Doug

4/9/12 Log Entry #1 Facts We Need to Know in Order to Get A Rover To Mars

Mars has large sand and dust storms, which may ruin some electronics or the solar panels The launch window for the rover occurs every 2 years It takes about 7-8 months to get to Mars Mars gravity is about 1/3 of Earth's gravity, which we need to consider when landing We need to protect the electronics from damage from impact When will the engines fire on and off We will need enough fuel to get out of Earth's gravity We need high traction wheels on the rover There are frozen polar caps which we need to not land on Mars has 2 moons and we want to steer clear of these // Ms. Mc: Good facts about Mars and its conditions, however, they all came from our class discussion. Where is your original work? (-3). Please capitalize Mars and Earth as they are proper nouns. 7/10. //

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

<span style="color: #df0f07; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> <span style="color: #df0f07; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> <span style="color: #df0f07; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; text-align: center;">The History and Importance of Rockets <span style="color: #df0f07; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Rockets have played an important role in space exploration. In this essay, it will be described how rockets have progressed through the years and how dramatically sophisticated they have become. It has taken thousands of years of experimentation and a lot of human ingenuity to build rockets. Both early and modern rockets will be described. <span style="color: #df0f07; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">The first rocket engine that will be explained is the aeolipile, or Hero Engine. The Hero Engine was the first official rocket-like device there was. The creator of the Hero Engine was a Greek inventor named Hero of Alexandria and he used steam as a propulsive gas around 100 B.C. He mounted a sphere on top of a water kettle. Then he placed a fire under the kettle to make steam, and then the steam travelled through pipes to the sphere. Two L- shaped tubes on opposite sides of the sphere allowed the steam to escape, and in doing so, gave it a thrust that caused it to rotate. This is a diagram of the Hero Engine.

<span style="color: #df0f07; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">In the first century A.D., the Chinese developed a way of launching their rockets, but these rockets were similar to fireworks. Early on, the Chinese placed a simple form of gunpowder in bamboo tubes and threw the tubes into fires to create explosions at religious festivals. After the tubes were tossed into the fires, they were launched out sometimes in directions that people never knew where they would come from. After this, the Chinese started to experiment with gunpowder filled tubes. At one point, the Chinese attached bamboo tubes to arrows and launched them with tubes. Soon, the Chinese discovered that gunpowder tubes could launch themselves just by the power produced from the escaping gas. At that time, the first true rocket was born. <span style="color: #df0f07; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">The first use of true rockets was reported in 1232 when the Chinese and Mongols were at war with one another. During the Battle of Kai-Keng, the Chinese launched fire-arrows at the Mongols. These fire-arrows were a simple form of a solid-propellant rocket. After the Battle of Kai-Keng, the Mongols produced their own rockets and this led to rockets being developed in Europe. From the 13th-15th centuries, there were several reports of rocket experiments in England, France and Italy. Up to this time, most of the uses of rockets were for fireworks or warfare. <span style="color: #df0f07; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Modern rockets first appeared around 1898, when a Russian schoolteacher, Konstantin Tsiolkovsky proposed the idea of space exploration by rocket. In a report he published in 1903, Tsiolkovsky suggested the use of liquid propellants for rockets in order for rockets to achieve greater altitudes. <span style="color: #df0f07; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">In the early 20th century, an American, Robert H Goddard conducted practical experiments in rocketry. He was interested in learning a way to achieve higher altitudes than were possible for lighter-than-air balloons. Goddard’s earliest experiments were with solid-propellant rockets. In 1915, he began to try various types of solid fuels and to measure the exhaust varieties of the burning gasses. Despite all of the difficulties that Goddard encountered, he successfully achieved the first successful flight with a liquid-propellant rocket on March 16, 1926. The rocket was fueled by liquid oxygen and gasoline. It flew for 2 ½ seconds and climbed 12.5 meters. Goddard’s experiments in liquid-propellant rockets continued for several years. <span style="color: #df0f07; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">In the early 20th century, many small rocket societies started up around the world. In Germany, the formation of the Verein fur Raumschiffahrt society led to the development of the V-2 rocket. This rocket was powered by a mixture of liquid oxygen and alcohol at about 1 ton every 77 seconds. The V-2 rocket was used against London during World War II. After the fall of Germany, there were many unused V-2 rockets. Many German rocket scientists went to the United Stated, while others went to Soviet Union. Both the United States and the Soviet Union realized the importance of rockets and how they could be used as military weapons. Both countries began experimental rocket programs. Eventually, the United States developed medium-range and long-range intercontinental ballistic missiles, and this was the start of the U. S. Space Program. This is a picture of the V-2 rocket. <span style="color: #df0f07; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched an Earth-orbiting artificial satellite called Sputnik I. It was the first successful space launch and stunned the world. A few months after Sputnik I, the U.S. followed the Soviet Union with a satellite of its own, called Explorer I. Explorer I was launched by the U.S. Army on January 31, 1958. In October 1958, the U.S. formally organized the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The purpose of NASA was to achieve peaceful space exploration for the benefit of all mankind.

<span style="color: #df0f07; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">In conclusion, rockets have been an important part of space exploration. They have evolved from the earliest days of discovery and experimentation. Since the first Hero Engine was built to the Curiosity Rover that is being sent to Mars as we speak, rockets have helped us to reach out to the universe. //<span style="color: #df0f07; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Ms. Mc: Excellent summary and I like how you brought it up to what's happening today! Good drawings too but your second one is a little vague (-1/2). Please put captions under your drawings (-1) and refer to your diagrams in your writing (i.e., "as seen in Figure 1"). 8.5/10 //

<span style="color: #df0f07; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">4/10/12 <span style="color: #df0f07; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Log Entry #3 <span style="color: #df0f07; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Scratch Rocket simulation

<span style="color: #df0f07; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">media type="custom" key="14081144"

<span style="color: #df0f07; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Instructions to run scratch <span style="color: #df0f07; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">If it doesn't function <span style="color: #df0f07; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">[] <span style="color: #df0f07; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Step 1. Turn sound on <span style="color: #df0f07; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Step 2. Press Green flag <span style="color: #df0f07; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Step 3. That's it!

<span style="color: #df0f07; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Damon - It is a good idea, but you should work a little harder on it. You need the screen transitions to be a little lighter. It was cool.

<span style="color: #df0f07; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Cameron L. - I like the way you have lift off and describe the parts of the rocket flight, but The Poke ball and the Blurred rover were distracting. Really funny though although I think it would be better if you just left it out and had a plain rover. you have a really cool rocket.

<span style="color: #df0f07; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">4/16/12 <span style="color: #df0f07; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Log Entry #4 <span style="color: #df0f07; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Rocket parts



The first main part of the rocket is the nosecone. The nosecone helps the rocket become more aerodynamic and cut through the air to to lower resistance to air and achieve greater altitude. Next the body tube of the rocket is the piece of the rocket that stores all of the recovery wadding, the recovery system, and the motor. Next the recovery system is the system that saves the rocket from plummeting to the ground. The recovery system deploys to softly land the rocket back on the ground after the flight. Next the recovery wadding protects the recovery system from catching fire when the rocket motor deploys the recovery system at the end of the rocket burn. The launch lug on the rocket is the initial guidance system, this enables the rocket to launch straight up instead of going sideways. The fins stabilizes the rocket in flight by creating uniform air pressure around the body-tube acting as an aerodynamic stabilizing force. Next the motor mount keeps the motor in place during launch. Finally the rocket motor provide the thrust to overcome gravity and making it accelerate to greater speeds.

// Ms. Mc: Good definitions and labels but you left off the motor mount and motor labels (-1). Please add a caption when you upload files and refer to their # in your text. 9/10 //

Log Entry #5 4/18/12 What we know about the Atlas Rocket <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">The Atlas V 541is a complex rocket that has several stages. Before the launch of the rocket is 191 feet tall (19 story building) and weighs 1.17 million pounds when fully fueled. During the initial boost phase of the flight, the first stage of the rocket uses the four solid rocket motors and the large Atlas V rocket engine to get off the ground and accelerating as shown in the figure below with the large orange tank and the four small cylinders near the base of the rocket. The solid rocket boosters are used to increase the thrust and after a short while are ejected off the rocket and fall off into the ocean. After the fuel burns from the first stage, it separates from the rocket and the second stage ignites. The next part of the rocket is the Centaur upper stage; this is used to accelerate the spacecraft into Earth’s orbit and again to accelerate it on its way to Mars. The second stage is the large object contained within the nose fairing below. Finally the payload fairing is the top of the rocket that protects the rover as it travels through Earth’s atmosphere. It will fall away prior to the payload deployment. The payload is the small blue disc on the right hand side of the figure below. The Atlas V 541 rocket was selected for the mission because of its heavy liftoff capability and it is a composed proven rocket parts.

//Ms. Mc - great overview and diagram of the launch vehicle! You need to add a caption when you updoad your files that includes a # and title (i.e., "Figure 1. Atlas V-541 Rocket." (-1/2) Please refer to the specific figure # when you discuss in your text. 9.5/10//

Log Entry #6 4/25/12 Explanation and after affects of the lauch

The purpose of this experiment was to launch eight rockets of varying mass to determine which rocket achieved the highest apogee. There were four forces acting on the eight rockets. The forces acting on the rockets were weight, the motor thrust of the rockets, drag, and momentum. Weight was the force acting upon the rockets to pull them back towards the Earth. Drag was the force that resisted the rockets moving through the air. The motor thrust of the engines in the rockets pushed the rockets in the direction they were aimed. Momentum was the force that kept the rockets stationary until the engines ignited. It was hypothesized that only the mass of the rockets would affect the apogee of the rockets. It was assumed that the other three forces of motor thrust, drag and momentum were equal and would not affect the apogees achieved. On the April 17, 2012, Period 4 Science Class launched eight rockets of varying mass and measured the apogees achieved by the rockets. Each of the rockets used similar engines with equal thrust. The results of the rocket launches are shown below in Graph #1.

Graph #1: The Mass of the Rockets and the Apogees Achieved by the Rocket Launches for Period 4 Science Class The data in Graph #1 shows the mass and the apogees of the eight rockets launched. After analyzing the data in Graph #1, there was no clear upward or downward trend in the data. Because there was no clear upward or downward trend in the data, there was no relationship between the mass of the rockets and the apogees the rockets. The mass of the rockets ranged from 42.9 grams to 46.2 grams. Rocket 5 had the smallest mass of 42.9 grams and Rocket 3 had the greatest mass of 46.2 grams. The apogee of the rockets ranged from 38.4 meters to 78.1 meters. The first data point that showed there was no relationship between the mass of the rockets and apogee of the rockets was when two rockets had the same mass, but had two different apogees. Rocket 4 had the lowest apogee of 38.4 meters and Rocket 2 had the highest apogee of 78.1 meters. When Rocket 4 was launched, it soared 38.4 meters high into the sky. When Rocket 2 was launched, it soared 78.1 meters high into the sky. Both Rocket 4 and Rocket 2 had the same mass. The mass of each of these rockets was 44.8 grams. However, Rocket 4 and Rocket 2 had different apogees. Another data point that showed was no relationship between the mass of the rockets and the apogee of the rockets was when two rockets went the same height into the sky, but the mass of the rockets was different. Rocket 5 weighed 42.9 grams and Rocket 7 weighed 43.6 grams. Both Rocket 5 and Rocket 7 achieved the same apogee of 67.5 meters. In conclusion, there was no clear upward or downward trend in the data in Graph #1. There was no relationship between the mass of the rockets and the apogees of the rockets after they were launched. Based upon the results of the experiment, the hypothesis that only the mass of the rockets would affect the apogee of the rockets was incorrect. The assumption that the three factors of motor thrust, drag and momentum were equal was also incorrect. There were three factors that could have led to errors in this experiment. One of the factors that could have led to errors in the results of this experiment was wind. On the day of the experiment, one of the weather conditions was wind. Even though the wind was not very strong, it was a windy day when the rockets were launched. The wind was different for every rocket launch and this could have contributed to incorrect measurements. Another factor that could have contributed to errors in the results of this experiment was the angle measurement of the apogees. When the apogees were measured, there was difficulty determining whether the rockets were backwards or forwards. This could have contributed to errors in the measurement of the apogees. A third factor that could have contributed to errors in the results of experiment was the engines. Even though the engines of the rockets were similar, they were not exactly the same. Each of the engines could have had a different amount of thrust.

Log Entry #7 4/30/12 Rocket Fin Redesign



<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Rocket Fin Redesign is shown above in Figure 1. The Rocket Fin Redesign has three fins shaped like parallelograms pointing upwards. The fins are located at the bottom of the rocket. The Rocket Fin Reddesign, as seen in Figure 1, will help to reduce the drag of the rocket through the air because of the direction the fins are pointing. While the rocket is piercing through the air like a bullet, the rocket will achieve a higher apogee.The Rocket Fin Redesign will help to stabilize the rocket in the air.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 19px;">This is a summary of the differences between the launch of the first rocket and the launch of the second rocket. A comparison of the mass of the rockets show that for the rocket on the second launch, the mass of the rocket was 1.3 grams lighter than the rocket on the first launch. The mass of the first rocket launched was 44.8 grams, and the mass of the second rocket launched was 43.5 grams. A comparison of the apogees shows that the first launch apogee was 12.5 meters higher than the second launch apogee. The first launch apogee was 38.4 meters high and the second launch apogee was 25.9 meters high. One of the factors that affected how the redesigned rocket flew was the direction that the fins were pointing. On the first launch, the fins on the rocket were pointing downward. On the second launch, the fins were pointing upward. The size of the fins and the location of the fins were the same for both launches. Another factor that affected how the redesigned rocket flew was the difference in mass between the rockets. The first rocket had a greater mass than the second rocket. Even though the mass of the second rocket was less than the mass of the first rocket, the fin redesign made the second rocket go lower because the rocket trapped the air in the fins pointing upward, instead of allowing air to pass. A third factor that affected how the redesigned rocket flew was that the Center of Pressure was higher than the Center of Gravity, which made the flight path unstable.

// Ms. Mc: good initial thoughts, diagram, and conclusions. I don't think the CP would have been higher than the CG for the second design, however as the locations of the fins on the rocket didn't move. The tumbling likely was due to the air being caught by your upside down fins as you described. 4.5/5 //

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 19px;">Log Entry #8 <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 19px;">5/4/12 <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 19px;">History of Rockets

Through the years, robotics has turned from ideas and designs to layers of steam just going through pistons to humanoid robots and full size space exploration rovers. In this documentation, it will be explained how robots have evolved through the years and how they keep improving. Robotic history can be divided into three time periods. The first time period was the early stages of robotics which were mostly ideas, sketches and designs. This early time period started in the 1400s and went all the way up to the early 1900s. The middle time period was when robots were built and they started to become autonomous and do things on their own while being controlled by computers. The dates for this time period were from the early 1900s to the 1970s. The last time period began after the 1970s and continues today. This is the time period when fully autonomous robots were invented and continue to evolve today. The following paragraphs describe the robots during these time periods.

Before the first time period, dating all the way back to 270 BC, Ctesibius, a Greek physicist and inventor, figured out how to make organs and water clocks with moveable figures. This was way back when there were barely any moving parts that existed. Over a thousand years later, in 1495, the famous artist, Leonardo Da Vinci sketched out a plan for a mechanical man called an anthrobot. The sketch by Leonardo Da Vinci is below in Figure 1. It shows all of the parts that Leonardo Da Vinci thought would make up an anthrobot. Figure 1. The Sketch and Design for an Anthrobot By Leonardo Da Vinci in 1495

About 300 years later, in 1818, Mary Shelley wrote a novel called “Frankenstein” which was about a frightening artificial life form created by Dr. Frankenstein. Later on, in the 1890s, Nikola Tesla designed the first remote control vehicles. He is known in the world today for his inventions of the radio, induction motors and tesla coils. In 1913, Henry Ford installed the world’s first moving conveyor-based assembly in his car factory. With this assembly in his car factory, the Model T Ford could be assembled in 93 minutes. In 1921, the first reference to the word robot appeared in a play that opened in London. The play was called “Rossum’s Universal Robots”.

The middle period of robotics was one of the times that were a good era for robotics, and where some robots started to become truly autonomous. Between 1948 and 1949, American scientist, W. Grey Walter constructed some of the first electronic autonomous robots. One of his first robots was called Machina speculatrix and he named it ELMER (__EL__ectro __ME__chanical __R__obot). The robot looked like a tortoise because of the shell that covered it and how slow it moved. ELMER had a light sensor, touch sensor, propulsion motor, steering motor and a two-vacuum tube analog computer. This was considered a simple design, but the robot exhibited complex behavior. ELMER moved on three wheels and was capable of phototaxis by which it could find its way to a recharging station when battery power ran low. A picture of ELMER is seen below in Figure 2. Figure 2. One of the First Electronic Robots, ELMER, Constructed By W. Grey Walter in the Late 1940s

In 1954, the first programmable robot was designed by George Devol. After that in 1956, Devol and an engineer named Joseph Engelberger formed the world’s first robot company, Unimation. In 1963, the first artificial robotic arm that was controlled by a computer was designed. It was called the Rancho Arm, and it was a tool to help handicapped people because it had six joints to give it the flexibility of a human arm. In the 1970s, scientists at Edinburgh University created the Freddie robot which was the first steps in hand-to-eye coordination technology. It was the first robot to construct a toy boat and toy car from a pile of parts on a table. In 1976, robot arms where used on the Viking 1 and Viking 2 space probes.

The last time period of robotics was one of the greatest periods of robotics because robotics advanced so much with the use of technology. In 1980, the robot industry started its rapid growth with a new robot company entering the market every. In 1985, REX was the world’s first autonomous digging machine. REX was important because it sensed where to excavate without damaging buried gas pipelines. In 1986, Honda engineers began to develop __A__dvanced __S__tep in __I__nnovative __MOb__ility, also known as ASIMO, which is a walking, humanoid robot. It took over twenty years for Honda engineers to develop ASIMO. ASIMO can run, walk on uneven surfaces, turn smoothly, climb stairs, and reach for and grasp objects just like a human can. A picture of ASIMO is seen below in Figure 3.

Figure 3. One of the Most Advanced Robots, ASIMO, Took Honda Engineers Over 20 Years To Develop

In 1992, the Dante I robot entered into the crater of Antarctica’s Mount Erebus by repelling the sides of the mountain using a spherical laser scanner and foot sensors. A couple of years later in 1994, the Dante II robot sampled volcanic gasses from the Mount Spurr volcano in Alaska. Currently, the Mars Rover, named Curiosity, is on its way to the surface of Mars. The Curiosity was launched November 26, 2011 and is scheduled to land August 6, 2012. Curiosity is a robot that was developed by NASA to study the climate and geology of Mars. Curiosity will help scientists to determine whether Mars could have supported life. Curiosity is about the same size as a Mini Cooper automobile and is powered by a radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG). Curiosity has six wheels in a suspension system that will help Curiosity land on Mars and explore the planet. Also, Curiosity has a robotic arm, cameras and on-board computers. A picture of Curiosity is seen below in Figure 4. Figure 4. The Mars Rover, Curiosity, Developed By NASA That is Currently On Its Way to Mars

In conclusion, as it was stated in these paragraphs, robots have evolved from merely ideas and drawings to humanoid robots and full size space exploration rovers. The ideas for robots started when there were barely any moving parts. Sketches and drawings turned into robots being built by scientists and engineers. Robots became autonomous and could do things on their own while being controlled by computers. Robots continued to advance and still evolve today with the use of technology.

Ms. Mc - Excellent, complete, and detailed overview and fantastic figures! 10/10

__**Log Entry #9**__


 * 5/19/2012**

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">On November 26, 2011, the Mars rover Curiosity was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida into space by NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory. Curiosity is scheduled to arrive on the surface of Mars in August 2012 where it will land near the base of a layered mountain inside Gale Crater. The purpose of this summary is to describe Curiosity’s mission and the instruments on board Curiosity that will be used to carry out its mission.
 * SUMMARY OF CURIOSITY'S MISSION AND INSTRUMENTS**

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Curiosity’s mission is important, to determine if there was ever life on Mars and whether there could still be life on Mars. Its mission is to investigate whether conditions have been favorable and could still be favorable for microbial life by examining clues in rocks and soil about possible past life. Curiosity will analyze samples of drilled rocks and scoops of rocks from the ground as it explores the surface. Curiosity will explore more of Mars than any other previous rover has. Below in Figure 1 is a picture of Curiosity in the “Clean Room.” The “Clean Room”is where engineers make the final assembly of the rover and prepare the rover for launch.

<span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; text-align: center;">Figure 1: Picture of Curiosity in the “Clean Room”

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">There are both similarities and differences between Curiosity and past Mars rovers. Obviously, one of the similarities is that Curiosity and earlier rovers are rovers and they were launched to explore Mars. There are some design elements that Curiosity has in common with two of NASA’s Twin Mars Exploration Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity. The similarities are they all have six-wheel drive, a rocker-boogie suspension, and cameras mounted on a mast to help scientists on Earth to select exploration targets and driving routes. There are differences between Curiosity and previous Mars rovers too. One of the differences between Curiosity and NASA’s Twin Mars Explorations Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, is that Curiosity is bigger and weighs more. Curiosity is twice as long (about 3 meters) and 5 times as heavy as Spirit and Opportunity. Unlike earlier rovers, Curiosity carries equipment to gather samples of rocks and soil, and then processes and distributes them to onboard test chambers inside analytical instruments. Another difference between Curiosity and previous Mars rovers is that Curiosity has a more abundant amount of sensors than previous rovers. Also, Curiosity will not be powered by solar panels like older rovers, but with a radioisotope power system. Another difference is that Curiosity, instead of using airbags to help it land on Mars, will use a mechanism called a “Sky Crane”. This “Sky Crane” has never been used before, but scientists think it promises good results.

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Power will be provided to Curiosity, but not by solar panels like previous Mars rovers. Instead, Curiosity’s electrical power will be supplied by a U.S. Department of Energy radioisotope power generator. This generator will produce electricity from the heat of plutonium-238’s radioactive decay. This long lived power will give the mission an operating lifespan on the surface of Mars for at least a full Martian year (687 Earth days) or more. The generator will provide 110 watts of electrical power to operate the rover’s instruments, robotic arm, wheels, computers, and radio.

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Scientists will be able to communicate with Curiosity using radio relays as the main form of communication between Curiosity and the Deep Space Network of Antennas on Earth. Curiosity will send radio waves through its ultra-high frequency (UHF) antenna (about 400 Megahertz) to communicate with Earth through NASA's Mars Odyssey and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiters. Because the rover's and orbiters' antennas are close-range, they will act as walkie-talkies compared to the long range of the low-gain and high-gain antennas.

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">There are several instruments on board Curiosity to help Curiosity carry out its mission. Below in Figure 2 is a diagram of Curiosity with the instruments labeled.

<span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; text-align: center;">Figure 2: Diagram of Curiosity with Instruments Labeled <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">This paragraph will discuss ten of these instruments. The first instrument called **<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Sample Analyses at Mars **<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> ( **<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">SAM) **<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> will analyze samples of materials collected and delivered by the rover’s robotic arm. SAM includes a gas chromatograph, a mass spectrometer, and a tunable laser spectrometer with capabilities to identify a wide range of organic compounds and determine the ratios of different isotopes of different elements. The second instrument that Curiosity is carrying is **<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Chemin **<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">, Chemin is basically an x-ray diffraction and fluorescence instrument. It is designed to identify and quantify the minerals in rocks and soils, and if present, ice. The third instrument on Curiosity is the **<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Mars Hand Lens Imager **<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">, which is mounted on the robotic arm. This instrument will take extreme close-up pictures of rocks, soil, and ice if present. It will be able to focus on hard-to-reach objects that are more than an arm’s length away. The fourth instrument is the **<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer **<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">, which is also located on the robotic arm. This instrument will determine the relative abundance of different elements in rocks and soil. The fifth instrument is the **<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Mast Camera **<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">. The Mast Camera is mounted at human-eye height on Curiosity and will image the rover’s surroundings in high resolution and color. It will store high definition video sequences too. The sixth instrument is the **<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">ChemCam **<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> and it will use laser pulses to vaporize thin layers of material from Martian rocks or soil targets up to 7 meters away. The Chemcam has a spectrometer to identify atoms excited by the laser beams, and a telescope to capture detailed images of areas illuminated by the laser beams. The seventh instrument is the **<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Radiation Assessment Detector **<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> and it will characterize the radiation environment on the surface of Mars. This will help plan for human exploration of Mars. The eighth instrument is the **<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Rover Environment Monitoring System **<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> and it is being provided by Spain’s Ministry of Education and Science. It will monitor atmospheric pressure, temperature, humidity, winds, plus ultraviolent light levels. The ninth instrument is the **<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons (DAN) **<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">, and it is being provided by Russia’s Federal Space Agency. DAN will measure subsurface hydrogen up to 1 meter below the surface. Any detection of hydrogen may indicate the presence of water in the form of ice or in minerals. The tenth and final instrument is the **<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Sample Acquisition/Sample Preparation and Handling System. **<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> This includes tools to remove dust from rock surfaces, scoop up soil, drill into rocks and collect powdered samples from the interiors of rocks, sort samples by particle size with sieves, and deliver samples to laboratory instruments.

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">In conclusion, Curiosity has an important mission to accomplish when it lands on the surface of Mars and that is to prove whether there was ever life on Mars or could there ever be life on Mars. There are many instruments on Curiosity that will help Curiosity perform this mission. Scientists predict that Curiosity will be the most successful rover that has ever been launched.

//<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Ms. Mc - Excellent work, Doug! You don't need to put "picture" or "diagram" in your titles for your figures as "Figure" implies this. Keep it up! //


 * __<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 15pt;">Log Entry #10 __**


 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 15pt;">5/16/2012 **


 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 15pt;">On the Edge Challenge **


 * <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Description of Challenge: **<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">The name of this challenge was “On the Edge Challenge”. In this challenge, there was a robot programmed so that it would move forward on a table when the command was ‘Go’ and stop when it reached the edge of the table. There was a dark line (made with a piece of tape) on the edge of the table so that the robot could detect the dark line and stop. This challenge would be useful to scientists because it would help the rover know when to stop when it reached the edge of a cliff on Mars and wouldn't fall over the edge.


 * <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Video: **<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"> The video of the robot performing this challenge is shown below in Figure 1.

media type="file" key="100_0059.AVI" width="300" height="300" align="center"

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Figure 1. Video of the Robot Performing On The Edge Challenge
 * <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Programming Code and Explanation: **<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"> A picture of the Programming Code for the robot is shown below in Figure 2.

Figure 2. Programming Code for the Robot in On The Edge Challenge <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">The programming code consisted of “Blocks’ that contained specific instructions to tell the robot what to do. There were eight “Blocks” and they are described below:


 * <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Block 1: **<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"> This **"Wait for Time" Block** told the robot to wait for 2 seconds before it started moving.

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">**Block 2:** This **"Switch" Block** told the robot to activate port 2 and switch to the sound sensor. When the robot detected a sound that was over the value 50, it started to do Blocks 3 and 4.

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">**Block 3 (Top):** This **"Move" Block** told the robot to activate servomotors B and C so it moved //backwards// 1 rotation at 75% power.

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">**Block 4 (Bottom):** This **"Move" Block** told the robot to activate servomotors B and C so it moved //forward// 1 rotation at 75% power.

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">NOTE: The first 4 blocks were "Sound Control", so when the robot heard a sound, it moved according to what the directions were.

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">**Block 5:** This **"Move" Block** told the robot to activate servomotors B and C so it moved forward with an unlimited amount of time at 50% power.

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">**Block 6:** This **"Wait for Light Sensor" Block** told the robot to activate port 3 and keep on moving while the light sensor detected a light value of 31.

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">**Block 7:** This **"Move" Block** told the robot to activate servomotors B and C so it would stop.

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">**Block 8:** This **"Sound" Block** told the robot to play a sound (Watch Out!) with the volume at 100.

//<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Ms. Mc - Very thorough! 20/20 //

//<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Log Entry # 11 //

//<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">6/4/12 //

Is There Life on Mars?

Mars has been a focus of space exploration since the beginning of the space age. Ever since scientists began exploring space, they have been asking whether life could have started on Mars and what life would be like on Mars. There are 3 reasons why Mars is a focus of planetary exploration. First, out of all the planets, Mars is most like Earth. Second, other than Earth, Mars is the only planet that is most likely to have indigenous life. Third, Mars is most likely going to be the first planet to be visited by humans.

There is evidence for possible life on Mars from the space missions that have gone to Mars. The exploration of Mars was a primary objective for the U.S. and the Soviet Union between 1960 and 1980. During these years, both the U.S. and Soviet Union sent spacecraft to explore Mars. The U.S. sent Mariner 4, Mariner 6 and Mariner 7 to fly by Mars. Mariner 9 was the first spacecraft to orbit Mars. A picture of Mariner 9 is shown below in Figure 1.



Figure 1. The U.S. Spacecraft, Mariner 9, Orbited Mars from November 1971 Until October 1972. Mariner 9 was placed in orbit in November 1971 and operated until October 1972. Mariner 9 returned a wide variety of data from Mars, including 7,300 pictures. The U.S. also sent Viking 1 and Viking 2 to explore Mars. Viking 1 and Viking 2 orbited Mars and placed lander modules on the surface of Mars. The primary objective of the Viking missions was to search for extraterrestrial life. However, no certain evidence of biological activity was found. The Soviet Union sent Mars 2, Mars 3 and Mars 5 to investigate Mars. Mars 3 was the first spacecraft to soft-land an instrumented capsule on Mars. A picture of Mars 3 is shown below in Figure 2.



Figure 2. The Soviet Union Spacecraft, Mars 3, Soft-Landed on the Surface of Mars December 2, 1971. Mars 3 landed on Mars on December 2, 1971. Mars 3 landed while a planet-wide dust storm was taking place. Mars 3 only returned data for about 20 seconds. Mars space exploration continued in the 1990s and continues today. On July 4, 1997, the U.S. successfully landed the Mars Pathfinder on the surface of Mars and deployed a robotic wheeled rover called Sojourner. The Mars Odyssey successfully entered the orbit around Mars in October 2001 and started mapping the chemical composition of the surface of Mars. In 2008, the Phoenix landed in the north polar region of Mars carrying a small chemical laboratory to study the soil. Today, exploration of Mars continues with the Curiosity Rover on its way to Mars. Curiosity is expected to land on the surface of Mars in August 2012. (What were the results of these missions? -1/2)

In addition to the space missions, there has been evidence for possible life on Mars from the meteorites that have come from Mars. In 1996, a group of scientists shocked the scientific world when they discovered evidence of life in a meteorite from Mars. The evidence consisted of bacteria-like objects and electron microscope imagery, the detection of hydro-carbons, mineral assemblages that were not produced in chemical equilibrium, and magnetic particles like those produced by terrestrial bacteria. However, there were plausible explanations contrary to this evidence and therefore, the claims were invalid. Despite all this, the Mars exploration program is still in search for life.

The current mission to Mars, MSL, will look for signs of microbial fossil life and possibly, living microbes or micro-organisms. A microbe, or micro-organism, is a microscopic organism that comprises a single cell (called unicellular), cell clusters or multi-cellular complex organisms. Microbes are very diverse. They include bacteria, fungi, algae and protozoa. A picture of the microbe penicillium is shown below in Figure 3.



Figure 3. Picture of the Microbe, Penicillium. This microbe is a fungus that is used to make the antibiotic, penicillin. Penicillin is prescribed by doctors to treat infections. Microbes live in all parts of the biosphere where there is liquid water, including soil, hot springs, on the ocean floor, high up in the atmosphere and deep inside rocks inside the Earth’s crust.

A sample from Mars containing microbes would be classified as alive, dead, non-living or dormant. This classification would be based on the 8 characteristics of life. The first characteristic is if the sample is made up of one or more cells. The second characteristic is the ability of the sample to adapt and respond to its surroundings. The third characteristic is whether the sample has homeostasis or internal balance. The fourth characteristic is the existence of a universal genetic code, or DNA, in the sample. The fifth characteristic is what the evolution of the sample is. The sixth characteristic is the metabolism or energy consumption by the sample. The seventh characteristic is if the sample would be able to reproduce. The eighth characteristic is the ability of the sample to grow and develop. These are the characteristics of the sample that would be examined. (How would you discriminate between alive, dead, dormant and nonliving? -1/2)

In conclusion, there are still many questions to answer about life on Mars. Is there life on Mars? Was there ever life on Mars? Scientists have been trying to answer these questions since the beginning of the space age. Hopefully, scientists will one day answer these questions and continue the exploration of Mars. (Maybe you will be one of those scientists?!)

//Ms. Mc - great summary of the spacecraft explorations and discussion of the 8 characteristics of life. 9/10//