User:Kiwilight1/sandbox

NASA Flagship Programs
First Area  

Galileo
Second Area Galileo (spacecraft) 

Encyclopedia.com 

Encyclopedia Britanica http://www.britannica.com.rap.ocls.ca/EBchecked/topic/224112/Galileo

Voyageur
Third area Voyager program 

Encyclopedia.com 

Encyclopedia Britannica http://www.britannica.com.rap.ocls.ca/EBchecked/topic/633197/Voyager

Cassini
Fourth Area Cassini–Huygens 

Encyclopedia Britannica 

Mars Science Laboratory Aka. Curiosity
Fifth area. Mars Science Laboratory 

Ecyclopedia Britannica 

Other Information and Resources
Encyclopedia of Physical Science and Technology (Third Edition)

Encyclopedia Britannica on SPACE EXPLORATION 

NASA Science 

Discussion
I have found that it is not easy to find certain things when one does not know where to look. Choosing a topic however, was an easy task. I like space exploration and seeing as how I have not done a project of this nature in a long time it was a natural choice. after doing some searching I discovered that the Curiosity rover was part of a much larger category, the NASA flagship program. After looking into it I found three other projects of this type and decided to research these as the topics of my assignment.

Finding the other sources of information proved to be much more difficult. After two fruitless hours of searching for the school link to Encyclopedia Britannica and related information I started searching for other sources of information. What I found was Encyclopedia.com (via. Google) and the Encyclopedia of Physical Science and Technology (via EBSCO), which happens to be a series our school has in its reference library. It wasn't until I asked a very helpful classmate (thanks to Courtnay by the way) that I was able to locate the Encyclopedia Britannica link from our school website and continue my research.

From reading through the articles it seems that Wikipedia is blessed with a number of people who have a passion for space and space exploration. the Wikipedia articles are far and away more detailed and comprehensive then the other encyclopedia entries I was able to find. I did manage to find additional information on the NASA website that coincided with the information given by Wikipedia. Being that one of the topics is new (the curiosity rover) the entries will need to be updated frequently and I am curious to see how the various sources I have found will handle it. The information from Wikipedia and my other sources seems to agree on most topics. I did notice that the Wikipedia entry for Curiosity focused a lot on the spacecraft whereas the Encyclopedia Britannica mainly had information about the rover unit itself. Much of the information on the older programs was largely the same between Wikipedia and my other information sources.

Description and Analysis
Description/Assessment The Galileo space probe has two articles pertaining to it. In Wikipedia and Encyclopedia Britannica both articles have strengths and weaknesses. The object of this report is to examine both articles to provide an assessment of each, and to compare them.

The Wikipedia article provides extensive information concerning the probes mission, the spacecraft itself, the Science experiments that it conducted, malfunctions, and finally it’s decommission. The mission overview starts with the creation of the project and the delays experienced in its construction. It goes on to describe the probes deployment its flight to Jupiter, and the missions it completed en route. The overview ends with the ship getting damaged and preforming one last science experiment.

The next several sections cover the range of science equipment and details about the various projects that the craft preformed. Following a description of the computer soft where and the propulsion systems, and its electrical systems; the article lists and describes, and gives images each of the scientific components used aboard Galileo. After the section on components the article illustrates the design and use of the probe device itself including its launch into Jupiter’s atmosphere. Within the later sections are the various projects preformed not only at Jupiter itself but en route as well. They also cover the many malfunctions, damage, solutions, and workarounds leading up to the eventual decommissioning and scuttle into Jupiter’s atmosphere. An interesting fact is that in order to keep bacteria from spreading onto Jupiter’s nearby moons the science team had Galileo burn up in the atmosphere rather than leave it out in orbit. There is a link at the end of the page before the bibliography to another Wikipedia article titled Exploration of Jupiter which has some additional information concerning some of the observations made by Galileo.

The Wikipedia Article seems to be comprehensive and informative however it has lost its designation as a good article. The talk page has a number of subjected improvements and a number of them have been updated and acted upon by a number of different editors. The Wikipedia contributor Nergaal posts that the article is in no way a good article and states that its format is inadmissible. Their provided example is that you must read through two full sections before encountering the first reference. There are a few entries on the talk page where users complain about the articles wording being complicated and difficult to read. By contrast there are also entries that claim discrepancies in some of the mathematic equations given about some of Galileo’s equipment; the information is complex and difficult to understand without context. It is also noted that the links and references at the bottom of the article have no titles to describe each reference.

Located above the mission overview there is a tab stating that the section requires additional citations for verification, however the talk page does not go into details as to what requires more citation. Much of the information contained in the overview is later reflected in the article however there is no tab that claims those sections requires additional citation. Overall the Wikipedia article does provide informative and detailed information though it could use some work in terms of citation and validation.

The Encyclopedia Britannica article chronologically covers the probes mission and its activities during that time. The article is noticeably shorter than its Wikipedia counterpart it also has multiple links to other sections of the encyclopedia concerning things related to Galileo and its mission. The article itself begins with the launching of Galileo and its flybys of Venus and Earth and a number of projects undertaken with its equipment while en route to Jupiter. Unique to this article is an image showing Galileo’s path from earth to Jupiter and the various tasks it performed on the way. The next section describes the probe and its mission detailing its launch, impact with Jupiter and its eventual demise at the end of its mission.

The last part of the article recounts the ships last five years in orbit around Jupiter. Galileo was able to fly a series of orbits close to Jupiter and took pictures and readings of many of Jupiter and its moons. The main body of the article finishes with Galileo’s scuttling into the Jovian atmosphere.

There are a number of other useful components detailed in the Encyclopedia Britannica article. There is a box along the left side of the article with several pictures and images from the Galileo mission. There are also four links at the bottom of the page that lead to other Britannica articles that mention or give more information about Galileo’s input into that particular area. Also to the left side is a short listing of related articles and magazines that have relevance to the search term Galileo; a few of these have reference to the spacecraft not the astronomer.

The article does not provide any information about potential improvements or editing history like Wikipedia does. It does however have the reputation as a reliable source of information and has been reviewed by The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica for accuracy. It lists other sources of within the encyclopedia and there is a short list of articles and magazines from outside sources about some of the topics discussed in the article. According to his profile the Author is an expert in his field and that leads to the conclusion that the article is in good standing.

Comparison
The information contained in both of the articles remains largely the same. There are however several differences both in length and detail. The Encyclopedia Britannica is noticeably shorter than the Wikipedia article; for example though both articles describe the various equipment that Galileo carried, the Wikipedia article provides a lot more detail. Both articles display a number of images from the mission and also of the craft itself. The Britannica articles images focus on some of the many pictures taken by Galileo and a number of diagrams displaying its flight path. The Wikipedia article does not display as many pictures from the mission itself but it does have images of the various components and even has a diagram of the craft and its probe. Though the main articles remain largely the same, there is a clear difference in length and detail.

References and Contributors
Wikipedia has a number of editors that have worked to improve the article. Its main creator is called 129.128.90.xxx. Though there does not seem to be information about this individual they have made several space related edits and articles. An individual called Nergaal has made a number of the later edits and in the talk page they claim that it is not a good article. According to their Wikipedia page they are part of a number of featured articles and have made more than thirty thousand contributions.

The Wikipedia page has a large number of references external sites, and a see also section that link to a few different sources though primarily from the NASA website. Most of the references are untitled as Nergaal stipulates in his talk page contribution. The article also could reportedly use more references.

The Encyclopedia Britannica article has one major contributor by the name of David M. Harland. His Britannica account states that he is a space historian and writer. He has published several books including one about Galileo and a large list of contributions regarding space and spacecraft within Encyclopedia Britannica. The article has been reviewed by the Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica for accuracy. There are several references to other pages within the encyclopedia and a short list of external resources located in a tab to the left.