Space Station / Living Module Prototype
Hello Everyone!
So, as we discussed in class, we are pretending to be NASA engineers and we are going to design our own spaceships! No, we won’t be able to make the actual thing, but we are going to start making some cool prototypes in big building session on Friday.
What are the steps of building something? Well, as you remember, the steps of the engineering design process are:
- ASK: What is the task? What are the challenges? Are there requirements or limitations? What do we know already?
- IMAGINE: Brainstorm possible solutions & consider design options.
- PLAN: Choose the best design. Draw a picture. Figure out what materials to use.
- CREATE: Build it based on the plan! Test it out! Ask questions along the way!
- IMPROVE: Modify it to make it better and test it again!
Our question? What kind of spaceship will we need to survive and to travel in space? What features will we have to build into our prototype that will ensure our survival?
Investigate! Here are the questions we need answers to in order to plan our prototype, as brainstormed by you in class. We need to do some research! There are books in class and internet sites found in the articles of interest under the “Arts and Sciences” unit. When you find an answer to a question, we are collecting answers in our brainstorm on the board in class.
- How will we supply oxygen to those people on the ship?
- How will we feed ourselves?
- How will we defend ourselves? (And from what?)
- What eco-friendly materials could we use?
- How will we prepare food?
- How will we store water and how will we drink it?
- How big of a spaceship do we need?
- What storage will we need, and for what?
- How will we protect ourselves from radiation?
- What technology will we need on the ship?
- What kind of shields will we need?
- What is the purpose of our ship?
- How will we take off from Earth?
- What will we use to control speed?
- What materials can we use that are asteroid proof?
- What kind of fuel will we use? Where will we store extra fuel?
- Where will the bathroom be?
- How will we get rid of our waste?
- What will we have for entertainment and exercise?
- What kind of rocket will be needed to get us into space?
- What shape does the ship need to be?
- How much money is all of this going to cost?
- What will we do if we encounter aliens?
- What will we do if we get sick? What medical supplies do we need?
- How do we get power for the spaceship?
- How will we take care of garbage? Can we re-use things?
- Will we have solar energy?
- What kind of communication devices do we need?
- How will we deal with the lack of gravity?
- Anything else we haven’t thought of??????
Good luck space engineers! We will be finished with this short building activity by Tuesday.
Ms. D