Sydney+B

= The Search for Life on Mars =

From Big Bang to Galaxies
The universe began about 15 billion years ago. It started out the size of an atom and expanded rapidly to the size of the earth. Over time, the universe expands and the temperature drops. Electrons can start orbiting protons and hydrogen nuclei to create atoms without being torn apart by the heat when the temperature gets down to 3000 degrees Calvin. Now radiation is able to travel long distances across the universe. About two billion years after the big band galaxies started to begin forming. The action of gravity causes clumps to grow and get denser and the universe soon takes on a sponge type structure. Galaxies and galaxy structures are concentrated in shells and strings around **huge** empty voids. Our galaxy was formed from a **huge** sphere of gas when the universe was about three billion years old. Some stars formed through globular clusters scattered through the sphere and this is called the halo of the galaxy. In the early universe, galaxies were closer together. Now in days they aren’t and collisions and merges are rarer.

The Milky Way Galaxy
The light of the Milky Way is made up of huge numbers of individual stars. In the Milky Way there are layers. There is the disk where the stars roam, there is the gas and dust that runs in a line between the middle of the disk, and then in center of the whole Milky Way there is a flattened bulge. The sun lies in the disk and on the other side a dwarf galaxy is merging with the Milky Way. On the Milky Way, four spiral arms wind out from the bulge. This is where matter temporarily piles up. In the middle is the nucleus of the galaxy. There is most likely a **massive** black hole surrounded by gas cloud and a disk of dust. We don’t necessarily want to prove this theory since… well its **extremely** dangerous.

Lives of the Stars
Stars form in cold, dark clouds and dust in space. A stars mass will determine its size, shape, and color. The brightness of a star doesn’t change much over time but its outer layers expand until it is double in size and the color of the star darkens. If a wave from an exploding star travels through gas, it will cause clumps or cores to form. Each core gradually contracts as gravity pulls it together. During this process the core will also be rotating. The energy of falling gas heats up the center of the core and Protista forms surrounded by a zone of clear gas. A **large** cloud of cold dust and gas still surrounds the new star though. When the center gets hot enough, nuclear reactions can start. The star spins faster as it shrinks down and the gas around it flattens to a disk. Soon after the star will settle down to a period where it doesn’t have much change and provided itself with nuclear energy.

The Sun
The Sun is a ball of hot gas and also one of the closest stars to the earth. The sun has its own magnetic field that is much strong than the earths. Between the photosphere and the corona is the chromosphere which is a red glowing flame on the outside of the sun. Only during an Eclipse does the corona cover the visible yellow disk of the sun. Solar flares, spicules, sun spots, and prominences appear on the outside of the sun. The sun spins about once a month but how fast it goes depends on latitude.

History of the Solar System
This is some information about our solar system and how it was created. The sun formed when gravity pulled together a cloud of interstellar gas and dust. The rotating ball collapsed into a thin disk soon on. Inside the disk, solid materials create larger particles. The particles clump together to create planetesimals. The icy  planetesimals can only survive away from the sun while the ones nearer to the sun are made out rock and metal.  In outer solar systems, four large masses formed. These soon became Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. These planets soon grew disks of their own. In the inner solar system, there were too many collisions for the large planets to form but soon on Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars emerged. Lastly, the moon was formed by a collision between Earth and another planet, about the size of Mars.

=Exploring the Sky Using the Hubble Deep Field Image=

====The Hubble Deep Field Academy helps explore galaxies in space using images that the Hubble telescope produces. During the orientation the astronomers asked about the classifications of objects and whether or not they could all fit into a classification. We asked about size, shape, and color of the image. The estimate that the astronomers made was 3,000 different objects while my guess was 2,592. In the universe, the astronomers guessed there were about 50-100 billion different objects when I guessed 77,760,000,000. There were many different classifications in the exercise but the three we used were size, shape, and color. An astronomer can estimate the distance by using light when we were using size. The color of a galaxy indicates the age of the stars located in the arms. If the color is blue the star is young but if the color is red then the star is older. Astronomers use a method called representative sampling to estimate the number of galaxies. First the astronomers section the sky and then count all the objects in one section. After they found out the number of stars they multiply that by how many sections the sky was divided into. The Hubble Deep Field Academy was an informative way to learn about galaxies and space!====

= Discovering the Wonders of Rocketry = Rockets didn’t always start out as the huge, wonderful, powerful space craft’s we see today. They first started out as a rocket- like device called the aeolipile. The inventor used steam as a propulsive. There was water kettle and a sphere used and when the water heated up and turned to steam it then traveled up to the sphere where it allowed the gas to escape. Since there were two holes for the gas to come out of the sphere spun around in circles. People aren’t really sure when the first rocket was made but devices like fireworks that the Chinese made are some example of rockets used a LONG time ago. The first idea of exploring space and the ideas of using liquid propulsion was by a Russian school teacher. Robert Goddard got on the boat of exploring rocketry in the early 20 th century. Instead of liquid propulsions he used solids but during his studies he was convinced that liquid would be more efficient. He worked very hard and soon he flew the first liquid propelled rocket containing liquid oxygen and gas. The rocket wasn’t what we call successful today but it flew 2 seconds propelling about 12.5 meters of the ground before crashing. Even though we don’t see this as a huge discovery, it was a huge leap forward to the rocketry today. Goddard kept working on liquid propelling rockets and overtime they go bigger and flew higher. Rockets were sometimes used in wars carry bombs and destroy towns during wars. The United States and Soviet Army discovered the wonders rocketry could do for them and help them discover things in war and out in space first. By then, it almost seemed like a race to see who could get there first. The Soviet Union were the first to send something up into space, an artificial satellite that was sent up. Soon after a satellite carrying a dog went up to test if life could live in space. The dog lived for about a week but then went to “sleep”. The United States was becoming frantic and sent up Explorer I, our first satellite in space. Soon more and more space machines were being sent and the U.S. set foot on the moon and soon so many possibilities were coming into view. Today we are sending up robots to other planets like Mars while still exploring the moon. Rockets have made a huge effect in exploring space and, maybe not for the best, but exploring weaponry.

Caption: This is a Chinese warrior a long time ago shooting a firework,

this was the start to rocketry.

**Model Rocket Labeled Parts** ==

= Concluding Our Rocket Experiment and Observations = media type="file" key="music extra credit sab.mp3" width="240" height="20"

==== The purpose of the experiment was to help us visualize the different parts of the rocket and also to show us how the mass of the object would effect how high it goes. The steps we took during this experiment was first each team built a rocket and at that point, they were all identical (with the same mass most importantly), but then we painted them and this made the mass of each rocket different. Another big factor were that some groups put more glue on their rocket than others, making the mass larger. This prevents the rocket from shooting up higher because the larger the mass the less it's able to fly up. How smooth the rocket shoots up from the launch lug is a big factor also. The steps that were made when the rocket was launched, was first we used the launch lug and slid the rocket onto the platform, second we triggered the control to trigger the rocket motor making the rocket shoot up. The third step, as the rocket was coasting (without the fumes pushing it up) and the rocket reached its apogee. Finally, the rocket came down releasing the parachute and landing (hopefully) safely on the ground. During the process we used a trundle wheel to measure out 100 meters straight ahead from where the rocket was launched so we could find the angles easily. Two people had angle guns and took the two numbers and found the number in the middle of the two. When trying to find the maximum altitude we used trigonometry. To find this you do altitude= 100 meters (length away) times tan ϴ. For ours we did, 100* tan (26.5) which equals 49.9 m (the altitude). ====

==== We think that since our rocket was painted more heavily and had more "loose strings" like messy glue jobs and unproportionate parts that's why it didn’t shoot up very far. We couldn't see the rocket that clearly but the flight seemed kind of shaky when the rocket took off. Instead of going completely straight it was whirling around in the air. It was a good height overall though. I conclude that if we painted more lightly and prevented paint slipping in the launch lug our rocket would’ve flew higher. Also, if we would have done a better hot glue gun job than the flight could've been better. This how our flight could've been better and gone farther. We didn’t exactly have a hypothesis but our height was average so I think if we did make a hypothesis we would’ve been close. ====

= Our Egg Drop and the Mars Rover Drop =

====When designing our vehicle, our biggest concern was that the egg (or the robot) inside is as safe as possible. That's why we used almost all our bubble wrap and paper towels protecting the inside of the cup so that the egg had lots of protection. Then we wanted to make sure it had the slowest flight down. That's when the balloons, paper, and zip lock bag came in handy. We blew up the balloons and made the paper and zip lock bag into parachutes on top of the balloons. They are meant to help catch air and slow down the vehicle. We made sure our vehicle landed on the target by extending our arms so that it was well over the tarp. Because of the wind, our vehicle flew a little sideways and upward but it landed well on the target. Having grass was also a nice bonus because it made the landing softer. Out of our whole vehicle, I would say the cups were the most helpful in the process because the balloons and parachutes weren't really that helpful. I think that more zip lock bags and string would have been useful and more helpful than paper and paper towels. I thought the cups, where the egg was located, was the most affective because of all the padding and protection it gave the egg. The other half of our vehicle wasn't as helpful. Overall, I think our group did a very well job collaborating and building our vehicle.====



Robots are very complicated, yet simple. The motor controls the wheels which is a big factor in where and how fast it moves. There are many ways you can program the robot to move. You might want the motor to conduct the wheels forward, maybe backwards, or even left and right. These can all be used by telling the robots motor to go clockwise or counterclockwise for forward and backwards. Then for left and right you tell it to only use one wheel more. Like in real life, we put more pressure on one foot to turn. This is (almost) the same for the wheels. For a right turn you make the left wheel to go harder and for left, the right wheel. Some challenges you could experience when you are programming is little blips can mess up your whole routine. You could pick the wrong option (like rotations instead of unlimited) and how far you turn affected us a lot in different teacher challenges. Obstacles are hard to dodge when you don't have sensors on your robot so it’s important to have the correct information in your program. Also the ground that your robot is on can stop it from succeeding a "mission". Especially if we did these experiments outside on rocky areas but even in the class room on carpet and tile was hard.
 * How Robots Work **

I sensor is a device used to detect its surrounding. There's a sound, ultrasonic, light, and touch sensors that we used. However, there are so many more types of sensors that can be used. These were all given commands to focus on. For sound, it's like the ears of your robot! The sound sensor detects and adjusts decibels or the measurements of the sound pressure. The ultrasonic sensor is the eyes of your robot! It helps your robot see/detect objects around it. It helps it avoid objects. We programmed it to stop when it was a certain length away from an object and go backwards. This is an example on how you can have your robot sense and measure how far it is away from objects to help avoid them. The light sensor is another factor for the eyes of your robot. It helps tell your robot the difference between light and dark. It will read and measure the light intensity of colored surfaces. We used this by programming our robot to follow a black line (very dark surface). The last sensor is the touch sensor which acts as your hands. It detects when something is touching it and when it releases. Lots of robots are used now in hospitals to bring around medicine. They move very slowly along a line so they need don't go somewhere else (light sensor). They probably have tons of sensors on them to help them. This is some modern day use of robots. As you can see, they really make a difference without making people lose jobs… just stress.



= Learning about Identifying Minerals =

Rocks and minerals are very common here on earth, but how do you tell if something that looks like a rock is a mineral? You can look at some minerals and notice some big differences from rocks. You can also use a magnifying glass to tell if it matches the description of the minerals. Some minerals have even consistency, many different patterns, look grainy, ect. Another way you can identify a mineral is by color and luster. We observed the different minerals and recorded what they felt like, looked like, and how light reflected off them. Hardness is also a big factor when identifying minerals. You can scratch minerals with softer materials like your finger nails or with harder things like a streak plate. For example, if it is harder than an iron nail (4.5) but not glass (5.5) that means it would most likely be 5 which is the mineral apatite. So by determining the hardness you can almost always get a clue to what the mineral might be. Streak is when you are trying to find the "real" color of a rock. Geologists use this process too. The streak is color of the mineral in powdered form. Sometimes the outer color is different than the streak color. Magnetism can help you find which rocks are magnetic which not many are, about 12% of 75 that we tested. We also used light refraction. When light passes through a solid the light will be slowly bent or refracted as it travels through the material. The way the light is refracted helps to tell how you can identify it. If the rock is transparent, the ones we had were, you can put them over letters and see how they make the font change. I know it's gross, but taste testing can be a good way to identify minerals. Geologists like to use this technique also. How fast it dissolves, the sweetness or sourness, the texture can also give clue to what they are. Last but not least, acid testing is an important way to identify minerals. The geologists in the video used acid to identify minerals many times. Some minerals will react when they come in contact with strong acids. Some things will happen to the mineral, like in our experiment; the mineral bubbled. This is where we go on to discussing how the geologists' in the video identify minerals... When geologists are trying to find different rocks and minerals they will hike up to different rocky places. They will use hammers and compasses to get to the rocks or minerals. After they find something that looks interesting, they use microscopes and acids tests to identify the different types of rocks or minerals. Geologist also have a laser so that they can look at rocks on the walls in positions that cannot be reached. It also has a drill that can drill a hole in a rock to make some of it powder which would then travel into the robot and there it will analyze the powder. We have done things like geologists with acid tests and seeing how the light reflects off of rocks to identify them. We put hydrochloric acid on two different rocks to see which one would bubble to know it’s a carbonate compound. We also had to identify which rocks were the same by the light reflection instead of color and texture.



Now let's go on to how curiosity is able to preform tests on Mars. Curiosity is basically a rolling laboratory. With a size of a car, it can carry lots of equipment. Curiosity has lasers to see how light reflects off of rocks if he cant drill into them to get powder to examine. The main way he examines minerals is by drilling the mineral to get the power but I'm sure there are different ways to find out. We're hoping that the rover can find organic molecules to give us hope that life could possible survive on Mars.

= What Characteristics of Life on Earth is like  and What We're Doing to Find Life On Mars =

Look around you, living things are everywhere! As well as non living things, but how do we tell them apart? To be alive something needs to be made of cells, needs materials, is homeostatic, has to respond to stimuli, reproduce, grow, adapt, and respiration. So to start off, let's focus on cells. If something doesn't have cells it's not alive. There are lots of different types of cells but we focus mostly on animal, plant, and bacteria cells because they are the most common. Animal cells tend to be spherical and plant cells tend to be rectangular. Cells also have many parts or organelles. All living things need materials to live, for example nothing alive has everything needed to survive when it's born. Living things need water, minerals, and air. Animals take things from the environment that we need such as food (calcium and iron) when plants take sunlight, CO2 and water. Homeostatic is internally when living things stay about the same despite environmental changes. For example, when we get cuts and bruises our body rushes to heal them. Living things use a great deal of energy trying to stay keep our system the same. Living things should be able to respond to stimuli which is causing something to react. The correct respond it to react to the stimulus when the negative response would be moving way. All living things should be able to reproduce which means process by which organisms produce off springs of their own kind. Plants and animals reproduce in various ways. There is sexual production (which involves two parents) and asexual reproduction (which involves one parent). Everything that lives grows but only from lower or simpler to a higher or more complex form. It goes: embryo, newborn, child, adolescent, to adult. Remember though, not all things grow at the same rate or reach the same height. When something is adapted it modifies that it can make an organism suites to its way of life. There is also evolution that can occur by which characteristics of species change throughout time. Respiration is the last things something living should have. Respiration is when a living thing releasing energy stored in the chemical bonds of food. It all started with telescopes that scientists used decades ago. 1975 was when we first launched the Viking Landers to Mars to explore the possibilities that life might be possible. So the main device we use to discover life on other planets is our handy dandy robots. There are three main devices we've sent up to Mars: probes, landers, and rovers. The big focus is on the landers though. They can scoop up soil and experiment to see if life forms by adding a drop of water containing nutrients and radioactive carbon atoms. Another experiment that can be done is heating up the soil to different temperatures and isolating another sample in the dark. Over a couple months you see which conditions the organisms can survive in which helps scientists to tell a lot about what life is possible or was possible on Mars. There are also satellites orbiting it. There are no obvious signs of life on Mars so that is why probes are searching soil.