Abigail

Everything You Need to Know About Mars!!
__Things to Know in Order to Get a Rover to Mars__
 * Must be rust-proof because atmosphere contains traces of oxygen
 * Things can only go to Mars at very specific times in orbit.
 * Atmosphere is carbon dioxide
 * There are volcanoes and canyons, like on earth
 * Surface is covered in craters
 * Cold temperatures (-125 to 25 degrees C)
 * Huge dust storms that could cause damage to rovers
 * There is less gravity than on earth
 * Takes 214 days or about seven months to reach Mars
 * Mars is half the diameter of the earth
 * Need to launch when planets are close so we don't need as much fuel
 * Need to know Mars' orbit in order to line up
 * Mars has seasons due to it's tilt
 * There are carbon dioxide ice caps
 * Two moons: Steer clear of them!
 * Rovers must move over rocky and sandy surfaces
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Launch window occurs every two years
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Launch to where Mars will be at landing

//<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Ms. Mc: Good facts about what you would need to know about Mars in order to get a rover there and have it operate on its surface. You related the fact to the mission for some of your points but not for all of them (-1/2). Good additions from class discussion. 9.5/10 //

History of Rocketry
<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Around the year 100 B.C., rocketry took its first giant leap forward. A Greek scientist named Hero of Alexandria was able to create an engine (showed below) that introduced the basic principles of this new science to the world. By turning water into steam, the engine propelled a small L-shaped sphere. This happened when fire heated water in a large basin. The water than turned to steam, which traveled into a large sphere. From there, the steam shoots out of the two tubes and causes the sphere to rotate. This was the first early example of the principles of rocket science.

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">After this, rockets popped up at various points through history. Perhaps it was the Chinese in 1232 A.D. they were able to create gunpowder-filled tubes which they discovered could propel themselves through the air. These capsules of explosives began to take the shape of today’s rocket ships. Although these devices looked like our rockets, however, they were not used in the same way at all. The Chinese used their rockets primarily was weapons during the great Mongol invasion. When strapped onto arrows and lit, they created “Chinese Fire-Arrows”, which completely changed the way of battle. They were very destructive on the battlefield, and the Mongols did not know how to react.

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">This began a long era of rockets being used as weapons. The Mongols retaliated to the Chinese attacks with rocket weapons of their own. These rockets then spread to Europe, where they were used for rocket-powered torpedoes and bazookas.

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">More modern rocketry began in 1898 when Russian Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, who was later nicknamed the “Father of Modern Astronautics”, proposed the idea that the rocket could be used to explore space. He said that in order for the rocket to reach orbit, it would need liquid fuel. This theory was continued by American Robert H. Goddard in the 20th century. After experimenting with solid fuel powered rockets, he realized that in order to reach higher altitudes, liquid fuel was needed. He was eventually successful in building the first successful rocket powered off liquid oxygen and gasoline in 1926. He eventually earned the name “Father of Modern Rocketry”.

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Germany was also working on rocket development in the 20th century, though for a very different reason. They developed the V-2 rocket which wasn’t used for research, but as an incredibly powerful and destructive weapon that could destroy whole city blocks during WWII. Fortunately, however, the V-2 rocket was never used. After the Allied forces won the war, they confiscated many unused missiles.

//<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Ms. Mc: Great summary of rocket history until WWII but what happened after that? (-1). Good diagrams and captions. Please refer to your diagrams in your text (i.e., "as seen in Figure 1, . . .). Good job! 9/10 //

Scratch Rocket Flight Simulation
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Instructions to Run Simulation:

- Turn on Sound - Press Green Flag to Begin - Press Red Button to Stop (Not Pause) - If Simulation Doesn't Appear, Click on the "Learn More about this Project" Link Above - Sit Back, Relax, and Enjoy!!

Ruhi- Wow! Your rocket simulation is really smooth and it flows very well :). I think that at the end, you should actually land on mars and take out the rover, instead of just landing on the edge of the planet. Overall, I really like your simulation, especially the cute thoughts that your rocket was having. Great job!

Meghan C: This is such an awesome rocket simulation!! It moved like a real rocket would and it flowed very well. However, I think that you should show the actual rover landing on Mars instead of just showing the parachute. I liked how the rocket gradually got smaller and smaller as it reached Mars :) Overall, job well done!

Labeled Rocket Photo
<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">See figure #1 for the image that goes along with these descriptions. This rocket is made up of many important parts, starting with the nose cone. The nose cone is important because it is shaped so that the rocket will glide smoothly through the air. The fi ns help with keeping the rocket on track during the flight, and the body tube keeps the rocket strong and sleek. Inside the body tube, there is a recovery system that consists of a parachute that will pop out during apogee and give the rocket a gentle landing. There is also a motor mount and motor that will get the rocket into the air to start with. Because the motor uses flames to operate, there is recovery wadding in between the recovery system and the engine so the parachute won't catch fire. There is also a launch lug on the outside that will be essential during lift off.

//Ms. Mc - great labels and descriptions. The launch lug helps guide the rocket off the launch pad so it starts its flight path straight up (-1/2). 9.5/10//

All About the Atlas V-541
<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">The Atlas V-541 is a rocket designed by NASA to carry the new rover Curiosity to Mars. It is huge, as tall as a 19 story building and weighing over a million tons. The Atlas V-541 was chosen for this mission because its mass provides the velocity necessary to push through earth's atmosphere, and its size is able to host the rover and everything it needs easily. This is important because Curiosity does not travel lightly. As seen in figure one, the Atlas V-541 must host four main elements that will ensure Curiosity has a pleasant flight and gentle landing. The first element is only used during the first stage of the flight. It is called the "Atlas V Rocket" because it contains the liquid fuel needed to blast the Atlas V-541 out of Earth's atmosphere. After it has accomplished this goal, the "Atlas V Rocket" falls back down into the ocean to be used in other flights. The second elements are the "Solid Rocket Motors". These four motors increase the total engine thrust. The third element is the "Centaur", which is only used in the second phase of the Atlas V-541's flight. It acts as a sort of brain for the rocket, telling it when to accelerate and drop the "Atlas V Rocket". The last element is the "Payload Fairing", which has one job: protect Curiosity. These four elements together create the Atlas V-541, one of the most reliable and advanced rockets ever made. //Ms. Mc - good overview and diagram of the launch vehicle. I don't believe any parts of the Atlas V are recovered to be reused though (?). The common core booster and the SRBs get the rocket off the launch pad and the Centaur engine launches the crusie vehicle on to Mars (-1/2). 9.5/10.//

Launch Lab Write-Up
<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">The purpose of this experiment was to determine whether a rocket’s mass affected its apogee, or peek of flight. One of the forces that acted on the rocket during its flight was the thrust, or the force from the engine that pushes the rocket forward. This thrust pushed against the forces of air resistance and gravity, which were both trying to keep the rocket on the ground. It was hypothesized that if the rocket had less mass, it would fly higher because when an object has less mass, the force of gravity doesn’t affect it as much. Also, the force of thrust will carry a smaller mass higher than a larger mass, and if there is less surface area, which can sometimes be connected to mass, air resistance will not affect it as much. <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">The experiment used 9 rockets whose mass ranged from 42.8 grams to 45.9 grams, with an average of 44.1 grams. The significant rocket heights ranged from 107.2 meters to 53.3 meters. There was one outlier of 18.5 meters. It was thought that this was due to human error in the angle gun measurements. It was found that, as shown in graph #1, the lighter rockets flew higher than the heavier ones, meaning that there was an inverse relationship. This can be proven because, other than the outlier, the data points follow a certain upward trend illustrating a pattern in the data.

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">The hypothesis that heavier rockets would fly lower was conformed because the rocket with the lightest mass (42.8g) flew the highest at 107 m. The rocket with the highest mass (45.9g) flew less than half that height at 53 m. This proves once again that there was an inverse relationship. There might have been, however, room for error in the measurements and data in this experiment. There might have been, and probably was, human error in the angle gun measurements, which would have directly affected the data, especially the outlier. Also, the rockets were shot outside so weather might have been an unwanted variable with the wind blowing rockets off course. Only nine rockets were set off, and from that limited data, it is not certain that this data represents a continuous pattern that all rockets follow. Also, only a very small range of different masses were tested, and so the range of the data is very small.

Fin Redesign Lab
In my new rocket, the smooth, steep lines of the fins will make them more aerodynamic. I am keeping the three fin design because this gives us the most stability with the least mass. I am also leaving a little bit of a lip to the rocket so that it is more stable without taking away from the streamline design. Hopefully the smoother, sleeker fins will allow the rocket to glide higher faster without weighing it down.

After the flight, it was proved that the aerodynamic aspect of the new fin design did not make up for the loss of stability. The redesigned rocket weighed a few grams less than the original rocket, but the original rocket few almost three meters higher than the redesigned rocket. I think that this is because the depleted surface area on the smaller wings affected the relationship between the center of gravity and the center of pressure.

History of Rocketry
<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">The first traces of robots in our history occurred around 350 BC, when a Greek Scientist created a mechanical bird powered by steam. This was the first working robot as well as the first model airplane. This shocking new technology led to the introduction of an even more significant invention in 200 BC. Another Greek Inventor designed “Water Clocks”. This was a huge breakthrough for timekeeping around the world, as up until the introduction of this new clock hourglasses were the only instrument available to keep track of time. These ancient robots were used during religious ceremonies and theater productions, and were not generally used for the assisting of labor. Another example of an ancient robot used only for entertainment was Leonardo DaVinci’s invention in the 16th Century. As seen in Figure 1, “Leonardo’s Robot” was basically a suit of armor with inside mechanisms which caused it to move like a real soldier. Many other inventors made copies of this to entertain nobles. In the mid-1700s, a French inventor named Jacques de Vaucanson created a robotic duck that moved, quaked, and ate food just like a real duck. Vaucanson called this new take on robotics “moving anatomy”, and hoped that it would be the beginning of a new age of robotics during which these amazing inventions would help expand the scientific field as well as the field of entertainment.

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Vaucanson’s vision began to become a reality in the early 1800s, when Joseph Jacquard created the first automatic loom, a device which was used to assist in the everyday labor of a housewife. This, as well as being an amazing piece of machinery, was the beginning of a new era of mechanisms, in which they were no longer regarded as objects of amusement but as tools to help build a brighter future. This shining, fresh idea attracted many more eager young inventors. Such figures were Charles Babbage and George Boole, who also made outstanding contributions to the field of robotics. It was not until 1898, however, when Nikola Tesla introduced a remote control boat that the new innovations began to come fast and furious. As soon as 1940, the growth of the robotics injury was becoming so large that many people decided that it was time to lay down a few laws. Isaac Asimov (shown in Figure 2) took it upon himself to write up what is perhaps the most important document in the history of robotics: the“Three Laws of Robotics”. The three laws were as follows.

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through interaction, cause a human to come to harm <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">2. A robot must obey the orders given to it by human beings exce pt when it interferes with the first law <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not interfere with the first or second laws

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Another milestone in robotics came in 1950, when inventor and scientist Alan Turing attempted to create machines that could generate their own thoughts. In order to do this, he devised a test in which he could determine whether or not he had succeeded. This technique was later named the “Turing Test”. From there on, inventors strived to make more intelligent programs as opposed to more physically powerful robots. About twenty years after the “Turing Test” was created, inventor Richard Greenblatt created a small robot named “MacHack” that could play chess. This incredibly intelligent program eventually beats the best chess player in the world at the time. When this program was published, scientists everywhere began to realize that robots could not only be used for hard labor, but also for more intelligent tasks. Fifteen years after MacHack, Victor Scheinman created the “Silver Arm”, a robot that had a touch sensor which could determine the difference between small objects. This new robot was able to assemble small objects. It was not soon after this that machines began to inhabit most factories. Soon after this, in 1977, Deep Space Explorers Voyagers 1 and 2 were launched. From there on out many other incredible advancements have been made in the field of robots and continue to be made today.

//Ms. Mc: Excellent summary and figures! I appreciate how you ended with Voyager 1 and 2.// //10/10//

Explanation of Robotics Program


For this challenge, we had to make our rover move forward until it reached the edge of the table. Once it reached the edge, it had to stop and say "watch out." (How did it start? -1/2) Block 1- This block tells the rover to wait until it hears a noise to start moving. The rest of the program will not start until the noise is heard. What port? How loud of noise? -1 Block 2- This block tells the rover to move forward an infinite number of rotations. Ports? Block 3- This block tells the rover to keep moving until it detects a dark line. Type of sensor? Port? How dark? -1 Block 4- This block tells the rover that when it detects a dark line, it has to stop. Ports? Block 5- This block tells the rover to yell "Watch Out" when it stops! How loud? -1/2

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Caption? -1/2

Ms. Mc - good job overall just missing a few details. 16.5/20

Life on Mars?
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> For years, scientists have been searching desperately for life on Mars, our closest extraterrestrial neighbor. It is one of the most important objectives for space programs worldwide because it is generally acknowledged that Mars was likely to have supported life sometime in the past. Despite this confidence in the planet’s history, however, there have been few definite signs of life on this barren planet.

<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> The first vehicle to reach Mars was the Mariner 9, also the first man-made object that orbited another planet. This primary source of data took pictures of almost 80 percent of the planet, and it was discovered that Mars had canyons that resembled those on Earth made by water erosion. The theory began to shape that there was once water on Mars. This new proof of ancient life further sparked the interest of thousands of scientists.

<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> After the success of the Mariner 9, the US was eager to send more probes into space. They soon launched the Viking missions. Made up of two rovers and two landers, these robots were created to search for any and all signs of past or present biology on Mars. Unfortunately, no evidence was found. The mission was not a complete failure however, because the orbiters and rovers sent back data telling of the geology and chemistry on Mars.

<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> After several failures, the US successfully launched two rovers: Mars Pathfinder and Mars Global Surveyor. These two rovers found no signs of organic life, but found more examples of ancient erosion and continued to map the geology.

<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> Mars Odyssey began to orbit Mars in 2001. This rover was sent to search for clues to life by air. It mapped not only the chemical composition of Martian minerals, but also their physical characteristics. It also found ice near the surface. The data it was sending back suggested that there were huge amounts of ice trapped just under the surface. Odyssey also discovered several volcanic caves.

<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> In 2003, the Mars Exploration Rover mission was launched. This consisted of two rovers named Spirit and Opportunity. These rovers were better equipped than any mission in the past, and were able to analyze rocks, soil, and dust that may have been affected by ancient water. Although both rovers found evidence of past water, it was Opportunity who discovered rocks that might have been laid down by an ancient salty ocean.

<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> The latest rover to touch ground on Mars was launched in 2008. It was called Phoenix, and was landed in the polar region of Mars, the place where it was most likely to find water. It carried a small expirement that would be used to test the soil on Mars. Sure enough, Pheonix found water on Mars.

<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> Although it was formally thought that life could not exist on Mars, scientists have had several insights on the idea of life on Mars, and it is now thought that the idea may not be as impossible as previously thought. The first insight is that life is tougher than once thought, and can prosper in even the harshest of environments. Scientists have also realized that life on Earth started quickly, which means that a beginning of life is not as low probability an event as previously acknowledged. Scientists have discovered that Earth and Mars were created very similar, almost equal, and the two planets have very similar minerals. These small pieces of proof point to the possibility of life on Mars.

<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> When a meteor from Mars landed on Earth, scientists were eager to search for signs of ancient life on this stone. They found what they thought were fossils engrained on the surface, and for a few months it passed as proof for life on Mars. The “fossils”, however, were found to be inorganic. Even so, however, scientists are still optimistic and determined to find life on Mars.

<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> The current mission to Mars is programed to look for ancient or alive micro-organisms or organisms. A micro-organism is any form of life, especially something too small to be seen with the naked eye. Micro-organisms were the first signs of life on Earth, and it is thought that they will be the first life discovered on Mars.

<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> When a rover collects a sample from Mars’ surface, it has to decide whether it is living, non-living, dead, or dormant. You can tell which of these a sample is with the eight characteristics of life. There are eight characteristics that classify all living things. Living things are made of cells, need materials to survive, are homeostatic, and respond to stimuli. They also reproduce, grow, adapt, and provide and use energy (respiration). A thing can only be living if it has all eight of these characteristics. Viruses, for example, have 7 of these traits, but cannot reproduce. Therefore, it is not a living thing. All living things have these eight traits because every living thing could be traced back to the same single-cell ancestor that had all of these qualities.

<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> A thing is living if it has all eight characteristics, and if all characteristics are functioning. A thing is non-living if it has never had all eight characteristics, even if it has had or does have some of them. A thing is dormant if it has all eight characteristics, but some of them aren’t functioning, or are slowed down, or “muffled”. A thing is dead if it had all eight characteristics, but doesn’t have all of them anymore.

//<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Ms. Mc - Excellent overview of the search for life on Mars and definition of what is life. You forgot your 2 figures though :( (-1). 9/10 //