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= Electronic Components and their use in Space Travel =

When we travel to Mars we will need electronic components for our electronic devices. Our devices can be analog or digital. This is just a difference in how they vary in signal. Analog signals move smoothly up and down. Digital signals move in jumps. Semiconductors help control these devices. Semiconductors are metalloids and conduct electricity better than nonmetals but worse than metals. To control them, impurities are added. Some impurities make the semiconductors add electrons. These are called n-type semiconductors. Other impurities take electrons away from semiconductors. These are p-type semiconductors. N and p type semiconductors are used in diodes, transistors and integrated circuits. Diodes are made of one n and one p-type. The n type gives electrons to the p-type. This turns alternating current to direct current. Transistors are made of sandwiches of p and n types. They can be used as a switch but can also amplify signals. A third component is the integrated circuit. This has many electronic components crammed on to a piece of silicon less than a millimeter on a side. All of these electric components will be need in space. In space, there will be a need for many electronic devices. One will be the navigation system. This will need many integrated circuits. Monitors will keep track of the heating system and air pressure and send information back to the system about what needs to be changed. The system will need electric components to help it used the information sent back. A machine that stores and distributes oxygen would need electric components to help it carry information and distribute the oxygen. Once on Mars, a rover will be needed. It will need to be able to capture information and send it back while transporting itself. Electric devices will control and regulate these functions and all other important functions of the rover. These are just a few of the uses of electrical devices in space.

=﻿Developement of Modern Rockets =

Rockets, the way we reach space today, have their origins in the inventions of the past. The first device with the principle of the rocket was created by the modestly named Hero of Alexandria. Steam rotated a metal sphere. The Chinese created a propellant mixture out of saltpeter, sulfur and charcoal dust. Originally used for celebration, experimentation led to weapons with gunpowder filled bamboo tubes mounted on arrows. In 1232, the Chinese used “arrows of flying fire” against the Mongols. The Mongols spread this technology throughout Europe and it became widespread. Experiments throughout Europe created predecessors for bazookas and torpedoes as new and improved types of gunpowder. But up to this point these devices had only been used for warfare and fireworks. But that changed in Russia in 1903. Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, Russian teacher came up with the idea of space exploration with liquid propellant rockets. Robert Goddard performed experiments with the first liquid fueled rocket. It flew for two and a half seconds, but its impact lasted longer than that. His experiments helped lead to the German V-2 rocket. This rocket was capable of reaching the United States. Sputnik, a Soviet satellite stunned the world when it orbited the moon in 1957. Laika, a dog, followed it into space a few months later. The U.S. followed shortly with a satellite of its own. Soon the U.S.S.R and U.S. were made rockets capable of taking men to the moon. At this point rocketry development lifted off as new development followed new development. But it all started with Hero’s rotating metal sphere.

= Rocket Stages Animation = media type="custom" key="8996116" = Rocket Diagram = = ﻿ = = Rocket Flight Analysis = Mr. Himburg's third period science class recently launched rockets. The purpose was to determine if mass affected altitude and how it affected the altitude. Nine rockets were built. Eight were painted, with one the control. Each had a different mass because of the paint. The altitude was determined by going 100 meters away from the launch site with a trundle wheel, and when the rockets were launched the angle was taken with an angle gun.. The height was found with trigonometry. The results of this experiment were that, on average, there war an inverse relationship between mass and altitude. That is, when the mass increases, the altitude decreases and vice versa. This proves my hypothesis correct, because in my hypothesis I stated that the greater the mass, the lesser the altitude. My rocket flew very well, especially for the second heaviest. After being assembled by Anand, my lab partner, and I, we painted it. When launching it, we put it on the launch pad and attached and igniter and wire to the engine. We stuck the key in and pressed the button. Electricity started the motor, and we were off. The rocket was only ignited for a small amount of time as it coasted into the air. After reaching its highest point, or apogee, our rocket burned our recovery wadding and launched its recovery system. This helped guide the rocket to the third base line as it felt down. The paint had somewhat dampened its flight as it didn't fly too high, and the globs of hot glue didn't help. A more aerodynamic paint job and less hot glue would have helped, but overall our rocket was a success. = The Importance of Astronomy in Search for Life on Mars =

Astronomy is important in the search for life on Mars for several reasons. When preparing for space travel, you need to know the conditions in space, so you can be properly equipped. To get to Mars, one has to know where the planets are in orbit so you can plan it that Mars and earth are close. Then, the knowledge of astronomy helps you understand the gravitational pull of objects how it will affect the flight. Once on Mars, an understanding of what Mars is and how it got there is needed for the search.

To read more on astronomy, follow this link. More about Astronomy.

History of Robotics

Robots are now full of electronic circuits and switchboards and all kinds of complex technology, but they have their root in the past. Robots, coming from the Czech word robota, meaning work or serf labor, are defined as mechanical intelligence agents that can perform tasks on their own or with guidance. The first notice of anything fitting that description is 3rd century BC China. A man brought a human-like robot that could walk, sing, dance and flirt. Aristotle’s idea to abolish slavery was to create automatons that would do anything slaves could. Other ideas in BC included creations that could talk or fly. Al-Jazari, created a programmable robot with human features. He could program it to play different music. After the year 1500, many robots were created, from calculators to painting. In 1833, the first programmable robots were created. Using punch cards, this was the beginning of modern robotics.  After the programmable robots were created in 1833, development of robots increased exponentially. George Boole’s symbolic logic helped lay the basis for modern robots. The first robot was created in the US in 1927. Operated by the telephone, Televox was a humanoid robot. In 1936, Turing wrote a paper that laid the base for computer science and what a robot or computer could do mathematically. The Robinson and Colossus were code-breaking computers in World War 2 whose math would be used in robots. Konrad Zuse, in 1941, created the first digital fully programmable computer. Cybernetics, the basis of practical robotics was created by Norman wiener in 1948. Ten years later, one of the first programming languages, LISP, was created. But Unimate, in 1961, was the first industrial robot, working for GM. Unimate was one of the first robots in something other than labs, and started more widespread use of robots. Several years passed with few developments other than a few programming languages. But in 1971, the first microprocessor was created. This would allow robots to have more and more powerful programs and commands. After this the advances in the field of robotics sped up. Robots in medicine or industry were created, along with robots that could register pressure, replicate movements of the human hand or read aloud. Apple computers were created, revolutionizing personal computers. A book was even written by robots. Soon, robots could perform surgeries almost as well as human doctors. In 1997, robots explored Mars and beat the world champion in chess. In the 21st century, there have been many developments. Cars without drivers could drive on a road. In 2007, TOMY created the i-sobot, a humanoid robot with many features. Though this might seem like a very complex machine, it had its roots in the creations of the past. 

Programming Robots: Motors, Sensors and Problems Motors are some of the most important parts of a robot. There are three motors on our Lego Mindstorms: A, B and C. C and B are connected to the wheels, and A isn’t connected to anything. When B and C are used together or by themselves they can turn, move forward or move backward. Also, they can be programmed to brake immediately or coast to a stop. The turns can be programmed by degrees or by telling it to only use one motor while moving forward or backwards. While the programming would be easy in a perfect world, this isn’t a perfect world. Most robots had different back wheels, which made them twist and turn when they were programmed to go straight. Also, at the end of class would be when Anand and I figured out how to work this particular wheel, but the next day we would have a far different wheel. But I would much rather have motors than no motors at all, because motors are essential to robotics.  Motors allow robots to move, but sensors allow robots to react. Sensors are objects that can sense something, whether it be different shades (light sensor), the distance to an object (ultrasonic) or how loud something is (sound sensor) among others. The other main one is touch sensor, which reacts to being bumped. These allow the robot to react accordingly, like “dancing” to the music or following a line. When programming, these are a big help. Tasks that would be near impossible, like following a curved line, become much easier. Sensors are important for successful, complex programs.

=﻿Searching for Life= Living things must possess eight characteristics of life. They must be made of cells, need materials, homeostatic, respond to stimuli, reproduce, grow, adapt, respiration. Whether plant, bacteria or animal, all living things have cells. Cells have many parts, called organelles. Cells can be organized into tissue or organs, but they can also live on their own. Living things need materials too. They need water, minerals and gases. The minerals and gases can vary, but some versions of them are necessary. Living things are homeostatic. Homeostatic means living things stay the same on the inside despite environmental changes. This is necessary and requires living things to expend a great deal of energy. An example of this is human being’s temperature. Humans spend much of their energy to keep their bodies either cooled down or warmed up to compensate the environmental changes. The way living things respond to stimuli is another characteristic of life. Stimuli are anything that causes living things to react, and their response to it is reaction to stimuli. This can be positive or negative, meaning that it can cause the living things to move closer or farther to the stimuli. For there to continue to be living things, they have to reproduce. All living things reproduce or have the ability to reproduce. The two ways living things can reproduce is by sexual and asexual reproduction. Sexual means that there are two parents and asexual means there is one parent. After reproduction, living things grow. This means a simpler organism develops into a more complex organism. This doesn’t happen at the same rate for everything, as some species and within species individual organisms grow differently. Adaptation is another characteristic of life. Adaptation is the modifications and changes that make living things more suitable for life. The last characteristic of life is respiration. Respiration is how animals fuel themselves. They release energy from chemical bonds in food. Some living things produce their own food, and others take in food. These are all of the characteristics of life.

Detecting life on other planets is a difficult task, but there are some ways to find life on other planets. All living things need water, so tests must be run to find water. If water was or is there, then life can be present. If ice is found, then that means there might have been water in the past. We have found bacteria miles deep in the ice in Antarctica, so we could tunnel into the ice on other planets to see if there is bacteria there. Also, living things need certain minerals. For example, plants need nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus among other minerals. Any planet with a buildup of those means it supports plant life. These are some of the ways to find life on other planets and are some of those being used by NASA.