Jimmy

Facts You Need to Know in Order to Send a Rover to Mars

 * Mars can have big storms
 * Mars is unusually dry and has little fluid
 * Mars has a center of gravity
 * Mars has low surface pressure
 * Mars has two moons
 * You need enough fuel to escape our orbit
 * You need a landing system because gravity will pull the rover down fast
 * To get a rover to Mars, you need to align the planets and fire the rocket at a trajectory that would successfully get the rover to Mars.
 * Mars can have big sandstorms, need to get to higher land to get sun.
 * Mars has lots of dirt so the rover needs good traction.
 * Mars gravity is lesser than Earths, need heavier rover so it won't float.

Ms. Mc: Some good facts about Mars but you n //eeded to relate all facts to what impact they would have for getting a rover to Mars or for working on Mars (-2). Also, I don't see what you added based on our class discussion (-1). To your last point, Mars' gravity is about a 1/3rd of Earth's so the rover would not get pulled down as quickly as it would on Earth (-1/2). 6.5/10//

Log Entry #2
Rockets Throughout Time





Rockets have been around for many years, way before our time. Though more experiments have probably occurred prior, the first known use of rocket mechanics was the Hero's Engine. While not quite a rocket, the Hero's Engine had mechanics that were very similar to rockets today including starting with the fire, having the fire heat the water, which turns into steam, which is output by the tubes, which causes the sphere to rotate. But, the first known use of rockets was by the early Chinese, who mixed explosive gases //(actually they used solid fuels)// in a bamboo tube to create tubes to create explosions. They soon realized that some of them shot off, and started to use them for fireworks and military weapons. These were known as the first rockets.

Then, a Russian science teacher named Tsiolkosky is credited as being the first person to present the idea of sending a rocket to explore space. The Race to Space ensued. Many solid-propellant rockets were used, but in 1926, Goddard created the first liquid-propellant rocket. This was substantial because it could be blasted further and was lighter than solid-propellant rockets. In WW2, Germany developed the V-2 Rocket to fight against Britain. As Germany was defeated, the Allies gained this knowledge and used it to their advantage in the space race. The Russians faced off against the US in the race to space.

//Ms. Mc: Jimmy, when discussing history, it's important to include dates (-1/2). What happened with rockets after WWII? (-1). Your drawing of the V2 rocket lacks detail (-1/2) and the caption should say "Figure 2." Please refer to your figures in your text (i.e., "As seen in Figure 1, ..."). Overall, a good summary. Please put a line between your entries by clicking on the "Insert Horizontal Rule" button at the top of the screen when you are in edit mode. (-1/2) 7.5/10//

Log Entry #3
media type="custom" key="14053940"

Instructions for running Scratch: If error message pops up, click "run this time" Click the green flag to play or restart. Turn sound on. Press the red button to stop.

Caroline - Very detailed definitions, the only thing is that you might have wanted to make some of them a bit longer. I really like the ejection part of the rocket - it was very detailed. (:

Log Entry #4: Rocket Parts


Every part of the rocket serves a role that is vital to the success of the flight. The body tub is the main part of the rocket, and can act as a container for various tools that rockets can employ. The launch lug is a tube that is attached to the body tube, and is attached to a launch rod at liftoff to stabilize the rocket. The fins also help the rocket straighten and become more accurate. The motor mount holds the motor in place, so it doesn't fall out. The motor, which is inside of the mount, is what the rocket runs on initially to lift off. The nose cone makes the rocket become more aerodynamic, thus increasing the capabilities of the rocket. The recovery system is what is used to recover the rocket safely. If usually consists of at least a parachute, if not more. The wadding is another tool to make sure that the hot motor and the recovery system stay separated, so as not to cause a fire in the rocket, or damage of the parachute. Refer to Figure #1 to view where the parts are placed on the rocket and what they look like.

//Ms. Mc: Good labels and descriptions! The launch lug guides the rocket so it takes off flying straight. 10/10//

Log Entry #5


The Atlas V-541 Rocket is the transportation method of the Curiosity rover, set to land on Mars in May, 2012. Weighing in at a whopping 1.17 million pounds and topping off at 191 feet, this rocket is much bigger than most rockets designed to transport rovers. The Atlas was chosen because it had the payload requirements to be able to handle a rover the size of Curiosity. The rockets that transported Spirit and Opportunity needed not be so big, because the size of the rover was smaller.

The rocket consists of fuel and oxygen tanks that help propel the rocket out of the earth's atmosphere. The solid rocket motors also contribute to achieving this task. As shown in Figure #1, the centaur breaks off; it contains the rover. The payload fairing protects the rover during flight. Ms. Mc: good overview of the launch vehicle. Curiousity will land on Mars on August 6, 2012 (-1/2). Didn't describe the common core booster (-1/2). The rover isn't in the Centaur engine but rather in the crusing vehicle (payload) at the top of the diagram inside the payload fairing (-1/2). Please refer to your figure in your writing and include a date with your entries (-1/2). 8.5/10

Log Entry #6
The purpose of this experiment was to determine whether there was a direct correlation between decreasing mass and increasing height of apogee. There are many different forces acting on a rocket, which affect how high it will go. One of those is gravity. Unless the rocket can totally break free of Earth’s gravitational pull, gravity will act on it, trying to pull it down. Air resistance will also pull the rocket down. The thrust of the rocket propels it. So, the rocket’s thrust must be greater than that of both gravity and air resistance to get anywhere. The rocket will continue coasting as long as the thrust is still greater than all forces acting against it. At apogee, the forces reach exactly neutral, and the rocket will slowly retreat to the ground. When coming back down, gravity once again pulls the rocket down. However, this time air resistance resists the rocket coming down, slowing the rocket. If used, a parachute can be used to slow down the rocket even further, to prevent damage. It was hypothesized that the lighter the rocket, the higher it would go. If the rocket is lighter, then it would be less affected by gravity, thus making it easier to get it higher. Also, inertia will try to keep the rocket doing what it is already doing, which is easier to accomplish with a lighter rocket.

Figure 1. A graph demonstrating the link between decreasing rocket mass and increasing apogee height.



As shown in Figure 1, the masses of the rockets ranged from 43.5 to 47.2 grams, and the heights from 71.3 to 142.8 meters. The graph above also demonstrates a inverse relationship. As shown in Figure 1, there is a inverse relationship between increasing rocket mass and decreasing apogee. As demonstrated in the graph, the hypothesized opinion was correct. The lighter the rocket, the higher it goes. This can be proved correct because the lightest rocket went the highest, and the second-heaviest rocket went the lowest, and the heaviest went the second-lowest. Some things that could affect the results were angle gun errors, the weather and the wind. These could have affected the apogee, creating inaccurate results.

Log Entry #7
We thought that this idea was optimal because it provided aerodynamics and stability. As seen in figure #1, the fins are shaped to catch the wind better; they also increase stability to improve accuracy.

Our first rocket weighed 46 grams, are next one weighed 57.1 grams. The first rocket flew 71 meters, far higher than the 21 amassed by the second rocket. This is likely not because of mass, but rather the placement of the fins. Some fins were inaccurately spaced, and caused instability rather than stability.

Log Entry #8
Though most of the history of robotics has occurred in the last century, modern robotics dates back to as early as 350 BC, when Archytas made a mechanical bird, which served as a robot and a model airplane. But robotics really took off around the end of the 19th century, starting when Nikolai Tesla built and demonstrated a remote-controlled robot boat at Madison Square Garden. In 1946, George Deval and Joseph Engelberger formed the first robot company, and introduced many new ideas to the world of robotics. In 1961, Henrich Enrst created a mechanical hand at MIT, one of the key break-throughs in robot history. A few short years later, the Stanford Research Institute created "Shakey" the first known mobile robot to react to its own decisions. Many other accomplishments were made, all leading up to the sending of rovers to Mars, starting with Spirit and Opprotunity, and now Curiosity.

//Ms. Mc - Good summary but your fogot to include 2 figures (-4). 6/10//

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Log Entry #10
The objective of this challenge was to get the rover to stop at the edge of a table and say "Watch Out!" The robot had to sense the edge; it could not be measured beforehand.

media type="file" key="Jamm_rovervideo.AVI" width="300" height="300" Video #1. "Rover sensing when it is about to fall"Caption - video of rover being initiated by saying "Go!" going up to the black tape, and saying "Watch Out!".



Block #1 - This is a (wait for sound) block telling the robot to run the code after it's initiated by a sound over a certain level (approx. 30 dB) Port? -1/2 Block #2 - After the robot is activated, this tells the robot to go forward at 75% power forever until the code tells the robot to do otherwise. Ports? -1/2 Block #3 - This tells the robot that after the robot senses a color significantly. How much light and what port? -1/2 Block #4 - This tells the robot to immediately stop when the previous step of code is activated (when it detects the light) Ports and stop by braking or coasting? -1/2 Block #5 - This tells the robot to play a sound after the previous code is completed, in this case "Watch Out!" How loudly and for how many times? -1/2

Ms. Mc - good overall, just missing some details. 17.5/20

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Log Entry #11
Is there life on Mars? While no one can be entirely certain yet, there are valid arguments for each side that need to be taken into consideration. When Viking rovers (Fig. 2) first started exploring Mars, tests being done were turning negative, and pessimism ensued. A Martian meteorite was once thought to have exhibited signs of life, but was later proved wrong. But, new evidence was found supporting the case of Mars life existence, including the fact that life can exist in very extreme situations. Also, new evidence from rovers like Spirit (Fig. 1) and Opportunity give us new reason to hope. There have been some tests on the land testing necessary life surroundings, and those tests have proved that water was once on Mars and that the soil on Mars can yield life.



Fig. 1: The Spirit rover that provided optimism for the possibility for live on Mars



Fig. 2: The Viking rover, launched in 1972, whose tests of the surface proved negative for life on Mars. However, the information is currently regarded as outdated.

If I were to take a microbe sample from Mars, I would be able to find out if it was alive, dead, or dormant. If it was alive, it would be made of a cell(s), respond to stimuli, reproduce, and exhibit the rest of the eight traits for all life forms. If it did at one time, it would be dead. If it had been slightly before, there is a slight chance that it may be dormant instead. Also, if the form of microbe is usually not found, it may just be a dead remnant.

// Ms. Mc - good general overview. Your second photo is of Opportunity or Spirit. The Viking spacecraft were orbiters and landers, not rovers. (-1/2). Needed to discuss all 8 characteristics of life (-1/2). What evidence is there in the geology and rock history of Mars of water and/or life on Mars? (-1/2) 8.5/10 //