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>> HI, MY NAME IS LANCE FOSTER,
AND I'M AN ENGINEER AT NASA
WORKING ON JET ENGINES.
NASA HAS AN AWESOME CHALLENGE
FOR YOU, AND WE WANNA SEE
YOUR SOLUTIONS.
THE CHALLENGE IS
MISSION TO MARS.
HAVE YOU EVER TRAVELED
IN A CAR AND SUDDENLY
HAD TO STOP?
NOW IMAGINE YOU'RE IN
A SPACECRAFT TRAVELING
13,000 MILES PER HOUR
AND YOU ONLY HAVE 7 MINUTES
TO SLOW DOWN AND SAFELY LAND
YOUR VEHICLE ON THE SURFACE
OF A PLANET, SUCH AS MARS.
TO DO THIS, YOU FIRST HAVE TO
UNDERSTAND THE CONCEPT OF DRAG
AND THE EFFECT IT HAS
ON AN OBJECT TRAVELING
THROUGH SPACE.
DRAG IS A FORCE THAT OPPOSES
AN OBJECT'S MOTION THROUGH AIR.
FOR EXAMPLE, AS A SPACECRAFT
LIKE THIS ONE ACCELERATES,
OR SPEEDS UP, THE SURROUNDING
AIR PUSHES AGAINST IT,
CREATING RESISTANCE.
HOWEVER, TO SLOW THE VEHICLE
DOWN ENOUGH TO MAKE
A SAFE LANDING, A DECELERATOR,
OR DRAG DEVICE, SERVES AS
A BRAKING SYSTEM FOR
THE VEHICLE.
THAT'S THE CHALLENGE NASA FACES
EVERY TIME IT LANDS A SPACECRAFT
ON ANOTHER PLANET.
AS WE PLAN MORE ADVANCED
MISSIONS TO PLANETS
FURTHER OUT INTO
OUR SOLAR SYSTEM, WE'LL NEED
TO LAND EVEN HEAVIER SPACECRAFT.
THIS WILL REQUIRE MORE POWERFUL
YET LIGHTWEIGHT DECELERATORS,
OR BRAKING SYSTEMS.
NEXT UP IS ENGINEER MARY LOBO
TO TELL US MORE ABOUT
THIS CHALLENGE.
>> HI, MY NAME IS MARY LOBO,
AND I'M AN ENGINEER AT NASA.
PART OF MY JOB IS TO HELP
COMPANIES USE NASA TECHNOLOGIES
TO ADVANCE SCIENCE AND TO HELP
CREATE NEW PRODUCTS THAT
MAKE LIFE BETTER ON EARTH.
AS NASA PLANS NEW ROBOTIC
AND HUMAN MISSIONS TO MARS,
IT'S EXTREMELY IMPORTANT
FOR SPACECRAFT TO CARRY
HEAVIER AND LARGER PAYLOADS.
THESE PAYLOADS WILL PROVIDE
THE SUPPLIES NEEDED FOR
EXTENDED STAYS ON
THE MARTIAN SURFACE.
HOWEVER, HEAVIER PAYLOADS
MAKE IT MORE DIFFICULT FOR
THE SPACECRAFT TO SLOW DOWN
ONCE IT GETS TO MARS.
WHEN A SPACECRAFT ENTERS
THE MARTIAN ATMOSPHERE,
IT'S TRAVELING AT ABOUT
13,000 MILES PER HOUR,
AND IT HAS ONLY 7 MINUTES
TO SLOW DOWN TO 0 MILES.
AS YOU CAN IMAGINE,
THAT'S REALLY HARD TO DO.
PART OF THE REASON THAT
IT'S SO HARD TO SLOW DOWN IS
BECAUSE THE MARTIAN ATMOSPHERE
IS ABOUT 100 TIMES THINNER
THAN THE ATMOSPHERE ON EARTH.
LESS ATMOSPHERE MEANS
LESS DRAG OR RESISTANCE.
THAT MEANS THE SPACECRAFT NEEDS
HELP TO SAFELY SLOW DOWN
AND LAND.
IN THE PAST, WE'VE USED
A VARIETY OF SYSTEMS, INCLUDING
AIRBAGS, RETRO ROCKETS,
AND SUPERSONIC PARACHUTES.
ONE OF THE DEVICES THAT
NASA'S CURRENTLY WORKING ON
IS CALLED ASPIRE, OR
ADVANCED SUPERSONIC PARACHUTE
INFLATION RESEARCH EXPERIMENT.
ASPIRE IS A REALLY STRONG
PARACHUTE THAT WOULD CREATE
MORE DRAG.
THIS WILL HELP LARGER, HEAVIER
SPACECRAFT SLOW DOWN AND LAND
SAFELY ON THE SURFACE OF MARS.
WHEN FULLY INFLATED,
THIS PARACHUTE WILL HAVE
THE VOLUME OF A LARGE HOUSE
AND WEIGH ALMOST 200 POUNDS.
IT WILL ALSO FLY AROUND MACH 2,
AND THAT'S TWO TIMES
THE SPEED OF SOUND-- THAT'S
ABOUT 1,500 MILES PER HOUR.
NOW, CAN YOU IMAGINE SOMETHING
THAT WEIGHS ALMOST 200 POUNDS
AND HAS THE VOLUME OF
A LARGE HOUSE FLYING
AT ALMOST TWO TIMES
THE SPEED OF SOUND?
YOUR CHALLENGE TODAY IS
TO DESIGN A PARACHUTE
TO SAFELY SLOW DOWN AND LAND
YOUR SPACECRAFT.
YOU'LL NEED TO THINK ABOUT
HOW TO MAKE YOUR PARACHUTE
LARGE ENOUGH TO CREATE
A LOT OF DRAG, BUT LIGHTWEIGHT
SO IT DOESN'T WEIGH DOWN
YOUR SPACECRAFT.
YOUR PARACHUTE WILL ALSO
NEED TO BE STRONG TO SUPPORT
A LOT OF WEIGHT WHILE TRAVELING
AT HIGH SPEEDS.
ALTHOUGH YOU'LL BE TESTING
YOUR PARACHUTE ON EARTH,
THINK ABOUT ANY SPECIAL FEATURES
THAT COULD HELP YOUR PARACHUTE
WORK ON MARS.
WE CAN'T WAIT TO SEE
YOUR SUGGESTIONS.
GOOD LUCK!
>> THANKS, MARY.
NOW HERE'S YOUR ASSIGNMENT.
DESIGN AND BUILD A DRAG DEVICE
THAT WILL HELP SLOW DOWN
AND SAFELY LAND YOUR SPACECRAFT.
EACH OF YOUR TEAMS MUST:
MAKE A DRAG DEVICE
AND CONNECT IT TO THE CARGO BAY.
THE DRAG DEVICE MUST MAKE
THE CARGO BAY SLOW DOWN
WHEN DROPPED.
DROP THE DRAG DEVICE
AND CARGO BAY FROM A HEIGHT
OF 2 METERS.
THEY MUST STAY ATTACHED
THROUGHOUT THE DROP.
HOLD 10 GRAMS OF CARGO
PROTECTED INSIDE YOUR CARGO BAY.
AND MAKE SURE THE TOTAL MASS
OF YOUR DRAG DEVICE IS
NO GREATER THAN 50 GRAMS.
USE THE ENGINEERING DESIGN
PROCESS TO HELP YOU CREATE
A SOLUTION.
KEEP IN MIND, YOUR DESIGN
MAY NOT WORK AS EXPECTED.
YOU MAY HAVE TO TEST
AND MAKE CHANGES TO YOUR DESIGN
MULTIPLE TIMES.
BUT THAT'S OKAY-- IT'S ALL
PART OF THE PROCESS.
NOW, IT'S YOUR TURN
TO GET TO WORK.
AND BY ALL MEANS, BE CREATIVE.
I'M EXCITED TO SEE THE DESIGNS
YOUR TEAMS CREATE.
GOOD LUCK.