started in February 1994 with the Shuttle-Mir program and concluded in June 1998. In January 2000, a three person crew will be launched and the station will be permanently inhabited. Phase III of the assembly is when the ISS is operational with a crew of seven members being able to live and work aboard the station.

2. Mars Science Laboratory:
The main objective of NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) is to investigate Mar’s habitability, to study climate and geology, and collect data for a future manned mission to Mars. Mars Science Laboratory was launched on November 26, 2011 and Curiosity landed on August 6, 2012. The difference between MSL and the MER mission is that Curiosity does not have solar panels like MER’s Spirit and Opportunity. Curiosity has a nuclear power source and can operate at night, while Spirit and Opportunity relied on solar energy to function. Curiosity is also much larger and more complex than the previous rovers, with 10 times the amount of scientific instruments. Curiosity is also able to take higher resolution pictures than that of Spirit and Opportunity and can perform a wider range of investigations that