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=__Electronic Devices and How They Work __=
 * An electronic device is a device that uses the information in electronic signals to do a certain task. An electronic signal is a changing electric current that contains information. The two types of electronic signals are analog and digital. Analog is a continuous electric signal, whereas digital is a signal that changes in individual steps. Semiconductors are often used in electronic devices. They are an advantage because their conductivity of electricity can be controlled by adding impurities such as gallium or arsenic. Diodes, transistors, and integrated circuits are also used. Diodes are solid-state components that allow current to flow in only one direction. Transistors are solid-state components that that can be used to amplify in an electric current. An integrated circuit contains a large number of transistors and diodes and is made from a single chip of semiconductor material. Integrated circuits are very small, and usually smaller than your hand. **


 * Electronic signals and devices are necessary for our search for life on Mars. We need electronic to do such tasks as gather information about the atmosphere and the geography. Also, without electronic devices, we would not be able to send back information to Earth. Electricity is a power source that does not run out quickly, and is a welcome substitute for fossil fuels. Without electronic devices, we would not be able to control our own space shuttle. **
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=Rockets Throughout History = T he first ever device to use the same principles used rocket flight was created in 100 BC by Hero of Alexandria. He used steam as a propulsive gas. He placed a sphere upon a water kettle. A fire below the kettle made the water change to steam, and the gas traveled through tubes to the sphere. Tubes on the side of the sphere, shaped like L's, allowed steam to escape through there, therefore allowing the sphere to rotate. It is unclear when the first ever rocket actually appeared. Stories of rocket like devices appear throughout history. Some may think the first ever rockets were actually mistakes. In the first century AD, the Chinese claimed to have made a simple gunpowder from saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal dust. To create explosions for festivals, they filled hollow bamboo sticks with the mixture, and tossed them into a fire. Maybe some of the tubes only got half lit, and flew out of the fire. The Chinese started to experiment with these tubes, and at a certain time, they attached the sticks to arrows. Pretty soon, they found out the tubes could launch by themselves with the power of escaping gas. The first ever rocket was made.

The first ever public use of rocket was in 1232. The Mongols and Chinese were at war, and the Chinese drove them back with the rockets, which the Mongols claim to be "arrows of flying fire". The were a simple form of solid-propellant rocket. A tube capped at one end and open at the other, contained gunpowder. A long stick was attached to the open end of the tube. When the powder was ignited, the burning created fire, smoke, and gas which when escaped out of the tube, produced a thrust. The stick kept the rocket from going off of a straight path. If they were good weapons, no one knows, but they left a effect on the Mongols that the world would regret.

Following the Chinese's defeat of the Mongols, the Mongols created their own rockets, and spread the new invention to Europe. Throughout the 13th to 15th centuries, many experiments on rockets were done. In England, a monk named Roger Bacon improved gunpowder greatly, and further widened the range of rockets. In France, Jean Froissart found that rockets were more accurate when they were launched through tubes. His idea was the fore runner of the modern day bazooka. Most rockets were used for celebration or warfare.

In 1898, a Russian schoolteacher named Konstantin Tsiolkovsky proposed the use of rockets for space travel, and suggested the use of liquid propellants. Tsiolkovsky has been called the father of modern astronautics because of his ideas, careful research, and great vision. In the early 20th century, an American named Robert H. Goddard concluded that, after many experiments, a rocket would be propelled better by a liquid-propellant. On March 16, 1926, Goddard succeeded in creating the first ever liquid propellant rocket. His invention was the forerunner of a beginning of many new breakthroughs in rockets. Goddard, for his achievements, has been named the father of modern rocketry.

Many small rocket societies were emerging. One German society, named the Verein fur Raumschiffart (Society for Space Travel), created the V-2, a deadly missile that was used against London in World War II. Luckily for the Allied forces, the V-2 came out too late in the war to change the outcome. After Germany's defeat, many V-2's were left unused. At this time, both the United States and the Soviet Union both realized the potential of rocketry as a military advantage. A variety of medium- and long-range missiles emerged. These became the beginning of the US space program. Some missiles would eventually launch astronauts into space.

On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union announced its launch of an artificial Earth satellite named Sputnik. This was the first successful entry into space between the US and the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union also launched a dog named Laika into space, who survived for seven days. A few days after Sputnik, the Explorer I was launched into space. In October, the US formally organized their space program, NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration). NAS A became an agency with a goal of space exploration to benefit the entire world.

Soon, many people and satellites were entering space. Rovers were sent to planets. Men walked on the moon. Space was opened up for mankind. Rockets how evolved from the simple Hero engine to the impressive International Space Station. Rockets have opened our windows to the amazing worlds of space.

=Rocket Stages = media type="custom" key="8979794"

=﻿Behind the Body Tube =  <span style="color: #ff6300; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%; line-height: 22px;">Nose Cone: Streamlines the rocket, making it less air resistant

<span style="color: #ff6300; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 25px;">Body Tube: Main part of the rocket; Holds recovery system and wadding

<span style="color: #ff6300; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%; margin: 0in;">Recovery System: Once in the air, the recovery system is launched, and makes the rocket safely glide down for repeat use

<span style="color: #ff6300; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%; margin: 0in;">Recovery Wadding: Keeps recovery system safe from ejection heat

<span style="color: #ff6300; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%; margin: 0in;">Launch lug: Orients the rocket in the correct direction of the launch pad

<span style="color: #ff6300; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%; margin: 0in;">Fins: The fins keep the rocket traveling in one direction

<span style="color: #ff6300; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%; margin: 0in;">Motor Mount: Motor is placed inside the motor mount, and is thus kept in place

<span style="color: #ff6300; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%; margin: 0in;">Rocket Motor: Contains the propellant for the rocket; Can only be used once

<span style="color: #ff6300; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%; margin: 0in;">Our Rocket In Flight
<span style="color: #e9a725; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%; margin: 0in;">The purpose of this experiment was to see if the mass of a rocket affects the overall altitude of the rocket. Excluding random accidents, it was a controlled experiment. We went outside and placed the launch pad on flat ground. The launch pad rod was angled a little bit against the wind, in effort to cancel out the effects of the wind. The launch pad rod was threaded through the launch lug attached to the rocket. The igniter, which was two small conducting wires with a bit of flammable oil on the end, was attached to the rocket. Two alligator clips with wires were attached to the igniter. The wires connected to a switch and battery. The switch consisted of two buttons and a key. Once the key was put in its place, the two buttons were pressed and held. After about one second of holding the buttons, the rocket started to smoke, and launched up into the air very fast. The engine stopped at about halfway up. It coasted up, and when it reached its max altitude, it fell for about 0.5 seconds, and then the recovery system launched. A small puff of smoke was released, and the rocket started to fall. The parachute slowly opened, and the rocket glided down at about 100m away from the launch pad. Before the rocket was launched, two people used a Trundle wheel and walked 100m away. They used an angle gun during the rocket flight to find the angle of the height. The angle of the height and the distance they were from the launch pad were used to find the max altitude of the rocket. This was found by using Trigonometry. After all the rockets were launched in this manner, the result we found were that the higher the mass of the rocket, the lower the altitude. A rocket with a lot of paint flew lower than a rocket with less paint. My hypothesis was true, that the rocket would fly lower as the mass grew. <span style="color: #e9a725; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%; margin: 0in;">Our rocket flew to an altitude of 100m. It's altitude angle was 45 degrees. The rocket flew against the wind, and when launched up, it leaned a little against the wind. It spiraled downward after it launched the recovery system, because the parachute had not opened until about 20m from impact. When we recovered our rocket, we found that one of the fins had been torn off. The paint only decreased the rockets altitude by about 11m. Our rocket was well constructed, and the overall build worked. We may want to glue the fin on more tightly next time, and we may want to put more talcum powder on the parachute so it will open more easily.

__<span style="color: #ac25e9; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 170%; margin: 0in;">The Importance of Astronomy﻿ in the Search for Life on Mars __ __<span style="color: #bf2222; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 150%; margin: 0in;">﻿ __<span style="color: #bf2222; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%; margin: 0in;">We're going to Mars! And where is Mars? In space! And the study of space is Astronomy. Astronomy is crucial is our search for life on Mars. With our known knowledge of astronomy, we know how Mars came to be a planet. This shows us if it could of had life earlier. Also, we can navigate our way to Mars without any danger. Astronomy also helps us know when Mars is hit by foreign objects from space. Astronomy will help us greatly in our search for life... On Mars! The link below leads to some interesting facts on Astronomy: <span style="color: #bf2222; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 23px;">More on Astronomy

<span style="color: #201e85; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 22px; line-height: 23px;">__History of Robotics__

<span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 20px; line-height: 23px;">The first machines to ever remotely resemble a robot were organs and water clocks which had movable figures. These were created in 270BC by an ancient Greek engineer named Ctesibus. The term “robot” first came into use in 1921 in a play about a man creating a robot, and the robot killing the man. In 1948, robotic pioneer William Grey Walter created Elmer and Elsie, two robots that mimic lifelike behavior with very simple electronics. <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 20px; line-height: 23px;">Also around then, George Devol and Joe Engleberger invented the first robotic arm. In 1956, Devol and Engelberger created the world’s first robot company. In 1959, computer-assisted manufacturing was introduced in a lab at MIT. In 1961, the first ever robot was used in a factory. The robot helped create cars. In 1963, the first lifelike robotic arm was created. It was used for the handicapped, and acted almost exactly like a human arm. In 1965, DENDRAL was the first program created to execute accumulated knowledge. In 1970, “Shakey”, the first mobile robot controlled by artificial intelligence was introduced. <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 20px; line-height: 23px;">Over the years, robots have become more and more advanced, allowing us to live our lives with more ease. There’s even a violin playing robot! Robots have greatly helped us through the years.


 * <span style="color: #a9120f; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 180%;">__How to Train your Robot__ **


 * <span style="color: #5b18a5; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%;">Robots need motors to move. Without them, a robot couldn't do much. The motors are used to control the robot to move certain elements of it, such as an attached arm. The main thing motor are used for are is moving the robot. They can make the robot go forward, backward, or turn. One challenge of using motors with robots is that the motors must be programmed by a human, and if the motor is blocked, the robot can't move. **

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 * <span style="color: #5b18a5; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%;">A sensor is a device used to measure or detect a certain element such as light or sound. For a Mindstorms robot, there are sound, light, touch, and ultrasonic sensors. A sound sensor can be used to use voice control on a robot. Light sensors can be used to program a robot to stop when it enters a dark vicinity. Touch sensors could be used to make the robot stop when it came across an obstacle. An ultrasonic sensor could be used to make a robot get close to an object without touching it.[[image:sra_sensor.jpg width="240" height="194"]] **

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 180%;"> __Characteristics of Life__

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> ﻿There are eight characteristics of a living thing. The characteristics are that the object must be made of cells, needs certain materials to survive, is homeostatic, responds to stimuli, can reproduce, grow, and adapt, and also has a respiratory system. For something to be alive, it must meet all of this criteria. A living thing is made of cells, which are fundamental for living things. Materials a living thing may need may need are oxygen and water. When something is homeostatic, that means it stays the same, despite any changes in its environment. Stimuli are anything that cause a living thing to react, either positively, or negatively. Reproduction is the process in which organisms create offspring. When an organism grows, it becomes a complex thing from a simpler state. Adaptation is <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%; line-height: 27px;">modifications an organism makes to survive its life. Respiration is the process which enables organisms to exchange gases.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> The three main characteristics any planet must possess to sustain life are appropriate temperature, water, and tolerable atmosphere.When searching for life on other planets, scientists first analyze the planet for signs of these three characteristics. The most important aspect is to find any signs of water anywhere on the planet in any form. Signs of water mean life must either exist or have existed. Various samples from the planet are obtained by rovers from different multiple geographical locations and are analyzed. Different gases in the atmosphere are studied, and the planet's temperature is measured at various locations. A majority of the time, samples are analyzed to discover primitive forms of life, such as unicellular organisms rather than complex forms. The search for life includes primitive forms of both flora and fauna. Samples could be analyzed using a chromatograph which will separate all elements allowing us to evaluate if life-sustaining elements exist. Another way is to incubate a sample in an inert gas and provide nutrients, and measure if there is any gas exchange, which suggests respiration. Sometimes radioactive nutrients are used to see if there is any release of radioactivity. Sometimes samples are analyzed for change of temperature or mass.