1 00:00:04,066 --> 00:00:10,066 [dramatic percussion music] 2 00:00:18,766 --> 00:00:20,800 - HEY, AND WELCOME TO "NASA LAUNCHPAD." 3 00:00:20,800 --> 00:00:22,733 I'M YOUR HOST TAYLOR LYONS. 4 00:00:22,733 --> 00:00:24,233 HOW DO EXPLORERS NAVIGATE 5 00:00:24,233 --> 00:00:25,900 WHEN THEY DON'T KNOW WHERE THEY'RE GOING? 6 00:00:25,900 --> 00:00:28,500 SINCE ANCIENT TIMES, PEOPLE HAVE LOOKED TO THE SKY 7 00:00:28,500 --> 00:00:30,966 TO FIND THEIR WAY USING THE SUN DURING THE DAY 8 00:00:30,966 --> 00:00:32,400 AND OTHER STARS AT NIGHT. 9 00:00:32,400 --> 00:00:34,333 THE NORTH STAR HAS BEEN ONE OF THE MOST HELPFUL, 10 00:00:34,333 --> 00:00:36,366 AND STORIES FROM SAILORS ON THE OPEN SEA 11 00:00:36,366 --> 00:00:38,666 TO THE FREEDOM SEEKERS OF THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD 12 00:00:38,666 --> 00:00:41,033 HAVE BEEN PASSED DOWN FOR GENERATIONS. 13 00:00:41,033 --> 00:00:43,366 ANCIENTS HAD A CLOSE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE STARS. 14 00:00:43,366 --> 00:00:45,433 JUST LOOK AT THE STORIES THEY TOLD ABOUT THE STARS 15 00:00:45,433 --> 00:00:48,466 AND HOW THEY SAW PICTURES WHEN THEY LOOKED UP AT THE NIGHT SKY, 16 00:00:48,466 --> 00:00:51,766 PICTURES THEY NAMED LIKE ORION OR CASSIOPAEA, 17 00:00:51,766 --> 00:00:53,266 SCORPIO OR PEGASUS. 18 00:00:53,266 --> 00:00:56,300 TODAY WE CALL THOSE STAR PICTURES CONSTELLATIONS. 19 00:00:56,300 --> 00:00:59,200 BUT FAR-AWAY STARS AND STORIES AREN'T THE MOST ACCURATE FORM 20 00:00:59,200 --> 00:01:02,766 OF GUIDANCE, SO CARTOGRAPHY, OR THE PRACTICE OF MAPMAKING, 21 00:01:02,766 --> 00:01:04,566 BECAME INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT. 22 00:01:04,566 --> 00:01:07,266 BUT WHAT DO THEY DO WITH ALL OF THOSE MAPS? 23 00:01:07,266 --> 00:01:09,800 - THE USGS IS THE U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 24 00:01:09,800 --> 00:01:12,400 OUR JOB IS TO FIGURE OUT WHICH MAPS NEED TO GO TOGETHER 25 00:01:12,400 --> 00:01:13,900 TO ANSWER A CERTAIN QUESTION. 26 00:01:13,900 --> 00:01:16,433 WE USE LAYERS OF INFORMATION TO MAKE GEOLOGIC MAPS 27 00:01:16,433 --> 00:01:18,266 FOR SURVEYING, TOPOGRAPHY, 28 00:01:18,266 --> 00:01:20,900 AND THEN ALSO MINING AND MINERAL RESOURCES. 29 00:01:20,900 --> 00:01:23,233 - AND MAPS ARE STILL REALLY IMPORTANT TODAY. 30 00:01:23,233 --> 00:01:24,633 JUST THINK ABOUT IT. 31 00:01:24,633 --> 00:01:27,133 HOW OFTEN DO YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW PULL UP DIRECTIONS 32 00:01:27,133 --> 00:01:29,000 ON YOUR PHONE OR COMPUTER? 33 00:01:29,000 --> 00:01:30,933 - MAPS COME IN LOTS OF DIFFERENT FLAVORS. 34 00:01:30,933 --> 00:01:33,933 MAPS CAN BE MAPS THAT WE USE ON OUR PHONE THAT SHOW US 35 00:01:33,933 --> 00:01:37,166 HOW TO GET TO LUNCH OR GET HOME OR AVOID TRAFFIC. 36 00:01:37,166 --> 00:01:39,633 - ALSO, ON THE WALL OF YOUR CLASSROOM, I GUARANTEE, 37 00:01:39,633 --> 00:01:41,166 SOMEWHERE IN ONE OF YOUR CLASSROOMS, 38 00:01:41,166 --> 00:01:44,533 THERE'S A POLITICAL MAP THAT SHOWS BOUNDARIES OF COUNTRIES. 39 00:01:44,533 --> 00:01:48,966 THERE ARE ALSO MAPS THAT CAN SHOW ENERGY USAGE, 40 00:01:48,966 --> 00:01:52,666 HOW MUCH COAL IS USED PER PERSON IN THIS COUNTRY, 41 00:01:52,666 --> 00:01:56,533 SO MAPS CAN BE USED TO SHOW ANY KIND OF INFORMATION. 42 00:01:56,533 --> 00:01:58,166 - AND ANOTHER IMPORTANT ELEMENT 43 00:01:58,166 --> 00:02:00,500 IS THE SCALE AT WHICH WE'RE DOING THIS. 44 00:02:00,500 --> 00:02:03,233 SCALE ABSOLUTELY MATTERS. 45 00:02:03,233 --> 00:02:05,700 THE POINT OF A MAP IS TO ESTABLISH SOME KIND OF CONTEXT, 46 00:02:05,700 --> 00:02:08,000 AND CONTEXT MEANS YOU HAVE TO HAVE SCALE. 47 00:02:08,000 --> 00:02:10,033 - THE INFORMATION WE NEEDED TO BUILD OUR MAPS 48 00:02:10,033 --> 00:02:11,866 BEGAN WITH THE FIRST EXPLORERS, 49 00:02:11,866 --> 00:02:13,666 AND JUST LIKE THOSE EARLY EXPLORERS, 50 00:02:13,666 --> 00:02:16,066 NASA IS STILL IN THE BUSINESS OF MAP-MAKING, 51 00:02:16,066 --> 00:02:17,333 BUT THE MAPS WE'RE MAKING TODAY 52 00:02:17,333 --> 00:02:19,033 ARE OF THE PLACES WE'RE EXPLORING 53 00:02:19,033 --> 00:02:20,833 THROUGHOUT OUR SOLAR SYSTEM. 54 00:02:20,833 --> 00:02:23,200 - WE'VE KIND OF EXTENDED THAT WITH WHAT WE DO NOW 55 00:02:23,200 --> 00:02:25,500 WITH ASTROGEOLOGY INTO OTHER PLANETS, 56 00:02:25,500 --> 00:02:27,066 SO WE MAKE MAPS OF OTHER PLANETS. 57 00:02:27,066 --> 00:02:29,633 OUR JOB AT THE USGS AND AS GEOLOGIC MAPPERS 58 00:02:29,633 --> 00:02:31,433 THAT ARE FUNDED THROUGH NASA IS TO FIGURE OUT, 59 00:02:31,433 --> 00:02:33,533 WHAT ARE THE APPROPRIATE DATA SETS TO USE 60 00:02:33,533 --> 00:02:34,933 TO SOLVE CERTAIN PROBLEMS? 61 00:02:34,933 --> 00:02:37,500 - MAPPING IS ALWAYS THE FIRST STEP TO UNDERSTANDING 62 00:02:37,500 --> 00:02:39,966 A PLANET'S SURFACE, AND UNDERSTANDING ITS SURFACE 63 00:02:39,966 --> 00:02:43,300 IS THE BEST WAY WE HAVE TO UNDERSTAND THE INTERIOR. 64 00:02:43,300 --> 00:02:45,900 - THE SPACECRAFT AND ROBOTIC MISSIONS NASA SENDS OUT 65 00:02:45,900 --> 00:02:48,433 INTO THE SOLAR SYSTEM MAKE DETAILED MAPS OF THE MOONS 66 00:02:48,433 --> 00:02:49,900 AND PLANETS THEY VISIT, 67 00:02:49,900 --> 00:02:53,666 AND NASA IS USING CUTTING-EDGE TECHNOLOGY TO MAKE THOSE MAPS. 68 00:02:53,666 --> 00:02:56,166 - SO THERE ARE ALL KINDS OF TECHNOLOGIES THAT WE CAN USE 69 00:02:56,166 --> 00:02:58,700 TO MAP THE SURFACES OF EARTH AND OTHER PLANETS. 70 00:02:58,700 --> 00:03:01,066 ONE OF THE MOST REVEALING IN TERMS OF THE INFORMATION 71 00:03:01,066 --> 00:03:03,600 THAT IT CAN CARRY IS TO MAP THE TOPOGRAPHY 72 00:03:03,600 --> 00:03:05,966 OR THE ELEVATION OF A PLANET SURFACE. 73 00:03:05,966 --> 00:03:09,000 A LOT OF GOOD INFORMATION CONTAINED IN JUST HOW TALL 74 00:03:09,000 --> 00:03:10,466 THE MOUNTAINS ARE, WHERE THEY ARE, 75 00:03:10,466 --> 00:03:12,466 HOW DEEP THE VALLEYS ARE, WHERE THEY ARE, 76 00:03:12,466 --> 00:03:16,400 AND THE MOST RELIABLE WAY TO DO THAT IS USING A LASER. 77 00:03:16,400 --> 00:03:18,900 IT IS TRANSMITTED FROM A SPACECRAFT 78 00:03:18,900 --> 00:03:20,300 TO THE PLANET SURFACE, 79 00:03:20,300 --> 00:03:23,100 BOUNCES BACK OFF THE PLANET SURFACE BACK TO THE SPACECRAFT. 80 00:03:23,100 --> 00:03:25,400 WE MEASURE THE AMOUNT OF TIME THAT TAKES. 81 00:03:25,400 --> 00:03:28,333 A SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME MEANS THAT THERE WAS A TALL MOUNTAIN. 82 00:03:28,333 --> 00:03:31,100 A LONG AMOUNT OF TIME MEANS THAT THERE WAS A DEEP VALLEY. 83 00:03:31,100 --> 00:03:34,700 - GRAIL IS AN AMAZING MISSION, THAT IT WAS ABLE 84 00:03:34,700 --> 00:03:38,066 TO COORDINATE TWO SPACECRAFT CALLED EBB AND FLOW, 85 00:03:38,066 --> 00:03:43,166 AND BY MEASURING THE PRECISE DISTANCES BETWEEN EBB AND FLOW-- 86 00:03:43,166 --> 00:03:45,533 AND BY PRECISE, I MEAN THE DISTANCE 87 00:03:45,533 --> 00:03:47,566 BETWEEN THOSE TWO SPACECRAFT COULD BE MEASURED 88 00:03:47,566 --> 00:03:50,100 WITHIN THE THICKNESS OF A HUMAN HAIR-- 89 00:03:50,100 --> 00:03:53,533 WE CAN UNDERSTAND THE GRAVITY OF THE MOON. 90 00:03:53,533 --> 00:03:56,233 AND THAT GIVES US INFORMATION ABOUT DEEP INSIDE THE MOON, 91 00:03:56,233 --> 00:03:57,966 THINGS WE COULD NEVER GET ANY OTHER WAY, 92 00:03:57,966 --> 00:04:02,933 THE DENSITY OF THE SURFACE, WHETHER THE INSIDE OF THE MOON 93 00:04:02,933 --> 00:04:06,333 IS MORE LIKE THE EARTH OR LESS LIKE THE EARTH, 94 00:04:06,333 --> 00:04:07,966 WHICH TELLS US ABOUT ITS FORMATION. 95 00:04:07,966 --> 00:04:11,166 WELL, LRO IS A FANTASTIC SPACECRAFT. 96 00:04:11,166 --> 00:04:12,833 IT'S GOT ALL KINDS OF INSTRUMENTS ON IT 97 00:04:12,833 --> 00:04:16,200 THAT ARE GIVING US UNPRECEDENTED IMAGES OF THE MOON, 98 00:04:16,200 --> 00:04:19,966 BUT ALSO COLLECTING TOPOGRAPHIC DATA AND COMPOSITIONAL DATA. 99 00:04:19,966 --> 00:04:23,600 - MESSENGER IS A SPACECRAFT ORBITING MERCURY, 100 00:04:23,600 --> 00:04:25,633 AND IT IS GATHERING LOTS OF DIFFERENT INFORMATION. 101 00:04:25,633 --> 00:04:27,666 THIS IS IMAGING INFORMATION, 102 00:04:27,666 --> 00:04:30,166 SO YOU HAVE ACTUAL PICTURES IN THE VISIBLE RANGE, 103 00:04:30,166 --> 00:04:32,333 AND COLOR PICTURES THAT ARE ACTUALLY SAYING SOMETHING 104 00:04:32,333 --> 00:04:33,666 ABOUT THE COMPOSITION. 105 00:04:33,666 --> 00:04:36,166 - CASSINI IS A SPACECRAFT THAT HAS BEEN SENT 106 00:04:36,166 --> 00:04:40,400 TO ORBIT THE SATURN SYSTEM, SO IT'S DESIGNED TO IMAGE SATURN 107 00:04:40,400 --> 00:04:42,733 AND ITS RINGS AND THE ATMOSPHERE OF SATURN, 108 00:04:42,733 --> 00:04:46,833 BUT ALSO ONE OF SATURN'S MOONS, TITAN. 109 00:04:46,833 --> 00:04:49,266 TITAN IS THE LARGEST MOON IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM. 110 00:04:49,266 --> 00:04:52,166 DAWN IS A MISSION THAT WAS DESIGNED TO ORBIT 111 00:04:52,166 --> 00:04:55,200 AND COLLECT DATA FOR THE ENTIRE SURFACE 112 00:04:55,200 --> 00:04:57,600 OF TWO OF THE LARGEST ASTEROIDS, 113 00:04:57,600 --> 00:05:00,600 AND IT'S COMPLETED ITS MISSION TO VESTA. 114 00:05:00,600 --> 00:05:03,933 IT'S AN ASTEROID THAT'S ABOUT 250 KILOMETERS ACROSS, 115 00:05:03,933 --> 00:05:06,666 AND BY CAREFULLY IMAGING THE SURFACE, 116 00:05:06,666 --> 00:05:10,000 WE CAN GET INFORMATION ABOUT THE COMPOSITION OF THE SURFACE, 117 00:05:10,000 --> 00:05:13,533 AND WE'VE IDENTIFIED MINERALS ON THE SURFACE OF VESTA 118 00:05:13,533 --> 00:05:15,500 THAT ARE SIMILAR TO MINERALS 119 00:05:15,500 --> 00:05:17,733 WE HAVE ON EARTH, WHICH IS FANTASTIC. 120 00:05:17,733 --> 00:05:20,266 - THE MORE DATA WE HAVE ABOUT THESE OBJECTS IN SPACE, 121 00:05:20,266 --> 00:05:22,366 THE MORE WE CAN LEARN ABOUT HOW THEY WERE FORMED 122 00:05:22,366 --> 00:05:25,366 AND HOW THEY ARE CHANGING, SO JUST LIKE OUR ANCESTORS, 123 00:05:25,366 --> 00:05:27,766 WE STILL LOOK TO THE SKY FOR ANSWERS. 124 00:05:27,766 --> 00:05:29,400 WELL, THAT'S IT FOR THIS EPISODE. 125 00:05:29,400 --> 00:05:30,666 THANKS FOR WATCHING. 126 00:05:30,666 --> 00:05:31,966 I'M TAYLOR LYONS. 127 00:05:31,966 --> 00:05:34,266 SEE YOU NEXT TIME ON "NASA LAUNCHPAD." 128 00:05:34,266 --> 00:05:40,266 [dramatic percussion music]