Space probe

A space probe is a robotic spacecraft that leaves Earth orbit and explores space. It may approach the Moon; enter interplanetary space; flyby, orbit, or land on other planetary bodies; or approach interstellar space.

See List of active Solar System probes for a list of active probes; the space agencies of the USSR (now Russia and Ukraine), the United States, the European Union, Japan, China and India have in the aggregate launched probes to several planets and moons of the Solar System as well as to a number of asteroids and comets. Approximately fifteen missions are currently operational. Also a probe travels through space to collect science information.Probes do not have astronauts. Probes send data back to Earth for scientists to study.

Interplanetary trajectories

Once a probe has left the vicinity of Earth, its trajectory will likely take it along an orbit around the Sun similar to the Earth's orbit. To reach another planet, the simplest practical method is a Hohmann transfer orbit. More complex techniques, such as gravitational slingshots, can be more fuel-efficient, though they may require the probe to spend more time in transit. Some high Delta-V missions (such as those with high inclination changes) can only be performed, within the limits of modern propulsion, using gravitational slingshots. A technique using very little propulsion, but requiring a considerable amount of time, is to follow a trajectory on the Interplanetary Transport Network.

Star Trek

Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry and owned by CBS (TV series) and Paramount Pictures (Film Rights).Star Trek: The Original Series and its live-action TV spin-off series, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, and Star Trek: Enterprise as well as the Star Trek film franchise make up the main canon. The canonicity of Star Trek: The Animated Series is debated, and the expansive library of Star Trek novels and comics is generally considered non-canon, although still part of the franchise.

Star Trek: The Motion Picture (novel)

The novelization of the film Star Trek: The Motion Picture was written in 1979 by Gene Roddenberry. It is notable as being the only Star Trek novel to be written by Roddenberry, who created the franchise. It was also the first Star Trek novel published by Pocket Books, beginning a prolific relationship with the franchise that continues as of 2012. At the time the book was published, however, Bantam Books held the rights to publish original Star Trek-based fiction; Pocket Books wouldn't publish its first original Trek novel until 1981.

This book is sometimes erroneously credited to Alan Dean Foster. However, he only contributed to the film's story; the novelization was written solely by Roddenberry.

Plot summary

The original historic 5-year mission is over. All of the Enterprise's original crew have pursued other jobs, only to be called back into action. The USS Enterprise has been refitted and the original crew must deal with an incredibly destructive power that threatens the Earth and the human race.

Star Trek: The Motion Picture

Star Trek: The Motion Picture is a 1979 American science fiction film released by Paramount Pictures. It is the first Star Trek film and stars the cast of the original 1966–1969 Star Trek television series. The film is set in the twenty-third century when a mysterious and immensely powerful alien cloud known as V'Ger approaches Earth, destroying everything in its path. Admiral James T. Kirk (William Shatner) resumes command of his previous starship—the recently refitted USS Enterprise—to lead it on a mission to save the planet and determine V'Ger's origins.

When the original television series was cancelled in 1969, Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry lobbied Paramount to continue the franchise through a film. The success of the series in syndication convinced the studio to begin work on a feature film in 1975. A series of writers attempted to craft a suitably epic script, but the attempts did not satisfy Paramount, so the studio scrapped the project in 1977. Paramount instead planned on returning the franchise to its roots with a new television series, Star Trek: Phase II. The box office success of Close Encounters of the Third Kind convinced Paramount that science fiction films other than Star Wars could do well at the box office, so the studio cancelled production of Phase II and resumed its attempts at making a Star Trek film. In 1978, Paramount assembled the largest press conference held at the studio since the 1950s to announce that double Academy Award–winning director Robert Wise would direct a $15 million film adaptation of the television series.

Film

A film, also called a movie, motion picture or photoplay, is a series of still images which, when shown on a screen, creates the illusion of moving images due to the phi phenomenon. This optical illusion causes the audience to perceive continuous motion between separate objects viewed rapidly in succession. A film is created by photographing actual scenes with a motion picture camera; by photographing drawings or miniature models using traditional animation techniques; by means of CGI and computer animation; or by a combination of some or all of these techniques and other visual effects. The word "cinema", short for cinematography, is often used to refer to the industry of films and filmmaking or to the art of filmmaking itself. The contemporary definition of cinema is the art of simulating experiences to communicate ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty or atmosphere by the means of recorded or programmed moving images along with other sensory stimulations.

The process of filmmaking is both an art and an industry.