G8 Mapping Venus (On Grade) – 02

This is your first time at grandpa’s house and you are drawn to the pictures and models scattered throughout the house. Until now, he has only come to your house for visits with you and your parents. Your Mom is his daughter and his only child; like you are an only child of your parents. When he is there, he does not talk much about himself. Mom says he has always been quiet and never one to blow his own horn. He is much more curious to learn about and do things with you. Being in his house gives you a whole new perspective of grandpa. A walk down the hallway is like walking through time. Each room you pass seems to have different types of photos.

His house seems so much different than yours, more like a museum than a home. He has pictures and models everywhere. Mom says he is a bit eccentric. He is retired now, but as a young man he was in the Air Force, where he flew fighter jets. After an injury he retired and went back to school where he earned a PhD in electrical engineering. That’s how he was able to work for an aerospace company that did contract work for NASA. His company built some of the components for satellites. That explains the pictures and models of all the satellites you noticed in the room you slept in.

On the wall hung a photo of the Magellan spacecraft. The article below the photo explained how it was placed into orbit around Venus to map the planet’s surface. It was launched in May of 1989 and took over a year to get to Venus. Using radar, the tiny spacecraft was able to map 98% of the Venetian surface. The radar allowed the spacecraft to peer through the thick clouds that surround Venus using a process called remote sensing. Using remote sensing, scientists were able to create maps of the venation surface.

The maps that were constructed are called topographic maps. A map is a type of model. Topographic maps are a type of map, or model, which uses contour lines to illustrate shapes. Contour lines join points of equal height. Contours make it possible to show the elevation differences of geographic features. On Venus, the elevations were all gathered without ever landing on the surface of the planet.