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Wiki Entry One: Electronics Electronic devices are a very important part of the Mission to Mars. When an electronic device is in use, there are electric signals that control devices and their functions. An electronic signal is a changing electric current that carries information. There are two types of electronic signals; there is the Analog Signal and the Digital Signal. An Analog Signal is an electric signal that varies smoothly in time. Analog devices include analog clocks, stereos and thermometers. The other type of electric signal is a digital signal. A digital signal is like an analog signal except it records in erratic jumps and changes instead of a smooth signal. Each jump stands for a number or data character. A few electronic devices that use digital signals are Digital Clocks, TV’s and, greatest of all, a computer. Another important component to electronic devices is a semiconductor. Semiconductors are useful because they can conduct if impurities are added or not if none are added. Impurities are elements like Gallium and Arsenic that cause semiconductors to instantly conduct. This allows electronics to turn components on and off inside the device. A third important part of an electronic device is a diode. A diode is a device or part of a device that only allows electricity to flow one way, like a one way street. Transistors are also useful in electric devices. Transistors amplify the electric current. A transistor can also be used as a switch to turn circuits on and off with a switch of its own. The last important part of electric devices is an integrated circuit. Integrated circuits are the baseplate for transistors and are made out of semiconductor materials like silicone. Integrated circuits can hold millions of transistors yet they are only 1 square millimeter. That is many times smaller than a fingernail. In conclusion, Electronics are very useful and could not be possible without their many components. In the Mission to Mars, electronic devices are vital for the success of the operation. The electronic devices have so many functions that would keep humans alive in space. First, a spaceship so we could go through space, Next, an air filtration system would be necessary so humans could breathe in their spaceship. We would also need a device to predict the path of the spaceship so it could enter the Mars orbit. Lastly, we would need probes to search Mars for elements that are vital to life like food and water. Conclusively, it is electronic devices that allow us to go to Mars. Wiki Entry 2: Rocket History On my journey to Mars, it is important to know about the history of rockets. Rocket history began with the Hero Engine. The Hero Engine was created in 100 BC by a Greek inventor named Hero of Alexandria. The Hero Engine was a sphere mounted on top of a kettle that had a fire burning below it. The water in the kettle would steam and power the sphere. This created thrust and energy. The Hero Engine was the first steam engine with thrust; this would soon become a vital part of rockets. Rockets would later be seen again in the hands of Chinese. The Chinese accidentally created a sort of rocket in 100 AD. They had mixed saltpeter, sulfur and charcoal dust to make explosions in their religious ceremonies. They filled bamboo with their mixture and threw it into a fire. Sometimes, Bamboo sticks would not explode and fly out of the fire like a rocket propelled by gas. The Chinese saw the potential in these tubes and began experimenting with them. They then attached the tubes to arrows and created real rockets. Another milestone on the path to modern rockets was made by Konstantin Tsiolkovsky. He was a Russian schoolteacher who, in 1898, proposed that rockets could take us into space. He then published a report in 1903 suggesting that liquid fuel be used in the space rocket. This is why Konstantin Tsiolkovsky is considered the father of modern rockets. Early in the 1900’s, an American scientist named Robert Goddard began researching rockets. He was trying to find a way to go higher than a hot air balloon. He first began researching liquid fuel and then, in 1915 he tried burning gasses for rockets, and like Wilbur and Oroville Wright did with planes, Robert launched the first rocket ever on March 16, 1926. After this, Russia and America began racing to send the first rocket into space and on October 4, 1957 Russia sent Sputnik 1, an orbiting satellite, into space. However, America caught up to Russia a few months later when they created NASA, or the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Soon, with the help of billions of dollars from the government, NASA was creating superior rockets and probes until the Apollo 11 was successfully launched to the moon and put NASA way ahead in the race. In conclusion, rockets would not be what they are today without their long and complicated history.  Rocket Hero Engine ﻿Rocket Stages Animation media type="custom" key="9019788" Wiki Entry 3: Rocket With Labels Wiki Entry 4: Rocket Flight Experiment In Class, I was assigned to build and launch a model rocket. The rockets were built to simulate a rocket that could be sent to Mars. It was also built to give inexperienced rocketeers a taste for rockets. First, the rocket was assembled using all the pieces shown above in "Wiki Entry 3: Rocket With Labels." The rocket was designed so that it would take off, deploy a parachute shortly after apogee, and float safely to Earth. After I created the rocket, I painted it. On a real rocket, paint is used as a protective layer. I decided to put a heavy amount of paint on my rocket for effect. On the last day of the experiment, I mounted the rocket motor into the rocket, then proceeded to launch the rocket. My rocket launched smoothly, flying a total hight of 93.25 m. When the rocket launched, it took off at an incredibly high speed leaving a trail of smoke behind itself. The parachute deployed shortly after apogee, as it was supposed to do. After the launch, the recovery wad was incinerated and a hole was burned in the rocket motor. The parachute had deployed and the rocket was hot. Conclusively, the rocket flew smoothly. 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: Astronomy is important in the search for life on mars because it allows people to know what they are dealing with. For example, if a person who didn't know astronomy, and they see a comet in the area of their probe, they will become frightened because they do not know about comets. It is also neccessary to know about the field of which you work. For example, if a person asks you about space and you do not know about it even though you are going to send something into space, you will appear as unproffesional and unqualified. In conclusion, it is important to know about astronomy. To learn more about astronomy, visit this link: More About Astronomy. History of Robotics

A Robot is a machine that can follow a commands from a human. Directly translated from Czechoslovak, the word robot means slave. Robots have a long and intricate history. From the scientists in the present day to the ones living in the late BC years, many have pondered how to make a Robot. From the time of the first Robot built in 350 BC to modern times, Robots have been becoming more advanced. Every story has a beginning, and for robots, the story starts in 350 BC. In 350 BC, the brilliant mathematician, Archytas, built a robot that would jump start thousands of years of robot creation. He created a bird named "The Pigeon." The Pigeon was one of the earliest studies of flight and robotics, not to mention the first paper airplane. The Pigeon was the first documented robot, but there were more soon to follow. Soon afterwards in 200 BC, a Greek inventor and physicist named Ctesibus created the water clock to tell time. It would measure the water flowing through a tube at a constant rate that translated into seconds. Up until then, the people had to use hourglasses and sand to tell time, but Robots were revolutionizing the world. The next great breakthrough was Leonardo DaVinci's Armored knight. The knight was a model human. The knight had a mechanism inside it to make it move like a real human. Many others copied Leonardo's robot to amuse the royal family. Later, In 1738, Jauques de Vaucansan began to built automata, or robots, in France. His first creation was a flute player that could play 12 songs. His second automata played the flute, drum, or tambourine. His Third robot was the most revolutionary. "The Duck" as it was called, was an attempt to have moving anatomy inside a robot. The robot could swallow food, move, and even quack. In 1898, Nikola Tesla created a robot controlled boat and sailed it in Madison Square. In the 1900's however, Robots really began to pickup making a landmark debut to history every year, but the first important advance was Karel Capek's play where he created the word robot. Robot's were used over the next 50 years in all sorts of literature, like Star Wars and Star Trek. The most revolutionary robots, were the ones created in modern times by NASA. NASA was funded by the government to study astronomy and is now doing the impossible, in a short time, we put a man on the moon using the rocket, we launched space probes to study the solar system and created the greatest robot of all time, the Hubble Telescope. The Hubble telescope is still active and is taking Pictures of most everything on all corners of the Universe. In conclusion, Robots have a long and interesting history that is still being made today.

=﻿Programming Robots = One of the many parts of a robot is the motor. Motors can be programmed to move robots; this can be done in just a few ways. One of the ways to program a motor is using computer software. LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT presents a good example of using computer software to program a robot. Shown in Figure 1, you can use the LEGO NXT software to program the motors to move, spin, or complete a different function. This, in turn, causes the robot itself to move. Although using a motor is probably the best system for moving a robot, there are also some problems with motors. One of the common problems is the motor moving to much or to little, causing the robot to preform its task incorrectly. Another fault with using motors is the odd measurements involved. Instead of using centimeters or inches, a motor uses the unit, rotations. A rotation is self explanatory; it is one complete spin of the motor. Although rotations sound simple, one rotation is about six and a half centimeters, making programming an exact movement tedious. In conclusion, Motors are one of the necessary parts for a mobile robot. Along with motors, sensors are an important part of any robot. Sensors allow a robot to grasp information about its surroundings using the five senses. There are four major sensors for the LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT robot. The first of the four is the sound sensor. The sound sensor detects the amount of sound in the area on a scale of 1-100, one being the least and 100 being the most. Using the sound sensor, you can program a robot to move away from loud noises, hear sound in a song and run a programmed dance move because of it, and much more. The second sensor is the touch sensor. The touch sensor is a button that is pushed down whenever it comes into contact with a hard surface. Using the touch sensor, a robot can know whether or not it is touching something like a wall and react to it. The third sensor is the light sensor. The light sensor detects the color of light that it is shined on. A bright light registers as a high number, and visa versa for a dark color. This can be useful for noticing and following a line that is a different color than its surroundings by recognizing its color. The fourth and final sensor is the "Sight Sensor." The sight sensor sees for a robot using echolocation. Echolocation is when the robot sends out a high pitched sound and records the amount of time it takes for the sound to come back. The robot can then calculate its distance from an object using this sound. This simulates human sight by telling the robot how far away from objects it is, and what to do when it gets too close or too far away. Ultimately, Sensors are another important part of any robot. 

Wiki Entry 8: Life In order to find life on another planet, we need to be able to identify something that is alive. To identify that something is alive, you need to see if it matches the eight characteristics of life. Something that matches some but not all of the characteristics is not alive, only something that matches all eight. The first characteristic of life is that something is made of cells. Cells, shown below, are fundamental units of life that build up a living thing. Cells organize to build organs, tissue, and almost everything else in your body. The second characteristic of life is the necessity of minerals. Simply put, all living things need air, minerals, and water, and take them from the environment. The third characteristic is homeostasis. Something that is homeostatic is defined as something that stays the same on the inside, despite environmental changes. All living things use up a lot of energy to maintain homeostasis. The fourth characteristic is a response to stimuli. Stimuli is anything that causes a living thing to react, and response is how the living thing reacts. Furthermore, there are two types of responses, positive and negative. In a negative response, a living thing moves away from stimuli, and in a positive stimuli, a living thing moves towards a stimuli. The fifth characteristic of life is Reproduction. All living things produce offspring of their own kind. Living things can go about this in two ways, one being asexual (one parent) and the other being sexual (two parents). The sixth characteristic is growth. All things develop from a lower or simpler form to a higher and more complex form. The seventh characteristic of life is adaptation. An adaptation is a modification that makes a living thing suited for life. The eighth and final characteristic of life is respiration. Respiration is the releasing of energy stored in sugars and chemical bonds. In conclusion, there are eight characteristics of live that a living thing must sustain: Made of cells, needs materials, homeostatic, responds to stimuli, reproduce, grow, adapted, and respiration. Currently, companies like NASA are trying to search for life on other planets; They do it in a very defined way. The first procedure was to send five spacecraft to Mars, although not at the same time, to look for Oxygen, Warmth, and water, or the essential minerals. They were looking for these because without them, there could be no life on Mars, since the consumption of minerals is a characteristic of life. After the success of the mission, Scientists scanned the surface of mars with a Thermal Emission Imaging System to see if there was life emitting heat or possibly some geology that looked life friendly. The last method of looking for life was to take a chunk of soil or rock out of the ground and scan it to see if it did or ever had contained life. In conclusion, the search for life on Mars is very important and Scientists are devoting their lives to creating a good method to do so.