Julianne+C

=__//**﻿ Mission to Mars **//__= = ﻿Electronics = === On a mission to Mars, it's important that you know about electronics. For instance, you need to know about analog and digital signals. Analog signals vary smoothly from one number to the next, like a thermometer. However, digital signals vary in steps and jumps, like a digital clock. Another think important in electronic devices is semiconductors. Semiconductors only conduct sometimes or under some conditions. So, semiconductors are useful in electronic devices because they don't always have to work, and when you need them to, just put them in the right situation, and they will conduct. Then, when you want them to stop, change the conditions again. That way, different parts of electronic devices don't have to work all at once. Another important component to electronic devices are diodes. They only allow electrons to travel in one direction. That can be useful in many electronic devices. Transistors are very much similar to diodes and are useful to electronic devices. Transistors also amplify signals, which can also be a helpful component in an electronic device. Integrated circuits are some of the most useful items in an electronic devise. Their size and ability allow some devices to work better and more efficiently than they could without them. All of these are helpful to electronic devices. === === The reason that it is important for you to know about how these work well in electronic devices is because some of these devices will be used on our mission to Mars. It is necessary to use electronic devices in space because they work faster and help you live in space. It is impossible not to be in space without technology. First of all, the spaceship is made up of many electronic components. The machine that searches for life as well as the suit that you must wear is space is also made up of those same electronic components. So, now you see why it is so important that it is necessary to learn about these components in electronics. === =﻿ ﻿History of the Rocket =

[[image:jlc_heroengine.JPG width="153" height="187" align="left" caption="Hero Engine"]]
===**Rocketry starts with the invetion of steam power. The Hero Engine was created to demonstrate steam power. Steam powered a ball to spin in a circle, as seen above. However, the rocket itself was first discovered accidentally. The true date isn’t known, but most think that it was by the Chinese. They were trying to make a celebratory device, much like a firework. After this, there were many other discoveries of the rocket in different cultures at different dates. The first uses of the rocket were as weapons attached to the ends of arrows. Soon, the Chinese were firing them at their enemy. Finally, the Mongols began the spread of rocketry around Europe. **=== ===**Soon, they began experimenting with liquid fuels instead of solids. Used by the Germans in the First World War, they were brought in too late to change the outcome of the war. Soon, they invented the program NASA to begin the exploration of space. The Soviet Union was the first to send a probe up into space. After that, the options were unlimited. The importance of rocketry to travel through space, taking pictures and records of other planets. Human kno﻿wledge about space is unlimited, the exploration may never end. Quickly, they began sending people to other planets. The rocket has been used in a wide range of activities, from primitive weapons to the exploration of space. **=== =**Rocket Stages Animation** = media type="custom" key="9018900" =Labeled Rocket Parts = =﻿ = =Rocket Launch = ===The lighter the rockets were, the higher they went. According to the graph below, the ligher rockets tended to flight higher than the heavier rockets. The paint that was put onto the rockets changed the weight, making some heavier than others. When the rockets took flight, the weight must have caused the rocket to go slower. That means that it would run out of fule sooner and closer to the ground than the other, lighter, rockets. ===

[[image:jlc_rocketgraph.JPG]]
===The purpose of this experiment was to determine weather or not the weight affected the how high the rocket flew. In this case, it did affect how high the rocket flew. The lighter the rocket was, the higher it flew in this experiment. That proves that my hypothesis was correct and the lighter the rocket is, the higher if flies. The experiment was performed by first creating a rocket. All of the rockets were exactly the same, except, each rocket had a different amount of paint on them. The paint affected the weight of the rockets, so that some rockets weighed more than others. Next, the rockets were launched on the same launch pad, at the same place. Two people walked 100 meters away from the launch site. Once there, they used an angle gun to find the angle from the ground to the rocket at it's highest point. They averaged their angles and used that to find how high the rocket flew using trigonometry. Next time, to improve the flight of the rockets, more recovery wadding needs to be placed so that the parachute doesn't melt as it did for some of the rockets. That will allow the parachute to open up on all of the rockets. ===

﻿[[image:jlc_rocketchart.JPG]]
=The Importance of Astronomy In the Seaarch for Life on Mars =

===My thoughts on the importance of astronomy in the search for life on Mars is that you need astronomy to navigate and understand what is going on around you in space. Also, it is how you program your rocket and your robot to search for life on Mars. Astronomy tells you about what is happening with the stars around you as well as anything that happens in space. By knowing and understanding astornomy, you can calculate which rout to take to get to mars, as well as when to launch to take the least amount of time. By calculating what is going to happen, you can find the safest and shortest rout to Mars. You can also calculate how to prepare your robot for when he gets to Mars. The robot must be equipt correctly so that it is able to land on Mars and search for life. Astronomy is important in the search for life on Mars. === ==To read more about astronomy, click this link: More About Astronomy ==

= History of Robotics = ===The earliest sign of a robot was in 350 B.C. when the brilliant Greek mathematician, Archytas, built a mechanical bird that was propelled by steam. It is histories earliest version of flight. Over 1000 years later, Leonardo DaVinci designed a device that looked like a knight. It was made to make the knight move as if there were a real person inside. Other medieval scientists created similar things to entertain royalty. In the 1700's and 1800's, scientists began creating robots that could do things. Some robots could play instruments, some could read or write, and some could operate simple contraptions such as boats. From 1900 to 1950 no real robotics are made, but movies books, and the word "robot" are all created. After that, mechanical devices are made to function as "robots". In 1962, they finally invent the robotic arm to do dangerous jobs when creating cars. Only one year after that they begin research on Artificial Intelligence. In the next 20 years, many more sophisticated arms and hands are created in the field of robotics. ===

===<span style="color: #800080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;">Soon, they are starting to use robots for many more purposes. Starting in 1977, they begin the start of robotics in SPACE. Deep space explorers one and two are launched from the Kennedy Space Flight Center in 1977. Years later, they begin using robotics for education. Now, in classes like mine, they teach robotics. Robotics can be found in many places around you; almost all factories use robotics for mass production. ===

=<span style="color: #008080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; margin: 0in;">Programing Robots = =<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"> = ===<span style="color: #800080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;">Motors can be programmed to move a robot. Our LEGO Mindstorms robots could move foreword, backwards, left, and right. To move foreword or backward, they simply had to move the wheels faster or slower in the same direction. To make it go left, the motor on the right would have to go faster so that the right wheel goes farther than the left wheel, forcing it to turn left. You can do the same to the other wheel to make it go right. The same function works backwards. Depending on how much faster the wheels roll, it can make it turn farther or shorter. The picture on the right demonstrates how I used the LEGO Mindstorms program to program my robot to move in different ways. ===

===<span style="color: #800080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;">Different types of sensors are used to assist robots while performing tasks. A sensor is a devise that literally senses different things about different objects. There are touch, ultrasonic, sound, light, smell, and many more types of sensors. The sensors can help the robots perform tasks by telling them what to do. For example, instead of programming and measuring when a robot should turn to not hit a wall, you could use the ultrasonic sensor so that it "sees" the wall and knows when to turn. Sensors can be useful when programming a robot because it helps use less programming to do the same action, and it saves time. ===

=﻿ ﻿Life on Mars = = = ===<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #800080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">There are eight characteristics that something has that classifies it as alive. First of all, it must be made of cells. All living creatures are made of cells. There are animal and plant cells. A living creature can be made of either. Secondly, it needs materials such as minerals, water, and air. Third, it needs to be homeostatic. That means that all internally living things stay about the same despite environmental changes. Fourth, it needs to be able to react. There are two types of reactions, positive and negative, and all living creatures react. Fifth, it needs to reproduce. There are several different ways that it can reproduce, but all living creatures can reproduce (with a couple of exceptions). Sixth, it needs to be able to grow. Everything grows and gains mass and parts. Humans grow a certain number of inches each year. Seventh, it needs to be able to adapt. Living things need to adapt to stay alive. Eighth, they need to be able to respire. Respiration is releasing energy stored in the chemical bonds of sugars (food). Those characteristics will help in the search for life on Mars. ===

[[image:jlc_searchforlife.jpg align="left"]]
===<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #800080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">I have discovered two ways to search for life on Mars. First, by exposing the soil an mars to nutrients in solutions of water and monitoring them, you could find out if anything was alive. If there were any changes, that would indicate life. Another way to search for life would be to see if the soil contained any radioactive carbon. If there was some, that would mean that some process had bulled the radioactive carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and combined it with the soil. That process would probably be life because that is what plants do on earth. Those are the two ways that I have discovered to search for life on Mars. ===