Rodney Bonilla
Mrs.Eckstein
English 1 Honors
20 December 2016
Mars biggest obstacle
A obstacle that the astronaut’s have to consider to be successful on a Mars colonization is to easily be able to acquire fresh potable water. The Astronauts might overcome this particular obstacle by using the polar ice caps that Mars has available on its surface. In the quote Space System Engineer Robert Braun states ”Mars also has quite a bit of water available for human consumption, but its not liquid water flowing on the surface like it does on earth water on Mars it’s either on the subsurface or near the poles in the form of ice.“This quote shows that water problem on Mars can be solved by using the water from “the poles in the form of ice” and Mars has two poles just like Earth so, the astronauts will have a substantial amount of water on the Mars sight. The way astronauts will acquire the water is by sending a group of people to the ice caps and then they will collect the ice. After the collection astronauts at the station will convert the ice to water and rid it of any harmful substances.
Egg Drop Materials Justification
The astronaut team will ensure that our egg survives by making the egg carrying contraption have a parachute, bigger dimensions and making the inside lined with half a layer of fleece so, upon impact the fleece will help the egg absorb the impact. The team chose to go with a larger contraption because it could fit more of the fleece in the capsule. The astronaut team ultimately chose fleece because it is one of the softest and resilient fabrics and we would need a lot of cushion in the capsule; also, the fleece will maintain it’s shape throughout the egg drop test. In the excerpt the editor states “Natural fleece is an organic, marvelously soft, amazingly resilient fabric that has been used in textiles” This quote emphasizes the physical properties of fleece-these qualities of the material would be a perfect material for this project because it will stop the egg from trying to move during the impact. The fabric will maintain its shape and allow for a “soft” landing so the egg will not hit the ground with enough impact to crack. The astronaut team will keep the same design of the parachute with larger dimensions of the capsule filled with the fleece. The design during the egg drop took only 1.75 seconds to land on the ground. The astronaut groups parachute is almost double the size of the other groups allowing the egg to go slower towards the ground. The groups that made a capsule with no parachute lasted only 1 second to get to the ground and crack. The astronaut's final design is best suited for this project and with the resilient fleece it can make sure the egg is protected in the real launch.
Hab Material and Design Justification
The astronauts made several designs to make the air tight Hab and they used many materials but; materials that they deemed necessary were the beach ball and the duct tape. When the astronauts first designed the Hab they wanted it to be a geodesic dome design so it can withstand strong storms and be able to be strong whenever the unexpected happens. This design was quickly turned down because of its difficulty in building it with the materials that were made available (Toothpicks, Glue and Straws). The dome design would not be able to fit inside the beach ball’s diameter because of the size of the 20 toothpicks that were needed to build the dome. The astronauts eventually chose a design which made the beach ball the main element of Hab with outer buildings circling the half of the beach ball. The astronauts felt that materials like the beach ball and duct tape would be the best materials to make an airtight Hab because the materials were not easily ripped. The astronauts also thought that the materials would help them focus on other things like the outside buildings of the Hab. The astronaut group was successful with many of their negotiations and they were able to acquire the materials they wanted for the Hab but, they did have to adjust however because they didn't know what to make of the duct tape after sealing the major breaches of the Hab so we just covered it with a little bit of green paint.
Citations:
Cutler, Jacqueline. “Your Mars Questions, Answered.” USA Today Special Edition. Nov. 2016. Print.MLA Citation:
“Fleece Fabric Information | NY Fashion Center Fabrics." NY Fashion Center Fabrics. NY FashionC