Melissa+H

= Electronics- The Search for Life on Mars Entry 1 =

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In electronics there are two different signals known as analog signals and dialog signals, and both are very different. Analog signals give a smooth transition from number to number, like an analog clock. The hands smoothly move from number to number. However analog signals can be converted into dialog signals. Dialog signals are signals that jump from number to number. There isn't a smooth transition, it just automatically switches, like in dialog clocks. There are no hands just electronic numbers. So, analog signals have a much smoother transition than dialog signals. Semiconductors are materials that can't conduct as well as conductors but it is a much better conductor than insulators. Semiconductors can be very useful in electronic devices though. This is because they are able to conduct electricity differently based upon adding impurities. Adding impurities is when you take one atom and place it with a million other atoms and the conductivity rate will change. This process is called Dopping. Dopping can produce two different types of semiconductors. An n-type semiconductor is when the big group of atoms end up with more electrons then they started with. The other type of semiconductor, the p-type semiconductor, is just the opposite. It is when the big group of atoms end up with less electrons then they started with. When there is a combination of a p-type and an n-type semiconductor it forms a Solid-State Component. This Solid-State Component works as a switch for the flow of electricity. In electronics there are also diodes, tansistors and intergrated circuits. Diodes are what allow current to flow in only one direction. Diodes, which are Solid-State components, are made when a p-type semiconductor and an n-type semiconductor are connected. Diodes can only allow current to flow in one direction because the p-type semiconductor will take electrons from the n-type semiconductor, but it won't work the other way. Transistors are also Solid-State components, but unlike diodes there is a third p or n-type semiconductor added to the transistor. Transistors are mainly used to amplify the signals that are in an electrical current. Integrated circuits are small chips of a semiconductor, most commonly silicon, and contains millions of transitors, diodes and many other electrical components. Integrated circuits are chips that can store a ton of information, even though it is only 1mm on each of its sides! =====

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Electronics would be very useful while looking for life on Mars. When traveling to Mars, you have to know how to operate a space ship, a big hunk of electronics. So you'll have to know about electronics to actually be able to function it. When you actually land on Mars, you're going to have to make a lot of observations to bring back to Earth, especially if you are searching for life. This means you're going to need a lot of memory space. That is where the integrated circuits come in handy. They can store a lot! Plus, there will be a robot you'll have to know how to use and maybe even repair. When traveling into space, electronics are key. ===== = = = = = Rockets Through Time!- The Search for Life on Mars Entry 2 = Around 100 BC a Greek inventor, named Hero, invented this device called the Hero Engine. Hero put a sphere with two L-shaped tubes, on top of a water kettle. Underneath the water kettle was a fire, which would turn the water into steam. The steam then went into the pipes and caused the sphere to spin, like a thrust. No one really knows when rockets started being used, and maybe even the first rockets where made on accident, like the Chinese. During religious festivals the Chinese would fill a tube with explosives and throw them into the fire. Some might have flown up into the sky rather than exploding in the fire. After the Chineses' experience with the gun powder tubes during religious festivals, the Chinese started to experiment with other tubes of gun powder. Eventually the Chinese came up with the Fire Arrow, which was basically one of their gun powder filled tubes on a stick or arrow, to help guide the rockets. These where the first //true// rockets and where made in the year 1232. This was during the battle of Kai-Keng, when the Chinese and Mongols where at war. The Chinese used these rockets during the battle, but the effectiveness is unknown, but it must have frightened the Mongols. After this the Mongols started creating rockets and spread them throughout Europe, introducing rocketry to warfare. In the 20th century the Germans created a rocket called the V2 rocket which could destroy whole city blocks. The rocket came towards the end of World War II, to late for it to affect the out come of the war. The United States and Soviet Union realized that rockets would be a great weapon for the military and began experimenting. They had no idea that one day rockets would be used for space travel.



In 1898 a Russian school teacher named Konstantin Tsiolkovsky proposed the idea of space travel with the rockets. Tsiolkovsky did a lot of research on rocketry and even published a report in 1903 about liquid propellers for the rockets. Eventually Tsiolkovsky was given the name the Father of Modern Astronomics. In the 20th century an American named Robert H. Goddard who preformed many experiments with rocketry and became very interested in it. Goddard came up with the idea that a rocket would be propelled better if it was run on liquid fuel. Nobody had been able to successfully create a liquid fueled rocket yet, but on March 16, 1926 Goddard was able to get the rocket working. The rocket only stayed in the air for two and a half seconds, went 12.5 meters high and landed in a cabbage patch 56 miles away. As unimpressive as this sounds now, then it was amazing! Goddard soon received the name of Father of Modern Rocketry. On October 4, 1957 the world was in shock after learning that a satellite sent up by the Soviet Union was orbiting the Earth. This satellite was name Sputnik I, which in Russian means satellite. Not to long later, January 31, 1958, the US launched a satellite named the Explorer I, into orbit. That following October National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was created. Soon people, rockets and more satellites were being launched into Space. It's amazing how far rocketry has come over the years.



= Rocket Stages Animation ! =

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= Parts of a Rocket Diagram- The Search For Life on Mars Entry 3  =

= = = Lift off! Rocket Launch Results- The Search for Life on Mars Entry 4 = The purpose of this experiment was to see if the mass of the rocket affected the altitude the rocket would fly. We all started out with rockets that where the same, but after we had painted them, they had different masses. In doing this experiment we used many items, including the rockets, the launching pad, the angle guns, the trundle wheel and even an igniter. The trundle wheel was used to measure out 100m away from the launch site. Then the rocket was placed on the launch pad guided the rocket straight up with the launch lug and the igniter hooked up. When the rocket shot up in the air the people who stood 100m away from the site measured the angle of the rocket using the angle guns.Then they where able to find the average of the two angles and that was recorded. The experiment proved that the mass didn't affect how high the rockets where able to fly. All of the rockets altitudes had varied significantly. We came to conclude that the relationship of the data was no relationship. My hypothesis of the rocket with the most mass would fly highest was proved incorrect because all of the rockets had different altitudes, whether or not the mass was higher or lower. Our rocket was constructed well, making sure that every thing lined up correctly. After it was painted our rocket had a mass of 44.7 grams. Our rocket didn't fly very high, but the overall the launch was successful. When it launched off the launch pad it flew straight up which the igniter successfully lifted off. Once it hit ejection after apogee, the top came off and the parachute landed it safely. The parachute was slightly burned, with the sides slightly melted together. Our rocket had a recorded average angle of 37. Next time, to try to make our flight more successful, we could put in more recovery wadding to protect the parachute. Overall, our rocket flew pretty well.

= = = = = The Importance of Astronomy in the Search for Life on Mars- The Search for Life on Mars Entry 5 =

I think that astronomy is very important for the search of life on Mars. I think this because without astronomy, we wouldn't even know where Mars is. We would get lost in space. We need to be able to know how far away Mars is, the route to take and even where Mars is because it is constantly moving. All of this can be told through astronomy. Astronomy can also tell us how long it will take to get there, so we can know how much food to bring, and other elements needed for survival. Astronomy can also help us with constructing our rocket and robot. We need to be able to know what conditions our rocket and robot will go through, and what to prepare it for. Even though the likely hood of asteroids colliding with the ship, we need to be prepared, and know where they are. Then there is the fact of how massive the planets are, this would affect the pull of gravity and our rocket and robots need to be prepared. Astronomy is essential when trying to discover life on Mars.

To learn more about astronomy go to this link: More About Astronomy

= The History of Robotics- The Search for Life on Mars Entry 6 = A robot is a machine that is able to do tasks by taking information about its surroundings. The robots are able to learn about their surroundings through sensors. The sensors are light, sound, touch, ultrasonic and then there is a rotation sensor in the motors.One of the first recorded robots was built in 350 B.C, about 2361 years ago! It was a mechanical bird created by a brilliant mathematician named Archytas. This mechanical bird robot was called "The Pigeon" and it was propelled by steam. This bird helped with the studies of flight, and possibly even the first airplane! And all of this was able to be accomplished many, many years ago!

But as technology changed, the robots followed. In the 1900s robots were rapidly being produced. In 1921 the word "Robot" was introduced by Czech writer Karel Capek in one of his plays. Soon robots where appearing in movies, like in the movie "The Day the Earth Stood Still" in 1951. Then, in 1962 the first industrial arm robot was born. In 1998 LEGO released its first robot, and named it MINDSTORMS after the work that had been done in the 1980s. Robots soon became more popular, with robots being produced every year. People even began competing with them! Robots even became used in space travel. On June 10th 2003, NASA sent up a rover that was headed to Mars. Robots have developed so much over the many years, and they will keep developing, becoming more aware of their surroundings and learning new things.

= Programming a Robot- The Search for Life on Mars Entry 7 = Robots have motors that can be programmed to move the robot in different ways. Robots have many commands, but the most common ones are movements. The movements can control how far a robot can go forward, backwards, turn or stop. Within those movements there are endless possibilities! Like with turns, there are curve turns, point turns and many more! There are a few other commands to though. Like the forever loop, which keeps the program running over and over. There is also the wait command, which will tell the robot how long to wait and even how to wait. Programming can be difficult though, because you aren't always sure what the robot is going to do. Sometimes it does exactly what you want it it do the first time you run it, while other times it takes several times, each time trying to figure out what you did wrong. Programming is very exact, so it has to be just right amount to get it to work. Robots use sensors so that they can learn about their surroundings. There are 5 sensors; they are the touch sensor, the light sensor, the sound sensor, the ultrasonic sensor and the rotation sensor. The sensors cover most of our sensors, making robots more like us. The touch sensor is a sensor that tells the robot to do the next thing you programmed it to do when it runs into an object. This could mean turning around, backwards, forwards or any other thing you have programmed. The light sensor is a sensor that moves the robot based on the reflected light of the floors or mats. All you have to do is figure out the light percentage. The sound sensor is a sensor that makes the robot change directions based on the volume of a sound. The ultrasonic sensor is a sensor that allows the robot to “see” its upcoming obstacles. The rotation sensor is the sensor that is in the motor, and records how far and fast the robot is moving. Sensors can be difficult to use though, if you want to use the light sensor it might be the wrong light percentage, or with the sound sensor, maybe the noise is too loud. Maybe the sensor doesn’t even work! Sensors do allow robots to do really neat programs though!

= What is Life- The Search for Life on Mars Entry 8 = What exactly are we looking for when we talk about life? Well, to be considered alive, you must have the eight characteristics of life. These are; it has to be made of cells, it needs materials, it is homeostatic, it responds to stimuli, it can reproduce, it can grow, it can adapt, and it must be able to do respiration. Cells have many parts known as organelles. Sometimes these parts can be organized to create things such as tissues, organs, organ systems, and organisms. There are three types of cells; animals cells, plant cells, and bacteria cells and they all look different! The second characteristic, needs materials, means that all living things need water, minerals and air. So they can take whatever it is that they need from the environment. When something is homeostatic it means that internally living things stay almost the same even when there are environmental changes. Homeostasis requires a lot of energy, so for living things to remain homeostatic they use a lot of energy. The fourth characteristic of life is responding to stimuli. Stimuli are anything that can cause a living thing to have a reaction. The response is the reaction to the stimuli. There can be two types of responses, positive and negative. Positive reactions move towards the stimulus while negative reactions move away from the stimulus. The fifth characteristic of life is that they must be able to reproduce. This means that they must be able to produce an offspring of their own species either with two or one living organisms.The sixth characteristic of life is that they must be able to grow. This means that they develop from a simple form to a more complex form. The seventh characteristic of life is that you must be able to adapt. This means that they must be able to change themselves so that they may live on. The last characteristic of life is that you must have respiration. Respiration is when the energy stored in the sugars, or food, is released. These are the eight characteristics of life. To search for life on another planet is difficult. How would we be able to discover another species if we aren't even there? There is a theory that there is water underneath the crust of Mars, and water is one of the necessities of life. So if there is water, there could be life! We also have be using simulations here on Earth to test whether bacteria can survive under the harsh environment of Mars or not. Some of the bacteria survived up to 28hours! How do we test it there though? As of now we don't have a life detecting machine because we don't have a universal definition of life we only have our planets. We do have pictures though. Pictures aren't the best way for finding life because it would have to be very high in resolution, but it is a start. The Hubble Telescope can already take amazing pictures that can become zoomed in a lot. If we send one out to Mars just like that, it could take pictures and zoom them in enough so we could find life. Using these pictures we could figure out if this life form really is a life form using the eight characteristics of life. Although it isn't the best way to find life, it is a way. If this works on Mars it could work on any other planet too!