Samir Ramcharan – Grade 10B English Speech – September The future of space exploration and astronomy To start my speech off today I would like to ask you all a few questions. Who here today has ever seen this picture on Instagram, tik tok or anywhere else on the internet? Now from those people who know, would any of you like to tell me what the picture is because to some here it just looks like a good screen saver? Precisely / ok well let me tell you all about this picture. On Tuesday, July 12, 2022, the dawn of a new era in astronomy began as the world got its first look at the full capabilities of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. The following images that I’m about to show were a part of the first wave of full-colour scientific images and spectra the observatory gathered. First, we have the screen saver, SMACS 0723 also known as Webb’s First Deep Field. Thousands of galaxies – including the faintest objects ever observed in the infrared. This slice of the vast universe covers a patch of sky approximately the size of a grain of sand held at arm’s length by someone on the ground. Next, we have Stephan’s Quintet, a visual grouping of five galaxies. Sparkling clusters of millions of young stars and starburst regions of fresh star birth grace the image. Sweeping tails of gas, dust and stars are being pulled from several of the galaxies due to gravitational interactions. Here we have the Southern Ring Nebula. There’s a saying in astronomy that some stars save the best for last and this is no different. The dimmer star at the centre of this scene has been sending out rings of gas and dust for thousands of years in all directions as the dying star comes to the end of its journey. Finally, I have left one of the best for last. Ladies and gentlemen I would like to present to you the Carina Nebula. This landscape of “mountains” and “valleys” speckled with glittering stars is the edge of a nearby, young, star-forming region, which reveals for the first time previously invisible areas of star birth. These first images from the world’s largest and most powerful space telescope demonstrate Webb at its full power, ready to begin its mission to unfold the infrared universe. However, this is just the start, with many more inventions to come in the near future. In the present time, we are on the brink of moving towards the future of space exploration. This afternoon, NASA will be making history with the launch of the Artemis 1 rocket. The launch will be an uncrewed flight test for 25 and a half days, with 6 of those days in an orbit around the moon. The mission will certify the Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System rockets for crewed flights as part of NASA's Artemis program. The main goal of the Artemis program will be landing "the first woman and the next man" on the Moon, specifically in the lunar south pole region by 2024, to stay. Artemis would be the next step towards the long-term goal of establishing a sustainable presence on the Moon, laying the foundation for private companies to build a lunar economy, and eventually using the moon as a launch station for sending humans to Mars. Thank You. https://www.nasa.gov/specials/60counting/future.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Future_of_space_exploration https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Future_of_space_exploration#Artemis_program https://www.nasa.gov/webbfirstimages
