Cole+S

=Search For Life on Mars -- Entry 1 =

Star Date - March 23, 2011
Electronics

There are two types of electrical signals in the world; analog and digital. These two signals are related but have discernible differences. Analog signals are much more fluid and basic than digital signals. On the other hand though, digital signals chop up analog signals into steps, rather than slopes. When analog signals are transformed into digital signals, some of the information is lost the transfer. Although it seems that analog signals are better than digital signals, due to it being smoother and able to make slight changes in the signal without jumping, there are downsides. In analog signals, the signal can have background sound that is accidentally recorded. When analog signals are turned into digital signals, and then put into a computer, the computer gets rid of the background sound. The computer can do this because it is filled with tiny electronic devices. And within these tiny electronic devices are semiconductors. These semiconductors are exponentially useful in electronic devices. If regular metals were used, the current would travel everywhere at once and it would never be able to transmit information. If nonmetals are used, the current wouldn't travel at all. The semiconductors can be manipulated to sometimes let current through, and sometimes block it. The semiconductors are split into two groups; P-type semiconductors and N-type semiconductors. The only difference is P-type semiconductors receive electrons and N-type donate them. These two types of semiconductors are used in ways that amplify, change, or increase the flow of electrons. One type of device that P-type and N-type semiconductors is called a diode. It changes the type of current in the device from alternate current (AC) to direct current (DC). This is important because electric current cannot travel backward P-type and N-type semiconductors and the diodes can stop it and reduce the electricity needed to run the electrical device. Another device used is a transistor. The transistor amplifies the current and also can block the current. The final device is an integrated circuit. These devices use millions of both transistors and diodes on a pure semiconductor. This is impressive because integrated circuits are usually a 1mm square.

Knowing about electrical systems, signals, and computers is necessary for the mission to mars. This is because the whole shuttle is like one giant computer. It is filled with millions upon trillions upon millions of integrated circuits. If one failed, it would need to be fixed immediately. It would be impossible to send a specialist, so the human riders would need to be competent in fixing it. The same is with the robot. it needs to be able to be fixed. The sensors and all the equipment would need electronic signals and integrated circuits. Clearly, the electronics are the most important part of the entire space mission.

=Search For Life on Mars -- Entry 2 =

Star Date - March 29, 2011
The History of Rocketry

Rocketry has been around for hundreds of years. The beginning of rocketry was a little mysterious though. The first documented rocket engine (not a rocket, but rocket engine) was made by Hero of Alexandria around 100 BC. It consisted of a ball with two tubes in the bottom and two bent tubes in the sides. The two tubes in the bottom were put into a bowl of water, and then the bowl of water was heated. This would eventually cause the water to turn to steam. This steam would travel through the tubes into the sphere. From there, the gas would escape through the bent tubes and cause the ball to spin. It was a fairly simple device that provided enough propulsion to rotate the ball. Making the leap from a rotating ball to a flying missile happened in China. The Chinese had a primitive form of explosive gun powder made of saltpeter, charcoal dust, and sulfur. This concoction was stuffed in bamboo tubes and thrown onto fires, where it would explode. Sometimes though, the bamboo tube would shoot into the air. This gave the Chinese the idea to attach these to arrows and then fire the arrows. They quickly found that the arrows would fly by themselves thus the rocket was born. The Chinese rocket was a crucial point in the war with the Mongols.



The rocket was adopted by the Mongols and spread through Europe. Although changes happened to the rocket through the periods of early 1300s and the late 1800s, such as putting it in a tube for greater accuracy and wings, there was nothing breakthrough. And then, all of the sudden, a German school teacher by the name of Konstantin Tsiolkovsky changed the world from 1898 to 1903. Up until him, people only used rockets for warfare and all rockets had a solid fuel source. Tsiolkovsky proposed to use rockets for space travel and to use liquid fuel instead of solid fuel. He said in a report from 1903 that the liquid fuel would burn longer and have the rocket fly higher. His theories give him the title "Father of Modern Astronautics". Around the same time, another scientist named Robert H. Goddard was also experimenting on liquid fuel rockets. Goddard launched the first liquid fueled rocket on March 26, 1926. It flew a measly 12.5 meters in the air and landed 50 meters away. After this successful flight, Goddard designed other rockets that could carry payloads and deploy parachutes. Around the time of WWII, a German rocket society made one of the most successful liquid fuel rockets ever; the V-2. It could devastate city blocks and was used against London. Thankfully, it was invented late in the war and had little impact. After the war, the German scientists fled to either Russia or the USA. They used they're expertise in rocketry and USA and Russia's supplies to start the infamous "Space Race". Russia was first to space with their satellite named Sputnik I, launched on October 4th, 1957. Soon after, USA responded by launching Explorer I, and then sending the first people to the moon; Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and crew. USA soon organized an association called NASA; National Aeronautics and Space Administration. New innovations and technology are made every day that make space travel and rocketry more important, and NASA will keep exploring.



=Search for Life on Mars -- Rocket Stages Animation =

Star Date - April 4th, 2011
media type="custom" key="9019790"

=Search for Life on Mars - Rocket Parts =

Star Date - April 11th, 2011


Search For Life on Mars: Rocket Launch Results Star Date April 15

The purpose of this experiment was to conclude whether the mass of a rocket affected the height of apogee was a success. If all rockets are around 40 - 50 g, the different masses do not affect different rockets. The experiment included many pieces of equipment, including trundle wheels, angle guns, rockets, launch pads, and electric ignition, first, everyone was paired up and built and painted their own rocket. An igniter was placed in each of the groups motors, and then we went outside. The rockets were placed on the launch pad one after another, and the angle of their trajectory was measured using the angle guns from 100 m away. The rockets all launched successfully. Once all of the rockets were launched, we brought the data inside. The data was put in Excel® and using trigonometry and the angles and 100m. We used the equation 100*TAN(angle) and put it in a calculator. We then put the data in a scatter plot. The scatter plot showed that the data had no relationship. It was conclusive, the height of the rocket had nothing to do with the mass. My hypothesis, that the mass would affect the trajectory, was incorrect.



Our rocket, otherwise known as "Rocket Divided", launched successfully. After the alligator hooks were clipped into the rocket, the trundle wheel was raised. This signaled for the people 100 m away to get ready. "Rocket Divided" flew 85 meters into the air and from 100 m away, it had an angle of 40.5. This angle and height was exactly the same as a different groups, and their rocket was named the "Andrew 2 Rocket". Our rocket had minor flaws that could have disrupted the flight pattern and/or the weight of the rocket. We used lots of paint and very little recovery wadding (2 sheets). Also, the wings were a little off-perfect, and could have disrupted the flight trajectory. Overall, I believe we all did a very good job.

= = = The Importance of Astronomy in the Search for Life on Mars = My thoughts on the importance of astronomy in the search for life on Mars = Star Date: April 28th, 2011 =

I think that astronomy is very important in the Search for Life on Mars. This is because Mars formed like every other planet, and thus we need to know how planets form. Mars also orbits our sun, and seeing how the sun and other d stars function and are formed the same way, it is very important to know how and why they function and form. Knowing when the Universe began would give us a clear idea on where we are in it and how far away something is form something else, such as the Earth and Mars. For example, if we found a planet that orbits a sun like ours, formed like our own planet, and is close to the sun in order to be hospitable for life, then maybe we could live there too. Astronomy can help to plan how far one planet is from another, and the best route to get there. Clearly, be it on Mars or any other planet, knowing about astronomy is vital to the mission.

To learn more about astronomy, click on this link -- Astronomy Information

**History of Robotics** Star Date: May 4th, 2011 Human kind has always thought about robots. From the beginning of recorded time to present day, there have been stories and accounts of mechanical and electric humanoids that do tasks, from the Ancient Greeks to scientists in the 1960s. One of the first recorded event of a robot type devices used was in 1088 AD. It was a giant Cosmic Clock built by the Chinese. Every hour, it would have robotic programmed humanoids play a variety of instruments and music. It even had programmable drums and trumpets. Next with leaps was Leonardo's drawings of a mechanical knight that was truly humanoid. It could sit down, stand up, move it's head and jaw, and wave it's arms. Sadly, Leonardo de Vinci never had a chance to construct this robot. These drawings would influence others, such as Jacques de Vaucanson. Jacques invented many things, most famously a robot named the digesting duck. This duck could flap it's metallic wings, eat grain, and "digest" it. The wings alone had over 400 parts. Then people turned from the marvel of just creating robots, to creating them for profit and production. This was predominantly the course of the industrial revolution. Machines such as the Spinning Jenny and conveyor belts made production much easier and goods more mass produced. People began to think of the endless possibilities of robots and their functions. Robots moved from factories to laboratories very suddenly. People saw the improvements that robots made on the weaving industry, and so they thought of robots that could be programmed to do multiple tasks at once. In 1833, a group of scientists began work on an Analytical Engine, the forerunner to the modern computer. This robot was programmed with punch cards, but was sadly never finished and the project was scrapped. The lead scientist, Ada Lovelace, is often credited with the creation of modern programming. Then, robotics turned from the abstract mechanisms, to the more humanoid robots we think of today. The first truly recorded humanoid robot was in 1927. Created by American scientists, the robot was named Televox, and operated through the telephone. The first fully programmable computer was made by the Germans in1941, and was named the Z3. It was destroyed the same year that America made its first computer; 1944. This computer was named Mark I. History of Robotics really took off during the 1940s - 1960's. Computers became more versatile and reliable, and progressively less heavy. In 1961, the first fully automatic industrial robot was made. It worked in a GM factory and was lovingly named Rancho Arm. As computers and robots rapidly gained public popularity, T.V shows and Movies began to portray them as the workers and helpers of the future. Shows such as the Jetsons and movies like Star Wars inspired young kids to learn about computers and robotics. People learned to make microprocessors and microchips, which could make faster reactions and took up less space. People began to create robots that could learn about topics, and select information, and could even produce information, as if it could think for it's self. This was called Artificial Intelligence, and could let the robot program itself, rather then having some one else do it. The biggest leap in artificial intelligence has been with Watson. Watson is a robot that was created by IBM in 2010 and debuted in 2011. that had a massive data base with millions of websites stored on it, as well as programming that could understand human speech, including confusing phrases that wouldn't normally make sense to a robot, such as "What's up?" or "Shut up!". Watson proved that computers could become as smart as humans, and could learn from humans and think. Clearly, humans have come a long way when it comes to robotics; from The Cosmic Clock to Watson, humans had always wanted to make life easier, and robots had always been the answer.

Programming Robots: Motors and Sensors <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%; margin: 0in;">Star Date: May 17th, 2011

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; margin: 0in;">Motors are extremely helpful with robots. Without motors, the robot wouldn't be able to move. Most robots have 3+ motors; one motor to turn to the right, another to turn to the left, and a third to go forward and backward, as well as any others to move other parts of the robot. A different motor to move the head, or the arms, up, down, left and right. This would be helpful in exploration and in everyday tasks. Some of the challenges of programming the robots motors are the robots themselves. Sometimes, the robots will either not understand the program, or just malfunction. Also, programming is so precise, that even if your off by a half of a rotation on the motors, it can mess up the entire program. The biggest problem for our robot was its ability to take instructions. It seems that no matter how hard we tried, sometimes the robot wouldn't listen. Clearly motors are important to robots and programmers.

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<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; margin: 0in;">Sensors are also important to robots. Without sensors, the robot couldn't make decisions depending on it's environment. We used 4 different types of sensors; touch sensor, sound sensor, light sensor, and the ultrasonic sensor. The touch sensor had a little button that when pressed it could detect it and tell the robot to do something else. The sound sensor detected varying levels of sound and could tell the robot to do different things when it heard them. The light sensor could detect different amounts of reflected lights, and could guide a robot along a band of dark lines. This sensor was used in my personal favorite challenge. There was a wavy black line of tape that the robot had to follow, only by using the sensor to detect changes in the amount of light reflected by the floor/tape. I found this test very interesting. Finally, the ultrasonic sensor could send out ultrasonic pulses and detect them similar to a bat or dolphin. Sensors are very important to guide robots and help them become more human like.

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<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 160%;">Search for Life on Mars - Life <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Star Date 5/24/ll

Life is the driving force of every creature in the universe. There are 8 main characteristics of life; is Made of Cells, needs materials, is homeostatic, responds to stimuli, reproduces, grows, adapts, and respiration. Every living thing is made of cells, no matter how big or small. Every living thing needs materials to survive; i.e. food, water, etc. All creatures are homeostatic, meaning that they stay the same the internally no matter the conditions. All creatures also respond to stimuli, which means that they all respond to the environment. Every thing alive reproduces and grows, meaning that they produce offspring and that their offspring grow and they grow also. Everything alive also adapts to a changing environment, such as a change in temperature of location. Every animal, plant and organism can turn sugars into energy, through the process of respiration.



There are very few ways to detect life. The most direct way to search for life is to observe a moving, reproducing, responsive cellular structure, although that route is extremely unlikely. The best possible way to detect life would be to search on a microscopic level, looking for the traces of life. Having to wait until life fully matures and can fulfill all the aspects of life described in the previous paragraph would take hundreds of thousands of years, but finding traces of DNA and bacteria will hopefully help find the basics of life. When it comes to finding the roots of life, robots are the best choice, because they can withstand harsher elements. Also they can have sharper sensors depending on the robot. Also, if a robot or at least a sample of the soil or water could tell scientists if there is life, and if it is even hospitable for life. Clearly, having robots to detect life in bacterial form is the best way to find life.