1.

A new dwarf planet

Until 2005, the finest minds in space exploration had decided there were nine planets in
our solar system.

As far as everyone was concerned Pluto was the ninth but that all changed with the
discovery of Eris, a planet which was 27 per cent bigger than Pluto.

Both Pluto and Eris were then declassified as 'dwarf planets', and the number of official
planets in our solar system dropped from nine to eight.
2. The discovery of exoplanets

Exoplanets are planets that obit a different star other than our Sun - in a different solar
system to the one we are in.

Even though scientists thought for a long time that they must exist, it was only in 1992
that the first exoplanet was discovered.

And further work to look for other ones has turned up some exciting results more
recently too.

Earlier in 2015, scientists discovered the exoplanet Kepler-452b, which was

described as 'earth's cousin' because of its close similarities to our planet.

Space experts say Exoplanets are really important because they raise the possibility
that other life could exist in other solar solar systems.
3. Proving black holes exist

The idea of of a black hole has been around for centuries, but for years it was difficult
for scientists to prove they existed.

Then, in 1990, the super strong Hubble telescope was launched into space. It was
designed to take clear pictures of the deepest parts of space and these pictures have
helped to prove the existence of black holes.

Hubble can't see black holes themselves, but it can see where a black hole has pulled
in matter from around it.

Black holes are believed to be dying stars that collapse inward from their own weight.
Their pull of gravity becomes so strong that even light can't escape, which is why it
looks black.
4. Exploring Mars for the first time

In 1976, Nasa's Viking mission became the first successful spacecraft to land on Mars.

It returned amazing colour pictures, soil samples and extensive scientific information
about the planet. The craft also carried out an experiment which, for the first time,
suggested that life might be possible on Mars.

Exploration on Mars has continued with the Curiosity Rover and more recently the
announcement that liquid water was found on the red planet's surface. Scientists
say this raises the possibility that life could exist on the planet.
5. The first landing on a comet

The Rosetta mission became the first to successfully land on a comet in 2014.

It was seen as an historic moment as it allowed scientists to study the materials that
make up a comet for the first time.

Ongoing tests from the comet hope to find out more about how the universe was
formed.
 Searching for other life-friendly planets

NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, or TESS, will identify planets orbiting nearby
stars that might have the conditions for life. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

NASA’s Kepler mission taught us that solar systems like our own — where
planets orbit a central star — are the norm, not the exception. In 2018, the
space agency’s new planet-hunting mission, known as TESS, will begin a more
targeted search for planetary systems around stars in our stellar neighborhood
— that is, those within 300 light-years from Earth.

The difference between the two missions is primarily one of approach. Kepler
stared long and deep into a narrow patch of sky, looking for the brief dimming
of distant stars that would indicate a planet had moved past, obscuring a bit of
their light. TESS will use the same detection technique, but will focus on a
much more shallow field that encompasses the entire sky. That includes all
10,000 stars we can see without a telescope.
 Flying into the sun’s atmosphere

This summer, NASA will launch a mission to touch the sun.

The Parker Solar Probe, scheduled to lift off July 31, will swing within 4
million miles of the sun’s surface, tasting charged particles from the
atmosphere and making detailed measurements during 24 planned orbits.
NASA has sent spacecraft out to the fringes of our solar system, but never so
close to the blazing ball of gas that lies at its heart.

The probe, whose first close approach to the sun should take place in
November, could answer two major questions: Why is the sun's ghostly corona
so much hotter than its surface? And what factors power the solar wind, the
stream of charged particles that flow from the sun into space? The answers
could help scientists better understand solar flares and the solar storms that
can wreak havoc with Earth’s satellites, energy grids and other vital
infrastructure.

Previously known as Solar Probe Plus, the spacecraft was recently renamed in
honor of University of Chicago astrophysicist Eugene Parker, who proposed
the existence of the solar wind in a paper in 1958. It’s NASA’s first spacecraft
named after a living scientist.
 Looking deep into the heart of Mars

Engineers test the solar arrays on NASA's InSight Mars lander to be sure they will deploy
properly when they reach the Martian surface. NASA/JPL-Caltech/Lockheed Martin

NASA has studied Mars for decades. Now the space agency will examine it
from within.

When it arrives in November 2018, the InSight Mars lander will deploy a
package of instruments to explore the Red Planet’s inner workings and
composition. The three-legged lander will use a seismometer to track the
vibrations from seismic activity and meteorite impacts. It will also send a
thermal probe about 16 feet beneath the surface to study the heat flow of the
planet’s interior. A third instrument will measure the planet’s “wobble” as it
circles the sun by tracking the Doppler shift in radio signals between the
lander and Earth.

Together, these tools will allow scientists to understand the structure and
composition of the planet’s crust, mantle and core. Mars’ interior experienced
less churning than Earth’s, so the Red Planet’s contents could offer a window
into the early history and evolution of our home.

Mars InSight (short for Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations,

Geodesy and Heat Transport) was originally scheduled to launch in March
2016, but those plans were foiled by a leak in one of the instruments.
 Rendezvous with an asteroid

NASA's OSIRIS-REx will reach the asteroid Bennu in 2018, then begin scanning its surface in
search of a good place to land. NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona

In 2016, NASA launched its first mission to bring back precious samples from
an asteroid. In 2018, the spacecraft will finally meet its target.

OSIRIS-REx (short for Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource

Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer) will arrive at the asteroid Bennu in
August. In October, it will start mapping the surface, eventually pinpointing a
good spot to grab at least 60 grams of dust and rocky material. Just as the
decades-old moon samples brought back by NASA’s Apollo missions are still
being studied today, the asteroid samples returned from Bennu could offer
planetary scientists an unprecedented trove of material that they could study
for decades to come.
 The most distant flyby on record

The New Horizons spacecraft will spend 2018 closing in on 2014 MU69. It's scheduled to reach
the Kuiper belt object on New Year's Day in 2019. NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI

NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft made history when it gave humanity our
first up-close look at Pluto in 2015. Now it is set to make history again when it
whizzes past a mysterious object 1 billion miles beyond the dwarf planet.

Mission leaders said the planned flyby will be the most distant in the history of
space exploration. It is scheduled for New Year’s Day 2019 (technically, New
Year’s Eve 2018 for those of us in the Pacific time zone). However, the journey
really begins about six months earlier, when the spacecraft will awake from
hibernation and begin gathering intel on its next target.

The distant object, known as MU69, lies 4 billion miles from Earth. It was
discovered in 2014, and scientists still don’t know much about it. It appears to
be peanut-shaped, though it might be composed of two objects closely orbiting
each other. It might even have a small moon.
 Discoveries
That Made An Impact In The History
of Our Solar System

Submitted by:
Lyza Janice D. Valdez
Monica Domanais
Michelle Avendaño
Andrea Domingo
John Lloyd Soriano

Submitted to:
Mrs. Marilyn Tungpalan