What are Satellites? - About the man-made satellites!

Hey kids! Have you ever wondered, that what are those machines, with wing like panels, with an antenna, orbiting the Earth? Yes, we are talking about Satellites! So let us begin with this article, by answering the question: "What are Satellites?"

Basically...

The main and official definition of a Satellite is a celestial object like a moon, rock, object or a machine orbiting another and more massive celestial object like a planet. But in this article, we are talking about the man-made satellites, which are made by humans. Man-made satellites are also called Artificial Satellites. Hence we can say: A man-made satellite is a machine with special equipment, launched into space, for researches, missions, communication, and many other purposes. These man-made satellites are made by special organisations and companies of Space Researches, Exploration, or some other companies too. Some examples of such companies are: NASA, ISRO, ESA, JAXA, and SpaceX. Now let us discuss that what do Satellites actually do, and what is their use?

What do Satellites do?

Satellites help us (humans) in a lot of things. Let us know them in detail:

1. Exploration: Satellites helped and even now it helps to explore space, using telescopes in the satellites. In the 20th Century, satellites were sent into space, to explore, click pictures of objects like other planets, celestial objects, etc. Even today, these satellites share us the pictures and other details of celestial objects, even if they are very far away. 

2. Communication: Communication satellites plays the role in communication, like sending signals, amplifying radio signals, etc. So whatever communication is taking place, like for example, this blog is visible to you, or you message your friends, most of it is happening through Communication Satellites. 

3. Determining Climate or Weather: A few satellites also determine the weather, by clicking pictures of parts of earth, sending it to weather meteorologists (a meteorologist is a person who studies/determines weather), and hence we finally get to know about the weather. This is important in cases like if a cyclone or tornado is formed, we get to know about them. 

4. Navigation: Most GPS applications, navigation apps, work with the presence of Navigation Satellites. They help a particular person to determine his/her location anywhere, where the satellite can make contact. 

5. Disaster Safety: Satellites can also detect disasters like cyclones, tornadoes, tsunamis, and forest fires. Hence, it can detect such disasters, contact the agencies, and then the agencies can rescue those people. 

So we have learnt that What do satellites do, and how they are helpful. Let us now know about a few satellites we have sent into Space. 

Examples of Satellites: 

Here are a few of satellites we have sent into Space, and their names. These satellites have been made by various Space Exploration Agencies and organisations.

1. ICESAT: 

ICESAT was a satellite launched by NASA in 2003, to measure ice sheet mass balance, aerosol and cloud heights, and such more features of the Earth. It orbits about 600 km about the Surface of the Earth, and is a satellite which operated as NASA's Earth Observing System. 

2. Telstar 1: 

Telstar 1 was a communication satellite launched again, by NASA, in 1962. It was the satellite which enabled the broadcast of first live broadcast of television images, between the United States, and Europe. It looks like a sphere, but it did a big job. Enabling something for the first time is a proud act. 

3. Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO): 

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter or simply LRO is a kind of robotic satellite, launched by NASA in 2009. It is currently orbiting the Moon, and whatever data is saved in the LRO, will be used by NASA or space agencies for future human and robotic missions to the Moon. 

4. Astrosat: 

Astrosat is a satellite launched by ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) in 2015. It was the first dedicated Indian multi-wavelength space telescope satellite, mainly for research. It was a successful mission and a lot of information and data about space has being received through this satellite. 

5. SELENE: 

SELENE is a satellite launched by the JAXA, which is the Japan's Space Company or organisation. It is the second Japanese lunar orbiter/orbiting satellite, and was launched in 2007. 

So kids, this was a small introduction to artificial satellites, and we hope you liked this article and got to know a lot about satellites. And in this article is published with a quiz we would like you to play, and test your knowledge about Artificial Satellites. 

Click Here to Play the Quiz on: Artificial Satellites!

Note: This quiz is completely free to play and has been made by KidsCast. You can play and then check your answers later in this quiz!