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NGSS: Core Idea: ETS1.C

CCSS:Writing: 7

TEKS: Science: 3.3C, 4.3C, 5.3C, 6.3D; ELA: 3.13C, 4.13C, 5.13C, 6.12D

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30 Years of SuperScience!

March 2019
By Alessandra Potenza and Jen Monnier

Blow up some party balloons! SuperScience turns 30 this year. To celebrate, we’ve been reading through some of the magazine’s very first issues. We were amazed to see how much technology has improved over the past three decades.

Here are updates to three SuperScience stories from the 1990s, each focusing on a different type of technology. You can read the original articles in the Teaching Resources section below.

Blow up some party balloons! SuperScience turns 30 this year. We’re ready to celebrate. So we’ve been reading some of the magazine’s first issues. We found that a lot of technology has changed over the past three decades.

Here are updates to three SuperScience stories. The original stories were from the 1990s. Each focuses on a different type of technology. You can read the original articles in the Teaching Resources section below.

Goddard Space Flight Center/NASA (blurry photo); A. Simon (GSFC), OPAL Team, & J. DePasquale (STScI)/ESA/NASA (Saturn)

THEN: A misshapen mirror made Hubble’s early photos blurry (left).

NOW: A more recent image of Saturn captured by Hubble (right)

Hubble Space Telescope

In 1990, the U.S. space agency NASA launched the first major telescope into space. But the Hubble Space Telescope soon hit a snag. A faulty mirror made its photos blurry. In 1991, SuperScience published an article on Hubble’s troubles and NASA’s plans to fix the telescope. In 1993, a team of astronauts flew up to Hubble and made the repairs.

In the years since, Hubble has changed our understanding of the universe. It has allowed scientists to clearly see the parts of our galaxy where new stars and planets form. “Hubble has taught us that the universe is dynamic,” says Jennifer Wiseman at NASA.

Astronauts have returned to Hubble four more times to repair and add instruments. Thanks to those trips, the telescope is expected to function until the mid-2020s.

NASA is the U.S. space agency. It launched the Hubble Space Telescope in 1990. But soon after, the telescope hit a snag. A mirror was not working correctly. That made the photos blurry. SuperScience published an article on Hubble’s troubles in 1991. It talked about NASA’s plans to fix the telescope. A team of astronauts flew up to Hubble in 1993. They made repairs.

Hubble has changed what we know about the universe since then. It has allowed scientists to clearly see parts of our galaxy. That includes where new stars and planets form. “Hubble has taught us that the universe is dynamic,” says Jennifer Wiseman. She works at NASA.

Astronauts have returned to Hubble four more times. They have made repairs. They added instruments. The telescope should work until the mid-2020s thanks to those trips.

Mike Goldwater/Alamy Stock Photo (early VR, early graphics); iStock/Getty Images (today VR)

THEN: Early VR games had simple graphics (left).

NOW: Today’s VR games are much more realistic (right).

Virtual Reality

What if instead of just playing a video game, you could feel like you’re inside a video game? With virtual reality (VR), you can!

VR lets you interact with a fake three-dimensional (3-D) world created with computers. You wear a headset that has two small screens—one for each eye. Your brain combines the images on the screens into a 3-D view. Electronic sensors detect your movements. The images adjust to make it look like you’re moving through the 3-D world you see.

SuperScience covered VR in 1993, when the first games were coming out. Today, VR is more realistic—and more useful. Doctors can help patients overcome their fear of heights with VR that simulates walking out onto a ledge. And today’s VR games are more thrilling than ever!

What if instead of playing video games, you could feel like you’re inside one? With virtual reality (VR), you can!

VR puts you into a fake three-dimensional (3-D) world. It’s created with computers. You wear a headset. It has two small screens, one for each eye. Your brain combines the images on the screens. That makes a 3-D view. Electronic sensors detect how you move. The images then adjust. They make it look like you’re moving through the 3-D world.

SuperScience covered VR in 1993. That’s when the first games were coming out. Today, VR is more realistic. It’s also more useful. Doctors can use VR. It helps patients get over their fear of heights. They use VR that mimics walking onto a ledge. And today’s VR games are more thrilling than ever!

Valkyrie (today graphics); Courtesy of 3D Systems (Chuck Hull); MBI/Alamy Stock Photo (woman printing)

THEN: Early 3-D printers were used by companies to make plastic models (left).

NOW: Today, 3-D printers are easier to use, and they make all sorts of things (right)!

 3-D Printers

In 1995, SuperScience covered a futuristic new technology: 3-D printers! The first 3-D printers were mostly used by companies to make plastic prototypes of products. The companies used these models to test products before building the final versions.

Today, 3-D printers can make all kinds of things—from candy to artificial body parts. Many 3-D printers work like hot glue guns. They squeeze materials, such as plastic, ceramic, metal, or even sugar, through a nozzle, building objects layer by layer.

Companies still use 3-D printers to make prototypes, says Michael Cima. He’s an engineer who helped invent a 3-D printing method at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. But now companies 3-D print products sold in stores too. “We didn’t really envision how big of an impact it would have,” Cima says.

SuperScience covered a brand-new technology in 1995. It was the 3-D printer! It was mostly companies that used the first 3-D printers. The machines made plastic models of products. The companies tested these prototypes. That way they could improve products before building final versions.

Today, 3-D printers can make all kinds of things. That includes everything from candy to artificial body parts. Many 3-D printers work like hot glue guns. They squeeze materials through a nozzle. The plastic, ceramic, metal, or even sugar builds objects layer by layer.

Companies still use 3-D printers to make prototypes, says Michael Cima. He’s an engineer. He works at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He helped invent a 3-D printing method there. But now companies 3-D print products for sale in stores too. “We didn’t really envision how big of an impact [the technology] would have,” Cima says.               

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