Colonization of Mars

isolation, survival and the role of science can be explored in connection to a change in setting. Written in 2011 The Martian is a science fiction novel written by Andy Weir. It follows the survival story of Mark Watney, an astronaut left behind on Mars, after his mission was aborted. In comparison Moon, a film released in 2000 by director Duncan Jones explores chosen isolation through the astronaut Sam Bell completing a three year job overseeing the mining of helium on the Moon. Similar themes…

“The Space Traders” by Derrick Bell is a short story that, is a very intriguing tale of aliens coming to earth and saving mankind, but for a hefty price. The Space Traders come to earth and offered riches (gold) to the U.S government, offering things such as paying the American debt, a year without taxes for every American and a clean environment. The Space Traders are charging a big, hefty fee in return, by asking for all African Americans in the country. The Space Traders asking for an entire…

Primack (2013) led a study that shows the effects of warming temperatures on winning times in the Boston Marathon. He and his three co-authors, Dr. Abe Miller Rushing, Dr. Nathan Phillips and Dr. Robert Kaufmann, examined the timing of the Boston Marathon runners from the years 1933 to 2004. They found that when warmer temperatures and headwinds occurred the day of the race, the runners were indeed slowed down. The reasoning for this research was to further their focus on climate change from…

diameter telescope we were lucky enough to have a mostly clear sky to view in this order: Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and the Moon. Viewing these celestial bodies in person is truly one of the most exciting and core tenets of astronomy. With our telescope we were able to see firsthand and notice some of the distinct characteristics of the different objects. First we looked at our nearby neighbor planet, Mars. Mars is named after the Roman god of war and has a nickname of the “Red Planet” due to…

Mercury's surface is similar in appearance to the appearance of the Moon, showing plains and heavy cratering, indicating that it has been inactive for billions of years. Knowledge of Mercury's geology has been based only on the 1975 Mariner flyby and terrestrial observations, it is the least understood of the terrestrial planets. As data from messenger orbiter is processed, this knowledge will increase. For example, an unusual crater with radiating troughs has been discovered that scientists…

Lesson is for 2nd or 3rd graders Engage: The teacher will present the class with a fish tank full of water, and will begin to tilt it back and forth to make waves inside the tank. Students will be asked what is causing waves to form inside the tank? After the teacher has listened and responded to each student’s answer, the teacher will then ask multiple questions for class discussion before the lesson, such as what makes water tides? What is gravity? Does the moon or the sun affect the…

red planet. Felsic rocks that thought to not exist on Mars are now identified. Overall, these findings alter the understanding of the geologic complexity and magmatic activity of Mars. Prior knowledge of Mars’s geology was rather simple; consisting of one type of rock formation in contrast to Earth’s diverse and complex geology. Felsic rocks such as granite, are common in subduction zones on Earth (Wray et al., 2013, 1013). However, in Mars, felsic rocks are nonexistent and only contain mafic…

Mud Cracks on Mars: A Sign of Possible Ancient Alien Life? If you asked a scientist what the basic building block of life is, the answer would be water. Therefore, when NASA’s Curiosity Rover recently found evidence suggesting that the Red Planet (Mars) was not always completely dry, thoughts of previous life forms come to mind. According to Nathan Stein, who is a member of NASA’s Curiosity science team, the most likely scenario for the cracks on Mars’ surface is mud. Evidence of Ancient Lakes…

We researched Pluto’s orbit, physical properties, and history to give us a broad understanding of what Pluto is like and to see if a mission to Pluto would be feasible and beneficial to NASA. We found that Pluto has a unique orbit compared to other planets — it is both extremely elliptical and sometimes crosses Neptune's orbit. Pluto is also incredibly small and cold. It contains ice on it’s surface and was only discovered about 100 years ago. Because of what I learned, I believe that It would…

Activity 4: Egg Drop Lesson Objective: Students will design, build and implement a safe carrier in which to drop an egg (interplanetary rover). Set-Up: All supplies can be left on a communal table. Students will need to first come up with a design and supply list for their carrier. Once it has been approved by their facilitator they can start to choose what they will need. Demo and discussion: Because it is topical, start your discussion off with a brief synopsis of the New Horizons probe…