Sunday, May 29, 2016

Space+Art

From the beginning of time we have been fascinated by the sky, stars, and planets.

Space

Science flourished during the European Renaissance. Copernicus was an astronomer and mathematician. As a student, he studied the law of mathematics and medicine, then became interested in astronomy. He published an early description of a heliocentric model of the universe, where the sun was in the middle of our solar system. By postulating only the rotation of earth's revolution around the sun and the tilt of earths rotational axis, Copernicus could explain the observed motion of the heavens.

Copernicus model


Science fiction is essential to our creation. Arthur C. Clarke's 1976 novel, The Fountains of Paradise. This novel was set in the 22nd century, it describes the construction of a space elevator. An orbital tower, giant structure rising from ground and linking with a satellite station in a geo stationary orbit. Such a structure would be used to raise payloads to orbit without using rockets, making it much more cost effective. David Smitherman of NASA has compiled plans for such an elevator. The idea of ribbon made of carbon nano tube stretching from earth into space hauling cargo and passengers into space orbit.

Space Elevator


Contemporary space age developments started after WW2. In October 1957, the Soviet Union launched first satellite named Sputnik. Sputnik was no larger than a beach ball and sent meaningless signals back to earth. Russian engineers wanted to make sure people could see and hear it. It was polished so people could see it with the naked eye, and it broadcast “beep beep” pattern that could be picked up by amateur radio operators around the world.

Sputnik


Russians were the first to have a dog test what it's like to have a living being in space. Laika, a 3 year old stray mut was selected. She was covered in alcohol solution painted with iodine and several spots so sensors could be placed on her, to monitor her heart beat, blood pressure and other bodily functions to better understand any changes in space. She did not live beyond 6 days.

Laika

From 2003 to present, we are seeing huge changes from public to private exploration into space. May 1996 X prize, $10 million prize for first non governmental organization to launch a re-usable manned spacecraft into space twice within two weeks. Prize was won on October 4th, 2004, by Tier 1 project financed by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen.

X Prize

Sources:

"X-Prize: From Private Space Race to Tackling Some of the World’s Biggest Problems." Web. 29 May 2016.
"LAIKA, the Dog – a Sacrifice to Science, on a One-way Mission to Space « Howl Of A Dog." LAIKA, the Dog – a Sacrifice to Science, on a One-way Mission to Space « Howl Of A Dog. Web. 29 May 2016.
"Sputnik 1." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 29 May 2016.
"In the Works: SKY LINE." What Not to Doc. 2014. Web. 29 May 2016.
"Nicolaus Copernicus Biography: Facts and Discoveries." Space.com. Web. 29 May 2016.
"Space Tech Startups Vie for $100,000 Prize." Space.com. Web. 29 May 2016.
Uconlineprogram. "Space Pt5." YouTube. YouTube, 2012. Web. 29 May 2016.
NASA. NASA. Web. 29 May 2016.
Lane, Amy-Rose. "The Privatization Of Space Offers A New Hope For Humanity." The Huffington Post. 2015. Web. 29 May 2016.
"Chronology of Space Exploration." Chronology of Space Exploration. Web. 29 May 2016.

1 comment:

  1. It is quite incredible that there have been so many different experiments that have been done to learn about the galaxy that we live in. From figuring out how the earth moved, to how a living being would react to going up into space gave both scientists and artists insight into what is out there and what can be created from the knowledge we have gained.

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