Welcome to Astro 2280: "Space Exploration". The purpose of this site is to allow easy access to materials related to Astronomy 2280 at Cornell University. News: The final Writing Assignment has been posted. It is due at 2pm EST on Sunday 13 December 2009, by email only, as a PDF. Please contact Shoshe immediately if you think you will have a problem sending your essay as a PDF. (23 November 2009) The averages and standard deviations of the first three writing assignments are as follows: Writing Assignment 1: Ave. = 88.1, Std. Dev. = 8.1, Median = 89.0 Writing Assignment 2: Ave. = 87.5, Std. Dev. = 6.8, Median = 89.0 Writing Assignment 3: Ave. = 86.2, Std. Dev. = 8.5, Median = 86.0 Details of the final paper will be posted Monday, but here is the topic so you can start your research: Which of the Augustine commission's Future Destinations for Exploration strategies (Mars First, Moon First, or Flexible Path; see pp.7-8) do you think should be pursued? The paper should be 8-10 pages, not including the bibliography. (20 November 2009) The Lecture notes page is now up to date. (19 November 2009) Writing Assignment 4 has been posted. It is due at 1pm on Wednesday 25 November -- just before Thanksgiving break. (18 November 2009) The Cornell Astronomical Society is having a special viewing night tonight for the Leonid meteor shower, if weather permits, starting at 8pm. Go to the Fuertes Observatory on North Campus to watch bits of Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle fall from the sky! There will also be sky tours, and you'll have the chance to see star clusters, galaxies, and planets through the telescopes. (17 November 2009) The graders have put together an essay guide to help you with the next assignment. This is in lieu of a feedback sheet for Writing Assignment 2. (6 November 2009) Writing Assignment 3 has been posted. It is due on Wednesday 11 November. (4 November 2009) Shoshe will not have office hours this Thursday. They will be 1:30-2:30 on Monday 9 November instead. (Posted on 3 November 2009) "The Cassini Debate" readings have been posted. (23 October 2009) Writing Assignment 2 has been posted. It is due on Wednesday 21 October. (9 October 2009) Feedback for Writing assignment 1 and a punctuation guide have been posted. (9 October 2009) Reading assignments for the coming week's lectures have been posted (26 September 2009) The Reading assignments and Lecture notes pages are now up to date (18 September 2009) Writing Assignment 1 has been posted. (16 September 2009) If you get sick, email Shoshe immediately, and please don't come to class. The first Reading Assignments have been posted (see link below). (4 September 2009) Shoshe's office hours are Thursday 1:30-2:30 and Friday 1-2. Space news! LCROSS found water on the Moon! (Posted on 17 November 2009) Cornell Cinema is showing For All Mankind this Saturday and Sunday (6 October 2009) The Ares 1-X launch was successful! (28 October 2009) The Augustine Commission has released its final report. (23 October 2009) You're invited to watch live coverage of the LCROSS impact this Friday morning at SPIF (3rd floor, Space Sciences Building). Coverage of the impact itself begins at 6:30am, and the LCROSS Post-Impact News Conference starts at 10am. There's also a News Conference Thursday at 1pm. (Posted on 7 October 2009) Your professor won the Carl Sagan Medal for public outreach! (Posted on 6 October 2009) Lunar crater Cabeus A has been chosen as the target for LCROSS's water-seeking impact next month. (Posted on 16 Sept 2009) The Review of U.S. Human Space Flight Plans Committee (the Augustine commission) released its Summary Report (Posted on 16 Sept 2009) The Japanese H-2 Transfer Vehicle is doing well on its maiden voyage to the ISS. (Posted on 16 Sept 2009) The Ares-1 first stage had a successful test (Posted on 16 Sept 2009) How many people are in space right now? Want to see the International Space Station? Click here to see when it'll be passing over Ithaca. The dust storm is clearing! Spirit's power levels are up to about 570Wh. (4 September 2009) Discovery's second EVA (extra-vehicular activity) went well. (4 September 2009) India has lost contact with its Chandrayaan-1 lunar orbiter. (Posted on 1 September 2009; radio contact was lost on 29 August) Link to the Review of U.S. Human Space Flight Plans Committee (31 August 2009) There's a duststorm over Gusev Crater. The sky is full of dust, and Spirit's power is low (26 August 2009) Discovery will be launching soon on Mission Number STS-128 (25 August 2009) Engineers are working on freeing Sprit from a sand trap. They're not in a great hurry because the rover has a lot of power. In the meantime, Spirit is thoroughly investigating the nearby rocks and soil. (25 August 2009) Opportunity is investigating a meteorite! (25 August 2009) Old news: The first class meeting will be Monday August 31 in 105 Space Sciences. Tuesday 18 August 2009 was Spirit's 2000th sol on Mars! That's not too shabby for a 90-sol mission. Course syllabus Reading assignments Writing assignments Electronic lecture notes Links to space flight projects Last updated 23 November 2009 by Shoshanna Cole. Mail the prof: squyres@astro.cornell.edu