Erik St.Clair

Mrs. Eckstein

English 1 Honors

7 December 2016

 

Solving Martian Radiation

One major obstacle that we will have to overcome in order to have a successful Mars mission is radiation, and we can solve this by adding more shielding to our current rockets. In an article that highlights the dangers of radiation on Mars, Sarah Frazier presents a solution to the problem. Sarah Frazier of NASA states, “There are two ways to shield from these higher-energy particles and their secondary radiation: use a lot more mass of traditional spacecraft materials, or use more efficient shielding materials.” This quote shows how we can stop the effects of radiation on Mars in two different ways. Radiation is harmful because it penetrates human skin and kills cells and DNA. We will have to add more shielding in order to slow and eventually stop the radiation from even reaching the astronauts. Some ways that we can shield the astronauts are by making the hull of their spacecraft thicker, or by generating a magnetic field around their ship so that the radiation is forced away. These methods are being tested now and NASA is hopeful that they will be able to solve the radiation problem by the 2030 Mars Mission. If we are able to use these methods to shield our brave astronauts, I believe that we will have an extremely successful mission to the red planet.

Egg Recovery System

In order to keep our egg from cracking, we attached a parachute to the payload, we surrounded it with fleece, and we made the payload as aerodynamic as possible. We decided to make the payload rest at the top of the model because it would be more stable and aerodynamic that way. We wanted our design to balance the stability and aerodynamics, with the ability to protect the egg. We based our design on the Atlas V rocket and payload because we saw the successfulness of this payload shape. The United Launch Alliance states, “Since their debut in August 2002, Atlas V vehicles have achieved 100 percent mission success in launches from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. and Space Launch Complex-3E at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.”  When we dropped our egg, it survived. It deployed its parachute flawlessly, and only took 1.76 seconds to slowly glide down to the ground and land softly. We will use the same design for our actual launch because of its successfulness. One thing that we will change is the weight distribution, so that it isn’t top heavy. Overall I think that our payload is designed well, and I think that it will protect our egg on launch day.

Living on Mars

In order to design and build a hab that could survive on Mars, we had to design a way to generate oxygen, generate water, maintain pressure, protect ourselves from radiation, generate food, and generate power. In order to make an airtight hab, we decided that we needed duct tape and a beach ball. We asked Iran if they would trade us 10 feet of duct tape for $1,000,000; Iran replied by stating, “I will agree to give you 10' of duct tape in return for transporting our first nuclear warhead to Mars so we can conduct our first full scale test. In addition, you cannot do business with the United States, as it would jeopardize the future of our nuclear program. I will also accept you gracious offer of 32,150,000,000 Iranian Rials.” In addition to the duct tape, we also asked China for a beach ball. They agreed to trade, but we had to give up $2,500,000, exclusive branding on our website, and we were not to do any deals with India. After much thought, we accepted the deal, and China sent us an email saying, “China accepts your offer. We look forward to working with you. Please write up the contract with the agreed upon terms and we will sign.” Therefore, with a beach ball, duct tape, paper, toothpicks, pipe cleaners, straws, paint, and glue, we built a habitation model that was strong enough to survive the harsh conditions of Mars. Our hab does not look the best aesthetically, but it functions in every other aspect. We successfully built the hab and only had minor difficulties with communication and construction.

 

Holler, William. "Iran's Duct Tape." Message to the author. 8 Dec. 2016. E-mail.

Eckstein, Kimberlee. "China's Beach Balls." Message to the author. 8 Dec. 2016. E-mail.

N.A. "Atlas V." United Launch Alliance. United Launch Alliance. 2015. Web. 13 Dec. 2016. <http://www.ulalaunch.com/products_atlasv.aspx>

Sarah Frazier. “Real Martians: How to Protect Astronauts from Space Radiation on Mars.” nasa.gov. NASA. 30 September 2015. Web. 7 December 2016. <https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/real-martians-how-to-protect-astronauts-from-space-radiation-on-mars>