Russian, US spacewalk
The Australian, 29th of March 2005

This was just a short article detailing a not-very exciting event but I was able to learn quite a bit from it. For example, even though the article is about how two astronauts will leave the space station to install antennae and launch an experimental satellite, I was able to learn:

• There are currently only two people at the space station
• They are a Russian cosmonaut and American astronaut
• The space station is an orbiting laboratory
• Russia had been keeping the station supplied for two years because
• The US has grounded its shuttle fleet due to an accident
• Next year the European Space agency will launch an ATV that will help carry supplies to the space station.

I think that this article is good because it lets the public know that things are happening all the time and that we are still progressing in the area of space. It also lets the reader know what countries are involved; Russia, the US and Europe. I found it disappointing that Australia is not mentioned, probably because we have no involvement in the international space station. I think that it is sad that Australia does not have more to do with the utilization and exploration of space. In all of the article I have come across I haven’t read anything about an Australian mission or a discovery by Australian scientists. I have only read about an Australian born Astronaut, Andy Thomas, and he works for the US.

I thought that this article was well written; short and sweet it got to the point without too much rabble. I was able to understand what was happening the first time I read it, because it was written in an (almost) logical fashion. Plus there was only one direct quote (I find that too many quotes breaks the article up too much and makes it harder to read).

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