SPACE EXPLORATION

Catalog description

This course is about the physics, history, and future of space exploration. Students first learn the physics involved in all aspects of spaceflight, including the motion and chemistry of rockets, aerospace engineering, gravitation and orbits, electromagnetic and particle radiation, the Sun, the solar system, and planetary atmospheres. Students then review the history of spaceflight, beginning with WW2 and continuing on through the Apollo program, the Space Shuttle era, robotic spaceflight, and advancements on living safely in space. Ongoing and near-future programs are discussed along with possibilities over the next century and millennium. These topics include Moon colonization, Mars missions, planetary terraforming, space elevators and other space infrastructure, and the possibility of warp drives and interstellar travel. (4 credits) fall, spring, summer