Henry+H

= Electronic Components and Signals =

===There are two different types of signals in electricity. The two types are analog signals and digital signals. Analog signals change the electric current smoothly. For example, a clock with hands runs smoothly, with the hands moving in one motion. Digital signals change current in a single jump, and does not run smoothly. For example, a digital clock will jump from one number to the next, while a clock with hands using the analog signal will move in one motion.===

===Semiconductors are useful in electronic devices because their conductivity can be changed by adding impurities. The process of adding impurities is called doping, and different types of doping can increase or decrease conductivity. N-type doping is when an atom like arsenic is added to a semiconductor. This adds electrons and increases conductivity. P-type doping is when an atom like gallium is added to a semiconductor. This decreases electrons and decreases conductivity.===

===In circuits, diodes are used for converting alternating current into direct current. Diodes are made up of a p-type semiconductor connected to an n-type semiconductor. Current can only go one way through diodes, with the p-type semiconductor giving electrons to the n-type semiconductor, creating direct current. Transistors are used to amplify signals in an electric circuit, and as an electric switch. Transistors can block current, or make current flow. A transistor has three layers of semiconductors. There is a p-n-p semiconductor and an n-p-n semiconductor. Integrated circuit are used in computers in place of transistors. Integrated circuits are made of a semiconductor chip with many solid-state components. Although integrated circuits are about one square millimeter, they contain millions of components.===

===Electronic devices would be a very important factor in a space mission to mars. Devices made out of electronic components transmitting signals would make up the ship's computer, and almost everything running the ship. There would have to be a machine to turn the carbon dioxide from space and make it into oxygen for the ship. Electronics would also operate the ship's navigation system. Electronics would be used to communicate with the space station. As you can see, electronics are used for just about everything in a space ship. All of these devices would be made out of diodes, transistor, integrated chips, and semiconductors, transmitting analog and digital signals to search for life on mars.===

= The History of Rockets =

===There is a vast history of rockets, dating back to 100 B.C. It all started with a man named Hero of Alexandria, from ancient Greece. His device was called the aeolipile, a sphere with two tubes and two pipes over a water kettle. A fire below the water turned the water into steam, which went through the tubes into the sphere. The steam then escaped out of the pipes, causing the sphere to rotate.===

===Although Hero's rotating sphere is impressive for the time period, it is unknown when the first real rocket was invented. The earliest we know about rocket inventions goes back to to ancient China. The Chinese started to make gunpowder-filled tubes, and experiment with different rocket-type weapons. The real rocket was invented when the Chinese discovered the power of escaping gas from the tubes. When this was discovered, the first rocket was made. The rocket was first used in 1232 in a war between the Chinese and the Mongols, in the battle of Kai-Keng. The Chinese used the rockets to fight off the Mongols, but they were not as effective as you might think. There was a pretty simple design of the first rocket. At the front of the rocket, there was gun powder which ignited a long stick. The fire made smoke and gas, which escaped from the rocket and shot it forward. The idea of the rocket was adapted by the Mongols, who are thought to have spread the rocket over to Europe. Many improvements of the rocket were made in Europe. In England, gunpowder improvements were created. Over in France, flight accuracy was improved by shooting rockets through tubes. In Italy, rocket-powered torpedoes were invented. All of these inventions at the time were only used for warfare and fireworks.===

===Although rockets were not sent into space until the 1950's, ideas of rockets being sent into space were thought in 1898 by a teacher named Konstantin Tsiolkovsky. He thought up of ideas such as using liquid propellants for the greater range of rockets. Tsiolkovsky was named "the father of modern astronautics" because of his great knowledge and research of rocketry that has effected modern day rockets. Another pioneer in the rocket industry is a man named Robert H. Goddard. Goddard experimented with various fuels, rocket structures, oxygen tanks, and liquid structures to build the first liquid-propellant rocket. It was very difficult to build a liquid repellent rocket, but on March 16th, 1926, the first liquid repellent rocket was flown. The rocket soared 2.5 seconds, 12.5 meters high, and landed 65 meters away. The rocket was flown from liquid oxygen and gasoline, which started a new era of rocketry. As time went on, Goddard's rocket flights got bigger and higher. In the early 1900's, rockets started being used more inwarfare. Germany invented the V-2 rocket, a deadly rocket that could explode whole city blocks. However, the V-2 was invented too late in the war to be used. After the war, many German scientists went to the US. The US and Soviet Union both became interested in rockets in warfare. In the US, many medium to long range missiles were created, an idea that lead to the US space program.===

===Since the Soviet Union and the US were so advanced in rocketry, that started the space-travel rivalry between the two. October 4, 1957 started the rivalry between the two countries. On this day, Sputnik I was launched, an earth-orbiting satellite. About a month later, the soviet union sent a dog into space. However, the dog only survived for seven days in the satellite. A few months later, the US launched its first satellite which was the start of NASA. After this, many people and machines were sent into space, and new things about our atmosphere were being discovered like they never had before. New rockets and engines were built, which allowed astronauts to travel to new destinations. This all happened because of the founding fathers of rockets and astronautics, and the fundamentals discovered thousands of years ago. If it were not for them, history would never had been the same.===

= Rocket Stages Animation = = media type="custom" key="9091078" =

=__//**Rocket Diagram and Definitions**//__=

[[image:HCH_rocket_diagram_and_definitions.JPG width="960" height="614"]]
=__//**Rocket Launch Experiment Results**//__= = = ===The purpose of the rocket experiment was to test if the mass of the rockets effects the altitude of the launch. Before the experiment, I hypothesized that heavier rockets would fly lower, and lighter rockets would fly higher. According to the results, the mass did not effect the altitude the rockets flew to. Some light rockets flew high, some flew low. Heavy rockets flew high and low, so mass was not a big factor, therefore my hypothesis was incorrect. The rockets weighed from 41.9 to 46.6 grams. The altitudes varied from 75.4 to 119.2 meters. Here are the results of the experiment.===



===When the launch button was pressed, the rocket rapidly accelerated up in the air. The rocket shot out smoke and kept accelerated into the air. Eventually, the rocket stopped ejecting gas and kept going upwards. The rocket coasted until the rocket met its apogee, and then the rocket ejected a parachute. The wind then took the rocket far away into the trees. My rocket did not have any paint, so there was nothing to weigh it down. It flew very smoothly, until the parachute ejected. The rocket flight would have improved if it was less windy, but it was a solid flight overall.===

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

===Astronomy is definitely the most important factor in the search for life on Mars. If you were an astronaut, it would be important to know the robotics, geology, and rocketry, but none of those aspects would be nearly as important as knowing the astronomy. Even if you were a pilot, knowing where you are is more important than how to fly the rocket, because most of the time the rocket is flying by itself. Most of the other aspects of a search for life on Mars are studied by other people, but the travel through space is most important thing about a space mission. Also, the most dangerous part about a search for life on Mars is flying through space, and with the high risk of dangers it is important to know what the threats are. The purpose of almost all space missions are to get somewhere, and if one does not know where they are traveling, the mission will be unsuccessful. Without our knowledge of our galaxies and planets, space travel would be nearly impossible.===

To find out more about astronomy this link!

=__//**The History of Robotics**//__=

===There is a complex history of robotics, dating back to 350 B.C. In 350 B.C., a Greek mathematician and scientist named Archytas created a steam propelled bird named "the pigeon." The pigeon was one of the first signs of flight and robotics. The next self-automated invention was from Greek inventor Ctesibus. His invention of the water clock put an end to sand hourglasses. No more major breakthroughs in robotics happened until 1495 when Leonardo DaVinci created a robotic knight that moved as if it was a real knight. These type of robots were very common in this time period. In the 1700's, many European inventors invented automated dolls that did such things as playing the flute, drawing pictures, writing, singing, and even a robotic duck. No major inventions were made in the early-to-mid1800's. The most famous was Charles Babbage's cpmputer numbering system, which automates most computers and machines today. However, a major new invention was first tested in 1898 at Madison Square Garden. Nikola Tesla demonstrated the first remote controlled boat, an invention that later influenced things from rockets to watching TV on your couch.===



__Ctesibus's water clock__

__//1900's to Present//__
===The 1900's and 2000's consisted of many breakthroughs in robotics, not to mention numerous plays and movies including robots. The first new invention was in 1936, when Alan Turing invented the Turing Machine, which started a new era of computer logic and mathematics. 10 years later, George Devol invented a playback device for machines, which changed many characteristics of robots. An invention created by Alan Newell and Herbert Simon in 1956 named the Logic Theorist, changed the way calculators act today. Many other inventions were created, starting the era of robotic arms, but none of these were nearly as impressive as Stanford Research institute's Shakey robot. Shakey was the first robot able to sense and react to its own actions. Many computer programs were written in the 60's, including computer psychologists and chess playing computer programs. Stanford University invented even more robots which include robot arms that set the standard for todays robots, and even a line-following cart. From the 70's to present, people continued to tweak robots, and as technology advanced, we started to create more and more high concept machines. These founding fathers of robotics influenced the inventions of things we use every day, and without them, the world would be much different.===



The Original Shakey Robot

=** //__Programming Robots__// **=

===Programming robots with motors is amazing, but there is some challenges that are run into. You can program robots to go forward, backward, and turn every direction and degree possible. It is great how you can make the robot go at different speeds and angles. The best thing about these motors is how they react along with the sensors. However, sometimes the motors go through difficulties. Many times the motors have drifting to one direction or will not respond to the program. Sometimes one motor will be stronger than the other, and you will have to work around it on the program. Overall, the motors on the Mindstorm robots are great, and they offer a wide range of movements.===

A program telling the motor to drive continuously in a block.

===In my opinion, the best thing about the robots is the sensors. The sensors include the touch sensor, the sound sensor, the ultrasonic sensor, and the light sensor. The sensors can be programmed to control the motors when sensing specific numbers. A sensor is something added to a robot that adds to its senses. For example, different sensors can hear, touch, feel, and detect distance. Different sensors can be programmed to tell the robot to perform tasks. For example, a robot can move a certain way when it hears a sound to a certain loudness, or make noise when the ultrasonic sensor senses certain distances from an object. It is amazing how many things the sensors can sense, and what it can tell the robot to do.===

A program telling the robot to follow a line of a certain color when the light sensor detects it.

= Discovering Life on Mars =

===There are eight characteristics a living thing must posses. The first of the eight characteristics of a living thing is that it must be made of cells. Cells are the fundamental units for living things, and cells consist organelles. Also, every living thing needs certain materials. All living things need water, air, and specific minerals. All living things are homeostatic, which means that their body internally stays the same during environmental changes. All living things must also respond to stimuli, which is anything causing a living thing to react. Reponses are positive and negative, which means the living thing either comes toward or moves away from the stimuli. A main characteristic of living things is that all living things must reproduce. All living things reproduce in sexual reproduction, asexual reproduction, yeast budding, or plant runners. Most importantly, all living things grow. All living things develop differently. All living things also adapt to their lifestyle. For example, some bugs camouflage into their environment for their protection. The last sign of life for living things is respiration. Respiration is releasing energy stored in chemical bonds of sugars. When all of these signs are shown, an object is living.===



An insect that has adapted to it's environment.

===By indicating something has all of these characteristics, we know it is living. So on our search for life on Mars, if we see something that meets all of these characteristics, there is life on Mars. Even if something on Mars meets a couple of these characteristics, it still is not living. The life on Mars must be made of cells, must need materials, must be homeostatic, must respond to stimuli, must reproduce, must grow, must be adapted to its environment, and must have respiration. Biology could be the most important thing to know on a search for life on Mars, because once you are up on Mars you must know how to indicate if something is living. Without knowing about Biology, one would be clueless to whether something is living, dead, or nonliving. Biology is one of the most important things to know about in a search for life on Mars, and without the search would be pointless.===



People have guessed many times about what life on Mars looks like, but no one really knows the real truth.