all about space issue space suits

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DISCOVER THE UNIVERSE MYSTERIES OF THE UNIVERSE How the finest minds on the planet are solving the cosmos BINARY STARS When two stellar fireballs orbit each other LUNAR LANDER MARTIAN DRONES MOON BASES SOMBRERO GALAXY YURI GAGARIN “ We should be landing astronauts back on the Moon” BUZZ ALDRIN EXCLUSIVE Explore unknown mini-worlds DWARF PLANETS THE MOST POWERFUL FORCES IN THE UNIVERSE Supermassive black holes Hypernovas Gamma-ray bursts SPACE SUITS THE HISTORY OF The 50-year evolution of space survival tech ISSUE 11 www.celestron.uk.com Imagine the possibilities Advanced Series GT Computerised Equatorial mounted telescopes NexStar SLT Series Computerised beginner telescopes with SkyAlign NexStar SE series Fully computerised telescopes AstroMaster Series Premium starter telescopes CPC and CPC Deluxe Series Fully computerised GPS assisted SCT and HD telescopes Astronomia Dorking 01306 640714 F1 Telescopes Sittingbourne 01795 432702 Green Witch (North) West Yorkshire 01924 477719 Green Witch (South) Bedfordshire 01767 677025 Widescreen Centre Central London 020 7935 2580 and specialist dealers nationwide SkyQ Link WiFi adapter module NexStar carry cases NexImage 5 Solar System Imager (5 MP) NightScape 8.3MP and 10.7MP CCD cameras PowerTank 7ah and 17ah (reduced prices) Popular accessories X-Cel LX 60° 6 element parfocal eyepieces Luminos 82° WA parfocal eyepieces Baader Classic Q-Eyepiece Kit Baader MK III Zoom and Hyperion 2.25x Kit Baader Zero-Tolerance Protective EOS T-ring Celestron ® , NexStar ® , AstroMaster ® , CPC TM , X-Cel ® , Luminos TM , SkyQ TM and NexImage ® are trademark or a registered trademark of Celestron Acquisition, LLC in the United States and in dozens of other countries around the world. All rights reserved. David Hinds Ltd is an authorised distributor and reseller of Celestron products. All telephone calls are recorded for training and quality control purposes. www.spaceanswers.com 3 Crew roster Contact www.spaceanswers.com Visit us for up-to-date news and more Twitter @spaceanswers Facebook /AllAboutSpaceMagazine Tired of Earth? Get into space! Spacesuits are truly triumphs of human engineering. They’re a fascinating technology and certainly something that deserves to be widely celebrated and we’ve chosen to do so in this, the latest issue of All About Space. The life support on any spacecraft must supply air, water and food and maintain the correct temperature and pressure to enable humans to survive in space. It must also shield the body from harmful radiation and micrometeorites, while dealing with its waste products. Imagine taking all the complex components needed to fulfil these life-critical tasks and fitting them into a single piece of clothing that has to provide a high level of mobility, while also being comfortable to wear. That’s the challenge that’s been facing spacesuit design ever since Yuri Gagarin first donned one back in 1961. Since then the challenges faced by space explorers have evolved, leading to the advancement of the equipment needed to overcome them, and our main feature this month illustrates and charts the amazing developments in spacesuit technology over the last half a century. Turn to page 16 to see the results. Scientists tend to be pretty good when it comes to admitting, “We just don’t know”. Very often this is the precursor to uncharted avenues of research and new discoveries, so this issue we decided to take a look at ten mysteries of the universe that can’t be explained with our current understanding of space science. We also asked some of the finest minds to take a best guess. You’ll find their fascinating hypotheses on page 60. Finally, to complete the tour-de-force that is issue 11 there’s a roundup of the most powerful forces in the known universe, with everything from supermassive black holes and hypernovas to deadly gamma rays. Enjoy it – we always do! Dave Harfield Editor in Chief Jonathan O’Callaghan Q In-house writer Jonathan was suited and booted this issue as he wrote our fascinating main feature on spacesuits Gemma Lavender Q Gemma had a fight on her hands wrestling with our article on the most powerful forces in the universe this issue Shanna Freeman Q Shanna’s journey through the Solar System reaches the outer limits as she explores dwarf planets and the Kuiper Belt Nigel Watson Q Nigel contributes our FutureTech articles, but this issue he also took an in-depth look inside the Apollo lunar landers “ The continued evolution of spacesuits will ultimately allow us to set foot elsewhere in the Solar System in years to come” 16 The history of spacesuits www.spaceanswers.com FEATURES CONTENTS www.spaceanswers.com 06 Amazing photography and surprising stories from the spheres of space and space exploration LAUNCH PA D YOUR FIRST CONTACT WITH THE UNIVERSE @spaceanswers TWEET US /AllAboutSpaceMagazine POST ON FACEBOOK questions@spaceanswers.com SEND US AN EMAIL @ 4 WIN! BINOCULARS WORTH £200 96 Binary stars 72 History of spacesuits 16 16 History of spacesuits A fascinating look at the spacesuit's origins and how it has evolved 26 Exclusive Buzz Aldrin interview All About Space talks exclusively to the American space hero 30 Five Facts The ISS Learn things you never knew about the largest space station in orbit 32 FutureTech Moon bases What technology would humans need if we were ever to colonise the Moon? 34 Focus On Carina Nebula This region hosts some of the most interesting stars in the Milky Way 36 The most powerful forces in the universe From hypernovas to gamma-ray bursts, see the universe’s true power 44 The Apollo lander An in-depth look inside the famous Apollo Moon lander 46 Focus On Sombrero Galaxy An amazing unbarred spiral galaxy in the constellation of Virgo 48 All About… Dwarf planets Explore the many small and mysterious planetoids that lurk at the far edges of the Solar System 58 FutureTech Martian drone The unmanned ARES plane could be the next robot to study Mars 60 10 mysteries from outer space Discover how humanity’s finest minds are solving the enigmas of the cosmos 72 Binary stars What happens when two stellar fireballs orbit each other? www.spaceanswers.com 82 All about refractor telescopes Our guide to how they work and what they are best used for 84 What’s in the sky? Discover the best astronomical sights to be seen this month 86 10 tips to beat light pollution Find out how to get the best possible view of the night sky 88 Me and my telescope All About Space readers talk about their equipment and images 93 Astronomy kit reviews We put two telescopes through their paces and reveal the results Simple guides to get started in astronomy Your questions answered Top space experts answer readers’ questions 76 98 Heroes of Space Tribute to the first man in space, Yuri Gagarin STARGAZER The most powerful forces in the universe 36 “ The success of commercial space initiatives will move the country towards landing man on Mars” Buzz Aldrin, second man on the Moon All About… Dwarf planets 48 10 mysteries from outer space 60 Moon bases 32 Carina Nebula 34 Apollo lander 44 26 SUBSCRIBE NOW AND SAVE 25% Page 74 Visit the All About Space online shop at For back issues, books, merchandise and more www.spaceanswers.com 6 LAUNCH PAD YOUR FIRST CONTACT WITH THE UNIVERSE James Webb Telescope seen at full scale As big as a tennis court and as tall as a four-storey building, a full-scale model of the James Webb Space Telescope model was on display from 8 to 10 March at the South by Southwest Interactive Festival in Austin, Texas. NASA's James Webb Space Telescope is the successor to Hubble and the largest space telescope to ever be built. www.spaceanswers.com 7 LAUNCH PAD YOUR FIRST CONTACT WITH THE UNIVERSE Colours of the innermost planet This stunning view of Mercury was produced using images from the colour base map imaging campaign during MESSENGER’s primary mission. These colours are not what Mercury would look like to the human eye, but rather the colours enhance the chemical, mineralogical and physical differences between the rocks that make up Mercury’s surface. www.spaceanswers.com 8 Fireball from space This image captures the moment that a meteor exploded in the sky above the Russian town of Chelyabinsk on 15 February 2013. The 10-ton space rock created a sonic boom as it entered the atmosphere before shattering into pieces between 29 and 51 kilometres (18 and 32 miles) above the Ural Mountains in southern Russia. www.spaceanswers.com 9 Hubble finds space invader Nestling among the stars and galaxies captured in this Hubble image lies a shape that will appear familiar to anyone who frequented amusement arcades during the late-Seventies and early- Eighties. This retro-style simulacra is caused by the effects of gravitational lensing which has stretched the image of the spiral galaxy (upper left) into the shape of the eponymous villain from the Space Invaders videogame. www.spaceanswers.com 10 LAUNCH PAD YOUR FIRST CONTACT WITH THE UNIVERSE Dragon primed for flight The Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft mated in SpaceX’s hangar, before their launch to the International Space Station on 1 March 2013. This was the second cargo mission to the ISS performed by the Falcon and Dragon capsule combination. Saturn's north polar hexagon This image, taken with the Cassini spacecraft’s wide- angle camera on 27 November 2012, shows Saturn’s north polar hexagon enjoying some spring sunshine, while the planet’s rings are visible in the background. However, the arrival of spring to the northern hemisphere does little to abate this massive storm or the smaller ones that dot this region of the gas giant. [...]... the complex suits designed for the Apollo missions, astronauts would also not have been able to walk on the Moon Spacesuits have allowed us to study and explore space like never before, and their continued evolution and development will allow us to ultimately set foot elsewhere in the Solar System in decades to come www.spaceanswers.com History of spacesuits “Without spacesuits EVAs, or spacewalks,... astronauts can generally wear what they want on the ISS, in the early days of spaceflight there wasn’t room to get changed into different clothes or spacesuits on a spacecraft The Soviet Union’s Vostok and Voskhod spacecraft, and the USA’s Mercury and Gemini spacecraft, were all small and cramped, designed largely to test various aspects of spaceflight in orbit but not designed for long stays in space The prospect... version of the spacesuit was also used for all three manned missions to the Skylab space station With their cancelled lunar programme behind them, the Soviets set about designing two new www.spaceanswers.com History of spacesuits Fishbowl helmet The famous ‘fishbowl’ helmet was incorporated by NASA on the A7L to allow for an unrestricted view, and has been used on all of NASA’s spacesuits since SUIT... iClx.com a rfi w visit wernatively you can Alt irfix.com mail: club@a8150582 e or Call: 0844 History of spacesuits ACE SP ITS SU HISTORY OF THE gh nathan O’Calla Written by Jo an ar evolution The 50-ye ival tech space surv of 16 www.spaceanswers.com History of spacesuits These miniature spacecraft have allowed us to operate in space for over half a century When the United States and the USSR first decided... been vital in allowing astronauts to operate effectively and safely in space for over 50 years While early space missions 1994 1993 1992 1991 1990 involved limited stays of just minutes in space, modern-day astronauts rely on their spacesuits for hours at a time as they work on the exterior of the International Space Station, and without spacesuits, extravehicular activities (EVAs), or spacewalks, would... reattached using specially designed wrist couplings 1973 22 1977 1971 1976 1970 spacesuits, one for launch and re-entry and the other for spacewalking Both these spacesuits would be so successful that they would become the cornerstone of the Soviet Union’s, and later Russia’s, space exploration The Sokol spacesuit was a lightweight pressure suit that astronauts wore, and still wear, on the Soyuz spacecraft during... Gemini spacesuit Like the Berkut suit, this was designed to allow astronauts to operate in the vacuum of space, or at least one iteration of it was Four different Gemini suits were designed: the G2C as a prototype suit, the G3C and G5C for launch and re-entry, and the G4C for www.spaceanswers.com Alexey Leonov conducted the first ever spacewalk while wearing a Berkut spacesuit History of spacesuits... HD 100546 as imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope (inset) www.spaceanswers.com Stay up to date… www.spaceanswers.com Fascinating space facts, videos & more Twitter @spaceanswers Facebook /AllAboutSpaceMagazine A jet of energetic particles shoots from the exotic object shown in this artist’s impression and is thought to be powered by its spin For full articles: www.spaceanswers.com by definition, produce... automobiles www.spaceanswers.com Launch your career as a Rocket Scientist MSc in Space Systems Engineering Considering a career in Spacecraft Design or want to become a Rocket Scientist? Our new MSc in Space Systems Engineering will provide you with a solid grounding for your dream career Learn about all aspects of space missions, including rockets, spacecraft and the ground segment and understand the spacecraft... spacewalk, they have a much more sophisticated suit that allows them to operate in space While early iterations were bulky and basic, more modern spacesuits make use of computerised technology, cooling systems, movable joints and more to make operations in space more comfortable for astronauts Future spacesuits, which are now in development, will allow greater dexterity and movement than ever before, . purposes. www.spaceanswers.com 3 Crew roster Contact www.spaceanswers.com Visit us for up-to-date news and more Twitter @spaceanswers Facebook /AllAboutSpaceMagazine Tired of Earth? Get into space! Spacesuits are truly triumphs. imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope (inset) www.spaceanswers.com 13 Stay up to date… Twitter @spaceanswers Facebook /AllAboutSpaceMagazine www.spaceanswers.com Fascinating space facts, videos. History of spacesuits A fascinating look at the spacesuit's origins and how it has evolved 26 Exclusive Buzz Aldrin interview All About Space talks exclusively to the American space hero 30