Radiation Budget Activity: Satellite Answers

Questions and Answers:

1. How did the Earth Radiation Budget Satellite (ERBS) get into space?

   The ERBS (Earth Radiation Budget Satellite) was launched by the Space Shuttle Challenger.

   [May also accept a more general answer, such as by way of a rocket.]

2. Who was the astronaut who deployed the satellite?

   Sally Ride was the astronaut who deployed the satellite.

3. Find a picture of ERBS on the Web and ask your teacher to check it.

   Path to the answer:
   http://asd-www.larc.nasa.gov/erbe/ASDerbe.html
   click on ERBS (in the first paragraph)
   click on "ERBS" for the satellite image, which is http://asd-www.larc.nasa.gov/erbe/erbssat.gif

4. Why does NASA use satellites to study the radiation budget?

   NASA uses instruments which are onboard satellites to collect data about the radiation budget to better understand how the Earth's climate works. Instruments collect data from the Earth and are carried into space by rockets.

5. How can you obtain more information on topics related to these questions?

   You can obtain more information about topics related to these questions by searching the Internet and from books in the library.