BEST IELTS Academic Reading Test 490

BEST IELTS Academic Reading Test 490

IELTS Academic Reading Test

Comet Missions

Humans have long been fascinated by the universe around us, but it has only been relatively recently that we have been able to observe it up close. The spacecraft launched by the European Space Agency (ESA) in March 2004 is just one of many missions which travel to comets rather than planets.

Following separate missions run by the former Soviet Union and NASA (the National Aeronautics and Space Administration) in the US, the probe Sakigake, the inaugural Japanese spacecraft, was launched in 1985. Considered a success, the Sakigake mission took place mainly to showcase the new vehicle as well as to take measurements of magnetic fields. Unlike its twin, Suisei, which was launched months later, Sakigake did not carry any photographic equipment and therefore, did not produce pictorial data.

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In the same year, the ESA’s Giotto was able to make unprecedented observations of a comet during its seven-year mission and was also the first spacecraft to be reactivated for an extended mission. The comet in question was Halley’s Comet, which Sakigake had flown past but did not get as close to as Giotto. While these two missions were successful, not all missions to comets are. The CONTOUR probe was intended to fly past two comets in the hope of discovering a third, but its mission was cut short when it failed soon after launching in 2002.

NASA, the probe’s constructor, did not give up, and only three years later they launched Deep Impact. What made this mission different from the others was that it was able to force material off a comet’s surface by launching an impactor which collided on the comet’s surface, creating a crater approximately 150 metres in diameter. The material was then studied by scientists who wanted to learn more about the substances that comets are composed of. Another spacecraft to make close contact with a comet was the Rosetta, which was the first to successfully orbit a comet.

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Rosetta’s journey was a remarkable one. Not only did it orbit Comet 67P, but it also launched the probe Philae, which was the first man-made technology to land on any comet, although it bounced three times before coming to rest. Originally set to launch in 2003, Rosetta was delayed due to technical faults of another craft and as a result, a different target comet needed to be chosen.

Rosetta was finally launched on the 2nd of March in 2004 from French Guiana. The mission used gravity to help propel it through space and it flew past Earth on three occasions. Perhaps the most dangerous fly-by was when it had to navigate close to Mars in 2007. The solar panels on the craft could not be used because Rosetta was in the shadow of Mars, but this was successfully managed. On its journey, the craft passed a couple of asteroids, of which Rosetta sent back images to Earth. Images of the Steins asteroid in 2008, followed by Lutetia two years later, provided scientists with more data to work with.

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In 2011, as Rosetta was making its way through the orbit of Jupiter, there was very little solar energy to power the vehicle, so it was put into hibernation while in deep space. The craft was then reactivated three years later as it neared its target, before finally entering orbit around 67P in August of that year. A few months later, in November 2014, Philae landed on the surface of the comet and observations began and continued for a few years. Rosetta’s mission came to an end in September 2016, when it was sent crashing into the comet, taking images during its descent.

Thanks to the ground-breaking missions of Rosetta and Philae, scientists now have a wealth of information about this type of comet and will be analysing the data for many years to come. In addition to a multitude of images to process, Rosetta witnessed the change in colour and brightness of the comet as it neared the Sun on its orbit. It became apparent that the outer and older surface of 67P was stripped away by the sheer heat of the Sun.

This exposed fresh material increased the comet’s brightness and made it much bluer than had previously been observed. Scientists were also now aware that the shape of 67P is an unusual one. Through this mission, experts were able to determine that the shape was a result of two independent bodies fusing together into a shape that resembles a duck.

IELTS Academic Reading Test

Much of the data collected came from measurements made by Philae on the surface of 67P. This was collected before Philae malfunctioned and stopped communicating after only around three days in position. Evidence of water vapour was discovered, and although this was exciting, scientists ruled out the possibility that water on Earth derived from these sources on comets. This was due to the different chemical compounds found in the vapour when compared with water on our planet. However, the mission also uncovered traces of one of the simplest amino acids, which is also found in many organisms on Earth. This tends to suggest that comets may have played a role in providing our planet with the raw materials for life.

The discovery of molecular oxygen, found in abundance on our planet, in the gas surrounding 67P was probably the biggest revelation of the mission. It was initially thought that the oxygen had lain dormant under the frozen surface of the comet, but a recent study suggests that it is actually being produced by the comet itself. Although there is no evidence to suggest that life exists on 67P, this theory argues that oxygen can be produced without some form of life being present.

IELTS Academic Reading Test

There are bound to be countless more discoveries to come after the Rosetta and Philae missions, with the quest for answers as to the make-up of comets and the part they played in creating life on Earth certain to keep scientists at work for a long time to come. With each successful and even unsuccessful – mission, scientists edge ever closer to finding the truth.

Look at the following facts (Questions 14-18) and the list of spacecrafts below.

Match each fact with the spacecraft it is associated with, A-E.

Write the correct letter, A-E, for Questions 14-18.

NB You may use any letter more than once.

Write the correct letter in boxes 14-18 on your answer sheet.

14. This spacecraft is noted for being reactivated.

15. An object was fired at a comet by this spacecraft.

16. This was a particular country’s first spacecraft.

17. This mission ended in failure.

18. This spacecraft could not return images.

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SPACECRAFT

A. Sakigake

B. Suisei

C. Giotto

D. CONTOUR

E. Deep Impact

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Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.

– Rosetta 19…………….. into space, March 2004

– Mars Fly-by, February 2007

– Steins Fly-by, 2008

20…………….. Fly-by, 2010

– Put into 21…………….. hibernation, June 2011

– Philae arrives at Comet 67P, 22…………….. 2014

– Mission end, September 2016

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Complete each sentence with the correct ending, A-F, below.

Write the correct letter, A-F, in boxes 23-26 on your answer sheet.

23. The exposure of new material on the surface of the comet

24. Shortly after landing on 67P, the probe Philae

25. The discovery of water vapour

26. The detection of a common Earth gas

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A. did not send back any useful data.

B. was not a surprise to scientists.

C. lost contact with teams on Earth.

D. was a direct result of heat from the Sun.

E. does not indicate the presence of life elsewhere.

F. is unlikely to have any connection to Earth.

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14. C

15. E

16. A

17. D

18. A

19. LAUNCHED

20. LUTETIA

21. DEEP SPACE

22. AUGUST

23. D

24. C

25. F

26. E

IELTS Academic Reading Test

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