Exploring the Planets

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Exploring The Planets, from the National Air and Space Museum at the Smithsonian “highlights the history and achievements of planetary explorations, both Earth-based and by spacecraft. The Discovery section describes what early civilizations knew about our solar system and how astronomy developed over the centuries. The early theories describing the movements of the planets, development of the first telescopes, and discoveries of the planets Uranus, Neptune and Pluto are some of the topics addressed in Discovery. Here you will find the Pluto discovery plate, the photographic plate taken the day Pluto’s position was discovered by Clyde Tombaugh. At Tools of Exploration you will learn about the tools used for past, present and future exploration. Learn about the Surveyor spacecraft, five of which landed on the Moon between June 2, 1966, and January 10, 1968. The Surveyor 3 television camera is on display. Also on display are an Apollo 13 rock box used to carry samples back from the moon. This exhibit covers Earth-based telescopes through interplanetary probes and links to many more tools of exploration that are on display throughout the museum.Our Solar System lets you see just how big each planet and its major satellites are relative to each other in the scale model of the Solar System. See where the planets are in relation to the Sun and to each other and learn just how big the Sun is compared to all the planets in our Solar System.Each planet has an individual online section that gives an overview of what has been learned through imagery and data obtained from Earth-based and spacecraft exploration.”There are also image galleries, interactive quizzes, information on asteroids and comets, and lots more!