Ross+M

= The Search for Life on Mars =

From Big Bang to Galaxies
From Big Bang to Galaxies explains how the universe was created. At the very beginning of time, the entire universe was confined to a space than the nucleus of an atom. It was also extremely hot. But in a tiny fraction of a second, it began to expand. Particulate matter was created. The universe consisted of energy, quarks and antiquarks. In less than a tenth of millisecond, protons and neutrons had begun to form. When they collided, they would only create more energy. After three minutes, matter had begun to form helium nuclei. Three hundred thousand years after the big bang, atoms have begun to form because electrons can freely rotate around the nuclei previously created without being torn away by the heat. Galaxies began to form in the universe after about two billion years. The Milky Way galaxy was formed after about three billion years. In the early universe, galaxies would collide often and sometimes merge. This may someday happen to our galaxy and the Andromeda galaxy.

History of the Solar System
History of the Solar System has a very self-explanatory name. It talks about and describes the history of our solar system. Our sun was created like all suns are. It was formed when a cloud of interstellar gas and dust were pulled together. In time, the sphere of gas around the sun was blown down to a thin disk. Farther out from the sun, icy planetesimals were able to survive. Closer to the sun, where it was much warmer, only planetesimals made of rock and metal could survive. Planetesimals were packed very closely in the beginning. After a time, Four larger planets were able to form further away from the sun. They were Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Closer to the sun, only smaller planets could form. They were Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars. All of the smaller planets acquired their atmospheres, probably from the gasses ejected from volcanoes.

Lives of the Stars
Lives of the Stars describes how stars are formed and how they reach the end of their lives. A star is formed in a nebula when a shock wave from another exploding star or an alike disturbance pushes interstellar gas and dust into a core. The energy of the gases of the core coming together cause it to heat up. The core is surrounded by an area containing no gases, but shrouded by a thin layer of gas. The core begins to spin, and the gas surrounding the core flattens into a disk. The wind from the spinning gas clears away the are around the star, and it settles into a long time without change. Everything about stars is set by its mass. Stars can be classified into spectral types O, B, A, F, G, K and M. The largest class is O, and the smallest is class M. The sun will begin its long process of dying after another five billion years. This process will start when the sun expands greatly. After its expansion, it will begin to pulsate in and out for a period of a few months. It will blow huge amounts of material off its surface. It will then expand until its surface reaches the orbit of the Earth. It will then blow so much material away that it shrinks down to the a white dwarf star. After becoming a dwarf star, it will slowly cool and fade away.

The Milky Way
The Milky Way describes the makeup and structure of our galaxy. Our galaxy is a spiral galaxy. If you looked at our galaxy from the side, you would see a thick disk of stars, with a thinner disk of gas and dust cutting across the thicker ring. Our galaxy looks like a giant spiral from the top or bottom. It looks like a spiral because of the clusters of stars, gas and dust that accumulate due to the gravitational pull of the central bulge. The central bulge is an area of stars that are packed a thousand times more closely than stars close to our sun. At the very center of the bulge there is probably a large black hole.

The Sun
The Sun describes our sun apart from all suns. Our sun is exactly the same as any other star we see in the night sky, only closer. It is a sphere of superheated gas. Seventy-five percent of its mass is hydrogen, while most of the remaining mass is made up of helium. The sun's corona, only visible during a total eclipse, has a temperature of millions of degrees. The chromosphere, also only visible during a total eclipse, is located in between the corona and the yellow photosphere, which we see during the day. In the center of the sun, the temperature is fifteen million degress, and the gas is packed twenty times more closely than iron. Hydrogen nuclei and protons collide together and make helium nuclei. Four million tons of hydrogen are necessary a second to keep up the sun's energy. The surface of the sun is covered with hot gas. It bubbles up to create a mottled pattern called granulation. Sunspots appear on disturbed regions of the sun, mostly in pairs or groups of sunspots. They appear to be dark because they are a thousand degrees cooler than the gas surrounding them. Sunspots occur because of the magnetic field distorting over eleven years. These eleven years are the length of the sunspot cycle. Solar flares from the sun can shoot atomic particles farther than the orbit of the Earth. The Earth's magnetic field funnels these particles downwards toward the North and South poles. The particles create the Aurora when they slam into the upper atmosphere.

=Hubble Deep Field Academy=

Orientation
During Orientation, we had to familiarize ourselves with the very basics of the Hubble Deep Field. We had to ask questions about the Hubble deep field, just like the astronomers did. Some questions that the astronomers had were simple, like "How many objects are there in the image?" and "How far away are the objects?" The other questions they had were far more complex and harder to understand. Even now, I do understand all the concepts the astronomers refer to.

Stellar Statistician
Stellar statistician was the activity in the Hubble Deep Field Academy where we worked with numbers of objects there could be in the image. My estimate for objects in the image was very low. Using one sector of the image, and then multiplying, I was able to get an estimate of objects in the HDF, or Hubble Deep Field. I estimated there were around 750-800 objects in the HDF, but astronomers estimated there were 3000. My estimate was very low, but still was not that bad an estimate.

Cosmic Classifier
Cosmic Classifier was the part of the HDFA, or Hubble Deep Field Academy where we sorted objects or images into groups according to their color and shape. Some object categories according to shape were spiral galaxies, elliptical galaxies and stars. The image Hubble took contains both galaxies and single stars.

Distance Wizard
Distance Wizard was the activity when we dealt with distances. An astronomer can estimate distances in space by using both size and the amount of light emitted. Astronomers can make very accurate predictions of where stars are in relation to us by using these methods.

Deep Field Observer
During Deep Field Observer, we identified a mystery object. There are two aspects to look at when classifying an object. Shape and color. The shape of an object tells you whether an object is a star or a galaxy, and which type of galaxy it might be. The color of an object tells you how old it is. If an object is blue, it is young, and if it is red, it is an old.



=Rocket History= The idea of rocketry was first conceived around 100 BC by Hero of Alexandria. This basic machine was powered by steam from a tub of water heated by a fire underneath. The steam from the evaporating water went into a hollow sphere and was ejected through two L-shaped tubes, causing the sphere to spin along its axis.

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The very fist primitive rockets were invented by the Chinese. These rockets were formed from bamboo tubes that had a combination of sulfur, saltpeter and charcoal dust. This explosive mixture was used in ceremonies to create colorful fires. A bamboo tube was filled with this powder and then tossed into the fire. Some of these small explosives might have skittered out of the fire and into the surrounding area because of the propulsion of the powder inside.



Up until 1898, rockets had only been used for fireworks and warfare. But in 1898, Konstantin Tsiolkovsky proposed the idea of space exploration by rockets. He also proposed using liquid propellant instead of solid propellant. Because of his ideas, he is known as the father of modern astronautics. Robert H. Goddard experimented with rocketry. He was interested in finding a way to achieve heights that were simply impossible for lighter-than-air balloons. He first experimented using solid-propellant rockets in 1915. His experiments led him to create the first successful liquid-propellant rocket. It flew for two and a half seconds, rose 12.5 meters and landed 56 meters away in a cabbage patch. Later during his experimentation, he developed parachute recovery systems and payload bays for scientific instruments. Because of his achievements in rocketry, he is known as the father of modern rocketry. During the course of the next few years, small rocket societies and clubs sprang up around the world. One of these clubs, which was from Germany, developed the V-2, also called the A-4, rocket. This rocket was used against London in WWII. In 1957, the Russian satellite Sputnik was launched. Its launch stunned the entire world. Less than a month later, the Russians launched a dog, Laika, into space. A few months after Sputnik was launched, the US launched their own satellite, called Explorer I. After Explorer I's launch, the United States established NASA, or the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Soon robots and people were being launched into space. The space age had officially begun.

= Rocket Labeling =



=Rocket Experiment: Launch Day= Our rocket started off a little late. We had t redo the connections to the engine igniter before it would properly light and liftoff. Liftoff for our rocket went perfectly. There were no bits or pieces that came off our rocket and the rocket went up straight off the launch pad. Coasting did not last very long. Our rocket tilted a little at the apogee. Ejection of the recovery system went well. The parachute was not damaged in any way. Recovery did not go well for us. The parachute did not open and the rocket fell to the ground without any resistance from the chute. Since the rocket was so light, there was no damage to the rocket itself .



To get our measurements for the height our rocket flew to, we started by measuring 100 meters with a trundle wheel. Once our rocket had launched, we took the measurement of the angle with an angle gun. This allowed us to use trigonometry and discover how high our rocket actually flew. For Joe and I, we had to do 100 times the tangent of 36.5. We got these numbers from the distance we were away (100), and the angle we had taken (36.5). Our rocket flew 74 meters high, or approximately 18.5 stories in the air.

=Mars Rover Drop= My group designed our rover this way because we wanted he egg to fall and not to break. As you can see on the right side of the image, we added legs for stability. Moving to the left on the image, we had a paper cup that we lined with bubble wrap and pipe cleaners so that the egg would be cushioned. We also had a parachute made from a Ziploc bag to slow down the drop vehicle. On top of the parachute we mounted two balloons for even more resistance of the drop.

=Programming Robotics= The definition of motor, according to Dictionary.com, is "a comparatively small and powerful engine, especially an internal-combustion engine in an automobile, motorboat and the like." While we are not using internal-combustion engines, the engines we have are still small and comparatively powerful. When you program a motor, you are telling it something that it will carry out until it no longer has the power to do so. A motor is the simplest of all robotic parts in the Lego Mindstorms pieces. A motor is the simplest because it only has output capability. In other words, signals only travel from the NXT to the motor, not vice versa. This can make using solely a motor much more difficult than using sensors as well, because if it is programmed incorrectly it cannot change midrun. The definition of sensor, according to Dictionary.com, is "a mechanical device sensitive to light, temperature or the like that that transmits a signal to a measuring or control instrument." A sensor is a part of the Mindstorms set that is absolutely vital to doing efficient and accurate runs. Because they have the capability to send signals and almost questions back to the NXT, a robot that uses a sensor can react to light, sound, distance or touch, depending on what sensors you happen to be using. None of these sensors are top-of-the-line industrial sensors, since Lego Mindstorms are essentially a toy.

=Geology on Mars= Here on Earth, geologists use many ways to identify unknown minerals and rocks. One way that we identify minerals and rocks is through streaks. This method is when a mineral or rock is rubbed against an unglazed ceramic plate, also called a streak plate. No matter what the outside mineral of the color is, the streak will always be the same tint and the same hue as any mineral of the same type but a different color. Another thing we do to identify rocks and minerals on Earth is by using the color and luster of the unknown sample. While the color is only useful if the sample is exactly the same as other identified minerals or rocks, luster, or how the reflects through and on the surfaces of the sample, is useful even if the sample and the identified rocks or minerals are not the exact same. We can also use the hardness of an object to determine its identity. On Earth, everything's hardness is measured using the Mohs scale. We can use the hardness of a sample to compare it to other known rocks and minerals. One slightly less useful factor in identifying minerals is magnetism. If a sample is magnetic, we can narrow its possible identity down to very few known rocks and minerals, but if it is not magnetic, we can only rule out very few rocks and minerals. Two other tests that can help to identify minerals are taste testing and acid testing. We would not be able to really rule out or identify the sample using the former, and all we would be able to discover by the latter would be whether or not the sample contained carbonate. The Curiosity rover landed on Mars in the summer of 2010. It has an amazing amount of geographical equipment packed into a body about as small as a car. One way the Curiosity will analyze the rocks for signs of life is by taking a drill, about a centimeter across, and drilling into the rock, collecting the dust. once it has collected enough dust, it will proceed to move the dust into two separate analyzing devices that will each search for the possibility of life. Another thing that Curiosity will do is use a laser, also called the ChemCam, to measure how light reflects off the surface of the rock. This will help Curiosity to search for signs of life on rocks that it cannot reach with its drill.

=The Characteristics of Life= There are 8 characteristics of life that every species must show during some point in its life. They are as follows: Being made of cells, needing materials, being homeostatic, responding to stimuli, growing, adapting and respiring. Cells are the most basic units of life. Cells have many parts, which are called organelles. The three types of cells are animal cells, plant cells and bacteria cells. Sometimes cells are organized tissues → organs → organ systems → organisms. All living things need water, minerals and air. A living thing will take these things that they need from the environment. Since all living things are homeostatic, they will stay roughly the same on the inside despite changes in their environment. A living thing will expend a great deal of energy to maintain homeostasis. Stimulus is anything that causes a living thing to react, and response is the reaction by a living thing to stimulus. The two types of response are positive, which means a living thing will move toward the stimulus, and negative, when a living thing will move away. Reproduction is the process through which living things are able to produce offspring of their own kind. Plants and animals reproduce in a variety of ways. The two types of reproduction are sexual reproduction, when there are two parents and there is genetic variation, and asexual reproduction, where there is only one parent and no genetic variation occurs. Growth is the development of a living thing from a lower or simpler to a higher or more complex form throughout its life. Living things grow from embryo → newborn → child → adolescent → adult. Not all living things grow at the same rate or reach the same size during their life. Adaptations are modifications that make a living thing suited to its way of life. Evolution is the process though characteristics of a species change through time, meaning that it is a series of adaptations. Respiration occurs when living things release energy stored in the chemical bonds of sugars. Consumers, which are animals, must take in food from their environment to sustain life, while producers, which are plants, create their own food. One relatively recent (four years ago) discovery about how to detect life on other planets was by using a planet's transmission spectrum. While I could not find that much information on the transmission spectrum, I did find out that the transmission spectrum has to do with energy waves form the sun passing through the atmosphere. This technology is extremely useful in finding life on planets like ours, that have carbon based life forms with similar necessity for CO2 and O2 (both twos subscript) in the atmosphere. It would not matter what level of tech the planet in question had, unless they had already invented the counter-spectrum technology... (Photo here)