More than 50 years of space observations

From a talk at shore leave. Part 1

So a friend and I, a few years ago, actually, it may have been how we first really met, gave back-to-back talks at a comic con called FarPoint. I don’t remember our exact topics, but it was Kesmit. It was as if we had planned our talks to be just one. We joked about how we should do that - and planned to - but time slipped away. We were asked for titles, and I saw hers was something like “50 years of Earth observations,” so I figured I’ll do “50 years of space observations”.

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Time passed, the world did as the world does, and it was a week before the con and my partner reminded me that I actually had to give a talk… So apologies to my friend, but I made it as a scientist does, last minute. So she has not yet seen what my talk is like… and it’s long. I have 60 minutes and 84 slides. But I promised to cover 50 years and so 50 years I will cover!

Knowing that the audience might like to take time exploring each of these topics I figured we might have a series of posts where you can at least read a bit more about each step along the way… and yes I realize that I’m starting more than 50 years ago with this post. So we better get started before it takes 50 years just to write this all up.

Where were we 50 years ago - already in space for 18 years. So what had happened in those 18 years? Here are some of the highlights:

1957 - Sputnik was the first human-made object in orbit

1958 - Explorer 1 discovered the radiation belts

1962 - Mariner launches and goes off to see Venus.

1964 - Ranger 7 launches and gets the first lunar photos

1965 - Gemini and the 1st US space walk

1965 - Pioneer 6 starts looking more closely at the solar wind and space weather

1966 - Surveyor 1 lands on the Moon

1969 - Apollo 11 and the first moon landing

1970 - NOAA-1 launches and the start of using satellites for getting Earth-based weather!

1970 - Uhuru 1st X-ray telescope

1971 - Apollo 14 and 15 moon landings

1972 - Pioneer 10 launched to start it’s journey outside of the solar system.Apollo 16 moon landing, and Apollo 17 the most recent moon landing. And the first Landsat satellite.

1973 - Skylab one of the first space stations

And of course, a whole bunch more. Awe-inspiring for 18 years! Now I hope to later go into more info about each of these in a later post - but for those who will be listening to my talk and want to get the names and dates let’s continue this part 1 with the timeline of space observations (a short and incomplete overview) in the last 50 years. So here we go (and remember very incomplete).

1975 - We saw the launch of GOES-1 looking at Earth Weather, and Viking 1, which went off and landed on Mars.

1976 - The first publication of the NASA SpinOff Magazine. It covered (a very incomplete list) how NASA tech and research improved paint on the golden gate bridge, plows for farmers, wheels that can work in cold and warm weather (no more need for winter studs), automated machines for places like banks, ultrasonics which were used to look at sick baby hearts instead of X-rays… (breath)… bubbles for sick children with autoimmune issues to be able to go out side, meal system for the elderly and so much more!

1977 - Voyager 1 and 2 launched, and they are still going now outside of our solar system!

1980 - Solar Max, the first (I believe) mission to be serviced in space

1981 - STS-1 Columbia launched as the start of the reusable orbiter and shuttle program

1984 - Earth’s Radiation Budget Satellite which was deactivated in 2005 and deorbited in 2023 with some excitement.

1989 - Galileo was launched and headed to Jupiter, taking amazing photos and conducting some cool science.

1990 - Ulysses went off to the Sun’s poles and CRRES launched (which is the satellite data I used in my PhD thesis… so most important at least in my timeline).

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Short shout out to Hubble which also launched in 1990 - but had one of the best YouTube spoof videos with space cats!

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1995 - The first confirmed exoplanet was observed

1996 - Mars Pathfinder and Sojourner launched to go to Mars - this was then the first Mars Rover

1997 - The ACE satellite was launched, which remains active today and is used to help provide warnings of solar storms headed toward Earth. Cassini-Huygens also launched, heading off to Saturn and ultimately seeing it’s odd polar clouds

1998 - We had the International Space Station launched - a platform where almost every field of science performed experiments and benefited from

1999 - Launch of the Chandra X-ray telescope and some fun sonification of it’s data!

2000 - IMAGE launched looking at the poles of Earth providing fun views of the aurora.

2004 - Launch of Messenger on it’s way off to study Mercery and the launch of Rosetta and the Philae lander that ultimately landed on an astroid in 2014.

2006 - New Horizon’s launched and took 9 years to reach Pluto. While STEREO launched started drifting around the Sun.

2007 - THEMIS Launched to study storms and substorms around the Earth.

2010 - THEMIS had two of their satellite break off and head to the Moon to orbit and become the first ARTEMIS (now known as THEMIS-ARTEMIS). The Solar Dynamic Observatory also launched and keep providing beautiful pictures of the Sun.

2011 - Juno set off to Jupiter

2012 - The Van Allen Probes launched (check out the music video quite a ways down the page by the ionized gasses)

2013 (and quite a few before) - Lansat 8 launched! Helping farmers and weather and some of the most fun sonification. It was also the launch of the first BARREL Campaign - the mission I did my postdoc on.

2015 - DSCOVER launches, vital for providing forewarning of solar storms approaching Earth.

2016 - OSIRIS-Rex launched to visit an asteroid and return a sample from it.

2018 - The Solar Parker Probe was launched and began its journey to the Sun… well, hopefully not all the way to the Sun, but it's the closest satellite that has ever approached it. The TESS satellite, designed for searching for exoplanets, was also launched.

2020 - Perseverance Launched and headed to Mars with a microphone! And it brought along a helicopter too.

2021 - The JWST was launched and has produced a wealth of incredible images, allowing us to see further back in time than ever before.

2022 - Artemis 1 launched and is the first step to us, people, heading back to the Moon.

2025 - PUNCH Launched to watch the Sun.

So what was in the most recent Spinoffs? Here’s a brief and very incomplete list:

• Sanitization processes developed at NASA have been applied to numerous skin care products.

• Some companies utilize vision inspection software, originally designed for NASA, to track quality control in food products.

• Others have used NASA research to ensure clothing is cool, which helps with menopause symptoms or if you are a hot sleeper.

• Aircraft displays use software developed for NASA, as well as the interface cluster used in Hyundai cars.

• NASA's work trying to find ways to grip objects in space has led to tech that will allow you to stick your phone to the back of the seat in front of you in a plane (so you can watch movies on your flight).

• NASA’s research in growing material for food and building products in space are now being used here on Earth.

• Exercise equipment used by astronauts in space is now utilized to aid in physical therapy.

• Even research into what plants can help remove germs and pollution in space can make any office a bit nicer to work in.

• A lot of data is used to help with detecting and fighting fires here on Earth.

• Battery technology in Space has helped improve batteries for us as well.

So, where will we be in 50 years? I hope I get to find out!

This really is a very incomplete list. And over this weekend or so I’ll try to update with a bit more info on different parts. But I hope that it provides a bit of a look at what we have done in the last 50 years in space!