A Virtual Experience
Planetary Studies Foundation Mission Statement
Our mission is to promote the study of planetary science and astronomy with emphasis on meteorites; and to sponsor, encourage, and assist in the physical, astronomical, environmental, and cultural sciences so as to broaden mankind's knowledge of all phases of the universe.
How to Navigate Planetary Studies Virtual Museum
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Project Mercury
Mercury Seven (1960)
The Mercury Seven created a new profession and established the image of astronauts for decades to come.
Facts:
Back row: Alan Shepard, Gus Grissom, Gordon Cooper. Front row: Wally Schirra, Deke Slayton, John Glenn, Scott Carpenter.
Ham the Chimp Sent Into Space
Ham, also known as Ham the Chimp and Ham the Astrochimp, was a chimpanzee and the first hominid launched into space, on January 31, 1961, as part of America's space program.
Facts:
Project Mercury
was the first human spaceflight program of the United States, running from 1958 through 1963. An early highlight of the Space Race, its goal was to put a man into Earth orbit and return him safely, ideally before the Soviet Union. Taken over from the US Air Force by the newly created civilian space agency NASA, it conducted twenty uncrewed developmental flights (some using animals), and six successful flights by astronauts. The program, which took its name from Roman mythology, cost $2.2 billion adjusted for inflation. The astronauts were collectively known as the "Mercury Seven", and each spacecraft was given a name ending with a "7" by its pilot.
Gus Grissom Mercury-Redstone 4
Mercury-Redstone 4 was the second United States human space flight, on July 21, 1961. The suborbital Project Mercury flight was launched with a Mercury-Redstone Launch Vehicle, MRLV-8. The spacecraft, Mercury Capsule #11, was nicknamed the Liberty Bell 7, and it was piloted by the astronaut Virgil "Gus" Grissom.
Gordon Cooper Mercury-Atlas 9
Mercury-Atlas 9 was the final crewed space mission of the U.S. Mercury program, launched on May 15, 1963, from Launch Complex 14 at Cape Canaveral, Florida. The spacecraft, named Faith 7, completed 22 Earth orbits before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean, piloted by astronaut Gordon Cooper, then an Air Force major.
Scott Carpenter
Mercury-Atlas 7
Malcolm Scott Carpenter was an American naval officer and aviator, test pilot, aeronautical engineer, astronaut, and aquanaut. He was one of the Mercury Seven astronauts selected for NASA's Project Mercury in April 1959. He flew the next mission, Mercury Atlas 7, himself, in the spacecraft he named Aurora 7. After leaving NASA, Scott Carpenter devoted his scientific attention to underwater exploration.
Project Gemini
Ed White
The Space Walk
The most exciting part of Gemini IV mission was White’s space walk. White opened the hatch and drifted around the spacecraft (attached by a line) for twenty-one minutes. He used a device that looked like a space gun to help him move around more easily. Learning how to operate outside of the spacecraft was an extremely important aspect of future missions.
Project Gemini
The spacecraft that had been used for Project Mercury had to be changed and improved for Project Gemini. The Gemini spacecraft was larger because it needed to hold two astronauts. It had two parts: the capsule, which carried the astronauts, and a rear area, which held the re-entry rockets. The spacecraft weighed almost 8,000 pounds and was 18 feet and 4 inches long. Its base was 10 feet across. The flights of Project Gemini were designed to teach the astronauts all the techniques necessary to fly the Apollo missions. It was a huge success.
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Project Apollo
Project Apollo
The space race
The Space Race
“The Space Race” was the 20th-century competition between two Cold War rivals, the Soviet Union (USSR) and the United States (US), for dominance in spaceflight capability. Following World War II, it had its origins in the missile-based nuclear arms race between those two nations. Each country was aided by captured German scientists and missile technology from their Aggregat program. The technological superiority required for space dominance was seen as necessary for national security, and symbolic of ideological superiority. The Space Race spawned pioneering efforts to launch artificial satellites, uncrewed space probes of the Moon, Venus, and Mars, and human spaceflight into low Earth orbit and eventually on to the Moon.
A Tragic Beginning
Apollo 1
The Saturn rocket that would launch Apollo astronauts to the Moon was being prepared for launch in early 1967. The first manned Apollo mission was set for February 21, 1967, with astronauts Virgil (Gus) I. Grissom, Edward H. White II, and Roger Chaffee. During a training session on January 27, there was an electrical spark inside the spacecraft that caused a fireball which resulted in the deaths of the three astronauts. This tragedy revealed inherent flaws in the spacecraft, which led to the redesign of the entire capsule. These drastic improvements made the spacecraft safer and more functional. The new spacecraft was essentially an entirely different capsule from the one that took the lives of the Apollo 1 astronauts.
“Homeward Bound”
Apollo 8
On Christmas morning of 1968, Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and Bill Anders completed their tenth lunar orbit in man's first trip to the moon. With the burn of the service module engine just completed on the back side of the Moon, these men are homeward bound.
PROJECT APOLLO! Man's triumphant travel to, and safe return from, the Moon remains one of the 20th century's most significant accomplishments. And, in the tradition of frontier artist-explorers Frederic Remington and Charles M. Russell, fine artist-astronaut-moonwalker Alan Bean was there!
“The Fantasy” - Alan Bean
“Pete Conrad, Dick Gordon and I were assigned to make one of the first moon landings. The most experienced astronaut was designated commander, in charge of all aspects of the mission, including flying the lunar module. Prudent thinking suggested that the next-most-experienced crew member be assigned to take care of the command module, since it was our only way back home. Pete had flown two Gemini flights, the second with Dick as his crewmate. This left the least experienced-me-to accompany the commander on the lunar surface.
I was the rookie. I had not flown at all; yet I got the prize assignment. But not once during the three years of training which preceded our mission did Dick say that it wasn't fair and that he wished he could walk on the moon, too. I do not have his unwavering discipline or strength of character.
We often fantasized about Dick's joining us on the moon but we never found a way. In my paintings, though, I can have it my way. Now, at last, our best
friend has come the last sixty miles.”
“Reaching for the stars”
Reaching for the Stars was created for the rotunda of the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame as an inspirational mural. In his work of art, you can actually feel and see the vestiges of lunar exploration. Just as with his original, your canvas features Alan Bean’s trademark “moonprints” of authentic lunar boots, impressions from a core tube-bit used to collect lunar soil samples and marks from a hammer used to drive the staff of the American flag into the Moon’s surface.
Meticulously produced over a five months period, this textured canvas faithfully recreates the look and feel of the original painting—including the artist’s brush strokes—using a state-of-the-art combination of technological, artistic and craftsmanship skills. No other reproduction process compares in quality and value. The resulting fine art canvas is as close as you will come to owning the original work of art.
First Man on the Moon
The moment the world had waited for came on July 16, 1969, when Apollo 11 was launched toward the Moon carrying astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Edwin (Buzz) Aldrin, Jr. After orbiting the Moon several times, the lander module (Eagle) separated from the command module and began its descent to the lunar surface.On July 20th 1969 Armstrong and Aldrin became the first humans to land on another world, while Collins remained in orbit alone in the command module. When Armstrong stepped off the lander, he spoke the famous words: “That's one small step for man, on giant leap for mankind.” 19 minutes later Aldrin joined him on the surface of the Moon. Apollo 11 proved that humans could create the technology necessary to land on and safely return from the Moon. Scientifically It returned the first geological specimens collected on another celestial body.
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Astronaut Room
Jim Lovell’s Suit
Jim Lovell wore this suit in 1989 to test how it would perform in sub-zero polar conditions. The suit was created by Burlington Mills (now known as Burlington Coat Factory).
Since Lovell wore this suit to the North Pole, he was eager to wear the same suit at the South Pole. He was one of the few people to reach both the North and South Poles. He accomplished that feat on January 16th 2000 when he stood at the South Pole, with other members of the Planetary Studies Foundation’s Antarctic Search for Meteorites expedition.
Astronauts
Jim Lovell
is a former NASA astronaut, Naval Aviator, mechanical engineer, and retired Navy captain. Lovell is best known for being the commander of the ill-fated Apollo 13 mission, which suffered a critical failure en route to the Moon. Their safe return to Earth was made possible through the heroic efforts of both the crew and the determined personnel at mission control. In addition to being part of the Apollo 13 crew, Lovell was the command module pilot of Apollo 8, the first manned mission to enter lunar orbit.
He is one of only 24 people to have flown to the Moon and the first of only three to fly to the Moon twice. He is unique in that he is the only person to have flown to the Moon twice without making a landing. Lovell was also the first person to fly in space four times.
Alan Bean
(March 15, 1932 – May 26, 2018) was an American naval officer and naval aviator, aeronautical engineer, test pilot, and NASA astronaut; he was the fourth person to walk on the Moon. He was selected to become an astronaut by NASA in 1963 as part of Astronaut Group 3. After his NASA career, Alan became the premier space artist recreating on canvas many of the highlights of the Apollo missions.
Edgar Mitchell
(September 17, 1930 – February 4, 2016) was a United States Navy officer and aviator, test pilot, aeronautical engineer, ufologist and NASA astronaut. As the Lunar Module Pilot of Apollo 14,he became the sixth person to walk on the Moon. He spent nine hours working on the lunar surface in the Fra Mauro Highlands region, The legacy of his post-NASA scientific work is carried on through the Institute of Noetic Sciences.
Al Worden
(born February 7, 1932), (Col, USAF, Ret.), is an American astronaut and engineer who was the Command Module Pilot for the Apollo 15 lunar mission in 1971. One of only 24 people to have flown to the Moon, he made 74 orbits in the Command Module Endeavour while his fellow crew members Dave Scott and Jim Irwin explored the lunar surface.
Harrison “Jack” Schmitt
(born July 3, 1935) is an American geologist, retired NASA astronaut, university professor, former U.S. senator from New Mexico. As a crew member of Apollo 17 mission, he was the last man to set foot on the Moon. Along with fellow moonwalker Gene Cernan they returned the largest amount of moon rocks and explored the furthest distance from the lunar lander. Unfortunately Apollo 17 was the last manned mission to the Moon and was most successful in the wealth of scientific data it returned.
Skylab
Skylab
Skylab was the first space station operated by the United States. It spent six years orbiting Earth until its decaying orbit caused it to re-enter the atmosphere. It scattered debris over the Indian Ocean and sparsely settled areas of Western Australia.
Skylab included a workshop, a solar observatory, and several hundred life science and physical science experiments.
The first crew stayed in orbit with Skylab for 28 days. Two additional missions followed, with the launch dates of July 28, 1973 (SL-3) and November 16, 1973 (SL-4), and mission durations of 59 and 84 days, respectively. The last Skylab crew returned to Earth on February 8, 1974. PSF member Owen K. Garriott, an American electrical engineer and NASA astronaut, spent 60 days aboard the Skylab 3 space station in 1973. He was also a crew member aboard the Space Shuttle Spacelab 1 mission in 1983.
Geology Room
Trilobites
Trilobites were a very diverse group of extinct marine arthropods. They first appeared in the fossil record in the Early Cambrian (521 million years ago) and went extinct during the Permian mass extinction (250 million years ago).
Brain Coral
Brain coral is a common name given to various corals in the families Mussidae and Merulinidae, so called due to their generally spheroid shape and grooved surface which resembles a human brain The lifespan of the largest brain corals is 900 years.
“Seafood Medley”
Pictured on the left are exceptionally large gastropods, also known as “snails” or slugs. Also pictured are receptaculites or “sunflower coral.”
Cephalopod
A cephalopod is refers to any member of the molluscan class Cephalopoda such as a squid, octopus or nautilus. These exclusively marine animals are characterized by bilateral body symmetry, a prominent head, and a set of arms or tentacles (muscular hydrostats) modified from the primitive molluscan foot. Fishermen sometimes call them inkfish. The one pictured on the left would have belonged to a 25ft long adult cephalopod.
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Antarctic Expedition
Map of Antarctica
Antarctica is an excellent place to search for meteorites because it is considered a cold desert with minimal chemical erosion which aids in the preservation of meteorites.
PSF Antarctic Expedition
PSF conducted three Antarctic Search for Meteorites expedition to Antarctica in the years 1998, 2000, 2002. The 1998 expedition was the first time a non-governmental scientific organization conducted such a research project. In total PSF collected and classified 54 meteorites. These expeditions in addition to the recovery of meteorites, included the collection of ice cores from different locations for biological studies.
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Meteorite Room
Iron Meteorites
Iron meteorites are mostly made of nickel and iron alloy minerals. They are believed to have come from the cores of asteroids and account for about five percent of all meteorites found on Earth. Iron meteorites are the most massive meteorites ever discovered. Their heavy mineral composition (iron and nickel) often allows them to survive the harsh plummet through Earth’s atmosphere without breaking into smaller pieces. The largest meteorite ever found, Namibia’s Hoba meteorite, is an iron meteorite.
Stony Iron Meteorites
Stony-iron meteorites ideally have equal amounts of silicate minerals (chemicals that contain the elements silicon and oxygen) and metals (iron and nickel).
One group of stony-iron meteorites, the pallasites, contains yellow-green olivine crystals encased in shiny metal. Scientists think that pallasites are relics of an asteroid’s core-mantle boundary. Their metallic composition is similar to many iron meteorites, leading scientists to think that they may have come from different parts of the same asteroid that broke up during a collision while in space. Among meteorites, pallasites are the most attractive for collectors.
Stony Meteorites
Stony meteorites are made up of minerals that contain silicon and oxygen along with some nickel and iron metals. Stony meteorites, which are the most abundant kind of meteorite, are divided into two groups: chondrites and achondrites. Chondrites are physically and chemically the most primitive meteorites in the solar system. Chondrites themselves are classified into two major groups: ordinary and carbonaceous. Ordinary chondrites are the most common type of stony meteorite, accounting for about eighty-six percent of all meteorites found on Earth. They are named for small spherical inclusions called chondrules, embedded within them. These chondrules formed more than 4.5 billion years ago from the gas and dust particles that surrounded our early Sun. Gradually they came together to form first meteorite-sized bodies and later grew into asteroids. Because they were formed at the same time as the solar system, chondrites are integral to the study of the solar system’s origin, age, and composition. One type called the carbonaceous chondrites may even hold the secrets to the origin of life. Achondrites, the second group, are essentially igneous rocks that are associated with either the surface or deep-seated crustal regions of an asteroid or planetary body. The most famous achondrites come from our Moon and probably Mars.
Park Forest Meteor Shower
On March 26, 2003, the Park Forest meteorite fell, dropping over 1000 pieces over a large area south of Chicago. PSF personnel were the first scientists on the scene to help officials confirm the meteorite fall and help gather data to aid in the recovery of specimens. In the weeks to come PSF scientists collaborated with other institutions to classify and publish their findings.
Jim DuPont Collection
At the time of his death in 1991, Jim Dupont owned the world’s largest private collection of meteorites. When there were only 3,000 recognized meteorites. Jim had over 1,000 of them in his collection and he generously made specimens available to researchers around the world. In 1995, his widow Violetta donated his entire collection to PSF. To properly protect and preserve his collection PSF donated it to the Yale Peabody Museum in New Haven, Ct guaranteeing Jim DuPont’s legacy to meteorite studies.
Dinosaur Room
Tully Monster
The Coal Age
Tully Monster
Tullimonstrum, colloquially known as the Tully Monster, is an extinct genus of soft-bodied bilaterian that lived in shallow tropical coastal waters of muddy estuaries during the Pennsylvanian geological period, about 300 million years ago.. Examples of Tullimonstrum have been found only in the Mazon Creek fossil beds of Illinois, United States. Its classification has been the subject of controversy, and interpretations of the fossil likened it to molluscs, arthropods, conodonts, worms, and vertebrates.
Petrified wood
Petrified wood is the name given to a special type of fossilized remains of terrestrial vegetation. It is the result of a tree or tree-like plants having completely transitioned to stone by the process of permineralization, a process where silica completely replaces the organic material but keeps its original appearance.
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The Coal Age and Fossils
The Carboniferous Period or the coal age took place about 359 to 299 million years ago.
Carboniferous coal was produced by bark-bearing trees that grew in vast lowland swamp forests. Vegetation included giant club mosses, tree ferns, great horsetails, and towering trees with strap-shaped leaves. Over millions of years, the organic deposits of this plant debris formed the world's first extensive coal deposits—coal that humans are still burning today. Atmospheric oxygen levels peaked at 32% compared to the 21% today. This high oxygen level is due to the massive forests that covered the Earth during this time. This abundant food source allowed for giant creatures to roam the Earth.
Dinosaur Eggs
Coprolites
Fossil
Fossils
Keichousaurus (Kay-choo-sore-rus)
The keichousaurus lived in mid Triassic period it is thought to be the ancestor of the plesiosaur and lived on a diet of small fish. It might have been able to crawl on land, but it lived in water. Keichousaurus fossils are commonly found in china and are usually well preserved in shale. Smaller skeletons found within Keichousaurus and its hip structure imply that they may have given live birth.
Dinosaur eggs
The dinosaur eggs pictured on the left belong to a carnivorous dinosaur.
Coprolite pieces
Coprolite is fossilized dung or poop from dinosaurs that lived millions of years ago.
Fossilized Teeth
The fossilized teeth pictured on the left belong two (left) herbivore and (right) a carnivore. The carnivore tooth has a sharp serrated edge for tearing meat, unlike the smooth herbivore tooth which is for grinding plants.
The Era of the Dinosaurs
Mesozoic Era was divided into three periods
Triassic
This period took place 251 million years ago Earth was in one giant supercontinent. The oceans teemed with life and the first mammals were emerging at this time. The Triassic ended in a mass extinction.
Jurassic
During this period the climate was hot humid and subtropical. At the start of the period Pangea the large supercontinent started to break apart. Large dinosaurs roamed the Earth and the oceans teemed with life.
Cretaceous
During this period, oceans formed as the land shifted into smaller continents. New types of dinosaurs arrived and the warm shallow seas teemed with life
Impact and Extinction
Impact and Extinction
The cause of the mass extinction that marks the end of the Cretaceous and the beginning of the Paleogene is a scientific mystery. One of the most widely accepted hypothesis is that of an impact event with an asteroid. This theory stems from the discovery that a layer of rock dated precisely to the extinction event is rich in the metal iridium. This layer is found all over the world, on land and in the oceans. Iridium is rare on Earth but it's found in meteorites at the same concentration as in this layer. This led scientists to postulate that the iridium was scattered worldwide when a comet or asteroid struck somewhere on Earth and then vaporized. A 110-mile-wide (180-kilometer-wide) crater carved out of Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula, called Chicxulub, has since been found and dated to 65 million years ago. Many scientists believe the fallout and resulting fires from the impact contributed to the extinction of the dinosaurs.