THE COMMON GROUND OF THE DISCIPLINES OF NASA SCIENCE�

FIRST OFF! WHAT ARE THE DISCIPLINES?

• Science Mission Directorate (SMD) has five broad scientific pursuits:
• Astrophysics,
• Earth Science,
• Heliophysics,
• Planetary Science, and
• Biological and Physical Science.

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ASTROPHYSICS

• Astrophysics is a branch of science that explain the events that happen in the universe after the laws of chemistry and physics were applied.
• “Seeks to ascertain the nature of the heavenly bodies, rather than their position or motions in space – What they are, rather than where they are.” – a founder of the discipline.

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• Emissions from stars, planets, galaxies, nebulae and other objects in the universe are studied across the electromagnetic spectrum and the properties examined include luminosity, density, temperature and chemical composition.
• Astronomical research is often conducted in the realms of theoretical physics and observastional physics. It aims to answer the question about the properties of dark matter, dark energy, black holes and other celestial bodies. It also determines the origin and fate of the universe.

EARTH SCIENCE

• Earth science is the study of Earth’s structures, properties, processes and four and a half billion years of biotic evolution.
• Further studies include atmospheric sciences, environmental sciences, soil sciences, glaciology, geography, geology, geophysics, hydrology, oceanography and space sciences.

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• Earth science affects our everyday lives.

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For instance

• Meteorologists study the weather and water for dangerous storms.
• Hydrologists examine water and warn of floods.
• Seismologists study earth quakes and try to understand where they will strike.
• Geologists study rock and help locate useful minerals.

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• Its existence is essential for it prevents most natural disasters from occurring as you can read from the above statements.

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HELIOPHYSICS

• Heliophysics is the science of understanding the Sun and its interactions with Earth and the solar system, including space weather.
• Nasa defines Heliophysics in three ways
• The comprehensive new term for the science of the sun – solar system connection.
• The exploration, discovery and understanding of earth’s space environment
• The system science that unites all of the linked phenomena in the region of the cosmos influenced by a star like our sun.

• Studying this system not only helps us understand fundamental information about how the universe works, but also helps protect our technology and astronauts in space. Mapping out this interconnected system requires a holistic study of the Sun's influence on space, Earth and other planets.
• Heliophysics combines the science of the sun, corona, heliophere and geospace, and encompasses a wide variety of astronomical phenomena.

PLANETARY SCIENCE

• Planetary Science, also rarely known as planetology, is the scientific study of planets, moons and planetary systems and the process that form them.
• It studies objects ranging in size from micrometeoroids to gas giants, working towards knowing more about their composition, dynamics, formation, interrelation and history.

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• There are observational and theoretical branches of planetary science.
• Observational research call involves a combination of space exploration, predominantly with roboticd spacecraft mission using remote sensing and comparative experimental work based laboratories.
• Theoretical component involves considerable computer simulation and mathematical modelling.

BIOLOGICAL AND PHYSICAL SCIENCES

• Biological and physical science is an interdisciplinary major that combines subjects in biology and physical sciences.
• Physical science involves the non-living physical world. Some of the subjects are astronomy, chemistry, geology, physics, math and meteorology.

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• On the other hand, biology involves the study of the living world.
• Combination of the two disciplines will allow us to use complicated formulas and theories to real world simulation to come up with concrete solutions.

THE CONNECTIONS OF THE SCIENCE DIVISTIONS IN NASA’S SCIENCE MISSION DIRECTORATE

ASTROPHYSICS AND EARTH SCIENCE

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• is defined as the study of the evolution of planets, astrophysics tars, galaxies and the universe by applying physics. Earth is a planet which makes astrophysics help the earth science field with giving facts about earth's properties and chemical compositions. It also gives additional information on the planets or natural satellites that revolve around earth, which makes it easier for earth scientists to know more about what's happening to earth and the effects of the celestial bodies orbiting it.

ASTROPHYSICS AND HELIOPHYSICS

• Astrophysics can also study the birth, life and death of stars. Astrophysics provides properties of the sun while Heliophysics gives a more detailed and precise explanation for its a more specific field.Generally, Heliophysics is a science that is a unique hybrid between meteorology and Astrophysics.

ASTROPHYSICS AND PLANETARY SCIENCE

• Planetary science is the science study of the heavenly bodies. On the other and Astrophysics is the study of the heavenly bodies but with physics' help. Planetary scientists are generally hybrid experts in astronomy, geology, chemistry, physics, and/or biology. Astrophysicists focus more on how physics is applied to astronomical objects like stars, galaxies, the interstellar medium, etc

ASTROPHYSICS WITH BIOLOGICAL AND PHYSICAL SCIENCES

• Astrophysics and physical sciences are evidently similar by how they utilise physics to study more about things. Biological studies will be easier to conduct on other planets with the help of the theories astrophysics supplied.

EARTH SCIENCE AND HELIOPHYSICS

• Heliophysics studies about the effects of the sun on earth.
• Heliophysics comes up with data about the position of the earth so that earth scientists like meteorologists employ that data to know and predict the weather. We can also mention the observation of the sun's effect on the atmosphere layers as their common ground.

EARTH SCIENCE AND PLANETARY SCIENCE

• They are basically the same except Planetary science explores more celestial bodies than just the planet earth.
• Earth science may provide information for the Planetary science field for them to use that information to compare and contrast the nature of other planets in relative to earth

EARTH SCIENCE AND BIOLOGICAL AND PHYSICAL SCIENCE

• Biological and physical sciences study about the living organisms and the non-living objects on earth. Which makes it easier for them to learn more about the effect of the earth composition has on these organisms and objects

HELIOPHYSICS AND PLANETARY SCIENCE

• Heliophysics provides the knowledge of the effects the sun has on other celestial bodies. This helps the Planetary science field to determine the temperature and surface condition of these bodies

HELIOPHYSICS AND BIOLOGICAL AND PHYSICAL SCIENCE

• Without the sun, life on earth would've been unthinkable and very much not possible. So we evidently need the study of the sun and the effects it has on biological organisms.

PLANETARY SCIENCE AND BIOLOGICAL AND PHYSICAL SCIENCES

• Planetary sciences can use these sciences to hold a research on the possible hypothesis or idea of life outside earth and use the physical science part as way to study more about the physical natures of the heavenly bodies in the solar system, galaxy or even the universe.

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