Hi my dear friends. Today we are going to look at the stars. NASA celebrates 65 years in Space. It is very strange the out space world! It has always fascinated me! And what is more, I think it's impossible to understand it!
Hola mis queridos amigos. Hoy vamos a mirar a las estrellas. La NASA celebra 65 años en el Espacio. Es muy extraño el mundo del espacio exterior. Siempre me ha fascinado. ¡Y lo que es más, creo que es imposible de entender!
Info from: Speak Up magazine.
Photos: www.lanasa.net / www.national.geoghrapic / RTVE.es / hoy.com.do / descargas.intef.es / mas.laopiniondemalaga.es
For millennia, people observed space and wondered what was up there. It's only the second half of the 20th century, though, that travelling into space began, an extraordinary feat made possible by organisations like the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
SPACE RACE
In fact, the founding of NASA had much to do with pride. Less than a year before, the USSR launched Sputnik, the first artificial satellite to orbit the Earth. It was not all about getting ahead of the Soviets, though. NASA's achievements had consequences that expanded into all the scientific fields, contributing hugely to the understanding of the cosmos and our own planet.
THE UNIVERSE
Thanks to NASA's manned missions, but also to its telecopes and probes, scientists have been able to study the evolution and expansion of the universe, from the Big Bang to the present. We have learned, for example, that the universe is 13.77 billion years old and that only 4.6 per cent of it is made up of atoms -with the rest being dark matter and dark energy.
LIFE IN SPACE
In november 2013, scientists used data from the Kepler space observatory to conclude that there could be up to forty billion Earth-like planets orbiting stars at a distance that could make life possible. So if anyone finally does discover life out there in space, the odds are it will be NASA.
VOCABULARY
FEAT: hito / PRIDE: orgullo / GETTING AHEAD: avanzarse / ACHIEVEMENTS: logros /
HUGELY: enormemente / MANNED MISSIONS: misiones tripuladas / THE ODDS ARE: lo más probable es.
THE MOON
"I'm gonna step off the LM now. That's one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind"
These are the famous words astronaut Neil Armstrong said before becoming the first human to set foot on the Moon. It was July 20th 1969 and the mission was called Apollo 11.
Five other Apollo missions would land on Earth's satellite afterwards. Along with the research data they brought home, the astronauts carried back some four hundred kilograms of Moon rocks,sand, dust and other celestial materials for us to study.
Study of rock and soil samples from the Moon provide useful information about the early history of the Moon, the Earth, and the Solar System. Although they may not seem that interesting at first sight.
NASA's research indicates that the Moon could have been formed from the debris resulting from the Earth being struck by a celestial body the size of Mars. This theory is backed by the chemical composition of the lunar rocks and the meteorite remains that have been found on its surface.
It has been forty-five years since the last human walked on the Moon and NASA is indeed planning to go back up there. NASA is refocusing on the Moon and they want to send people back there and there was some talk about robotic missions, too, both to do in situ science on the surface, but also to hopefully bring back some samples.
VOCABULARY
LM: módulo lunar / LEAP: SALTO / set foot: PISAR / samples: MUESTRAS / DEBRIS: detritos / REMAINS: restos
