Meg

Facts about Mars You Need to Know in Order to Get a Rover There
// Ms. Mc: Good facts, Meg, but these are all from our clas discussion. Where is your original work? (-3). Please capitalize Mars as it's a proper noun :). 7/10 //
 * Needs to be rust-proof as mars' atmosphere constrains trace amounts of oxygen which will oxidize iron
 * Covered in craters and volcanoes (hundreds of thousands)- need to pick a smooth landing site
 * Need to know mars; orbit in order to line up with it
 * Mars has huge dust storms that could damage the rover
 * Mars has seasons due to its tilt- need to point rover at sun in order to collect solar energy
 * Mars is cold (-125 degrees C to 25 degrees C
 * Its takes 214 days to get there (about 7 months)
 * Need to launch when planets are close so we don’t need as much rocket fuel.
 * Has 2 moons do need to steer clear of them
 * Rover needs to be able to steer around the terrain; able to move over rocky and sandy surface
 * Launch window occurs every 2 years launch to where mars will be at the time the rocket would arrive at mars

History of Rocketry
The first rocket model ever invented was the Hero Engine, and it's not quite like the rockets we think of today. It was powered by a flame underneath a large bowl of water, creating steam that travels up two metal tubes and into a smaller metal ball. The steam escapes through to L shaped tubes on either side of the ball, causing the ball to spin continuously. Later in the first century A.D, the Chinese accidentally invented the next rocket by having faulty firecrackers shoot out of the fire, propelled by the explosion on the other end. Konstantin Tsiolkovsky was the scientist who came up with an idea that would change the course of the modern rocket. His version of the rocket was pretty much the same, but he used liquid propellants to achieve greater heights and distances.

In the early 20th century, Robert Goddard achieved Tsiolkovsky's idea and conducted the first successful rocket flight using liquid propellants. Although it only traveled 12.5 meters in height and landed 56 away, this was an immense achievement at the time. Soon after, the Russian space program Verein fur Raumschiffahrt (Society for Space Travel) opened and launched a rocket called V-2 which was used against London in WW2. V-2 was a great weapon for the Russians because it had the power to destroy whole city blocks at once. It was good on London's part because it came too late in the war to change the direction it was going in at all. The Soviet Union launched a satellite into space called Sputnik1 (Sputnik meaning satellite). Following in their footsteps, the US built a satellite of their own named Explorer 1. October of the same year, they opened up a space program called NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration). NASA's goal was to create a peaceful environment for all to explore space and learn it's secrets. //Ms. Mc: Good overview of the main contributions to rocket science, Meg! Good drawings too. Please include a figure # and refer to them in your text (i.e., "as seen in Figure 1, ...) (-1/2). Good job! 9.5/10 P.S. Please make your log headings (date, entry #, and title in Heading 2. I did this for you).//

Scratch Rocket Flight Simulation
media type="custom" key="14088110" Turn sound up to 50 Press the green flag to start simulation Watch Enjoy

Rachel L.- I love the little martian man on Mars! the rocket could have gone a little slower in some places, but overall, great job! I liked the picture of earth you used!

Brett - I like how detailed the words were described. I think the rocket should have turned more instead of going sideways though. I like how you were ready to search for life, and you find it right away.

Rocket Parts
The following components of this rocket are found in Figure 1. The nosecone (located at the top of the rocket) is to lessen the amount of air resistance, giving the rocket a higher altitude. Right below the nosecone is the body tube, usually made out of strong paper such as cardboard, and it is the main body of the rocket that holds essentials such as the recovery system, the recovery wadding, the motor mount, and the rocket motor itself. The recovery system is mainly a parachute to return the rocket safely to the ground. The recovery wadding is to protect the recovery system from getting damaged from the hot gases. The motor mount is to hold the rocket motor in place, while the motor itself is what's powering the rocket in the first place. Back to the outside of the rocket, the launch lug is to guide the rocket in a straight line at liftoff. Last but not least, the fins are used to keep the rocket traveling straight while shooting upwards.

// Ms. Mc: great definitions and labels! 10/10 //

Atlas V 541 Rocket
The main components of the Atlas V 541 rocket, as seen in Figure 1, are the fuel and oxygen tanks that are used to feed an engine. Also, there are the 4 motors that increase the thrust to lift the rocket. The third component is the Centaur, which is the fuel and oxidizer. The Centaur is fired twice total during flight. Once to put the spacecraft into the low orbit of Earth, and then again to push it out of the Earth's orbit and towards Mars. The final component of the Atlas V is the Payload Fairing. It is a thin nosecone to protect the rocket during the ascent through the Earth's atmosphere. The reason the Atlas V 541 was chosen for the Mars Science Laboratory mission was because it is able to liftoff, considering the weight requirements of the rocket. Another reason is because it's in the same family of other rockets that have successfully lifted off and completed other missions. The height of the Atlas V (including the payload) is about 58 meters. The mass (fully fueled, spacecraft on top) is about 531,000 kilograms.

//Ms. Mc: Excellent overview! 10/10//

Rocket Data Summary
The purpose of this experiment was to see how the mass (amount “stuff” in an object) of the model rocket affected the apogee (peak of flight). When the rocket was resting on the launch pad, the forces of gravity pushing down and the force of the launch pad pushing up were equal, meaning the forces were balanced. In order to reach an apogee, the rocket must have first overcome the forces of gravity and inertia. Gravity was pushing down on the rocket, while the rocket must go up to achieve the goal of apogee. Inertia is Newton's 2nd Law that states objects don't like to stop what they are currently doing. If they are moving, they resist to stop moving, and same with resting. If the rocket could not force it's way out of inertia, it could not achieve the goal of apogee. When ignition, meaning the thrusters are lit, occurred, the force of thrust overcame the force of gravity, sending the rocket up. When it was coasting, meaning the thrusters were turned off and the rocket is still moving, the force of gravity and air resistance were pushing down, but the force from the thrust had caused inertia, an object’s resist to stop what it’s already doing, to occur, thus still sending the rocket upwards. It was hypothesized that if the rocket has less mass, then if the thrust that is applied is the same as applied to a heavier rocket, the rocket with the lower mass will go higher because it has more inertia and with less weight, there is less gravity acting on it. As seen in Graph 1, the range of mass was 42.5 grams – 46.5 grams. The range of apogee was 18.5 meters – 107.24 meters. The data was thought to have an inverse relationship because as the mass increased, the apogee decreased. Outliers such as the rocket that had an apogee of 18.5 meters, the rocket that had an apogee of 70, and the rocket that had an apogee of 91 were different in the pattern maybe due to winds, fins not put on correctly, veering off to the left or right, or even its motor falling out. The hypothesis was confirmed because it was hypothesized that the less mass a rocket had, the higher apogee it would have, and that was the case in this experiment. An example that confirmed the hypothesis was the rocket that had an apogee of 107.24, and it weighed a mass of 42.8 grams, and that was the lowest mass. Another example was the rocket that had an apogee of 53.2, the second lowest apogee, and it had a mass of 45.9 grams, which was the heaviest mass out of all of the data. Variables that could have affected the results were the wind, the rocket swerving, or an angle gun error.

Rocket Fin Redesign
I think the number of fins is best for our rocket's apogee because if there was only a certain number of fins provided in the kit, there must be a reason why there's only 3. The shape of our fins (pointy with two straight edges) will help our rocket reach a higher apogee because it's more aerodynamic. Our placement of fins is the same because we believe that if we move them, it will make the rocket swerve or veer. The mass of our rocket for the first launch was 43.1 grams, while the mass of our rocket for the second launch was 42.3 grams. The apogee our rocket reached in the first launch was 96.6 meters, and the apogee our rocket reached during the second launch was 83.9 meters. I think the factor that affected the apogee of our rocket's flight was the shape of the fins. The design was too sharp, compared to the first version of the fins, where it had more surface area and was able to glide through the air more easily.

//Ms. Mc: 5/5 good initial thoughts, conclusions, and diagram.//

History of Robotics
Ctesibus, a greek engineer, seen in Figure 1, made organs and water clocks with movable figures in 270 BC. These were considered the first robots to be created. In 1892, an American scientist named Seward Babbitt designed a motorized crane with gripper to dispose of ingots from a furnace. Much later, in the year 1921, the term "robot" was first used in the play "R.U.R." or "Rossum's Universal Robots," which was about a man building a robot, but eventually the robot kills the man! A year later, Asimov wrote a book called "Runaround," which was about robots, and it contained the "Three Laws of Robotics," which are: 1. A robot may not injure a human, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. 2. A robot must obey the orders it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. 3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict withe the First or Second Law. A while later in 1948, author Norbert Wiener published "Cybernetics," an influence on artificial intelligence research. Meanwhile, in America, scientists J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly invented the first large electronic computer called the Eniac at the University of Pennsylvania. 3 years later, a teleoperator-equipped articulated arm is created by Raymond Goertz for the Atomic Energy Commission. In '56, George Devol and Joseph Engelberger developed the first the world's first robot company, Unimation.



//Ms. Mc: good general summary, Meg. You left out the second figure though. A picture of a robot would have been good (-2). 8/10//

On the Edge Video
The On the Edge challenge was to use a light sensor, which it would use to detect the black piece of tape on the edge of the table, and make your robot stop and keep itself from falling off the table. It would start by detecting your voice saying the word, "Go," and then it would move until it detected the black piece of tape. When it stopped, it would say, "Watch out!" media type="file" key="mec_robotvideo.AVI" width="300" height="300" Video #1: On the Edge Challenge Caption? -1/2

The first one is triggering the sound sensor, which makes the rover listen for you to say, "Go!" (Level of sound? Port? -1). The second one makes the robot move forward. ( Ports? For how long? -1). The third one triggers the light sensor. (Port? Amount of light? -1/2). The fourth one makes the robot stop when it senses the black tape with the light sensor. (By braking or coasting? Ports? -1/2). The final one makes the robot say, "Watch out!" when it stops. (Volume? -1/2)

// Ms. Mc - good overall, just missing a few details. 16/20 //

Curiosity's Mission and Instruments
Curiosity, NASA's latest rover, seen in Figure #1, has a mission to visit Mars and find out its true history. Using state-of-the-art technology, it will use Mars' rocks and minerals to look back into the past and see if it could have been a place to support living species. Curiosity is similar to past Mars' rovers in that it has the same mission: to find life or any traces of life on Mars. The dissimilarities are that past rovers have landed by being released and an airbag deploying, surrounding the rover, making it bounce and land at an unknown area, but Curiosity is landing with a very precise system that puts it exactly where the programmers want it to. Electricity will be provided to the rover by radioisotope power systems. Scientists will communicate with Curiosity by antennas, via UHF frequencies, which are much like television broadcasts. The instruments on Curiosity, seen in Figure #2, include the SAM, CheMin, Mars Hand Lens Imager, Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer, Mast Camera, ChemCam, Radiation Assessment Detector, Rover Environment Monitoring System, Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons (DAN) and Sample Acquisition/Sample Preparation and System. The SAM, or Sample Analysis at Mars, is used to analyze sample materials collected by the rover's arm. The CheMin is used to measure the abundances of minerals on Mars. The Mars Hand Lens Imager will act as a microscope and allow the rover to view microbial-sized substances. The Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer will be able to detect the elemental composition more quickly and will work day and night. The Mast Camera will take color and high-definition pictures of the terrain on Mars. The ChemCam will shoot a laser and analyze the elemental composition of vaporized materials. The Radiation Assessment Detector, looking skyward, will detect galactic cosmic rays and solar particles that pass through Mars's atmosphere. The Rover Environment Monitoring System will measure atmospheric pressure, humidity, wind currents, and ultra-violet radiation from the sun. The Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons will search for subsurface ice on Mars. Lastly, the Sample Acquisition/Sample Preparation and Handling System will store the substances picked up by the rover's arm.

//Ms. Mc - very good overvie////w of Curiosity's mission and instruments! 10/10//

Life on Mars?
The section titled "Spacecraft exploration" involved different rovers, orbiters, and other machines that were launched to either enter Mars's orbit or land on Mars to examine the surface up close, while the section titled "The question of life on Mars" is telling about people questioning the possibility of life on Mars and the evidence scientists found that could have supported living species. Scientists first wanted to explore Mars because of three main reasons: 1. It is the most Earth-like of the other planets 2. Other than Earth, it is the planet most likely to have developed indigenous life 3. It will probably be the first extraterrestrial planet to be visited by humans. Between the years 1960 and 1980, the U.S. and the Soviet Union had developed space programs. The U.S. had spacecrafts successfully fly by Mars (Mariners 4, 6, 7), orbit the planet (Mariner 9 and Vikings 1 and 2), and place lander modules on Mars's surface (Vikings 1 and 2). Meanwhile, three probes from the Soviet Union (Mars 2, 3, and 5) Mars. Mariner 9, which happened to be the first spacecraft to orbit another planet, sent back photographic evidence of erosion, which was caused by water, proving that there may have been water billions of years ago on Mars.

In mid-2003, European Space Agency's Mars Express detected water ice as well as carbon dioxide ice at the south pole within weeks of its arrival, confirming further that there was water on Mars. The U.S. also launched two rovers in mid-2003, called Spirit and Opportunity. Both rovers managed to find more evidence of past water, including the dramatic discovery by Opportunity of rocks that had appeared to have been laid down at the shoreline of an ancient body of salty water. 2 years later, the U.S. launched the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter carrying an imaging system, that sent back photographs of dark streaks that appeared to be salty water flowing downhill. Later in 2008, the U.S. probe Phoenix was sent to Mars, carrying a small chemical laboratory to study the arctic soil. It found water ice underneath the surface of Mars. In 1996, scientists found a shocking discovery: evidence of life in a Martian meteorite. 1. Bacteria-like objects in electron microscope imagery 2. Detection of hydrocarbons 3. Mineral assemblages that were not produced in chemical equilibrium 4. Magnetic particles similar to those produced by some terrestrial bacteria. (The bacteria-like objects are disputed now and some scientists believe the formations were created by non-biologic means.) A microorganism, by definition, a microscopic organism comprised of either a single cell, a cell cluster, or multicellular relatively complex organisms. A microorganism can be bacteria, fungi, algae, or protozoa. They live in any part of the biosphere with liquid water, which can be anywhere from soil to the ocean floor.

//Ms. Mc - very good overview and photos. You left out how you would classify a specimen from Mars as either living, dead, dormant, or nonliving though (-1). 9/10//