Anatomy of a Moonbuggy: Give It a Brake

By Angela Storey, MSFC, AL

It is upon us! Buckle your seatbelts and give the team advisor a Maalox -- it's time to assault the course and go for the gold!

Registration began today for teams participating in the 18th annual NASA Great Moonbuggy Race. We'll hold our opening ceremonies tonight at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Ala.

We'll welcome old friends and new, go over the guidelines and walk the winding, half-mile race course (which, as you read this, is getting the finishing touches today from the Space & Rocket Center's elite crew of groundskeepers and "moon mechanics," under the watchful eye of head axle-breaker Dennis Gallagher... who occasionally breaks into villainous MWAHAHA laughter, we kid you not).

And tomorrow, April 1, at 7 a.m. Central time, the buggies start to roll.

So let's wrap up our look at moonbuggy hardware with a few final elements -- some critical, some cosmetic, but every one of value to your performance. And possibly your posterior.

"Steer! STEER!"

Steering configurations are as varied among moonbuggies as any other element, but the relative simplicity of the hardware -- upright or drop handlebars (or a simpler straight handle or riser bar, like that on a mountain bike) which turn the fork and front wheels via a stem rotating in the headset -- may mislead teams into giving it too little thought.

The design is paramount here. How are you configuring your riders -- side by side or one in front and one in back? Will they share steering duties, or does just one of them take on the responsibility of guiding the vehicle? Do the style and position of your handlebars match the seating angle of your riders? If they're seated low at a backward angle for better pushing power, for example, you don't want upright handlebars that force them to awkwardly lean up or forward to maintain control.

Look at a recumbent bike, with under-seat or over-seat steering. You may want to riff on that idea, and design a buggy with steering arms or joysticks positioned at the sides, permitting the riders the most aerodynamic profile and ergonomically satisfying ride positions possible. But testing must be rigorous. Does the system have the necessary responsiveness? How much power will it take to rake that speeding buggy around a sharp turn? Can "lowrider steering" measure up?

Race organizer Gallagher, a NASA astrophysicist who works at the Marshall Space Flight Center, is always quick to point to mountain bikes as a good jumping-off point for basic buggy design, and this is another area where they can give you some good ideas. Especially consider the wider widths of mountain bike handlebars or risers, he says -- which can dramatically improve handling.
"And be sure they have some play to them," he adds. "This terrain's really uneven, so they'll need to be able to handle a lot of hard jerks and jolts." (Mwahaha indeed.)


"Brake! BRAKE!"

Dennis's fellow engineer and race planner Tom Hancock, chair of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Alabama/Mississippi section, agrees steering is important... but he's more concerned about brakes. He's one of the guys who's out there the night before the race, laying down something like 175 bales of hay -- to make sure careening buggies have something soft to run into when they get out of control.

See this? This is important. This is the thing that keeps your advisor's heart rate
down in a safe zone. Especially during that hairpin left turn right after Obstacle 3.
(MSFC/David Higginbotham)

Hancock says brakes come in all flavors among buggies -- from the crude rim brakes found on regular bicycles; to internal hub or disc brakes for sturdier off-road or tandem bikes; to direct-pull or linear-pull brakes like the "V-brakes" found on many BMX and mountain bikes.

With rim brakes, friction pads are compressed against the wheel rims themselves. Among internal hub brakes, they're contained within the hub of the wheel. Your best options, our experts agree, are disc brakes, which have a separate rotor for braking, or linear-pull brakes, which seem to have the most hardware flexibility, work well with suspension systems based on more rugged off-road bikes, and stand up best to hard, abrupt braking.

Whatever your configuration, Hancock says, whether they're hand-operated or controlled by foot-pedals, the brakes are absolutely critical, and should be thoroughly tested repeatedly before race day.

"Buggies can pick up so much speed out there, and we're always surprised to see so many with brakes only on the front, or only on one side," he says. "That's because they've been salvaged off a regular bicycle, of course, and the end result is they drag really hard to one side."

And that's no good, especially if a large rider is paired with a small one. "We see guys close to 200 pounds matched with girls around 110-120," he says. "Add the weight of the vehicle, and a few critical heavy-side turns on the track where vehicles may pull three or four Gs..."

It's a recipe for trouble. "Your welds may be good, but they may not be that good," he laughs. "Or the center of gravity may be too high, and you risk tipping over."

Riders can offset those dangers -- pick a solid braking systems and train your drivers to apply them properly.

Don't settle for the cheap seats

Let's move on to one of the most memorable elements of the moonbuggy -- or it will be, after your riders disembark at the end of the course and discuss with you why you chose to skimp on seating.

"Bucket seats are the best," Hancock says. "Find something of quality that conforms, if possible, to the lower back and rear end. You want your drivers seated solidly to provide lots of lower-back pushing power.

The rear seat on a Huntsville Center for Technology buggy. Note the ergonomically
sound handlebar placement. (MSFC/David Higginbotham)

Simple folding seats can snap, Hancock warns -- all the riders' mass and energy is being centered in the lower back, and flimsy chairs won't hold up. Likewise, saddles -- simple bicycle-style seating -- won't suffice, because there's no lower-back pushing power there at all. "That's just asking for pain," he says.

He also advises against angled seatbacks. He's seen teams cant the back rests 15-20 degrees -- maybe in an effort to be more aerodynamic. "But depending on the configuration of the buggy, now you're expending a lot of energy just to stay up straight to pedal," he says.

Whatever your seat of choice, Gallagher reminds all racers to include strong, buckling seat belts. No Velcro, no rope, no duct tape. "Seat belts are NOT part of the façade," he says.


Finishing touches: The accessories

The façade is where we'll round out this exploration of the moonbuggy's inner workings. This race is a historic legacy, after all, celebrating the Apollo-era Lunar Roving Vehicles that rolled across the surface of the moon in 1971 and 1972.

It's been 40 years since those fabled moonbuggies raised the bar for off-road racing, and your buggy needs a few accessories that put the finishing touches on this homage to NASA ingenuity and can-do spirit.

According to the race guidelines, each buggy must have a simulated TV camera approximately 2 inches by 3 inches by 6 inches or so; a simulated high-gain antenna with a reflector approximately 2 feet in diameter; two simulated batteries (roughly 4 inches by 6 inches by 8 inches); "moon dust abatement" devices, better known as wheel covers (or sweet, sweet fenders); a simulated electronic-controls radio and display console (totaling an approximate 1 cubic foot in size); and a national or school flag. Items get checked before and after each run... and you want to have the same set of goodies at the end that you had at the start.

Secure your gizmos," says Hancock. "Otherwise, it can cost you. You lose a point for every piece that comes off. People drop fenders, cardboard instrument boxes and other things all over the track."

He suggests that new racers in particular keep everything simple to start. Try to keep accessories out of the way of the riders, so they don't inadvertently knock them loose. "Small, secure and out of the way," he advises, then chuckles. "One of the most novel approaches I ever saw was a team that just had a sign on the side of the steering column. It said, 'Our whole instrument system is on the side of the steering column.' " Not exactly kosher -- but it kept the teams' focus on the bigger challenges.

Huntsville Center for Technology keeps its accessories, such as this mini-camera,
anchored and out of the drivers' way. Don't get penalized when that fancy contraption
comes flying off! (MSFC/David Higginbotham)

Don't be afraid to get creative, though. "Some accessories are really great," Hancock says. "We've had kids make working displays. A lot of them will bring a video camera and mount it on the front end to tape their run." To get a look at what's possible, check out the buggy from last year's winning high school team, the International Space Education Institute. Their GPS tracking and other on-buggy hardware is mind-blowing!
And visitors can get an actual buggy-cam experience -- shot by high school racers in 2009 -- inside the U.S. Space & Rocket Center at the NASA Education Competition exhibit. Just look for the mini-moonbuggies.


Drivers -- to the starting line!

As the race draws ever nearer, Gallagher and Hancock reflect on what it offers -- practical, real world engineering challenges that may open new career doors for many of our intrepid racers.

"This is professional experience," Gallagher says. "Design work, specc'ing out your requirements, fabrication, welding, rigorous testing... This is the real deal, and it leaves an impact."

For his part, Hancock loves watching new teams tackle the course for the first time. "They may come from small towns, and their team may not have all the resources of bigger school systems," he says. "But so many show up with work that is just great -- intuitive, slick and well thought out. They may not have all the materials to take their ideas to the next level, but the spark is there. The flame is lit."

Expect that inventive flame to deliver no end of unique, unexpected moonbuggy designs and configurations when we take the course on April 1. We may see three-wheelers. TWO-wheelers. Anything is possible. One team years ago designed something that looked like an exercise machine -- both drivers were standing up. "Worked great til they hit the first obstacle," Gallagher laughs.

"We had a tank once," Hancock remembers. "It was eight feet long, it wasn't very well put together, it was dropping cleats all over the course..." He smiles. "But it was COOL."

Be safe out there, teams.

And be cool.

You're invited to watch live race coverage all day Friday, April 1, via UStream at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nasa-msfc. The race is expected to start at 7 a.m. Central time. Our deepest thanks to Dennis Gallagher and Tom Hancock for their help in developing this blog series. For those interested in learning more about these good folks who help us execute the NASA Great Moonbuggy Race year after year, you can read more about them here.

Poll of the Week: Earth Tech

By Jim Gerard, NASA INSPIRE Education Specialist, KSC, FL

NASA has had a long history of Earth observation and investigation, starting with the development of weather satellites, to the Landsat remote sensing satellites to the climate orbiters of today.  The INSPIRE Online Learning Community was asked what was the greatest contribution by NASA to the new 'green' industry, that aims to place less stress on our planet by reducing our impact to it.

While good percentages selected thermal insulation, Earth images from space, and closed loop water purification as the greatest contribution, the majority chose the production of more efficient solar cells.  Here is some of the dialog found in the Discussion Board:

Earth images from space really leave an impact on people. It shows the vulnerability of our planet as well as the signs of damage that have already been done. A picture is worth a thousand words. It is a source of inspiration for people that leads to support of the "green" industry.

However, the solar cells on the rovers and ISS form an excellent renewable energy source and can reduce the carbon emissions.

I think the closed loop water purification is the best. Not only does it dramatically reduce water pollution in the lakes and rivers, and thus ultimately the ocean, but it also provides us with clean, healthy water, which we need to live.

 What do you think?  While it may be too late to take the poll, you are still welcome to add to the conversation on the Discussion Board.   A new poll will be available later today.  Leave your opinion, and then support it on the Board!

The Anatomy of a Moonbuggy, Pt. 2

By Angela Storey, MSFC, AL

With less than two weeks to go until the start of the 18th annual NASA Great Moonbuggy Race, we're discussing the engineering marvel that is the moonbuggy itself. A direct descendant of the original Lunar Roving Vehicle, racers' moonbuggies are built to take the worst our course has to offer.

Well… they're supposed to be built that way. =)

Experienced teams such as the Huntsville Center for Technology have
refined their designs based on practical course experience. New teams don't yet
know what's waiting for them… (MSFC/David Higginbotham)

That looked like it hurt. (MSFC/David Higginbotham)

The Suspension is Killing Me

Once you've got your buggy's chassis figured out, you've got to start thinking about protecting your own "chassis" -- with a good suspension system designed to take the punishment of the course so racers' backsides don't have to.

The suspension is the catch-all term for the simple or complex network of springs, shock absorbers and linkages used to connect a vehicle to its wheels. They contribute to good handling and braking and protect the vehicle's riders from jarring changes in the driving surface. Most standard suspension systems for moonbuggies employ passive springs to absorb impact and shocks to control spring motion.

Do you go with a standard beam suspension -- a simple cart axle that keeps each pair of wheels parallel and perpendicular to the axle -- or splurge and design an independent suspension system, giving each wheels a certain amount of self-governing rise and fall?

"Some buggies show up with no suspension at all," says race authority Dennis Gallagher (he's also a world-class astrophysicist, no matter what he looks like in that shady race-day hat of his). "I'm not sure why they'd make that particular choice. I guess they're interested in reliving the bone-crushing antique wagon or automobile experience circa 1905?"

Gallagher heartily recommends a sturdy independent suspension to brace drivers against the decidedly uneven terrain they'll face on the course. "Obstacles are definitely NOT uniform," he cautions. "Every wheel takes punishment individually, so you're going to get thrown to one side or the other."

Believe it. One late-race obstacle in particular causes all four wheels to seesaw violently, and separately, in truly queasy-fying fashion. If your vehicle has held up to that point, over some higher and steeper obstacles, you should be fine… but it has been known to deliver the coup de grace to wounded buggies, and taken the last ounce of strength out of already exhausted racers.

The strut for this wheel/axle mounting incorporates a lot of buggy
business,including suspension springs, steering and drive chain. HCT
knows how to build a better mousetrap! (MSFC/David Higginbotham)

Go for the suspension, Gallagher urges -- leave the butt-pummeling Americana to people peddling around flat tracks at classic-car shows.

Any typical off-road vehicle suspension system will provide a good jumping-off point. "If you've seen it on a dirt bike or an ATV, chances are you'll see it on a moonbuggy," he says.

The best suspension systems maintain a relatively even keel, keeping the frame fairly level, keeping most of the punishing action away from the buggy operators. Let the wheels bounce around all they want, Gallagher says -- the real challenge is to absorb the punishing shock of travel without losing control of the machine. "Springs work both ways," he says. "They load and they unload. So if you hit an obstacle, you're going to be thrown up and off."

He ponders the likelihood of that, ruminating on the possible buggy configurations heading his way April 1. "Please," he chuckles, "wear your seatbelts!"

No Dissembling: Everything Can Hinge on Your Folding Mechanism

Nobody wins this race based on course speed alone. Every team kicks off their run by demonstrating how quickly they can fold out, pop up or otherwise reconfigure their collapsed moonbuggy.

This is an historic aspect of the challenge, based on the need to fit the original Lunar Roving Vehicles in a cramped, 4-by-4-by-4 cube aboard the Lunar Excursion Module. That was all the room Apollo-era engineers could afford to devote to the rover, and the unfolded vehicle worked perfectly the very first time for Apollo 15 astronauts David Scott and James Irwin

It's too simple to call it a "folding mechanism," of course, but whether you use hinges; separate hardware elements and a handy batch of cotter pins; or a more elaborate pump system to collapse and then pop your buggy back into ready position, this is a unique and often perplexing moonbuggy element.

"It's contrary to the logic of the design requirements to have a frame that can fold," Gallagher says. "But it's all part of the magic of this race, just as it was part of the historic original design."

The folding mechanism for HCT's tri-tube truss configuration. Note the
latching mechanism, and particularly the hinge placement. It's on the
bottom -- better ensuring it stays closed when it meets the punishing
forces of the course. (MSFC/David Higginbotham)

Tom Hancock, the Huntsville-based chair of the Alabama/Mississippi section of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and a longtime member of the Great Moonbuggy Race planning committee, says there's been no end to the innovative folding concepts teams have come up with for the last 17 races. They don't all fold. Some are hinged; some have a pivoting chassis frame. Some come accordion-style, with sliding sections and cotter pins to lock them down. Some get laid out in pieces, to be quickly transformed by hand when the clock starts -- robo-mobiles in disguise, some held together with a mismatched assemblage of bolts and the raw will of the team.

"Bolts reeeeeeally slow down assembly," Gallagher laments. The raw will sometimes helps more.

Hancock is always amused to hear modern buggy teams contemplating how to shave tenths of a second off their two-second assembly time. (That's right -- some teams can configure their whole rig in just one-Mississippi-two-Mississippi.)

"Two seconds!" Hancock laughs. "Back in 1994-1995, assembly times could be 20 minutes." He recalls an early Georgia Tech team sweating as the clock ticked, while they actually did an on-the-spot arc-welding job at the assembly line.

"We were all just watching the timer," he says, "shaking our heads and repeating, 'Do NOT look at the arc-welding light!'"

However fanciful or practical your plan for collapsing and reassembling the buggy, Gallagher points to the same, simple bottom line. "Just be sure the machine has sufficient strength to put up with the stresses caused by those hinge or fold points once the buggy is assembled or unfolded," he says.

He reiterates his earlier caution about chassis work here. "Know the strength of materials, the thickness strength of welds, and what kind of loads you're going to put on those hinges or joints," he says. "KNOW whether or not your bolts will shear off under stress. Know it before you get to the starting line."

He's excited by the race; Hancock is too. They both dig the rush of pure, youthful adrenaline it sparks in almost every racer, but more important, they say, is the professional experience students are gaining, the practical value that lasts long after the adrenaline has faded.

"They don't have that experience yet, for the most part," Gallagher says. "Most won't have computer modeling experience yet, or a background in stress analysis, or a thorough, professional understanding of how a certain tension steel will behave in a particular application.

"What the race experience gains them is a clearer understanding of the way engineers work," he adds.

Which isn't to say it's a clinical or dispassionate profession. Just like the engineers tapped to defy the odds and deliver the original Lunar Roving Vehicle in a mere 17 months between 1969-1971, today's moonbuggy racers come to recognize that a professional engineering challenge is PURE passion.

"I have yet to see a team come in here and get trashed by the course who didn't get fired up to come back and tackle it a second time," Gallagher says.

Live Chat Roundup: March 24, 2011

By Jim Gerard, INSPIRE Education Specialist, KSC, FL

How much energy does your school use?  How much is used in an office building?  What a a building look like that uses no energy from the grid?  A tent?  A log hut?  What would you think of a building that produces more energy than it consumes?  Well, look no further than the Sustainability Base at the Ames Research Center in California.  This modern, energy self-sufficient building was the topic of last night's Live Chat with Steve Zornetzer, Associate Director of ARC. 48 were in attendance to hear Dr. Hornetzer talk about the novel designs used to make the Sustainability Base the most advance government building in history.

Using a combination of passive and active systems, the building is designed with it's location in mind.  It is said it cannot be replicated, because it is so fine tuned to its location, but the techniques used can be replicated to provide unique solutions for other sites.  Solar panels, some resembling the giant panels on the International Space Station, cover the roof and extend out to provide shade to windows open to the breeze off the bay.  When cooling is needed, water that has been chilled by pumping it underground is used to bring down the temperature, while heated water from the roof can warm things up when needed.  Water is stored from wash basin and rain to be used for flushing and irrigation.  Ivy covers exterior walls providing extra cooling and a pleasant sight for those working indoors.  The building also utilizes a 'cradle to cradle' philosophy that means almost all construction materials can be recycled when the building lives out its usefulness and is demolished.

You can discover more about the Sustainability Base, like how it got its name and the use of NASA technology inside, by clicking on this link.  You can view Dr. Zornetzer's Power Point presentaion on the Discussion Board, or download an archive of the chat to hear the session and get the quiz passcode.  Now, let's see what you can do to be a good steward of your environment!

The Anatomy of a Moonbuggy, Pt. 1

By Angela Storey, MSFC, AL

As we roll toward the 18th annual NASA Great Moonbuggy Race, set for April 1-2 in Huntsville, Ala., we know many of our race fans out there may have questions about the mechanics of the vehicles -- the inner workings of the buggies themselves.

The typical moonbuggy is designed by each team to take on the challenging GMBR course, which simulates some of the conditions the original lunar roving vehicles faced on the moon 40 years ago. And those buggies take a pounding. The course is unforgiving, littered with gravel and rock outcroppings, pits, sand traps, and simulated "lava rilles" much like those the original lunar explorers bounced and thumped across during the Apollo 15, Apollo 16 and Apollo 17 missions.

On our course, only the strongest buggies survive. The rest are dragged away in pieces. Chains break. Frames snap. Wheels buckle. And nearly every newcomer team, no matter the outcome for their buggy, exits the course saying the same thing: "That was a lot tougher than we expected."

One of the past GMBR entries from the Huntsville Center for
Technology sits idle in their machine shop, dreaming
of race glories gone by… (MSFC/David Higginbotham)

So what does it take to conquer the Great Moonbuggy Race course? Over the next couple weeks, we'll take a closer look at the moonbuggy itself… and learn more about these amazing machines, and what it takes to win.

Working Your Core: The Chassis

Let's start with the core of the vehicle: the chassis, the framework or skeleton that supports the whole rolling structure. It is typically composed of a metal frame -- usually steel or a combination of steel and other metals -- supported on springs or some other type of suspension system, all of which holds the body of the vehicle and its occupants as they travel.

Your win or loss in the NASA Great Moonbuggy Race can be decided right here, says Dennis Gallagher, a supervisor and space physicist in the Marshall Center's Science & Exploration Research Office. Gallagher, who helps plan the race each year and shepherds teams from the staging grounds (the sprawling parking lots in front of the U.S. Space & Rocket Center) to the starting line on race days, has watched hundreds of buggies approach the course. More often than not he can tell from a walkaround and a shrewd visual assessment how the day is going to go for its drivers.

"How strong are those struts? How good is that weld?" he asks. "Loose chains? Bicycle tires?" He shakes his head and smiles wryly. He's seen it all before, and he's rarely surprised.

The frame or central truss requires some forethought, he says. Steel is strong and durable, but it's heavy, he says; aluminum is lighter, but requires reinforced, stiffened members to hold up to the abuse of the course. (There's no weight constraint among the design guidelines, but each pair of moonbuggy drivers must be able to pick up their vehicle and hand-carry it 20 feet, without assistance, during the initial assembly phase of the run -- reflecting the historic job undertaken by Apollo astronauts to unload, haul out and quickly assembly their lunar roving vehicle on the moon.)

"The challenge is understanding the loads and stresses the buggy will experience," Gallagher says, "and adequately planning for them in the design."

The chassis of this Huntsville Center for Technology buggy
uses reinforced aluminum tubes. (MSFC/David Higginbotham)

Teams often look at a combination of steel and aluminum, using tube-shaped metal struts to fashion a conventional rectangular frame for four-wheeled vehicles or a more creative configuration for three-wheelers (Gallagher doesn't like three-wheelers; we'll hear more about that in future installments).

Of course, if your team has a sugar daddy (i.e., a reeeeeally good school or corporate sponsor!) you might always consider using composite materials to fashion your chassis. Gallagher recalls a university moonbuggy a few years back entirely fabricated with composites -- woven or wound material embedded with a hardened epoxy resin fill for high strength. That buggy earned the Best Design Award; it didn't win the race.

Because the frame alone does not make the machine. You've gotta wisely choose your suspension options -- and again, it's all about what buggies are going to face on the field.

We'll talk about suspension systems and the buggy's critical assembly/disassembly system -- a key requirement that will help you sail through or leave you spitting rock dust -- next time.

Poll of the Week: Mars Tech

Our Poll of the Week reflected the weekly theme of Mars exploration, and emphasized the human missions that one day will occur.  This was to get the OLC thinking about exploring there, and prime the interest in our Live Chat with the Mars Desert Research Station Crew 101 from Georgia Tech.

The most popular answer to our question suggests a need for a better (read: faster) propulsion system to shorten the duration of the journey:

I definitely think we need to work on our propulsion systems, so we have an efficient, timely way to get to and return from Mars. Being in space for long periods of time is not good for the human body, so finding an efficient method to get to Mars, that will have the least "wear and tear", so to speak, on the human body, is what I think is most important for getting there. It would imagine it would also be more cost effective to have a shortened trip.

 Although relativity may rear its ugly head:

I think we need to figure out a way to make a person go the speed of light, slow down and not create an atomic bomb. if we could achieve this we not only would be able to go to mars in a few minutes but we could go interstellar. anther great thing about inventing an object that would do this, is that it would allow us to never be late to a business meeting, school, or anything else that you are usually late for.

 The next two most popular answer involved basics of life support: air and food.  Food was the most popular, but then this was a poll of teenagers (JK!)

There was an interesting comment about the least chosen answer:

I'm not sure the numbers, but from what I hear it takes a ridiculous amount of time to get communications going between Earth and Mars. Is it even possible to improve the time, or since the radio waves travel at the speed of light is that a lost cause and we'd have to just use autonomous decisions on most everything?  I feel that would take a lot of work to get on par. 

 True, it would take any time from 2 minutes to a half hour for a signal to travel between planets (based on their relative position in orbit around the sun) and double that to return an answer.  This may be more important than first glance, as it would mean that everything the crew would need to know in an emergency situation must be present on the ship.  Seconds can mean the difference between life and death, and waiting for an answer can be disastrous.  But even this can be remedied by technology (data storage, etc.)

This weeks poll asks about green technology - what is NASA's greatest contribution.  Take the poll, and defend your choice on the Discussion Board!  You may see your comment appear here!

J-2X Doghouse: The Rocket Equation! Wahoo!

By William Greene, MSFC, AL

Welcome back to the J-2X Doghouse.  We've talked before about what a rocket actually is and we've talked about different kinds of rocket engine cycles and where J-2X fits in that family.  This time, in response to a couple of early requests on this blog, I'd like to talk about rocket engine performance characteristics and how they relate to successfully getting off the planet and into orbit.  Because this comes down to a matter of equations, I expect half of the reading audience will click on their Facebook icon as soon as they see any equations. Okay, yes, I admit it, here it is: People who become engineers do so for a whole variety of reasons but typically share in common an aptitude towards mathematics and a desire to know how things work.

For me, this whole "future-engineer" notion translated to an appreciation of physics and the representation of the real world, to some approximation, in equations.  Seriously, just think about that for a moment.  You can pick up a pencil, draw a simple sketch, apply some fundamental laws, and, boom, you’ve got a prediction right there on your paper for how the real world will function.  Now that's darn exciting!  At least it is to me.  But, okay, word of advice:  Showing this level of enthusiasm regarding physics and neato equations is generally NOT good fodder for a first date.  Trust me.

However, since I’ve not had a "first date" in over a quarter of a century, I am now going to explain the derivation of the foundational equation for all rocketry:  The Rocket Equation.  Approximately 99.7% of the world's population at large does not know this … and, yes, that is a 100% unverified, made-up statistic.  Regardless, today you will join an elite, exclusive, and fashionably eccentric club.

[Warning:  Some of the mathematics gets a bit heavy here, but some of y'all asked for it.]

First, we start with a simple drawing.  Please note that my wife is the artist in the family; I "draw" in PowerPoint.  Sorry.

What you have is a thing, a blob, at time equal to t0 with a mass of M moving at a velocity of v.  At this point, don’t think of the blob as a rocket.  It's just a thing in an imaginary space where there is no gravity, no friction, no environmental impacts at all.

We then go to the next step in time, time = t0 + dt, where dt is a small increment.

Our blob has ejected from itself a small piece of mass, dm, in the opposite direction from which it was moving.  The small mass has a velocity of vdm in the opposite direction of the original blob.  The blob, by the way, has a mass now diminished by dm and a velocity that has changed by some increment dv.

Do you want to play the gray blob at home?  Okay, do this.  On a smooth floor, tile perhaps, sit in a rolling chair holding a basketball.  Throw the basketball.  You, still in the chair, will roll in the opposite direction from the flight of the basketball.  Your initial velocity, v, was zero.  Your initial mass, M, included you, the chair, and the basketball.  Your new velocity is zero + dv.  Your new mass is now minus that of the basketball, dm, flying in the other direction.  Ta-da!

Now, how do we turn this simple concept and simplistic drawings into rocket science?  Simple, we call up the work of our friend Sir Issac Newton (1642 – 1727).  Newton's First Law of Motion states: "An object at rest tends to stay at rest and that an object in uniform motion tends to stay in uniform motion unless acted upon by a net external force."  I told you that there were no external forces acting on our blob and I drew the box around the whole thing, blob and small piece together.  Combining the philosophy of this First Law with the mathematics of the Second Law results in a simple conclusion that in absence of any external forces, momentum is conserved.  So, the total momentum in the first drawing is the same as the total momentum in the second drawing with momentum defined as mass × velocity.

The second term in the right-hand box is negative since the velocity of the small piece is in the opposite direction as the original movement of the blob.  Okay, now multiply this all out and eliminate redundant terms and – thanks to some niceties of differential calculus – eliminate second order terms to yield the following:

The dm = -dM switch-a-roo is possible since the incremental change in mass of the blob over the time period dt is exactly the negative of the piece ejected.

Rather than talking in terms of absolute velocity of the blob and the small piece, let's instead talk in terms of ve, the "ejection velocity" of the small piece.  So, this is a relative speed.  Then the equation becomes:

Believe it or not, that's it.  In its most rudimentary, simplified form, that the Rocket Equation expressed over a very small time increment dt.  If you add up a bunch of these very small time increments, or in other words integrate over a measureable time period [Oh no, integral calculus buried in a blog!  Call the blog police!], you get the following:

What does this say?  Equations always say something or they're worthless.  It says that the change in velocity of a blob is equal to the relative ejection velocity of small pieces flung away from the blob times the natural log of the ratio of initial mass, M0, to final mass of the blob MF.  The natural log thing got in there thanks to the rules of integral calculus.  You'll have to trust me on that one.

Now, what does this have to do with rockets?  Well, how about rather than ejecting small discrete chunks of mass we think about what a rocket engine does, which is spew out a continuous stream of mass in the form of high-speed hot gases.  The whole derivation above holds for that case with one modification.  The hot gases ejecting from the nozzle create a pressure field at the point of ejection.  That pressure field creates a force acting on the system.  Because there is a force involved now, momentum is not conserved.  The derivation is a bit more complicated, but it's not too bad.  The result looks like this:

Where ueq is called the "equivalent exhaust velocity" and is defined as:

The first portion of that last equation deals with the pressure field.  Basically, it is the exhaust pressure at the end of the nozzle, Pe, minus the ambient pressure outside, Pa, times the exit area of the nozzle, Ae.  Force equals pressure acting over an area.  Simple.  The "m-dot" term is the mass flow of the hot gases out of the nozzle.

We're almost there.  Really.  Hold on.

Next, I want to define thrust.  We could have started this way by drawing a control volume around a rocket, but I like starting with the blob.  Thrust, T, is the force that the engine imparts on the vehicle.  So, it includes the pressure field aspect and it includes the aspect of ejecting hot gases at high speeds.  Here it is:

If you put a rocket engine on the test stand, fire it, and measure how hard it pushes against the stand, this is what you are measuring.  Sometimes you will see a rocket engine specification that will talk about "vacuum thrust" or "sea level thrust."  The difference between those can be found in the ambient pressure term, Pa, in the equation above.  In a vacuum, Pa = 0.  At sea level, Pa = 14.7 pounds-force per square inch.  Note that depending on your system of measurements, there could be a "g-factor" conversion lurking in the mass flux term so be careful.

Substituting back into the Rocket Equation, we get this:

I have now cleverly introduced the concept of specific impulse, Isp, which is thrust divided by mass flowrate.  When talking about rocket engines, we typically describe this parameter as being analogous to gas mileage so that people can understand, but here you can see that it's an integral part of the basic physics of the acceleration of a rocket vehicle.  (Again, beware of hidden g-factor conversions.)

Note that earlier I said that we didn’t have any gravity in our hypothetical situation and that we didn’t have any friction.  I can now add these things into our system a simplistic manner to facilitate the final discussion and to present the final equation:

That, right there, believe it or not, tells you 90% of the whole story about how rockets get into orbit and even how they go from there into the rest of the cosmos.  What do you need to get into and stay in orbit?  A lot of velocity.  And this equation tells you all about it.  Listen carefully to rocket scientists talking about "delta-v" in movies or the news or in documentaries.  "Delta-v" is everything.  You need so much delta-v to get to orbit.  You need so much delta-v to change orbits.  You need so much delta-v to get out of orbit and head towards the moon or anywhere else.  Whenever you hear this, they are referring to the Rocket Equation.

Let's break it down by starting with the last two terms on the right-hand side.  These are loss terms and that's why they are negative.  First, as long as you are gaining altitude, you are fighting against gravity.  If we had some way to dial down gravity, we could launch rockets more efficiently because this term would lessen (we'd also all float away).  That’s intuitive.  It takes energy to lift something.  Second, as long as you have friction caused by drag against the atmosphere, you've got losses.  Compared to a vacuum, especially at high speeds, our atmosphere is like soup to a launch vehicle and you need energy to overcome it.  Thus, both of these loss terms tell you that for greatest efficiency, it’s best to get up high, out of the atmosphere, and level out to stop fighting gravity as fast as you possibly can.  And that's exactly how we launch rockets.  It's not an accident or a whim.  It's physics.

Now, the first term on the right-hand side in that final equation has two pieces.  First, there is specific impulse, Isp.  That is a measurement of how efficiently the rocket engine produces thrust.  For a given amount of propellant the engine produces this much thrust.  Second, there is the ratio of masses within the natural logarithm.  What this says is that the lower the final mass of the vehicle is relative to the starting mass, the more velocity can be gained.  So, what you want is very low final, burn-out mass as compared to where you started.  When you get to the end, you don’t want much by way of leftover, unused propellants, and you want as little superfluous structure as possible.  Remember, part of your final mass is your payload, which is the satellite or your capsule filled with astronauts.  That's the important stuff.  It's this notion of discarding unnecessary and heavy stuff along the way that results in the reason why rockets typically have multiple stages.  As you go along, you toss off heavy structures that you no longer need:  The more stuff that you can shed, the less that you have to carry along, and the more velocity that you can pick up.  Again, it's intuitive.

If you've made it this far and if you've grasped the basic concepts of the physics involved, you truly know more about rocketry than almost anybody you’ll meet.  And it's amazing how intuitive it all ends up once you've plowed through the mathematics.  Good equations are those that can tell a good story.  The Rocket Equation is one such equation.

My recommendation is that you print this out and take it along with you on your next date.  Really, you'll be a big hit!  (Or not.)

Live Chat Roundup: March 17, 2011

By Jim Gerard, INSPIRE Education Specialist, KSC, FL

A very interesting Live Chat last night!  62 participants were able to chat with student researchers at Mars!  Well, the Mars Desert Research Station in Utah, that is!  I received an email earlier this year from Christine Redmond, an INSPIRE alumnus who is a freshman at Georgia Tech in Atlanta, Georgia.  She wrote that she was part of a GT crew (Crew 101) going to spend two weeks at the MDRS, and wondered if she could involve the INSPIRE OLC in their mission.  We came up with the plan to have a competition to suggest activities and experiments the crew could do at the Station, and host a Live Chat with the crew.  From 26 proposals from the OLC, the crew selected 4.  Last night, our Live Chat connected the Mars team to the OLC.

Those who attended almost immediately noticed a communication difficulty.  Here is some back story to help explain what happened.  Protocol for the crew on station is to maintain the same communication delay they would experience if on Mars: about 20 minutes.  This would be impossible for our chat, so special permission was given to connect live.  Because of the remoteness of the Station, all communication is done through microwave relay (this is line of sight from tower to tower), which produced about a 3 second delay for our audio.  If you listen to the archived recording, you can hear my voice echo back over their speakers about 3 seconds after I finish.  This is actually the length of the delay to our astronauts walking on the Moon, so there is an air of authenticity to the delay, however long.

Christine wrote to me afterward to also explain that, after four days cooped up in the habitat, they were succumbing to a little "cabin fever".  Their team was very excited about the chat and connecting to the outside world, and they got tickled with themselves at the start of the presentation, which you can hear on the archive.  Although Christine apologized for it later, it helps to underscore the need and the way to relieve stress.  Team dynamics is very important in missions, and long term missions especially, and I'd much rather hear laughing fro a team than sniping at each other or even stony silence!

A special part of the chat was hearing from the four OLC student teams whose proposals were  chosen by the 101 Crew.  Very interesting ideas, which illustrates the incredible talent we have on the OLC.  The Crew was impressed with all the submissions, and would like to do this again.  Our thanks to those students, and the 101 Crew from Ga Tech who gave us a great chat!

Next week, we will talk about NASA's environmental activities with 'NASA Going Green' featuring Steve Zornetzer from the Ames Research Center in California.  Be there next Thursday, March 24, at 8:00pm CDT!  Sign up now on the Discussion Board.

Astronomical Volcanology

By Fiona C. McGroarty, INSPIRE OLC 10th Grade


Astronomical Volcanology is the study of volcanoes in outer space. It explains mysteries regarding the geo structure of a planet, the internal geothermal activity of the planet, and the outer geography of the planet.  Astronomical Volcanology is also essential to the field of Planetary Meteorology. Millions of trillions of years ago, volcanoes formed our atmosphere, and can do this on other planets too! It helps us to understand our own lovely planet by providing information about the other celestial bodies in the solar system, thus helping us to better understand our own.  And finally, it gives us a map of a planet’s history. For example, the region around Olympus Mons, on Mars, is only approximately 100 million years old. This is only 2 % the approximate age of Mars, so we can hypothesize that Olympus Mons erupted for 98% of Mars’ history.  This field of science is extremely vital to studying the history of the universe and its contents.

The volcanoes in space are primarily researched on the planets Mercury, Venus and Mars, and also on the moons Io (orbiting Jupiter) and Titan (orbiting Saturn).  Orbiting satellites, planetary probes and landing rovers allow scientists to gather firsthand data about these marvelous and mysterious mountains.

On Mercury, the Messenger spacecraft orbited the planet and gathered data on the far side, that is, the side never before studied, of Mercury.  The Messenger spacecraft found evidence of old volcanoes on the surface of Mercury.  The evidence included rifts along the surface of the planet, craters with traces of lava, and old mountains resembling those of active volcanoes on Earth.  Scientists believe the rifts were caused by volcanoes erupting while the planet was still young and volcanically active.  As the planet cooled from the outside in, the surface shrank and crunched, causing the rifts. On Earth, this is what was once believed to have shaped mountains, before the discovery of plate tectonics.  In other findings on Mercury, scientists discovered craters with what appears to be solidified lava.   The theory behind this is that after the meteorite crashed into the planet, lava oozed out.  These weakened spots became prone to more internal pressure, forming new volcanoes.  This is important because it shows us how planets form so close to stars, helping us learn about the planets in other solar systems.

Mercury

Venus has more volcanoes than any other planet in our solar system. Scientists have discovered over 1600 major volcanoes or volcanic features, and an unknown number of minor volcanoes. The minor volcanoes have not been counted, but they have been estimated to be between 100,000 and 1,000,000!  Most appear to be extinct, (meaning not erupting anymore), shield volcanoes, but there are also a number of extinct cone volcanoes.  Although no active volcanoes have been discovered, knowledge of Venus’ surface is very limited, and scientists are open to the possibility of an active volcano on Venus, which is starting to seem quite likely.  Venus’ volcanoes are interesting because they appear limited in eruptive styles. The surface only shows signs of lava flows, no explosions. This is possibly because of the high atmospheric pressure of Venus; the pressure required for an explosion is much greater than that required on Earth.  Distinctive of Venus is its thick, heavy atmosphere, which is comprised mainly of CO2, the gas primarily released from a volcano on Earth.  This atmosphere also shows evidence of volcanic presence on Venus; the volcanoes would have released heavy gases into the atmosphere, making it thick and heavy.

Artist’s rendition of a Venusian volcano

Mars is unique among the planets because it is home to our solar system’s largest known volcano, Olympus Mons.  Olympus Mons is a shield volcano, over three times as tall as Mount Everest and as wide as the entire Hawaiian Island chains. It is a dome volcano; however, it is nearly entirely flat on the top, with a gentle slope of between 2o and 5o. Mars is also home to many other large volcanoes, most of them up to two and one half times larger than the volcanoes found on Earth.  These volcanoes are all dome volcanoes, with a flat top.  Scientists are unsure why Mars’ volcanoes are characteristically flat.  Interestingly enough, Mars shows no signs of ever having active plate tectonics.  The large mountain chains on Earth, usually occurring at the sight of a plate tectonic junction, do not occur on Mars, indicating that all of the volcanoes are hotspot volcanoes, that is, volcanoes caused by extreme heat and pressure in one location under the planet surface, rather than as a result of pressure caused by friction at fault lines, (where tectonic plates meet).  Interestingly enough, Mars is believed to possibly be still volcanically active.  Mars is hit by meteorites very often, and when an area of the planet appears smooth, geologists believe that it is because the area has been “resurfaced” recently by lava flowing over the area and cooling.  Several such areas have been discovered on Mars, indicating that it may still be an active planet.  The reason that we have not recorded any volcanic activity is likely because, while we have many probes and rovers on Mars, and spacecraft orbiting above, we are still not able to observe the entire surface at any given time.  Given the ratio of planetary surface by surface area measured at the same time, it is actually very unlikely that we can observe a volcanic eruption on Mars, and are reduced to the second best option of making frequent observations to monitor changes.

Artist’s rendition of Martian volcanoes before the ice froze

On Io, the volcanoes are more geyser-like, that is, rather than erupting molten rock, they erupt more along the lines of steam and gases. What's interesting about this is that it shows that Io has a stable structure, (the stuff inside it doesn't move much and doesn't exert a lot of pressure on the surface), but it does contain a lot of gases, also, it may even contain water vapor. The volcanoes on Titan are now believed to erupt ice. That any volcanoes could erupt ice is scientifically astounding, since there is so much pressure and heat from friction in the volcano, and water would be erupted as steam, not as ice, so Planetary Geologists are really trying to understand how this phenomenon is possible.

Io

Titan

These few examples show how Astronomical Volcanology is important to science, and how it aids us in learning and exploring other planets.  From studying Mercury, orbiting so close to a star, to Venus, with its thick, poisonous atmosphere, to Mars, which, though seeming so small, contains our solar system’s largest volcanoes, to Io and Titan, where we are only beginning to grasp the scientific data shown by their volcanoes, Astronomical Volcanology is always teaching us more about the history of our universe and the story of its many hidden mysteries.

Well, I hope you enjoyed learning about Astronomical Volcanology.  Isn't is simply fascinating?!

Poll of the Week: Future Astronaut Training

By Jim Gerard, INSPIRE Education Specialist

Two flights remain in the NASA Space Shuttle program.  Discovery has retired, completing her last mission last week.  Our question to the Online Learning Community involved the astronauts that remain following the final flight of the shuttle.  What should those astronauts do.

While there was a very even distribution over three of the answers, very few selected the 'Move into management' choice,  which is actually what many astronauts do.  Johnson Space Center is headed by astronaut Mike Coats, and Kennedy has astronaut Bob Cabana as its Director.  And, the agency itself is helmed by astronaut Charlie Bolden.  But most of you chose one of the other options offered.

The tally was almost evenly split between the choices 'Get involved in education programs' and 'Go to work for commercial spaceflight', while edging them out for the top spot was to 'Continue to train for the ISS'.  The following was left on the Discussion Board:

I think they should continue to train for the ISS. They will still be going to the ISS after the Space Shuttles are canceled, and the training will benefit them in later missipons, such as going to the Moon or Mars. 

For now, we'll have to just wait and see what happens in the next few months.

Today we begin a new poll: What technological breakthrough is needed before we can send humans to Mars?  Take the poll on the home page, then go to the Discussion Board to champion your choice!

J-2X Progress: Engine Assembly Continues

By William Green, MSFC, AL

Once upon a time, I used to consider myself reasonably handy with a saw and a drill and a miter box and various rudimentary woodworking tools.  I certainly knew my limits, so I never did anything too complex, but most of the fun from pursuing such projects was the creativity involved.  I didn't plan out a great deal.  I preferred an evolving, organic (i.e., lazy) approach.  Given the nature of the forgiving materials involved, that was generally fine.  In my wife's art studio, there's a cat tree with six or seven beds that fills an entire wall.  I built it with no drawings, kind of on the fly, and it still turned out okay (or, at least, the cats seem to think so).

That is not, however, how you assemble a rocket engine.  You don't wing it.  You plan everything.  The materials are not forgiving.  Just about everything is heavy and, if you drop it, or scratch it, or scuff it, or nick it, then you have the joyful experience of traipsing through a paperwork exercise to make sure that whatever you damaged is still usable.  In other words, rocket engine pieces are both extremely rugged and rigid yet also precisely machined and fragile.  Oh, and unlike two-by-fours, rocket engine parts aren't cheap and as easily replaced as a trip down the street to Home Depot.  Thus, a great deal of time spent poring through the planning documentation and lifting and moving things with exceptional care.

You can think of a rocket engine as a large, three-dimensional jigsaw puzzle.  The pieces have to fit together exactly and properly.  To make this happen, you first have to have really well-manufactured parts, but then you also need good ground support equipment (GSE) and knowledgeable, competent, and dedicated technicians.  Below is a picture of one critical piece of GSE, the engine build dolly.  This is essentially a rolling piece of elevated floor onto which you build in the engine.  Considering with the engine sitting on it, plus tooling, plus the technicians themselves doing the work that the dolly could be holding well over 6,000 pounds, this is a stout piece of equipment.

When I built the big cat tree, I just moved around the mess in my garage and I pulled my pickup out of the driveway to lay out the bigger pieces.  The picture below is the J-2X assembly area.  Note that there aren't any flower pots with last year's dead petunias, or half-empty bags of bird seed, or cast-off, half-used rolls of duct tape scattered about the floor.  In other words, it doesn't look like my garage.  It is extremely clean and orderly.  It is a FOD-free zone:  FOD = foreign object debris.  When assembling an engine, you do not want ANYTHING in the engine that does not belong there.  I will be showing you pictures below of various stages of engine assembly so far and you will notice that there is tape and/or plastic closures over every open hole where something might accidentally fall.  One dropped nut or hunk of wire or wad of tape and you're either forced into a costly disassembly exercise to get the stuff out or, worst case should the FOD be missed and left in the engine, you could have an engine failure in test and the loss of tens of millions of dollars of hardware. 

The other thing that you will notice from the picture of the assembly area is how well the whole thing fits together.  Pieces of the floor retract to allow for the dolly to be positioned in the middle.  The kit carts have bays into which they can slide for convenient access to the necessary hardware.  There is an overhead boom with commodities available for when the assembly and checkout processes require gasses or electrical power or a hookup to a simulated vehicle stage computer.  And, of course, just above the boundary of the picture is an overhead crane for lifting operations.

Now, can you just imagine the magnitude and glory of my cat tree if my garage was so neat, well organized, and fully equipped?  Difficult to fathom, huh?

So, where does the engine assembly stand?  Since I last reported the initiation of assembly, great strides have been made.  Let's step through the biggest pieces of the sequence.  First, the birdcage was put into place on the build dolly.  Remember, the yellow birdcage is a simulator for the first portion of the nozzle.  Later, it will be replaced with the real nozzle.  The dolly was then wheeled into place in the assembly area. 

Below is the next sequence.  The picture farthest on the left is the MCE, i.e., the main combustion element (composed of the main injector attached to the main combustion chamber) sitting in its shipping box.  In the middle is a picture of the MCE with the turbopump arms installed.  From these four heavy arms will be hung the fuel turbopump and the oxidizer turbopump.  And, on the right, is a picture of this the whole assembly of MCE with the turbopump arms mounted on top of the birdcage.

Next, the two turbopumps were installed, first the oxidizer turbopump and then the fuel turbopump.  I can state that here quite simply in a single sentence, but go back to that series of pictures above: planning, lifting, moving, positioning, etc.  A great deal of careful work went into each step.

Now, I don’t know about you, but this is getting darn exciting for me.  If I squint hard at that last picture and add some ducts in my mind, then that really looks a whole lot like an honest to goodness rocket engine.  J-2X is coming together!  In another month or so, it will be fully assembled and early this summer we will be demonstrating the first new, human-rated NASA rocket engine since 1975 (…yes, 1975, think: the fall of Saigon, Patty Hearst still on the lam, the Thrilla in Manilla – Ali v. Frazier III, Tiger Woods and Kate Winslet born, sentences being handed down for Watergate, the very first episode of Saturday Night Live, and me as the star kickball player during fifth grade recess…).

Two final notes for this article.  First, I would like to thank Brian West for all of the engine assembly pictures and background information for these pictures.  Keep up the great work!  Second, I would like to thank my cat Kesey for his starring role in the center of the cat tree picture.  Being that round and that lazy takes years of dedicated practice.

Live Chat Roundup: March 10, 2011

By Jim Gerard, INSPIRE Education Specialist, KSC, FL

Greetings from San Francisco, California and the national convention of the National Science Teachers Association!  As I am writing this the morning of March 11, we are under a tsunami warning after the devastating earthquake off the coast of Japan.  While our thoughts go to those who have suffered a loss, as a science educator I am finding it extremely interesting and exciting.  When you think about the way NASA technology has been utilized in monitoring and providing warnings it promotes a sense of pride of being part of that family, as are all of you as part of INSPIRE!

Last night, we hosted engineer Jose Flores from the Johnson Space Center to talk about the center and his work there.  66 were in attendance as Mr. Flores talked about the different mission at JSC, from training of astronauts to research in microgravity.  Mr. Flores works in the development of simulators and trainers.  Students asked many questions about simulators, and about the educational path Mr. Flores took to get where he is.  We also had a request for the presentation to be available, so I have posted it to the Discussion Board, where you can also leave questions for Mr. Flores.

Next week we be chatting live from Mars!  Or, at least, the Mars Desert research Station in Utah with INSPIRE alumni Christine Redmond and her team from Georgia Tech.  Sign up on Monday to be part of this chat!  See you then!

Poll of the Week: Solar Katrina!

By Jim Gerard, NASA INSPIRE, KSC, FL

The sun has been very quiet lately.  A few big hiccups have briefly thrown electro-magnetic particles our way, but only producing some spectacular auroral displays in the polar regions.  Today, however, residents in southern Africa are advised to wear extra sunscreen due to a solar flare alert!  An over-reaction, or prudent precaution?

While scientists might agree with the precaution, they know the main danger of severe solar storms is the effect on Earth's magnetic field.  This energy surge could disrupt the electrical grid over a large portion of our planet.  This damage would not just be confined to the power infrastructure, but also to those appliance plugged into the grid.  The estimate of damage reaches $2 trillion dollars.  We asked the OLC if we are prepared for such an event.

Negative answers were predominant, with 9 of 10 saying we were not prepared.  But, a large portion of those feel we can never be prepared enough.  here are some of the comments from the Discussion Board:

• My opinion is No. We are not prepared to cope with the widespread damage which would be caused by a solar storm of that magnitude. We can barely if at all cope with smaller solar storms, a solar storm like Katrina would be disastrous. What we need to do is figure out how to be ready, and get it done before it's too late. 

• We are definitely not ready!  A storm like that could damage communication satellites and possibly the power grid.  Since so much of our economy is electronic, the storm could be disastrous.

• Question: Is there any way to be ready? And second, how ready do we honestly need to be? I mean, I know that it would be disasterous, but honestly, how much of our technology do we actually need? Even if we only have 1960s technology, that was enough for Apollo, so it should be good enough for us now.



• I don't think we'll ever be completely ready.  And we should be less dependent on technology.


It may be too late to vote in the poll, but you can still join the debate on the Discussion Board.

Watch for the next poll coming later today!

Inspire Others to Success

By Nelly Pérez, INSPIRE student
10th grade

It is interesting how people can use their surroundings to achieve success on their goals and dreams. Being a member of the INSPIRE Online Learning Community has inspired me to be a role model. All the knowledge acquired needs to be exposed and put in practice. I use this program to teach others and demonstrate the amazing STEM fields. I am the student leader of my school G.L.O.B.E (Global Learning and Observation for the Benefit of the Environment) Project. We teach intermediate students about the atmosphere, weather, space and many other themes. I used an INSPIRE activity called “Hurricane Katrina”. They learned its effect, consequences, how it is formed, and how many types of clouds there are. Now, we are organizing a Telescope Night. It’s an activity where we invite the Radio Telescope Association of the Caribbean Inc. (since I am from Puerto Rico) to make presentations and tell us how to use a telescope. We go to a place where it must be completely dark to see planets, stars, the moon and anything that could appear.

The other day, in the Civil Air Patrol, I used the International Space Station (ISS) Model activity. Cadets worked in pairs to build models of the ISS. It was a nice activity since they learn the ISS's purpose, objective, how it works and identify its parts. They took three hours to build it. They made a total of 14 ISS models. It was amazing to see their enthusiasm, their teamwork, and their ability to build things and the way they learn new things in a fun manner. As I said before, this program is a success in our everyday life. If your knowledge is growing, developing more, why not use it to help others to also succeed? Being a member of INSPIRE is a privilege, an opportunity that not every student has. So, when God open doors like this, do your best to keep it open.

Live Chat Roundup: March 3, 2011

By Jim Gerard, INSPIRE Education Specialist, KSC, FL

When you hear "flexibility" what comes to mind?  A rubber band?  A gymnast?  How about NASA?  Typically, we think of NASA as a quite rigid organization with specific procedures and protocols in place, directed by HQ in Washington D.C.  In reality, a certain flexibility has always existed, from the design of new and novel space and aircraft, to Neil Armstrong taking control of the LM with moments to spare to avoid landing in a field of boulders, to granting waivers for safety restrictions when it is prudent.  In the Live Chat last evening, 63 members of the OLC heard exploration manager Mike Weiss from Goddard talk about the new 'flexible plan' for exploration.

I received this email from Patrick N., a junior in the OLC:

Thank you very much!  I would also like to add that this chat was very enlightening and really cleared up a lot of questions and frustration I had with NASA and the administration.  The whole structure of NASA
makes a lot more sense now and it is reasuring to see that NASA does intend to continue with human spaceflight.  I really like the "flexible" approach NASA has decided to take because in this day and age, it is very hard for them to foresee any political changes.

Thanks, Patrick!  If you missed the Live Chat, check it out in the Live Chat Archive.  Then leave a comment or question on the Discussion Board.  And don't forget to go to Quizzes on the Discover page to take the quiz for 50 points!

Next week, engineer Jose Flores will present on what is going on at the Johnson Space Center, home of Mission Control.  Sign up starts Monday on the Discussion Board!

Discovery

By Hannah Mohr, 10th grade INSPIRE OLC

August 30, 1984, through February 24, 2011. For nearly 27 years, Discovery has been a part of NASA's Space Shuttle fleet. Discovery made 39 flights, including its current mission, and has spent more days in space than any other Space Shuttle.

Discovery made its first flight, mission STS-41D, on August 30, 1984. The objective of the mission was to launch three satellites. On this last mission, STS-133, Discovery's crew will install the Permanent Multipurpose Module, the Express Logistics Carrier 4, and provide critical spare components to the International Space Station.

While Discovery was preparing for its final flight, Michael Coats, pilot of the STS-41D mission and now director of Johnson Space Center, said “I wish the people around the world could have an understanding and appreciation of the amazing, highly motivated group of people that work in the space program.” For me there is little more inspiring than a space shuttle successfully taking off. Someday, I want to join the hard work that makes space exploration possible. The Space Shuttle Program is coming to an end, but NASA is not. “Space, the final frontier...”

3/1 Poll of the Week: NASA's Vision

This week's poll asked for your evaluation of NASA's new vision statement:"To reach for new heights and reveal the unknown so that what we do and learn will benefit all humankind."  Every couple of years, we go through an introspective and look at where we have been and where we are going.  The culmination of this is the creation of a vision statement.  This statement gives a focus point for our endeavors, and allows for feedback and growth.

Most of the OLC who gave their opinion on the poll liked it.  This resulted in many positive comments on the Discussion Board:

• I like the new vision statement. It is very far-reaching and an incredible mission to be on.

• I really like it. Of course, it involves us being on speaking terms with "all humankind", but that's another goal that must happen. 

• I like it.  It's a broad, far-reaching goal. 

• I love it! To me it says so much about everything that NASA is and what it means. It has the beauty of new discovery in it, and hints at the exploration missions of new worlds that are being planned out now. The only thing I would have added would be "...to benefit humankind forever" because what NASA does now will have such immeasurable impact on the future of humanity. :) 

• I think it is a very positive message, and very encouraging for the future of spaceflight and the study of our universe. 

• I like it. I think it wraps up NASA's goals very well in a sentence.

I did find one dissenting opinion:

• I agree and disagree with it. While it may sound all bright, happy and wonderful, none of it will happen unless NASA's budget is increased, and the chances of that are very slim. NASA's last vision statement to "Return to the moon by 2020" was never fulfilled, and the only remanent of it now is the scaled down orion capsule. Who's to say this statement, which is too broad, won't meet a similar end when the next adimistration takes over in a few years. NASA is at a distinct disadvatage being a government agency versus the emerging private companies becuase congress holds the wallet and pursue strings instead of private investors and companies. While I understand NASA is speeding up their development with COTS funding, they have many other customers. Sadly I believe NASA's glory days of human spaceflight funded by a blank check in the 60's and 70's is over and private companies will begin to fill that void. 

We love to see good, thought out exchanges of opinion on the Discussion Board!  Don't be afraid to disagree, but do it with intelligent repartee, nothing personal.  And it does not end when the poll is over: you can continue to comment as long as you wish.

So what was the best vision statement?  Though it did not originate with NASA, I believe the greatest vision statement was coined years ago by a popular television show: To boldly go where no one has gone before.