Nick+M+SFLOM

Wiki Entry One

How electricity works and what is can be used for on Mars
Electricity is what powers everything we use today, from simple light bulbs to rocket ships. There are three types of electricity, Static, Current, and Discharge. Static electricity is electricity that does not move. Currents are stable electricity that are used in electrical currents. Discharges are large shocks of electricity like lightning. = = =Getting to Mars electricity can be used to charge the lights in the rocket and for the systems on the rocket. On Mars electricity can be used to charge rovers and sustain the rocket to get back to Earth.It can also prove useful when you need to eat and warm something up in a microwave. =

=Wiki entry 2 =

Magnetism and it's effects and uses on Mars
===Magnetism is a powerful tool utilized by some birds and fish and even by people dating back to ancient Greece. Three types of magnetism are electromagnetism, magnetic fields and atoms. Electromagnetism is magnetism created by using electricity in a short circuit with a battery. Magnetic field are field around a magnet that have an area of effect kind of thing where objects can be effected by the magnet. The Earth gives off a magnetic field to protect from particles that get blasted at the earth from the sun. Atoms can have an magnetic charge, for example if you rub a balloon on your head it rips electrons off it and when you stick it to a wall other electrons get pushed away and protons attract to it so the balloon sticks to the wall.===

===On Mars I think magnetism could be used to create power and to bring possible magnetic objects on mars in for study. It might be possible to use it to keep beds on the wall and perhaps used to keep your back side on a chair while you try to eat. Since Mars also has a magnetic field we can use a compass to find the magnetic north and south and then calculate true north and south.===

=Wiki Entry 3=

About the Start of the Universe and our solar system
The Universe had to begin somehow, and something had to happen for everything in the universe to form. That’s where this comes in, we will talk about our galaxy and the beginning of the universe. The universe began with the big bang, this is the most popular theory for people to believe. This happened about 15 billion years ago when the universe exploded from nothing. It started extremely hot and packed in a very small space. It very quickly expanded and cooled over time. From the Earth, when we look in to the dark night sky we look in to the past, the many stars we see may not even be there anymore but there light is just reaching us instead. In the sky you can some darker patches, these patches are opaque dust. A galaxy is really a large collection of stars that can span thousands of light years. In the center there is a central budge where the spirals and stars spin around. In the Milky Way there are 4 spiral arms, on the left side we have our solar system and on the right side of the center there is a Dwarf galaxy merging with ours. In the center there are red and orange stars that are packed tighter together than our sun and our side of the galaxy. With all this thought of our galaxy we can guess that our galaxy is almost 5 times bigger than it seems. Some people think of the sun as a different star, some think its not even a star, but it's a star just like any other just closer to us. In the sun there are constantly nuclear reactions creating the light and heat we need here on Earth. This happens when partcials inside the sun collide at high speeds. The sun is 76% of the sun's mass is hydrogen the rest being helium, these are the same atoms that were first formed with the universe. The sun has darker spots on it called sun spots, these sun spots are darker than it's surroundings because it is about 1000 degrees cooler. They tend to appear in groups and based on the suns magnetic field. The suns like the Earth has a magnetic field, but the sun's is 5 times stronger than ours. Our magnetic field protects us from partcials the sun gives off in what is called a Solar Flare. The Sun was formed when gravity brought dust together and packed it tightly. When this dust was hit from an after shock from another star exploding they started to from the sun. The tightly packed dust became the sun and the remaining dust span around the sun like a disk. This became the bases of the solar system we live in today. In the dust there were clumps of rock, close and far from the sun. The Farther ones came together to form the four big planets we know today as Jupiter Neptune Uranus and Saturn. Closer to the Sun there were to many collisions for there to be large planets but planets did form, these planets are known as Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars. The Moon of Earth was most likely formed when Earth and another planet collided and a piece of the planet the went blasting away from the Earth was caught by Earth's gravity. After the solar system settled down and all the remaining clumps of rock either became moons for other planets or became part of the asteroid belt in-between Mars and Jupiter. =Wiki Entry 4=

Rocketry
===Rocketry went back many years to the ancient Greeks. There was a man named Hero who was an inventor who proved the theory of rocketry with a device that had water in it that would have a fire heating it to make steam. Some steam was trapped by a sphere that had two exhaust ports, the stream went out of these ports and caused the sphere to rotate. Later the Chinese started creating rockets to be used as fireworks and for warfare. These rockets were filled with gunpowder and the blast would accelerate the rocket.===

===Modern Rocketry is much more sophisticated than what the Chinese used. It began in 1898 when a Russian teacher named Konstantin Tsiolkovsky proposed the idea of space explorations using a rocket. He suggested using liquid fuel to be used for great range and he said that the speed was limited by the escape of gases. For his Ideas he was named the father of rocketry. In the early 20th century and American researcher named Robert H. Goddard made practical experiments in rocketry. He tested liquid fuels and was the forerunner of a new era of rocketry even though his best test was not the best, much like the Wright brothers' best flight. During World War 2 Germany created V2 rockets, some of the first rockets used in war. Today people are trying to restrict rockets to space travel only.===

Figure One: V2 rocket

Figure two: Hand drawn model showing laws of physics on rocket in space

=Wiki Entry 5=

Rocket Experiment


The purpose was to test rocketry and how it works. The Experiment was preformed by building a rocket and setting it up with an explosive. The rocket was launched with and electrical system and the rocket flew up after the key was inserted and the ignition button was then pressed. The hypothesis was the lighter the rocket the higher it would go and this hypothesis is true. The rocket built for the experiment was an Alpha Rocket skill level 1. This is a basic rocket that is made from wood metal and plastic pieces. The rockets created weighed from 44 to 49 grams. To launch the rockets A8-3 explosive propellants were use. Electricity was used to heat up the explosive and launch. The highest a rocket went was 100 meters. This rocket weighed 45 grams, this helps prove the hypothesis.

= Wiki Entry 6 =

"Rover" Drop using an Egg
The rover drop used a design that used a plastic bag, balloon, 2 bathroom cups, bubble wrap, string, paper towel, and tape. The Plastic bag had the top cut off and then was made in to a parachute. The strings attached to the egg capsule that had bubble wrap on the end with the egg inside. Inside the cups there was paper towel on each side with a cushion on bubble wrap inside where the egg is placed. The cups are help together with some tape. The parachute has a balloon on top in case it does not deploy so there is still some thrust. The balloon is held on with some tape. = = Image of device used to drop egg.

=Wiki Entry 7=

Robotic History
Robots were made not to long ago, but the first sights of robots were in sci-fi movies. But those are not real robots, laws of robots what were those 60s people thinking. Todays robots are still in development but we still see them. We see them as vacuum cleaners and toys. Uses for robots include cleaning, toys, heavy lifting and other household things. Robots are being developed to fight in wars, like searching for mines or sending messages. Another future use is for cars to have an auto-pilot like planes do right now. Curiosity Mars Rover Hex Bug toy Robot

=Wiki Entry 8=

LEGO Mindstorms
Lego Mindstorms is a programming software used for programming Lego NXT bricks to allow the robot to function. All functions are done from the central NXT brick, this "brick" is a computer that is able to hold memory and as said before, gives the robot it's commands. The commands are done using Sensors and Motors. Motors are the basic movement tools able to do basic movement like going forwards and backwards and preforming point and curve turns. The motors are connected to the NXT with network cables. The simple motors are connected to ports B and C. Port A is available for an extra wheel or adding claws that move on it. Sensors can be added for a more challenging experience. There are 4 basic motors, ultrasonic, sound, touch, and light. Just like motors they are connected with network cables, but they use different ports. These ports are 1, 2, 3, and 4. Each has a preset port that is stated in the instructions. The Functions of each sensor adds a new function for the robot. The Ultrasonic sensor adds the ability for "sight." It uses sound waves to detect how far away something is. The sound sensor gives the robot the ability to detect sound with a simple microphone. The touch sensor gives the robot the ability to touch. It is a simple push button that can be utilized to stop the robot from crashing. The Light sensor give the robot the ability to detect the light reflectiveity of different surfaces. This can be used to follow a line or stop before the robot goes in to a possibly deadly surface.



=Wiki Entry 8=

Geology on Mars
Geologists identify minerals based on color, hardness, streak, and cleavage. Color is very easily said and done, but color can be unreliable like when identifying pyrite it can fool people to think it is gold. Hardness is based on a scale of 1-10 based on how hard a mineral is, 10 is diamond and 1 is talc. Streak is based on what color a streak if there is a streak at all. Cleavage is based on if the mineral can brake and will be flat. Curiosity will preform experiments on Mars by digging up soil and putting it in a small experimental laboratory. There it will find minerals and rocks using the 4 ways to test minerals. Curiosity does not simply roam the whole planet but a smaller area of Mars which has a very rich section called Gale Crater. In the center of the crater is a 3 mile high mountain.