Georgia

4/9/12 Log Entry #1 =Facts You Need To Know to Send a Rover to Mars =

To get to Mars with a rover, you must have a rocket, a rover and the protection for the rover. Once these materials are acquired you have to find a safe lift-off spot for the rocket. When the rocket is placed and ready to launch the rocket has to defy gravity and push itself out of Earth’s atmosphere. The rocket coasts in space and when the rocket starts to reach Mars’s orbit it must circle around the planet. It actually takes 9 months to get to Mars and the remainder of the 2 years is circling around Mars trying, to get in its orbit without catching on fire. After the rocket has passed Mars’s atmosphere the rover can be ejected and free falls to the surface. The bubble wrap protects it through this and when the rover has stopped bouncing the bubble wrap comes off and the rover sets itself up.

//Ms. Mc. Good overall summary but you were to get actual statistics from the provided websites (-2). It takes about 8 months to get to Mars and nothing goes into orbit as we are not returning anything to Earth yet. (-1/2). 7.5/10//

4/9/12 Log Entry #2 =History of Rocketry =

The first device to have the principles of a flying rocket was Hero’s Hero Engine. The machine used steam as a propulsive gas. The Hero Engine had a sphere that tops a water kettle. The fire below the kettle turned the water into steam. The steam then would travel through the many pipes to the sphere. The two tubes on different sides of the sphere allow the steam to release from the kettle. With the force of the thrust from the steam, the sphere would rotate.

The Chinese also began to explore rocketry in 1232. The first rockets were for a war where the rocket had a simple form. The rocket was filled with gunpowder and tied to a bamboo tube. Once this rocket was launched from a bow the rocket exploded on contact. Following the Chinese, the Mongols create their own rockets and are the most likely reason that rockets spread throughout Europe.

Konstantin Tsiolkovsky was the one who proposed the idea of space exploration by rockets. Tsiolkovsky had the idea of using liquid propellants for rockets, in order to achieve greater range. Tsiolkovsky stated that the speed and range of a rocket were limited by the exhaust velocity of escaping gases. Goddard also was experienced with rockets. He carried out Tsiolkovsky’s ideas of a liquid propellant rocket. In later years the V-2 rocket was built. Its purpose was war. It was built by the Germans in hopes of them taking the lead with this rocket. Unfortunately for them, it was launched too late. Though it never severed its original purpose, the rocket had the great ability to thrust and was composed of liquid oxygen and alcohol.

//Ms. Mc: Good summary of early rocketry concepts up to WWII. What happened after that? (-1.5). 8.5/10//

4/9/12

Log Entry #3 =Scratch Rocket Flight Simulation = =media type="custom" key="14053924"=

To start the rocket simulation, press the green flag. Make sure your volume is up to approximately 6. At any time you can press the red stop button. If the simulation doesn't appear click on 'Learn more about this Project'. Please enjoy.

Comments: Tori: I really enjoyed how you made all of your pictures from hand, however when you say apogee your rocket should be at or around a 180 degree angle. Overall your project was really good!
 * I think you did an excellent job on explaining all the parts to your rocket simulation. However I think you could have taken a little more time to make your art look more realistic, for example you’re drawing of Mars, instead of only concentrating on the technology behind it, though I think drawing it all was really creative. - Maddy :)

4/16/12

Log Entry #4

=Rocket Labels and Drawing =

The nose cone purpose is to make the rocket aerodynamic so, the rocket can fly straight. The body tube is the foundation of the rocket; it holds other parts of the rocket inside. The recovery system recovers the rocket after the rocket reaches its peak and begins to drop. To protect the recovery systems from the hot engine, the recovery wading is placed in between the recovery system and the motor mount. The launch lug is on the rocket so the rocket can take off. It is placed in the launch take off. The rocket motor is simply a rocket motor. The rocket motor is used once to get the rocket in the air. The fins keep the rocket going straight. The are used, like the nose cone, for making the rocket more aerodynamic. //See Figure 1 for picture.// 

//Ms. Mc: Nice diagram and descriptions. The launch lug causes the rocket to have a vertical lift off (-1/2). No definition of the purpose of the rocket motor (-1/2). 9/10//

4/19/12

<span style="color: #530e3a; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Log Entry #5 = Atlas V 541 = = = = = At 58 meters tall and weighing around 1.17 million pounds, the Atlas V 541 is a spacecraft that launched for Mars. The Atlas V-541 was chosen because it has the liftoff ability for heavy weight requirements. Also rockets that are in same family as the Atlas V 541 have successfully lifted with NASA. The Atlas V 541 contains a Payload which is an adapter that helps meet the rocket’s requirements. The Centaur is the Atlas V 541’s upper stage which can be constructed with either a single or dual engine. The Payload Fairing protects the rocket from harm that could come to it. The Common Core Booster is the main propeller for the Atlas. At liftoff the Solid Rocket Booster aids the Common Core Booster by giving extra thrust. The RD-180 engine burns liquid oxygen to propel the Boosters. //See Figure 1// for a picture of what the rocket looks like taken apart. //Ms. Mc: Good general summary and diagram. The payload is what equipment the rocket carries (i.e., the rover), -1/2. The Centaur engine is fired twice; once to get the rocket into Earth's orbit and again to send the cruise vehicle off to Mars (-1/2). Don't forget to include a caption and refer to your figure in your text (-1). 8/10//

<span style="color: #530e3a; font-family: Georgia,serif;">4/26/12

<span style="color: #530e3a; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Log Entry #6

=<span style="color: #530e3a; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Rocket Introduction = = =

The purpose of this experiment was to find out if the mass of a rocket would affect when it reached the apogee stage. When the rocket was launched, there were many forces acting upon it. Gravity, fuel, inertia and the wind all took part in the way the rocket moved. When the rocket was launched, the fuel power had to overcome gravity and when it was coasting the rocket needed inertia from the fuel to keep it going. After the rocket reached its apogee point, the rocket would start heading back towards the ground because gravity would have overcome the rocket’s inertia. Once the rocket started falling back to the ground, the parachute would be activated and air resistance would slow the rocket’s fall. As soon as the rocket hit the ground, the forces would be equal. Because of all of the forces acting upon the rocket, it was hypothesized that the lighter the rocket was the higher the apogee point would be.The rocket could have gone wrong when it was in the air. Anything from a burst of wind to a motor not working could have changed the outcome. The angle gun measures were being constantly changed, and the weather on the two different days effected the how the rocket flew.

The rocket’s mass ranged 47.2g and 43.5g. All of the rockets’ weighed about the same with the average mass of 45.3g. The apogee ranged a bit more with the range ranging between 71.3m and 142.8m. Though for the most part, the rockets stayed in a close range.

The Graph is an inverse graph because as the mass goes up the apogee point goes down (//see graph 1//). This shows that there is a direct relationship between the apogee point and the weight. You can see this with the rocket that flew about 140 meters - it had the lighest weight.

= =

<span style="color: #530e3a; font-family: Georgia,serif;">4/30/12

<span style="color: #530e3a; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Log Entry #7 =<span style="color: #530e3a; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Rocket Introduction = The fins are rounded, so the rocket will be more aerodynamic. They will also be skinnier, so the rocket won't weigh as much. Plus there are 4 fins //(see figure 1),// so the rocket will be completely symmetrical.

The first time the rocket was weighed the rocket weighed 43.8g. It was one of the lighter rockets and did fly high. The second time the rocket was weighed the extra weight from the glitter and the extra fin brought the weight up to 49.0g. This extra weight showed through in the apogee point. The first time the rocket flew 113m, but the second only flew 88.5m. This makes sense because as the weight goes down the apogee point goes up. I think the only real factor in the rocket not flying that high was the glitter and extra fin. Everything else seemed fine. I believe that our rocket flight was great. I wished that the glitter hadn't been added. Though, the flight might have been smoother if all of the fins were equal sized. One of our fins was smaller. It was not a purposeful action, putting the fin on, but I think it might have effected the flight.

<span style="color: #530e3a; font-family: Georgia,serif;">5/15/12

<span style="color: #530e3a; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Log Entry #8 =<span style="color: #530e3a; font-family: Georgia,serif;">History of Robotics =

Robots have been around since the very beginning of time. The word robot comes from a Czech writer and means “compulsory labor”.

The first real noted robot was in 350 B.C. when a Greek mathematician built a mechanical bird and dubbed it “the Pigeon”. It was a simple robot that was propelled by steam into the air. Though this was not thought of, at the time, as a robot, the idea has been around just as long. In 322 B.C. a Greek philosopher wrote a couple of sentences on the idea of robotics. Another Greek designed a water clock which helped tell the most accurate time possible (//see figure 1//). The clock worked without any human assistance. This was a breakthrough in telling the time. Robots were getting more and more popular.

Robotics doesn’t show up for a while in the next few hundred years. However, in 1738 Jacques de Vancanson builds the first ‘moving automata’. He builds a duck, a flute player and another flute player (this second one also played the tambourine). All three moved with and did different things. The duck, for example, could flap its wings, quack and ate (not to mention digested) food. For the next 202 years robots advances so quickly that in 1940, Issac Asimov, an avid robot story writer, makes 3 (and later adds a 4th) laws //(see figure 2)//.

For a while after this, robotics takes another break. Only in 1962 is any really robotic progress made. In this time, the Unimate is done being built. This is a more complex robot for its time. The Unimate can complete tasks on a General Motors assembly line. For several years robotics continues to grow with inventions such as ELIZA (a robot that is used as a computer psychologist) or MacHack ( a computer that plays chess). The next truly interesting thing is a movie we all know, Star Wars. Star Wars takes robotics to the next level. It gets many people interested in robotics. This sparks a series of new robots in history. Finally in 1997 robots and rocketry merge when the International Space Station uses robots to assist the making of rockets. Also in 1997 a robot was sent to Mars on a spacecraft. Since 1997, robots continue to aid NASA and your average citizen. Today wouldn’t be the same without the help of robots.

//Ms. Mc: Very good overview and figures! 10/10//

<span style="color: #530e3a; font-family: Georgia,serif;">5/30/12

<span style="color: #530e3a; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Log Entry #10 =<span style="color: #530e3a; font-family: Georgia,serif;">On the Edge = = = <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">The code below (//figure 1//) shows the simulation the robot is supposed to run. The challenge for this simulation was for the robot (when it hears the word, “Go.”) to go until it reaches the tape. Then it should stop and say, “Watch out!”.

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">media type="file" key="GLD_robotviedo.wmv" width="300" height="300" //<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Viedo 1: The challenge //

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">1st block – The first block makes the robot wait for the words, “Go”. (How loud of sound? -1/2) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">When it hears the sound it will active the robots movement. In the upper corner a little 4 is there because the sound sensor is attached to port 4.

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">2nd block – When the robot hears the word, “Go.” the second block 2 sends the robot into motion,(it’s a movement block). It tells the robot to move forward with the motors C and B at half of its power. (For how long? -1/2)

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">3rd block – The third block starts the ultrasonic sensor, used to measure light, can detect light from the robot. The ultrasonic sensor, attached to port 1, sense the light change from the robot. (What amount of light was it waiting to detect? -1/2)

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">4th block – When the ultrasonic sensor sensed the light change (because of the different colored tape) block 4 makes the robot come to a stop by breaking motors C and B.

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">5th block – This block activates a sound. The block tells the robot to play a sound. The sound it played was “Watch out!” (How loud and how many times? -1/2)

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Once the robot has run through these blocks the simulation comes to an end.

//<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Ms. Mc - Very good explanation and visual aids! 18/20 //

<span style="color: #530e3a; font-family: Georgia,serif;">6/4/12

<span style="color: #530e3a; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Log Entry #11 =<span style="color: #530e3a; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Life on Mars? = = = From the beginning of time, there has always been speculation about whether life on Mars has ever existed. For many years, it was believed that there was life until 1975 when the Viking (//see figure 1// for Viking Rover picture) landing and exploration led people to believe otherwise. This was due to the fact that the Viking experimented to look for metabolism and organic molecules. Since neither of these 2 things were found, the thought of life on Mars seemed impossible. However, through later experiments, it seemed like there be a possibility of life. Some of these happenings include that life is able to survive in tough climates such as underwater places in over 1,000 Celsius. Also the early Mars conditions were very much like Earth's conditions. Plus Earth and Mars exchange materials, so Earth could have given life to Mars or vice versa.



This was confirmed when, in 1996, some scientists were diagnosing a Mars' meteorite and had found: bacteria-like-objects, hydrocarbons, mineral assemblages, and magnetic partials similar to ones produced by bacteria. All of this came as close to proving life on Mars as we could have been.

A micro-organism is a microscopic organism that is made up of cell clusters or a single cell (//see Figure 2).// The majority of micro-organism are single-celled. They are thought to be alive because they have all 8 of the characteristics of life (Made of cells, reproduction, homeostatic, respiration, the ability to grow, evolution, need/use Materials and responds to stimuli). Plus all bacteria is considered alive and micro-organisms are usually just bacteria. However, if you wish to test to see if micro-organism is truly alive you could set up several experiments to make sure that it possesses all the characteristics of life. This means if a rover finds a micro-organism then life is not only possible on Mars, but life is really on Mars. This is what most rovers are looking for on Mars.



//Ms. Mc - good general review. Viking I and II were orbiters and landers, not rovers. Your first figure is of either Spirit or Opportunity (-1/2). Some scientists believe that the formations observed in the Mars meteorite found in 1996 is due to volcanic activity and not to fossilized microbes so it was inconclusive in terms of life on Mars. (-1/2) Remember, in order to be classified as "living," an organism must possess all 8 characteristics of life and all 8 must be fully functioning (-1/2). The rovers on Mars primarily are looking for conditions in which past or present life could exist as well as the fossil history of microbes. If there is life currently on Mars, it is believed to be in liquid water below the surface. 8.5/10//