Unit 11

Unit 11 Page 102 READING Exercise 4 A MISSION TO MARS Back in 2001, Dennis Tito made a name for himself by becoming the first ever space tourist. Twelve years later, he launched his Mars Project with the idea of sending a couple on a flight around Mars. It never happened. The technology wasn't ready. 2018 may have been our best chance to get to Mars from Earth for some time, as the two planets were at their closest, meaning the 35-million-mile journey might have taken as little as 200 days. Huge advances in science over recent years have meant that interest in reaching our closest planetary neighbour is at an all-time high, and we might not have to wait too long before it becomes a reality. The next time the two planets will come closer again is in 2033. The race for Mars is on. However, any space project wishing to touch down on the red planet will first have to overcome three major problems. Firstly, there is the expense. Current estimates for a return journey range from $100 billion to as much as $550 billion. Clearly this is a lot of money for any one government to find, which means a mission to Mars is certain to be an international collaboration. One way of bringing the cost down, is to work on developing reusable rockets. SpaceX, one of the companies at the forefront of space exploration, believe their Falcon 9, which has already successfully been launched and landed, might be the answer to this. Another problem that needs overcoming is the psychological effects of such an ambitious journey on the astronauts. Medical experts are worried that the long time spent in a confined space can't be beneficial to the mental health of the crew. They advise that space crafts should be fitted with a wide range of activities to keep the astronauts busy. There is also the question of how well the astronauts will cope with the desert-like Martian landscape. The Hi-Seas project aims to help prepare for this and sees would-be astronauts spending up to eight months in isolation on the side of a Hawaian volcano. The final problem is perhaps the most serious. A journey to Mars is bound to expose crew members to extremely high levels of radiation, which is highly likely to lead to a number of illnesses. Ideas being worked on to fight this include the development of protective covering and the possibility of faster rockets to cut down journey time. Although human exploration of Mars seems certain at some future date, there are those who say there are several reasons why this might not be such a good idea. Perhaps the greatest fear is that of cross-contamination: no matter how sterile the spaceships landing on Mars might be, the astronauts walking out on to the surface will bring with them millions of Earth microbes and the effect of these on any potential Martian ecosystem may well be disastrous. Perhaps we'd be better off concentrating on looking after the world we currently have, so that there will never be any need to find an alternative home.

Page 104 PRONUNCIATION Exercise 1 & 2 I just watched a TV show that said the Vikings might have discovered America. Well ... they might have, I suppose. It said that they may have built some villages in Canada! It could be true – if they had the boats and technology to get there. In fact, they may be the greatest explorers in history! Oh, Gina! That's not very likely, is it? Page 104 PRONUNCIATION Exercise 3 I just watched a TV show that said the Vikings might have discovered America. Well ... they might have, I suppose. It said that they may have built some villages in Canada! It could be true – if they had the boats and technology to get there. In fact, they may be the greatest explorers in history! Oh, Gina! That's not very likely, is it? Page 105 LISTENING Exercise 9 & 10 Hello and welcome to 'Science Today'. Well, believe it or not, it's been nearly twenty years since American businessman Dennis Tito paid an incredible $20 million dollars for a journey into space and a six-day stay on board the International Space Station. That's right. On April 28th 2001 Mr Tito took a trip on a Russian Soyuz spaceship that was quite literally out of this world and became the first ever space tourist. Back then it seemed like that was going to be the start of a mad rush of space tourism but things didn't quite move as quickly as everyone had imagined. Between 2001 and 2009 there were only a total of eight tourism flights and then in 2009 these flights were stopped altogether. But don't worry all you starry-eyed space travellers, there are a few companies that have plans to put anyone who has the money up into space. One of those companies leading the way is Virgin Galactic, part of the massive Virgin Group created by the British entrepreneur Richard Branson. The Virgin Galactic's spaceship, known as the SpaceShipTwo VSS Unity, will carry six tourists along with its two pilots into outer space and rather than the $20 million that Tito paid, the cost of this journey is a mere $250,000. But we should add that you won't be getting six days full board on the ISS for that money and neither will you be going quite so far or spending quite so long in space. In fact, the whole trip on VSS Unity, from Earth to space and back again, will last just over two hours. Let me explain how it works. The VSS Unity is attached to another ship, the WhiteKnightTwo carrier aircraft. This blasts off from Earth and carries the VSS Unity to a height of around 14,000 metres above the Earth. At this height the two spaceships separate and the Unity will fire up its engines and travel at supersonic speeds to a height of 80,500 meters where the rules of space take over and you become weightless. So, after a bit of floating about the spaceship and admiring the wonderful views of our planet, passengers will be returned to Earth where the VSS Unity will land on a runway, a bit like a regular aeroplane. And that's it. It's not exactly rocket science. Except that it is. You know what I mean. So, if you're interested and have the money, here's the bad news. The first flight, whenever it takes place, is already sold out. Indeed. In fact, there are around 700 people who have already bought tickets into space with one or other company who are waiting to get onto a flight. Some of them have been waiting for nearly 20 years. So, if you're in a hurry for an exotic holiday then you might be better off going for something a little more down to earth for now. A trip to Antarctica perhaps?

Page 106 READING Exercise 2 Top four SPACE FILMS of the 21st century NASA'S InSight's thrilling touchdown on the surface of Mars got me thinking a lot about space. So, with that in mind, I've decided to come up with a list of my four favourite space films of the 21st century so far. It wasn't easy choosing just four (and you might not agree with me), but here they are. 1 ARRIVAL (2016) Arrival isn't exactly action-packed. Not much happens, but it still leaves you thinking about it for days and days afterwards. It stars Amy Adams as Louise Banks, a linguist who is asked by the American military to try and help them communicate with an alien spaceship. It is one of 12 ships that have landed in various locations around Earth. Because of increased tensions between these countries, Louise must work quickly to decipher the codes the aliens are sending and discover exactly why they are here. It is a memorable film and was considered by many critics to be one of 2016's top films. 2 GRAVITY (2009) I saw this one in 3D on the big screen and it blew me away. In a word, it's stunning. The shots of outer space are so breathtaking that you spend the whole time thinking you are actually up there yourself. I don't want to give away too much of the plot, but due to a run of incredible bad luck, the astronaut played by Sandra Bullock finds herself all alone in the International Space Station, with little hope of ever getting home. Will she or won't she? Watch and you'll find out. Gravity, which also features George Clooney – all too briefly – was a huge box office success, but also a hit with the critics. It won a total of seven Academy Awards. 3 FIRST MAN (2018) This one differs from my other choices because it's based on a true story. Neil Armstrong is the First Man referred to in the title of this film: the first man on the moon. He is played brilliantly by Ryan Gosling in this biopic of America's most famous astronaut. It's full of fascinating details and things you never knew. It's very moving at times, especially when dealing with the death of Armstrong's young daughter. At times it does get a little sentimental, perhaps as a result of having Steven Spielberg as an executive producer. A must for all space travel fans and highly recommended for everyone else. 4 THE MARTIAN (2015) I've saved the best till last. Matt Damon plays astronaut Mark Watney, who is part of a space mission to explore Mars. He gets caught up in a huge storm and the rest of his crew, deciding that he must be dead, return home without him. Watney must now somehow survive everything the planet can throw at him and try and find a way of making contact with his base back on Earth. The plot might seem a bit far-fetched, but scientists agree that the film gets a lot right about Mars. The special effects are amazing, and consequently, this film is best seen on the big screen. But even on a small screen, this is easily the best space film of all time.

Page 108 Culture Exercise 2 A multinational enterprise Somewhere up there in the skies, 400 km above your head, a huge metallic structure the size of an American football pitch is orbiting the Earth every hour and a half, as it travels at speeds of up to 28,000 km/h. Inside, you will find several sleeping areas, two bathrooms, a gym and a 360° window offering some of the most spectacular views you can imagine. You will also find people! It's the International Space Station (or ISS for short) and as its name suggests, it truly is the result of a huge collaboration between many different countries. The main financial contributors are the US, Russia, Canada, Europe and Japan. Although it is constantly being added to and adapted, the main construction of it was completed between 1998 and 2011. It was taken up into space piece by piece, using NASA'S space shuttle to transport most of the larger pieces. Once up there, these pieces were assembled by robots and astronauts. Since November 2nd 2000, it has been called home by 230 astronauts from 18 different countries. The majority (145) have been from the US, with Russia sending the second most (46). Other countries that have sent astronauts include Italy, Japan, Brazil, Malaysia and South Africa. Although English is the official language of the Space Station, astronauts are also expected to learn Russian, as technical commands are given in that language. This has led to the creation of 'Runglish' – a mixture of the two – that many of the astronauts use to socialise in their everyday life on board the station. These days, the ISS generally has a crew of three to six people living on it. Their journey begins on board a Russian Soyuz spaceship, which transports them from Earth to the station where they spend on average six months before returning home. In case of emergency, they can always evacuate the station using one of the two Soyuz spaceships that are docked to the ISS. During their time there, crew members have a number of different responsibilities. One of the main reasons they are there is to conduct scientific experiments in space. These range from growing plants, to observing the effect of life in space on the human body, in order to understand the challenges humans will face if they want to explore further into the solar system. They also test products such as 3D printers and coffee makers to see how they perform in zero gravity. But the astronauts are also responsible for making sure the ISS is in full working order and they will often need to make repairs which might involve spacewalks to access the exterior of the station. They also put aside two hours each day for exercise and to make sure they are taking care of themselves. But the ISS might well not be there forever. At the moment, there are plans to keep it in operation until at least 2024 and possibly until 2028, but after that, its future is not so certain. It might be taken out of orbit permanently or broken up into parts to be used on future space stations. But whatever happens to it, let's hope the spirit of international co-operation will continue as mankind explores further and further into space.