Atmospheric Factors Affecting Climate

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Greenhouse Gases

Greenhouse gases are gases that trap energy and they create a blanket that keep the surface warm which is the greenhouse effect. Everyone on Earth should be concerned with the affects of these gases on the planet. This is because normally the amount absorbed and the amount released are balanced keeping the tempurature pretty constant. Though that is how it normally works human emissions may be altering the process and causing an inbalance in the atmosphere.

London-Type Smog

London-type smog is when particles in coal smoke combine with water droplets in humid air and fills the air with soot. The causes are factories and homes burning coal. Consequences of this include the city becoming dirty and dark. Solutions for this would be burning less coal and using other energy sources that don't pollute. In the past 100 years, England has stopped burning as much coal which has cleaned up their city.

Earth's Atmosphere

Earth's atmosphere is special compared to the moon and the planets without atmosphere. The moon and planets without atmosphere get hit by meteoroid and the craters from the contacts go unchanged for millions of years. This is because there is no weather due to the lack of atmosphere. With Earth's atmosphere meteorites burn up in the atmosphere. The meteors that do contact the Earth's surface their craters disappear with the weather and erosion. The atmosphere is mainly nitrogen and then oxygen has the next highest amount. The greenhouse effect is the right in the amount to keep the surface warm. The major componets vary little today but have made dramatic changes over the course of the Earth's life. The ozone keeps out much of the UV radiation coming from the sun. As there is an increase in altitude there is a decrease in tempurature. This is what makes Earth's atmosphere special.

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Space Exploration

The Science of Rockets
Atlas rockets have been used since late in the 1950's to send probes into space and satellites to orbit Earth.There are three stages to the rockets: Atlas, Centaur, and the payload. The Atlas sends the payload into space. The Centaur maneuvers into the proper orbit and releases the payload before falling back to Earth and burning upon reentry of the atmosphere. The Atlas has been upgraded and used for many launches since it was invented.
The Space Program
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) started in 1958 and immediately started with human flight. Project Mercury sent one astronaut into space. That led to Project Gemini that sent two astronauts and taught NASA about living and working in space. Project Apollo followed putting an astronaut on the moon in 1969. Apollo 13 launched April 11, 1970 and had a smooth start. Two days in an oxygen tank blew up and the Command Module lost electricity and water. They made it around the moon and landed April 17 in the Pacific. Since 1972, three uncrewed spacecrafts have been sent to study the moon: Galileo, Clementine, and Lunar Prospector.
Exploring Science Today
A small robot called a "personal satellite assistant" is planned for the International Space Station (ISS). It will float next to an astronaut and use internal fans to turn or move. The personal satellite assistant has sensors that monitor temperature, pressure, and air quality so it can warn astronauts of problems. It can monitor remote parts of the station and conduct regular maintenance checks. It also has a "videophone" so astronauts can communicate with each other and Mission Control.
Using Space Science on Earth
NASA only gets one percent of the U.S. budget but they guess that for every one dollar put in the economy get seven dollars. NASA stresses its economic contribution because of the people who are against funding them. NASA points out the basic knowledge of the universe gives us a better understanding of Earth, a lot learned from space exploration. Also exploration of space has made many applications for satellite communications and it supports many jobs.