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It is the 30th anniversary of the Hubble telescope. Hubble is an observatory in space that is a telescope looking far into space across millions and millions of light years. As the light takes so long to reach us, the telescope helps us see into the past.
I spoke to astronomy and space scientist Professor Martin Barstow about his work on the Hubble Telescope and what we have learnt. We also talked about the new telescopes that will help us see even further into space, and about possible trips to Mars. You can hear the full episode by clicking here.
Above is a special podcast episode where Martin answers questions sent in by children from Greenfield Primary School. You can also listen on Spotify and iTunes and other podcast hosts by clicking the links at the bottom of this page or by searching for Humanish.
There are also some questions below that you can use to further explore Space!
Space
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Give me Space!
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1. This is the picture from the Hubble Telescope that was called "The Cosmic Reef". Why do you think they gave it that name?
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2. In the conversation, Martin talked about meeting three astronauts. Who did he say was one of his favourite astronauts and what Apollo missions did that astronaut fly on?
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3. What objects did Martin say they first looked at using the Hubble telescope? Can you find out what that is?
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4. Martin talked about how complicated it is to leave Earth at the right time to make it to Mars. If we don't leave in July this year - how long would we have to wait to try again?
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5. Would you be able to explain why we have to wait two years to try and travel to Mars? Give it a go!
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6. One of the questions was about water on Mars. Why did Martin say finding water would be important?
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7. Can you find out how far away Mars is from Earth?
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8. Do you think you would like to be an astronaut and go to Mars? What do you think might be the most difficult parts of a trip like that? Remember, you would be away from home for at least 2 years!
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9. We might not be sending people to Mars in the next few years, but obviously people have walked on the moon. Can you find out how many people have walked on the moon?
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10. Last year it was the 50th Anniversary of the first Moon landings. Poet and author Dom Conlon wrote 50 poems for his book, This Rock That Rock. You can hear one of them in this video. There are more if you click here.
Why don't you have a go at writing a poem about the Moon? Or visiting Mars? Or anything about Space!
If you want to share your poem, ask an adult to use the contact page on this website.
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